3. The Rose
Chapter 3
The Rose
I cut through the trees, following their trail as quickly as I could.
Stupid .
I’d been stupid to think pairs were numbers enough to protect against a threat. I pushed my legs to go faster, Fenrir following a breath behind me. My fingers grew warmer as my heart rate grew more rapid, and I willed the fire threatening to spill from them to stay beneath my skin. Careless. Unacceptable. I was better than this. I had to be better than this.
They could’ve been surrounded. They could’ve been captured. They could’ve been?—
They could’ve been crouched over a dead deer looking at me in alarm.
I ground to a halt, Fenrir’s forty-plus years of honing his instincts the only thing preventing me from being flattened as he stopped behind me a few moments later. The two Enforcers shot to their feet, weapons drawn, and looked beyond our panting forms for what I’m sure was whatever threat they imagined we must have been fleeing. They’d find nothing in the darkness other than our own paranoid conclusions.
“Oh thank the goddess,” Fenrir muttered with a sigh. From the corner of my eye, I saw him lace his fingers atop his head and look up at the star-speckled sky.
So,” I began, my heart still beating violently against my rib cage. “Dead deer?”
Mia’s eyebrows squished together as she watched me catch my breath. Thankfully, she didn’t question our abrupt arrival aloud. The likelihood of me coming up with a reasonable explanation at that moment was about as likely as a block of ice holding its shape over a fire.
She returned her sword to its place across her back and confirmed, “Dead deer. It explains the smell. This thing is putrid.”
That it was. It took a conscious effort not to gag standing this close to the body. Brody had kneeled down beside the animal to examine it more closely. He had a stomach of steel.
“She’s large enough that if she wandered into the border she’d trigger the enchantment,” Fenrir said with a tinge of relief coloring his voice. I wanted to join him in the feeling, but I couldn’t.
He was right. The beast was surely large enough to trigger the enchantment but that explanation left too many unanswered questions in its wake. Did it die in the time it took us to reach its side? A smell this overpowering would surely take days to develop, would it not?
“Cause of death?” I asked.
“Looks like an infection in her rear leg.” Brody beckoned me closer, and I reluctantly kneeled by his side. His finger circled the air above the gaping wound. I would not let myself vomit.
“I can’t make out the exact shape under all the puss.” Nasty. “But I’d wager it’s an animal bite. Maybe one of the wolves in the area got ahold of it. You know they love running the border. It makes them feel closer to Lucas.”
I snorted and immediately regretted inhaling through my nose. I had a theory the local wolf pack stayed close to our border because they considered Lucas’ wolf to be their Alpha. A theory he did not find amusing when I shared it over breakfast last year. Ivy, on the other hand, laughed so hard she fell off her stool.
“It makes sense,” I said even though it didn’t–not fully. “We should take her back to the healer to see if we can confirm it.”
“Briar,” Mia started, “I’m not trying to question you, but why are we worried about a deer and a wolf? I don’t see the threat here. It got away, was injured, and stumbled into the border and sounded the alarm. Why do we care about the infection?”
“We might not,” I acknowledged and returned to my feet. “But we can’t deem it irrelevant without a proper investigation. Just because something appears harmless doesn't mean it can’t do harm.” Just look at me.
“So we’re going to start conducting medical exams on any injured wildlife we find?” she asked skeptically. “It just seems like a lot of time and energy for a wolf bite.”
“What if we’re wrong and it’s not a wolf bite? What if the rogues are testing a new poison? What if they lace their swords and arrow with it, and the healers haven’t concocted an antidote because we failed to investigate?”
She said nothing in response.
I continued, “And it’s not just the infection. Look at the angle of her neck. Feel the lack of warmth emitting from her hide. Maybe this is nature taking its course, but I’d rather spend a few hours investigating an animal carcass than risk harm to the pack. Wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, Beta,” she said sheepishly and nodded her head, then muttered under her breath, “I still think we’re likely worrying about a wolf.”
