Page 36 of Dane's War

Dane

“You sure about us taking this path, Dane?” Tucker asks cautiously.

“Nope, that’s why we’re checking it out,” I tell him, not beating around with bullshit talk. “I wanna make sure all’s good before I suggest to the club we take this route. Coby suggested it to me when I was looking for new alternate routes for us to take. I don’t want to take the chance of Contreras catching up to us on a run. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I get what you mean.” Tucker grunts and scans the area, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t like the feel of this path, though,”

“Gotta agree with you.” I nod curtly and glance around. “Also, don’t like the fact Coby bailed at the last minute not coming with us.”

He was supposed to come with us. That was the plan, but he claimed to have some intel at the last minute he needed to look into, and because of that, he couldn’t do this with Tucker and me. I ended up calling in Abel and Jackson. The two of them were heading our way, coming in their animal forms. Right now, the gut feeling I’m getting, it’s the best way for them to come. I’m tempted to reach out to the rest of my brothers because of this shit.

Tucker and I could easily turn back around and get the hell out of here, but for some reason, I can’t just do that.

I don’t know what it is about his path that bothers me as much as it does, but I know it’s something. Just right now, I can’t figure out what it’s calling to me. My wolf is even on edge.

“Coby seem distracted to you?” Tucker asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“You notice that too, huh?”

“Can’t miss it.” Tucker takes a couple steps forward and comes to a stop, head cocked slightly.

I follow suit, hearing what he hears. The snappingof a twig. The rustling of grass and weeds. The smell of . . . shit.

A blood witch. Not just one or two, but more. Way, way more.

Fuck.

“Shift,” Tucker says, though he doesn’t have to. We both know we’re more powerful in our animal forms. Where I become a large wolf, he becomes a tiger that nearly matches my size.

“We do not want you, animals. You’re not what we want,” one of the blood witches states, coming into view. “We’ve come only to see why you would come onto land that is not yours. Nor is it ours.”

What the hell does this bitch mean by that?

“This land, it’s sacred ground. It is forbidden for anyone to be here.”

I look to Tucker, then turn back to the witch and shift. “What do you mean it’s forbidden? We never heard of that?” If this land was forbidden, I think we’d have known about it.

“‘Tis true. It’s a sacred land for those who wish to honor the dead,” the witch states, coming closer. “We do not come here unless we feel the presence of someone who should not be here. The dream walkers watch over the dead here.”

The dream walkers watch over the dead here? What the actual fuck?

“There’s no dream walkers here,” I tell her and feel my wolf getting agitated by the blood witches’ presence. Blood witches had taken and killed our mother, and it’s something that hasn’t sat well with either of us since.

“‘Tis because they left when Death came. Death has no problem drawing fear out of them all.”

Didn’t we kill the person this witch is talking about?

I glance at Tucker, who is still in his tiger form. I could also sense my brothers closing in.

“We do not want a fight. We do not look to fight with you or anyone else,” the witch remarks, hands wide.

“Then exactly what are you doing here?” I demand.

“We’re here because with the dream walkers gone, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to watch over this part of the land. We might be blood witches, but if you will, not all blood witches are evil. We’re a small group who did not agree with the way things were done. It is not as it’s supposed to be when it comes to being who we are. Blood-to-blood witches are sacred and supposed tobe used in the right way. Just like the land is supposed to be used properly for an earth witch. And water for a sea witch. Each elemental witch has their good and bad. It’s a matter of if they allow themselves to be overruled by the power they’re given.”

Gotta say, this sounds logical, but every blood witch I’ve ever met has been nothing but pure evil. The scent of them tangent and nauseating.

“What do you know about dream walkers?”I find myself asking.

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