Page 16 of Into the Grasslands

It tookthe bus a little over a day and a half to travel the majority of the way to Mirage Lake. After seeing the route that we took to get there, it became very obvious that the lake was where my wolf had been headed. If he had another half day to travel before I wrestled control back from him, we might have met our Luna, or at least been that much closer to her. It was a shame that my wolf could only run about half as fast as the bus took to get to our destination, otherwise he might have made it the whole way.

I glanced out the window and took in the glass-like surface of the lake. The calm appearance on the surface is exactly how Mirage Island earned its name. It may have been calm above, but below there were all sorts of hazards that made the island a perfect prison for anyone who was left there. It was why the rejected mates were sent there to begin with. Whoever their mate was could leave them there, live their life happily, and come visit their mate if they needed an heir.

The problem with that was that it quickly got out, after the island was established, that there were unmated females on the island and rogue wolves, wolves whose mates had passed on, and those who never found a moon-blessed mate of their ownafter searching for years would come to the island and take a female that another wolf had discarded.

It was sick to think that so many male shifters had left their other halves to this fate. Part of the lore of the island was that the females who attempted to escape through the lake’s waters, by swimming to one shore or the other, never made it all the way across. The lake appeared serene but took many lives in those attempts. The phenomena led some to believe that the waters were haunted. Others thought that perhaps the broken-hearted females had used the lake to take their own lives and end their suffering. There were a few whispered theories about magic being used to keep the women there. Either way, it was a sad place to be relegated to based on another person’s selfishness.

“Why in the hell do I feel nervous?” Alex asked as all the men stood up.

“Let’s get off the bus and get the rafts set up. We need to get to that island before anyone bothers to get the jitters,” I teased. “It’s a long three-day run or more back to the pack if you get cold feet and decide to hoof it back instead of hopping into a raft to see if one of those lovely females on the island could potentially be your mate.”

A whole lot of backslapping went on before everyone started to settle down. Once everyone was off the bus, I stood there and watched as the rafts were pulled from the storage areas under the bus and then inflated.

“Gather round because everyone needs to hear this first.” I waited until all eighteen men formed a semi-circle around where I stood just outside the bus’s door. “These women have been through enough. For whatever reason, they were brought to this island - almost all of them against their will - and you will show them respect. As you can see, there are precious few resources, no way off the island, and those women are hearty enough to survive all the conditions thrown at them. Look hard, men. Doyou see any houses?” Many of them shook their heads and took a closer look across the waters.

I could tell it was the first time most of them had thought about what type of conditions the women of the island were forced to live in. “These are hearty women who have fought for survival. We will respect that. If they do not want to come with you, then you will leave them to their choice. It is one of the few precious things they have, and from what I’ve heard of rogues who pilfer women from the island, it is only sometimes a choice. We are better than that. If I find out that any of you have violated a female’s choice, in any way, there will be hell to pay.”

A round of agreements went up and I dismissed the men. There was a weather-worn dock a few feet from where we parked the bus, and the men carried the rafts down to it. Once we got down there, it was evident that the docks saw a lot of use. Litter was strewn around the area, and whatever had fallen or been windswept into the water remained stagnant around the dock, as if the water itself did not wish for the men’s trash to taint the waters around the island.

I glanced across as each of my pack’s men embarked upon a raft. Six of us were meant for each. We had a fourth, but it was our spare, in case one of the others was damaged. I got into the last one and stared down into the water as I pulled my oar up and got ready to paddle across.

The dock that was available on Mirage Island was charred, evidence that someone had set fire to it previously. There were marks along the shore that proved others before us had pulled straight to the shore and avoided the dock altogether. That seemed like a wise call as we paddled closer and noticed the sharp boards sticking up from the lake. Fire was the least of the damage that had been done to the docks on the women’s side.

As we pulled up to the island, it was eerily quiet.

“Are you sure there are females here?” Alex whispered, as if he didn’t want to spook anything that might be out there. I honestly couldn’t blame him. Something felt off about the island being shrouded in silence. It was an odd silence too, almost deafening in its completeness. Since there were no utilities on the island, the hum of electrical wires, and all the things that run off of electricity was absent. The sound of animals on the island was also nonexistent.

I started to worry until the crash of a branch made us all look up and there, in the branches of a tree was a woman on a platform. The minute we spotted her, she shifted into her wolf and growled at us.

“That’s not ominous at all,” Alex stated as his eyes scanned the rest of the tree line. There didn’t seem to be any other lookout stations, but then again, we hadn’t noticed the first one until the woman made some noise.

We moored our rafts by pulling them out of the water and tying them to the nearest trees. I glanced up at the wolf who stood sentinel watching our every move. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that she reported back to the rest of the women via mind link, but that wasn’t possible, since the rejected females were not of a singular pack.

“I am Thorin Greywolf, Alpha of the Grasslands Pack. We are here only to see if any of the females are mates for my pack members. We will not take anyone from the island who does not wish to leave.”

“Do you think she can understand you?” Alex asked. I noticed the youngest male among those who had come along stuck close to my side.

“The only reason she wouldn’t is if she was not one with her wolf. Judging by her shift, that is not the case.” My explanation seemed to calm him a bit. Still, as we waited, my men grewrestless again. The female never shifted back to her human side, nor did she appear willing to communicate.

“Spread out, see if there are any other females on the island who are willing to speak with us.” I took a deep inhale and scented the area. I could smell the Luna. It was faint, which meant she wasn’t close, but had been near the area recently. That was all I needed to know. From there, I followed my nose into the middle of the island, and hopefully, toward my mate.

Chapter 9

Harsh Nights

NIKA

Another groupof men had come to the island. They stayed camped out on the shores of the western side of the lake after their initial perusal of the island. There was an Alpha with them. Since I could sense him, there was no doubt that he could sense me and he planned to wait me out. I knew that it wasn’t Aiden, despite the fact that I stayed hidden in one of Janella’s cramped hidey-holes with three other women.

“They’re not going to leave as long as we all remain hidden,” I whispered.

“What if something happens to you?” Carlotta asked. “We only just established our pack link. If you are taken, what will become of it?”

“Nothing will happen to her. I’ll have her back,” Janella puffed up her chest, as if it would help make her look intimidating.

“Oh, sweet child, I think all you’ll manage is to get captured right along with our little Luna here,” Margaret, one of the other older women on the island stated.

“There’s no need to be rude,” I chastised.

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