I’d love to be worried about wolves. Wolves I could handle. They may not understand our words, but they understand our place in the dominance hierarchy–above them. This felt like something more, like an unknown enemy waiting to take us by surprise the second our guard was lowered.
My gaze darted around the surrounding area, looking for any sign another predator had been there, or may still be there, lurking in the shadows. I saw nothing. The forest was eerily still. Eerily silent.
“I don’t like this, Briar,” Fenrir said, drawing to my side. His keen eyes were narrowed and bore directly into mine. I didn’t like it either, but lingering in the woods wasn’t likely to improve the situation.
“We’ll take her to the healers.”
Brody took the animal in his arms, careful not to touch the wound, and began the trek back to the compound. Fenrir and Mia fell into step behind him with Mia keeping an exceptionally wide berth between her and the animal. I didn’t blame her.
I didn’t want to linger so long as to be left behind. If they encountered a threat on the way back to our borders, I needed to be with them. I moved swiftly, looking up through the treetops. No one was ready to pounce from their canopies.
After pacing a few meters from where the body had been found, I looked behind the thick tree trunks and wrestled through the bushes. That was when I saw it: a small pool of water at the base of a shrub.
It hadn’t rained in two weeks.
“Bri?” Mia called from up ahead. “Are you all right?”
“Fine!” I called back.
I abandoned the small pool and broke into a jog to catch up to them. Fenrir’s questioning gaze found me. I gave him a brief, easy-going grin that seemed to placate him enough to nod his head and look forward once more.
I could lie to myself that there was nothing to be concerned about, that there were a million reasons for the water to be there that had nothing to do with elemental magic. A hunter could’ve spilled their water flask. The area could’ve been flooded during the last storm, and that small puddle was all that remained. Even a rogue could be staging the scene to play mind games with us.
The last thought was a stretch, but it could have a smidge of truth to it. The rogues grew more restless with each passing year. It was obvious to anyone paying attention that the packless castaways and rebels had begun to form their own kind of hierarchy away from society’s eye. They were angry. They were rejected. History had shown time and time again that angry, rejected people became one of two things: cutthroat or cunning.
The more I considered it, the more likely it felt to be true. The rogues would know that smell, eerily reminiscent of demons, would set off those of us who remembered the atrocities from a decade prior. The water was just the second step and their fabrication. But why? What was the end goal? What did they gain by drawing us out of the territory? They didn’t use it as a chance to attack. So, what purpose did it serve?
My frustration only grew the longer I thought of it. The walk back to the border was silent. As we approached, I moved to the front of our group and lifted my hand to the shimmering air. It was solid against my skin. Before the enchantment opened, our territory would appear to be an open glen, surrounded by the wood. An intruder would run against the border but would be unable to see any details or the layout of a compound. It was an invaluable charm a mage gifted to our pack when we came to her coven’s aid against an ogre a few years back. Magic was a gift, unless you gained it by consorting with demons.
Then it was a death sentence.
We crossed into the safety of our territory just as Ivy and Lucas came jogging into view with Logan a few strides behind. The Luna’s ivory hair glinted in the moonlight. Both were in their human form and fully clothed. Another delay, but at least this one was a better use of time than a game of cat and mouse through pack grounds. Shifters were no strangers to nudity, but that didn’t mean we didn’t prefer to be covered by something– whether that something was clothing, feather, fur, or scales was less of a concern.
“What have you found?” Lucas’s deep tenor boomed across the distance.
Fenrir looked to me, awaiting my go-ahead before recapping the events of our investigation. The Alpha and Luna were both experts at masking their reactions, but I’d spent years cataloging the minute changes in their expressions and body language. When Fenrir described finding the deer, already dead after following the scent trail left for us, Lucas’ lip twitched. Ivy shifted her weight to her left foot.
They were nervous.
As Fenrir’s recount came to a close, Ivy turned her attention to me. “Working theory?”
