Chapter 4 Jaxon
Jaxon
Someone is coming, my wolf warned as I shifted to my human form at the crossroads where Cerberus, Cadejo, and Amarok territories met.
Someone is always coming through here, I told him. This was a popular road to travel and the most common border crossing. Usually, a representative from the territory would meet guests upon arrival. But we’d been here enough times to not need an escort.
A few yards ahead of our tri-corner was the Fenrir border. Anubis pack to the south of Cerberus and Fenrir territory completed our western region. These four packs made up my neighbors and allies.
Like other regions, we surrounded a human city, keeping nature’s balance in check and ensuring history didn’t repeat itself should humans decide to run amok again.
My pack lands stretched further away, but I provided the bridge for our region to the north, while Anubis bordered the plains to the east. Cerberus territory was a central hub of travel now that the western regions’ imposed isolation on them had been lifted after the death of the mad Alpha.
It felt good to be visiting again. This land held a special place in my heart. Not only since she lived here, but because this territory had been a safe haven when I was merely a pup learning to manage my power.
And I wasn’t the only one who felt the same.
I sniffed the air, sensing the wolf-witch somewhere in the cover of the Amarok woods.
Each witch or warlock I’d ever met had a signature, an aura as unique to them as their magic, and those of us wolf-witches had a little something… extra.
Damn straight.
I internally sighed at his cockiness.
Wolf-witches were rare, but the irony didn’t escape me that so many, around my age, were born in the same region. Fate had its hands in this, somehow. I just didn’t know the how of it yet.
I don’t think any of us did.
When she stepped onto the trail, I smiled.
Calla—the infamous daughter of a huntress—was flanked by her two pet natural wolves that never left her side. She had her mother’s ebony skin and lethal grace, but it was the aura of power surrounding her that called to my own magic.
Even my wolf perked up a bit, remembering.
The group of wolf-witches I’d trained with as a pup were the closest to littermates I’d ever had.
“Jaxon.” Calla returned my smile and fell in step beside me. “I thought I smelled you out here.”
The wolves at her feet brushed their bodies against her legs, lowering their eyes and turning their heads to show they meant no disrespect as I looked them over. Our own beasts were similar to our non-shifting cousins.
That shouldn’t surprise you.
Just an observation.
I smirked at Calla, thinking about her greeting. “Smelled me, huh? Look at you, using lowly senses like the rest of us. Is your sight failing?”
By the haunted look in her eyes, I knew that wasn’t the case. Still, she stepped lightly. “Low like the rest of us? Please. How’s that Alpha status treating you?”
The remark caught me off guard and I winced, forgetting my place for a second as we fell into our old taunting roles.
She was right. I no longer belonged to my birth status. Not that being an alpha born wolf would keep me low in the ranks anyway. But the only clue I had of a family before Victor saved me from the streets was a mother who’d abandoned me once she’d gotten a scent of alpha in my blood.
I didn’t blame her.
Those were scary times for all of Cadejo.
Unlike Calla, I didn’t come from finery and a doting pack. Though the rumors did speculate that she’d been born in a cave.
“Speaking of low-borns,” I teased, trying to change the subject from my depressing roots. “Did we miss Gentry already?”
We passed the border of Fenrir and Cerberus, where the thin line was drawn and marked by scent. Gentry had passed through here less than an hour ago, leaving a scent trail to follow, but it surprised me that he hadn’t waited.
We’d still kept in contact over the years and he knew I was coming today.
“I’m sure he’s all up in arms about leaving his mate,” Calla said. “Not that I blame him.”
A dark cloud passed over the sun.
“Hmm,” I said, feeling my stomach clench when I saw where this conversation was heading. “Should I assume this means you’ve also found your mate?”
“Not yet. Thank the gods. It’s hard enough to keep these boys fed.” Calla’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she reached down to scratch her wolves’ ears. She didn’t push the subject.
“It’s strange,” I mused aloud. “All the rules about this festival and who can come. And that was before this mysterious summons.”
Calla smirked. “Does it really seem that crazy to only allow witches or warlocks to attend a magic festival? But I’m assuming Gentry won’t go because of that. What about you?”
“I’m still undecided.” I scratched my jaw. “You?”
Calla turned her face to the sky. “They say Halley’s Comet only comes every seventy-five years. We’ll all be dead before we get this chance again, so I think I’m taking it.”
When you put it that way…
“And the summons?” I asked. The scroll was burning a hole in my travel bag.
“Isn’t that what were going to the meeting to discuss?” Calla shrugged. “Sure, it’s strange. But it’s not like anything crazy will happen under the noses of every witch and warlock in the country.”
“I’m assuming Alpha Uki gave you her blessing,” I said. The Amarok Alpha was more spiritual and religious than any other Alpha I’d met. But she cared deeply for her pack, and always did right by them, so she had my respect.
“She did.” Calla watched me from the corner of her eye. “Must be nice to not need an Alpha’s permission to do anything anymore.”
I knew she was only teasing, so I ignored the anger her comment invoked. In truth, no one had really known what went on behind Cadejo’s borders until I’d exposed the truth. Even then, it was a watered-down version.
“It is,” I said simply.
Silence followed, but I didn’t let it ruin my mood. The sun came back out. It was a pleasant day. And I had the company of an old friend on this path.
“I think he probably went to the graveyard,” Calla said as we passed by the turnoff for town and caught Gentry’s scent heading in the other direction.
I rubbed the ever-present ache in my chest, knowing where it led. But sometimes knowing the truth still wasn’t enough to do anything to fix the pain.
Calla seemed to notice the movement. “So… Do you think Trish got a summons too?”
I stared straight ahead as my wolf growled at me for not knowing that answer. Once upon a time, I would’ve. I made it a point to know everything that pertained to her, but being Alpha for a pack didn’t allow for a lot of downtime, and it’d been months since I’d last seen her face.
Dreams didn’t count.
We should’ve brought her a gift, my wolf grumbled.
That didn’t go over well last time.
Or the time before that.
“That’s okay,” Calla filled in the silence that lingered after her question. “You know Trish, she likes to keep things mysterious.”
I smiled at her words.
That was one way to put it.
The landscape grew familiar as we walked. Near here, Lisa’s old cabin was tucked away in the woods where I’d spent a good part of my youth.
I still had bits and pieces of fond memories. A smack on the back of the head. An affectionate tug of the ear. The slingshot. Lisa’s silver-blue eyes. All her haunting warnings of the future. Some that had come to pass. Some I hoped never would.
Her final wishes…
I stopped walking, looking back over my shoulder. It took Calla a few steps before she sighed.
“Are we joining him?” she asked.
“Are you sure there isn’t something wrong with your sight, Seer?” I joked despite the lump forming in my throat. “We should probably pay our respects too. You know, just to make sure Gentry didn’t get lost somewhere among the graves.”
“Fine.” Calla held her chin aloft, not showing any of the emotion I knew she was hiding. “But if we’re late to this meeting, you get to be the one to deal with Alpha Kera.”