Page 31 of Malcolm

The guard added, “That’s why Alpha Robert reached out to the Council. When he scented it, he could pick up a bit of magic mixed in.”

Malcolm nodded, giving the man a curious look. “What’s your name?”

“Agun,” he announced, pulling a few of the braids that fell into his face back. His brow wrinkled. “I know you may not remember me, but we trained together when we were pups.”

Malcolm barely remembered anything about his childhood, especially since he’d spent so many years suppressing memories of home.

“Don’t feel too bad. Agun, he treated me like a stranger, too, when we first met,” someone shouted, their tone acerbic. A large male, who stood a little away sneered as he took a sip of water from his bottle. When he finished, he glared at Agun. “Must already think he’s the Alpha of the pack.”

“Is that so,” Malcolm asked, amused.

“Yeah, it is,” the male asserted, eyeing Malcolm with little regard. “Your uncle thinks he’s being slick calling you here, just in time for him to announce that he’s stepping down as Alpha. Your whole family has always been nothing but snakes, and it appears they’re newest scheme is to make a murdering snake the next leader of the pack.”

Malcolm had been a lot of things, but he wasn’t the type to let insults slide. Pride moved him more than his own feelings. Running at the other man, he grabbed him by the throat and raised him up. The bottle the man had been drinking out of hit the ground as his hands came up to grab Malcolm’s wrist.

“For a man who knows I’ve killed one of our own, it’s interesting that you keep running your mouth so foolishly in front of me,” he said with condescension.

A hand landed on his shoulder.

“Now, Malcolm, don’t kill the poor idiot,” Robert said, obviously trying to cool the situation.

Anger swiftly abating, Malcolm loosened his hold of the other's throat but not by much.

Robert, seeing that he wasn’t as angry added, “Killen isn’t the smartest in the box, but it would be hard for me to explain to his mate why I let you kill him.”

With a curse, Malcolm fully released him taking a step back, he glared down at him. “I’m not letting you go because of my uncle; I’m letting you go because it would be annoying as fuck to explain why I killed you.”

Turning away, he marched back over to the large campsite. As far as he could see, there was nothing left from that night; obviously, the bodies had been removed, and the scent of blood was no longer strong. He sniffed, only to frown, but there was something in the air. Something he knew well, the magic only made it stronger, a floral scent that was almost imperceptible. “I thought the land was marked with Anti-Barrier Magic?”

His uncle gave him a curious look. “Yeah, it’s been spelled for a while. We got tired of warlocks and young witches trespassing just to have a good time on our land. As a matter of fact, we had it upgraded around two years ago.”

Hearing this made Malcolm frown; if they had upgraded the anti-barrier walls two years ago, then how did someone create a pathway? It was unmistakably traveling Magic in the air. If only he could have someone figure out where the root of the spell was placed.

Immediately, Eliza popped into his head, “Uncle, I’m going to head back,” He said, not waiting for his uncle to respond before he took off running again, only this time remaining in his human form. He wouldn’t have to change again; it would be rude to surprise Eliza with his nude body.

Eliza

“I wonder how old this forest is?”

Eliza spoke aloud to herself; she’d been hopelessly left to her own devices. Everyone else seemed to know what to do and where to go after breakfast. She’d wanted to help, but every time she’d offered, they’d brushed her off, saying she was a guest.

Which had left her wandering on her own. A part of her wished there was a bar she could go to or something, anythingbut sit around twiddling her thumbs. That’s why she was currently wandering in the woods.

The Magic was thick here; after a few minutes of walking, she’d dropped her disguise. “I guess this is what I’ll be doing for the time being,” she couldn’t help chuckling at herself. When she’d been working at the Shade, she couldn’t help but think about her next day off. A day where she could catch up with her human friends and drink a beer as she watched a movie at home. She sighed at how time passed.

She stopped and stretched her back, groaning as she heard a pop. Opening her eyes, she stared at the blue sky overhead. Ashe would have loved it here; her friend had always talked about how much she liked the outside.

At the memory of her friend, she looked down at her feet. Ashe hadn’t died immediately; she’d been whittled down day after day until she resembled the corpses she could commune with.

She jerked her hand up, and what followed her sharp movement was the sound of something heavy hitting the tree. A sizzling sound followed, and she watched a hole formed in the center of it. The acrid smell of burning wood emanated from it. How many times had she wanted to do that to the very people who called themselves her handlers? The tattoos on her hands shifted as if alive, and raised them to watch as a few words slid down her wrist.

“I’m a super-powered Franken Fran,” she said, but there was no humor in her voice. One day she’d used what they’d forced in her, against them.

“Hey, watch where you’re going,” a kid yelled.

Surprised, she looked over at what looked to be another path a few feet away. She hid slightly in the shadow of a tree to watch the; the kids were running. Her eyes widened when she noticed they were nude.

As they ran, their laughter was loud, and right before her eyes, their skin seemed to almost tear at the seams as they became small pups. Their fur varied in colors as they ran, releasing short yips and barks that were just as loud as their yells had been.

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