“A wolf–” Mia started.
“Someone orchestrated it.”
All three Enforcers at my side looked at me with various degrees of shock. From where he still stood near the Pack Leaders, I expected to see derision on Logan’s face. I wouldn’t have been surprised had he scoffed at my conclusion or rolled his eyes, but he didn’t. He waited for me to continue with keen eyes, and a slight tilt to his head.
“What brought you to that conclusion?” Ivy asked.
I pointed out the same facts I’d told Mia in the forest and added my theory about the rogues without mentioning the demons or the pool of water. For them to draw their own conclusions about the scent was one thing. Me putting the idea of demons resurfacing in their mind, raising suspicions that could draw more attention to my own secrets was another.
“I just can’t see the rogues organizing well enough to come at us this strategically.” Lucas rubbed his jaw as he considered the possibility. “Ambush a carriage full of supplies or try to break into one of the smaller pack’s territory? Sure. But to come to our border and try to lay a trap? It’s difficult to imagine.”
“I have to agree with Lucas,” Ivy said. “I acknowledge the circumstances are strange, but I’m struggling with what motive someone would have to do this.”
She and Lucas started thinking through other possibilities like an angry pack or the deer falling, breaking its neck, and a predator feasting on it. Brody, Fenrir, and Mia occasionally interjected, but I only half paid attention to what they said. My focus was fixed on Logan instead. I could see it in his eyes, he agreed with me.
Say something. I silently urged him. Pretend it wasn’t me who suggested it, and say something because you know I could be right .
Even if it wasn’t the rogues, it had to be someone. The more intricate the design, the more likely there’s a designer. There were too many oddities to be inconsequential. Say something.
“I agree with Briar.”
All conversation stopped.
“What did you just say?” Mia asked with a nervous laugh. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
“I’d rather not,” Logan deadpanned, but added, “The rogues have every motive to do something like this.”
Fenrir’s elbow dug into my side. I didn’t turn to him. If I stopped focusing on the Pack Leaders and Logan, I may snap out of whatever dreamscape we’d entered for him to side with me
“Go on,” Ivy said, her eyebrows nearly reaching her hairline.
“Many of them may be disorganized but it would only take one powerful leader to bring them–even a few of them–back into order.” He lowered his head in thought for a moment then directed his next words directly to Lucas, “And I can think of at least one rogue capable of positioning himself as their Alpha who has a grudge against this pack. Can’t you?”
Logan’s father, Malcolm Grey, and Lucas’ best friend. At least, he was at one time. Attempted murder did tend to put a strain on a relationship. Driven by jealousy and greed, Malcolm had challenged Lucas for his position as Alpha and lost, but he couldn’t accept his fate. Instead, he tried to poison him. He failed.
Lucas was within his rights to have him executed, but chose to send him into exile to spare his family the grief. I wish he could have spared them the shame.
“You think this is Malcolm?” the Alpha asked gravely.
“I don’t know.” Logan cracked his knuckles and rolled his head from one shoulder to another. “I’m not saying he’s the only person who could do something like this or who’d have motive to attack the pack, but he proves Briar’s theory is possible. It’s not like we’ve never cast out a strong shifter, let alone those banished from another pack. We may not be easy prey, but we are the most attractive prize for someone ambitious enough to try taking it.”
Ivy and Lucas lowered their voices to discuss the added perspective Logan shared. I caught his eye from where I still stood on the other side of the Pack Leaders and gave him a small nod of thanks. His lips turned into a sneer, but it was a small one. My own turned into the tiniest of grins when he nodded back.
“Have we entered the afterlife?” Fenrir leaned in and asked under his breath.
“If we have, I’m disappointed. I really hoped there’d be hot springs and cake,” I whispered back and glancing at Brody added, “And preferably no animal carcasses.”
Poor Brody would probably have this smell clinging to him for a week.
