Page 102 of Oath of Revenge

Her vision started to blur, and her head swung side to side. The forest hadn’t changed. The vines over the road still waved ominously. The distant squawk of the giant eagles in the north echoed off the trees.

The cold was too much. It froze her heart, her lungs, her chest. Her ears rang with panic, and she felt the magic build within her. She breathed through it, her body twisting as she ground her jaw together.

When she opened her eyes, she was smaller, sitting in a pile of clothes on the Lone Road. She shivered, feeling her already low energy draining. She tried to will a transformation, and the familiar crackle of bones sent a flash of pain through her. Faster than the last time, when she blinked, she was in deer form.

She bounded across the road and north toward Grandma’s house as her strength waned. When she finally stumbled through the front door and shifted back to normal, her legs were shaking and her nose bleeding. Darkness claimed her, and the wind blew snow over her naked body.

Chapter 32

Wulfric shifted into Growler form and prowled the Feral Forest, making a wide circle around his camp’s perimeters. He found a few youths meeting at the old abandoned ruins but didn’t have the heart to confront them. He avoided them, his heart hurting too much.

She’s walked away. Admittedly, she’d said from the beginning that she was going to, but he’d hoped the past few days together had shown her what could’ve been. When he finally went back to camp, it was well past midnight, and he tumbled into bed in a fitful sleep.

At dawn, he was back outside, checking the perimeter guards, talking to a few of the Growlers about mundane things. When it was time for breakfast, he went back to his tent to wash and change. The alphas were still here, and he had a job to do as the head alpha. Just because his mate had left didn’t mean he could mope about feeling sorry for himself.

He shook his head, trying to dispel the melancholy. He’d been through this before, in a past life when he was human. He’d live. It wouldn’t be good for a while, but he’d live. As long as she didn’t get herself killed, he’d be alright.

He strode through the side door of the longhouse and to his normal seat at the head of the raised table. Two alphas sat on either side of him. He grunted, and Nightstalkers leaned closer.

“Are you alright, brother?” Of all the alphas, he was closest to Nightstalkers. He’d been a mentor all those years ago, and Wulfric vaguely remembered the haunted look in the Growler’s eyes when they’d first met. It had been after the death of his own Luna, and somehow—miraculously—the Growler had survived. It was why no one dared challenge him as alpha. If he was strong enough to survive losing a mate, he could survive anything.

Wulfric’s chest was tight, and his throat closed. He swallowed hard, reaching for the warm spiced tea someone brought him. “I will be. She’s gone ahead to her brother’s to prepare for the treaty. I’ll join her in a few days, once we’ve agreed to it and the terms.”

Nightstalker frowned and leaned back. “So sure of yourself.”

Wulfric shrugged. “Can you deny that it’s what’s best for all of us? This is the only way we’ll survive a possible ice age, the only way we might be able to prevent it, the only way…”

Nightstalker’s alpha raised a bushy brown eyebrow. “The only way you’ll get your mate to stay by your side?”

Wulfric met his gaze and didn’t back down. Finally Nightstalker sighed and rubbed his chin. “Look, I get it, I really do. But you have to convince both the turned and the natural born that this will work. You can’t just approach it as though it’s what’s best for your mate, even though it is.”

Wulfric’s lips pursed, and Battlefangs wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “We’ve had reports of monsters prowling Busparia at night. Any creature—man or beast—who roams after dark is dead by morning. The creature you killed—“

“Only thanks to Scarlet’s help,” Wulfric interrupted.

Battlefangs nodded. “It’s the same type that we’ve heard reports on. The threat of an ice age is a very real one, and I and my tribe will stand behind you on the treaty.”

Wulfric’s brows rose in surprise. He’d not expected the first to agree to be the Battlefangs clan. They were normally the attack first, ask questions later type of people.

Nightstalker’s alpha slid a rolled parchment over to him. “After you and your Luna disappeared yesterday, the rest of us talked with a few of your clansmen and Elders. We drafted this working document that outlines all that we agree to thus far. It’s ready for your review. Perhaps after breakfast, we can discuss it further.”

Wulfric’s throat clogged, and he took it as he leaned back in his thick, wooden chair. He squinted and a Growler handed him a pair of glasses. He looked up, brows raised as Todd took his plate. “Alpha,” he said solemnly. Behind it, the man held all the support of the tribe. Wulfric looked across the crowded room. There were murmurs, but even the old guard dissenters appeared to be quiet this morning.

He put on the glasses and read. He paused and looked up as Todd placed a pen and inkwell on the table in front of him. When Todd walked away, Nightstalkers leaned over and said quietly, “If you’re looking to replace your beta, I recommend that one. He is very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of this tribe.”

Wulfric nodded and turned back to the document. He annotated, scratching out this and writing in that. When he was finished, the room was emptying of the last of the cleaning staff and the other alphas were seated at the high table next to him and the Elders.

He blinked as Todd ushered the rest of the cleaning crew out the door. On impulse, he called, “Todd, a moment, please.”

The Growler stiffened, then shut the door behind the last and turned on his heel. He strode around the firepit to the raised table, stepping up to it. Wulfric met the man’s gaze. “Todd of the Ironpaws tribe, your service the past few days has not gone unnoticed, but neither has your service over the past few years. You are a credit to our people. Will you accept the role of beta of the Ironpaws and sit in on this meeting?”

Todd blinked swiftly, and his gray and black chest puffed up. He opened and closed his mouth in surprise, but just cleared his throat and nodded. Fist to heart, he bowed shallowly and rounded the table to stand at Wulfric’s back.

Wulfric turned to the other alphas, and they debated line by line of the document. Todd fetched new parchment, and together they drafted an agreed upon version. When all alphas and Elders signed, Wulfric rolled the document to Todd. “Have copies made as soon as possible so the other alphas can take the decree and treaty proposal to their tribes.”

Todd bowed and left. Silentclaws leaned back in his chair and scowled. “Nothing in that treaty mentions your Luna, Ironpaws. What are you going to do about her?”

Wulfric growled, the hair on the back of his neck rising. “I’m going to do what I promised. I’ll take the treaty to the dragons and talk to her.”

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