Chapter 10
The next few days passed in a blur, a flurry of activity as Wolfe began aggressively making reforms to the Nexus pack. Food was immediately unrestricted and given to the shifters in the slums, and work crews were bewitched with the help of the witches to be allowed to come onto pack territory and start making repairs to their housing. In just a few months, the slums would look like the rest of the pack.
On the third day, Wolfe was officially inducted into the pack.
We sat around the edges of the grand arena, gathered similarly to how we were on the day of the challenge, except now the air was buzzing with anticipation and excitement as we waited.
The arena was packed, even more so than on the day of the challenge, and it almost brought a tear to my eyes at the support that had been shown so far now that Wolfe had taken over. I was worried the well-off shifters would not take well to Wolfe, but it seemed almost the opposite as he provided a structure that didn”t mean they”d have to fight for their lives if they stepped out of place.
Surrounded by the ancient trees of the forest, Wolfe”s mother stood with him in the center of the arena, her quiet presence commanding attention as she welcomed her son into the pack as Alpha. She was much more dressed up than the last time I”d seen her, a crimson silk robe drawn tightly around her shoulders, gold teardrops decorating her ears with understated finery.
With a graceful motion, she dipped her fingers into a small bowl of shimmering blue ink, similar to the way Wolfe had done for my own induction into the Clover pack. She gently touched her fingers to the existing tattoo that already adorned his skin – three claw marks behind his ear.
As we watched, it transformed, the simple claw marks becoming so much more. Each line of the tattoo shimmered with a vibrant shade of blue, the ink seeming to dance with an ethereal glow. Intertwined with the blue were streaks of red, weaving intricate feathered patterns around the original marks, clean and precise. Each curve and line seemed to tell a story, connecting him to the magic of the earth, and all the Alphas who had come before him.
Wolfe closed his eyes, breathing in deeply as his skin began to glow with a slight crimson haze. The glow brightened impossibly, to the point I almost had to shield my eyes from the glare, before disappearing into him completely. When he finally reopened his eyes to the raucous cheers of the crowd, I could sense a change in him, generations of power simmering beneath the surface.
”I present to you, Alpha Wolfe Gregory,” his mother shouted over the crowd, pride and happiness radiating off her in waves. She reached up to hug her son, who towered over her, and one of her sleeves rolled back to reveal an arm laced with crisscrossed scars, and my eyes went wide.
”Are those –,” I started, but Lily was already ahead of me, having noticed the same thing as me.
”The Supreme used magic to hurt her,” she told me softly. ”He was so sadistic that he even had witches stop the healing. I remember the first time Wolfe tried to stand up to him for it, when we were much younger. He beat him within an inch of his life for it.”
”My office, now”was the text we all received from Wolfe the next night, and within the hour, we were all gathered in the office we had met the Supreme in just a week before. Nia, Finn, Lily, Oliver, Callan, and I. Now, Wolfe filled the space, already putting his own touch on the beautifully constructed room. And by that, I mean he had most of the furniture taken out, and only a few decorations remained.
It reminded me of his house back at the Clover pack, where it seemed like so long ago that I”d first stepped foot inside it. The one thing that had stuck out to me was that Wolfe did not know how to decorate anything, and this office was no different.
”I found this,” he said, throwing a piece of paper onto the desk in front of him where we could all see it. I picked it up, studying it. The handwriting was loopy and elegant, but the message was short and cryptic.
‘We heed your call. When the moon wanes and shadows lengthen under the Nexus sun, we will come.’
”What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I asked, scratching my head. It was clearly some type of code, but what it signified, I couldn”t say.
”I don”t know,” Wolfe replied tiredly, dark bags under his eyes. ”I found it buried under all these papers. But it smells like witch,” he added darkly, referencing the halfling witch that had been a thorn in our side since all of this started.
”Do you think they know we”re here?” This was from Oliver, his expression dark. ”Because that”s what it sounds like.”
”Even if they did, they”d be hard-pressed to attack us,” Wolfe replied. ”I don”t know which witches I can trust here yet, so I had Oliver help me beef up the pack”s wards and defenses. Round-the-clock patrols have also been put into place.”
”We did all those things in the Clover pack, and they still got in,” Lily pointed out.
Wolfe sighed, pulling his hand through his unruly hair. ”I know.”
”Then what do we do?” I asked. ”We can”t leave all these people to be in danger here too.” Anger coursed through me, and I fought the urge to punch the nearest wall. I thought we”d have more time before they came again, and I definitely didn”t expect them to attack us at the largest pack in the country. Were they crazy? They”d have to bring an entire army here.
”We don”t know for sure that it”s them,” Finn tried, but it sounded weak even to my ears. Who else would it be? Silence descended over the room before Callan finally spoke.
”We should leave,” he said with a finality that left no room for arguments. ”I don”t think any of us want to take that risk.” Callan”s words hung heavy in the air, a tense silence settling over us. Leaving the Nexus pack felt like a betrayal all by itself, but so did staying. We”d all seen the destruction they had caused to the Clover pack. The lives that had been lost.
Resentment brewed in my gut like a poison as my thoughts swirled. Was I always going to have to be running from this? Always looking over my shoulder, waiting for the Queen”s other shoe to drop? I couldn”t live my life that way, not while they were still alive and still had a way to break into this realm.
”Even if you leave, I think it”s safe to say they know you were here. They”ll come regardless,” Wolfe countered. ”And if they”re going to come anyway, I”d rather you be here. We have strength in numbers here, a lot more numbers than we had at the Clover pack. They won”t be able to hurt us so easily this time.”
Nia nodded her agreement. ”We can protect them this time. It won”t take long to gather help from the fae realm as well.”
Lily frowned at the note, cogs turning in her head. ”This almost sounds like the Summer Solstice, the shortest night of the year. But that”s not for months.”
”Why would they take so long to come?” Nia questioned.
No one answered as we looked at each other. Trying to figure out how much time we would have was nearly impossible. Finally, Wolfe spoke, ”Let”s operate like we have no time at all. Preparations start tomorrow.”