“Why don’t you go ahead and take that to the healer’s apothecary,” I suggested. “Regardless what theory we align on, we’ll still need their examination to confirm it.”
He took two steps in that direction before he was stopped.
“You really are arrogant, aren’t you?” Logan asked. I sighed. For a moment there, things were going so well. “Who are you to give orders when the Alpha and Luna are present?”
His interjection stopped the two leaders’ conversation and drew their attention to us. Lucas wore a pinched expression. Ivy bit her lip.
“I’d hardly call that an order,” I said. “And even if it were, I’d have every right to give it.”
“What if we’d had more questions after you’d sent him inside?” Was he serious?
“Unless there’s a secret portal that whisks him away to a far off land, I think we’d be able to find him,” I observed dryly. “He’s been holding a dead animal for the past twenty minutes, in case your nose missed its presence.”
Insulting his senses wasn’t my most mature moment, but he’d been immature first. I was merely meeting him where he was at. How very kind of me.
“If holding it is part of fulfilling his duty then it’s one he should happily bear,” Logan spat. A quick glance at Brody’s expressionless face assured me he was unphased by the former Beta’s outburst.
“And he bore it without complaint.” I drew on whatever scrap of patience the suns and moon would grant me. I planned to let it go. Truly, I did. But then Logan rolled his eyes, and I simply could not. “Why don’t you take it from him then?”
“I’m not doing that.” His laugh of derision set me teeth on edge.
“And why is that, Enforcer?” Lucas asked.
Mia and Fenrir had less success hiding their grins than me.
“I—,” he stumbled over his words as he searched for a viable explanation for defying an order from his Beta, “I wouldn’t want to further contaminate the body. We’ve probably already altered it more than we should. It would’ve been better for us to leave it where it was found and return with a healer to examine it.”
“If we left it in the woods, any other predator could’ve stumbled upon it and claimed it for their next meal. I doubt adding your scent to her skin will have any influence on our findings, unless you intend to hold it so tightly you break bones or burst organs.” I dismissed his excuse with a wave of my hand.
He still didn’t reach to take it from Brody.
“Take the deer, Logan, and bring it inside,” I ordered. “Now.”
He didn’t move.
“Is there a problem, Enforcer?” Lucas asked in a deceptively calm voice. Ivy remained silent at his side. Logan sent a scathing look at me before responding.
“Of course not, Alpha.”
He strode off toward the main lodge, rotting carcass in hand. I hope the smell ruined his clothes or even stuck in his hair. It’d serve him right to have folks grimacing when he drew too near for weeks to come. Maybe I could pay a witch to make it stick forever.
Ivy turned to the remaining Enforcers. “Excellent work tonight. The rest of your shift on patrol has been filled. Head home and rest up. We’ll plan the next steps once we hear from the healers.”
Fenrir, Brody, and Mia left after being dismissed, leaving me alone with the Alpha and the Luna. I closed the distance between us until I stood between them both, a foot or so of space separating us. Lucas smiled down at me, dimples appearing on his often unyielding face.
“So, Little Warrior.” He draped an arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his side before dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “Logan is still having trouble letting go, I see.”
At least he’d never tried to poison me.
“And that brings a smile to your face?” I asked, pulling away from his hold.
“Absolutely.” He smiled wider. “I’m imagining the many ways you’d remind him why he has no choice if you weren’t abandoning me tomorrow. What am I supposed to do with both you and Grayson away?”
“I’m sure the pack will keep you plenty occupied in our absence,” I said dryly, then added, “You could always focus on keeping Logan from turning even more of my pack mates against me while I’m gone.”
“He just needs time.” Ivy’s voice was as stiff as her shoulders. “Logan is a valued member of this pack. He’s done so much for all of us, we can extend our grace to him.”
Lucas sighed but didn’t contradict her. They led the pack as one, but as her former Beta, Lucas would defer to Ivy’s judgment on dealings with Logan. As her current Beta, I was forced to do the same.
