“Alpha says bring the bitch before the Pack,” a small, reedy voice crows out. My confidence doesn’t waver, but that one makes my skin crawl.
Glenda growls and the hair on the back of my neck stands straight up.
“You dare refer to the one to whom Fate has gifted a Matestone as a bitch?” she asks dangerously.
“Alpha said the bitch needs to come, so get her out here or I’ll have to come in and drag her out myself!”
Asha giggles. “This should be good. Glenda doesn’t fight much but when she does, oooohhh,” she stage whispers to me as I watch my regal friend shift effortlessly back into her lynx form.
She prowls around the young wolf, growling low. He doesn’t shift. In fact he just seems frozen in place.
“Glenda was Alpha of her own Pack once upon a time, and she’s an Elder. She has strong magic of her own. He can’t resist her but he can’t disobey his Alpha either. She can toy with him all day if she wants to but he can’t move.” Asha explains, pointing out the way the wolf’s knees knock together, as if his body is stuck trying to decide between fight and flight.
He finally decides, and the skinny young man shifts into a skinny grey wolf who lunges at Glenda. She steps out of the way easily, her large paw batting out at him with her claws fully extended. The young wolf yelps loudly and a long, bloody scratch appears along his torso.
Angered, he tries to lunge again, his teeth bared and aiming for her back paws. Glenda lets out an ear-splitting snarl that echoes in the trees. The young wolf cowers before her, bowing his head in submission.
Holy crap. Glenda is such a badass.
“That wolf will pay for this with his life,” Asha comments, not looking particularly upset about it. I drop my eyes to the cowering wolf in question.
“Glenda’s going to kill him?” I ask worriedly.
“Oh no,” Asha whispers, pointing to where the rest of the pack has assembled and is watching. “His Pack will kill him. He defied his Alpha and submitted to a different one. He’s dead. It’s only a matter of time. The wolves take loyalty to a very literal level.”
I shudder. Sure, the young wolf had been annoying and rude, but the idea that he might die for it is alarming to me.
Fintan walks towards us snarling, and I gulp.
“Glenda can take him, right?” I ask, watching as the two alpha predators circle each other. Asha doesn’t answer. She’s leapt off the porch of the yurt and is busy scrunching her bare feet into the dirt. Alrighty then.
I don’t know what to do. The last thing I want is for Glenda to get hurt because of me, but I also can’t stand the idea of being anywhere near that AlphaHole, Fintan.
I watch as he lunges towards Glenda and she only narrowly avoids the snap of his jaws. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Uh, Asha?” I whisper, spying the ocean through the trees, “Is there a way one could, say, call a sea lion from the ocean?”
She looks at me curiously.
“Um, well, not really, no. Not if you aren’t bonded and aren’t a shifter. Why?”
“No reason,” I mutter. A ludicrous idea has popped into my head. The kind of idea that will probably get me killed or married off to some horrible wolf, but... the idea is so strong.
Wolves are dogs or maybe dogs are wolves. They're predators, sure. But they also have biological instincts that are hard to ignore.
“Asha, can you make the trees on the other side of the clearing explode without anyone knowing it was you?” I ask through my teeth.
Asha just smiles. “Um, yes?”
“Good. Count to ten and then do it.”
I step back into the yurt, out of sight of the pack, and will my heart to stop beating so fast. I’m not going to win this, but maybe I can buy Glenda some more time.
I tighten the laces on my converse, thankful that I chose them over the heels. Moving over to the other side of the yurt, I peek out, but I don’t see any wolves on this side of the clearing. They’re all consumed with watching the fight. Perfect.
The explosion goes off and it’s louder than I could have imagined. I hit the floor before remembering my plan and scramble up and out the back door of the yurt. I sprint like I’ve never sprinted before. And that’s a statement because, honestly, I’m not a sprinter.
Pumping my arms and legs, I race to the edge of the woods. They can catch me easily once they know I’m gone. That part is a given. Running is not my thing. I am not sure I could outrun a toddler, much less a fully grown wolf.
I just need to get far enough away that they have to send a few people out to drag me back. The plan that appeared in my head agrees, which is important. If the voices in your head agree, that’s so much less conflict. It’s basically self-care.
The forest is dark and damp, and the thick underbrush makes it hard to navigate. I hold my hand out in front of my face and notice that my ring is generating a small amount of light. It’s not a flashlight, it’s a Fae-light.
“Thanks, Faery Godmother!” I whisper as I follow the path that my ring illuminates for me. It’s almost as if the light itself is sentient because it feels warm and comforting, like a friend, and it helps me over the rocks and logs in my path.
I run for five full minutes before I hear the first howl.
Something has happened. Either Glenda won, Glenda lost, or they realized I’m not where I’m supposed to be. Either way? I’m fresh outta time.
“Uh, Faery Godmother? Could use some help here!” I call out as I crash through the trees with renewed vigor. I hear more howls, but I can’t tell how close they