“I suppose I can continue to bear it,” I said with a teasing lilt, “but it’s going to cost you.” Lucas’ chuckle vibrated through his chest to my shoulder as we began walking back to the house.
“I’ll be sure to get your payment to you before you leave.”
“It’s hard to believe it’s already time for you to enroll at the Academy,” Ivy said, with a dreamy smile on her face. “Grayson will be so happy to have you there.”
She sounded so certain, I didn’t have the heart to tell her that was unlikely to be the case. I had heard her son’s true feelings for me with my own ears, and they were far from affectionate.
Thinking about my past blindness toward him as we walked, a phantom of my shame threatened to rise from the deep well I’d battled for years to force it into.
Once upon a time, I’d been Grayson Pierce’s shadow. At age eight, I clung to his side and refused to let go. At age twelve, he was the first person I called a friend at the compound, and he took me under his wing while I adjusted to the boisterousness of pack life—a drastic contrast to isolation in the woods.
In my adolescent eyes, he’d been perfect. Cunning, strong, and handsome, there was no hope that my young, damaged heart would resist him. Growing up, Ivy often hinted that I would be the perfect mate for him one day, and I had preened at the thought that I could be his match. For what pauper turned princess didn’t long to find her prince? At least that’s how the stories always went.
Then one day, I’d gone off to find him— probably planning to invite him to play at the creek or show him a new bauble or treasure I’d found— only to happen across a conversation with his father that reminded me of a crucial fact I’d forgotten while playing house with my newfound family: I was no princess.
“You and Briar have spent a lot of time together lately.” I watched as the Alpha smiled. “Any developments you’d care to share?” I’d entered the library intending to call out and greet them both but froze at Lucas’ words. Nothing good ever came from eavesdropping, but I couldn’t tamp down the small thread of joy I felt at his question, and I surely couldn’t interrupt before hearing Grayson’s answer.
“I’m sure I don’t understand your meaning,” Grayson deadpanned.
“Don’t be coy. There’s nothing to be ashamed of—nothing you’d need to hide from me,” Lucas continued, and I drew closer as he looped an arm around his son’s shoulders. “If you’re concerned I wouldn’t approve, don’t be. I wholeheartedly do. She’s growing into a beautiful girl, and she adores you. I can’t think of a more amiable mate for you to pursue.”
My heart soared at the compliment, but it quickly plummeted when Grayson shrugged off his father’s arm and ran a hand over his inky hair as he paced a few steps before turning back.
“She’s just another kid in the pack,” he bit out, driving a knife into my heart with each word he spoke. “She trails after me, I don’t call her to my side.” I’d taken another step back into the shadows, moving more fully behind the curtain at the edge of the corridor.
“She’s only three years your junior,” Lucas dismissed with a wave of his hand. “And you’ve never seemed bothered by the attention she gives you.”
“What would you have me do? Tell her to go away? When she came here, you asked me to watch over her—help her acclimate to the pack. I’ve done as you asked. I’ve indulged her every whim, every adventure, every request to tag along or stay by my side. I’ll continue to do so, but you cannot ask me to give her more than I’ve already given.”
“Look at you, your cheeks are heated and you’re down-right flustered.” The Alpha laughed, but I’d found no humor in it. I still didn’t. “If you’re not interested in the girl, then so be it. I just thought there might be something there. My mistake, but have you considered how you’ll feel when it’s someone else at her side? Can you truly imagine someone other than her as your mate?”
“Someone like her will never be my mate,” he declared in a tone so final, that it may as well have been written in stone. “A pack will crumble under weak leadership. She’d be a liability to us all, and I’ll have no part in making us vulnerable.”
I didn’t stay to hear the rest of the conversation. Instead, I backed away slowly and escaped to my room, having gained a phantom knife lodged deep in my gut.
Looking at his parents now, all I could think to say was, “It’s been a long time.”
And I wasn’t anyone’s shadow anymore.