Page 81 of Forgotten Arcane

“Are you ready?” Griff asks me. “Wolves run fucking fast.”

I grin, “It will be a good test of my newly found supernatural abilities.”

River barks once, and it’s clearly a command, as all of the wolves stand up and race into the woods.

Griff wasn’t kidding. They really do run fucking fast.

So fast that I have to call on my magic to help give me a burst of speed so I can catch up, and I’m relieved when it actually works.

Griff grins from beside me as we race through the woods, once again dodging trees and jumping over rocks.

We’re covering a lot of ground really quickly, and despite the distance that we have to travel, the pack grounds quickly come into view. Like the compound, they have a guarded fence around the property to stop humans wandering in and protect the pups. Wolf pups are extremely volatile and not in control, so it’s safer for everyone if the pups can’t get out, and the humans can’t accidentally wander in.

Unlike the compound though, the gate that we’re approaching is heavily guarded by wolves.

The wolves with us shift back, along with River, and we all approach the gate.

“Logan, what happened? Where are the others?”

“Why aren’t they in chains?” another one demands angrily.

“You were supposed to kill them and leave her alive. Derek is not going to be very happy.”

The three guards start to approach us, and River looks at Logan, “Are all of them loyal to Derek?”

Logan nods, “Yes.”

“Ransom?” River asks.

Without any more words needing to be shared, Ransom snaps his fingers, and magical cuffs appear around the wrists and ankles of the wolves, making them fall to the floor.

“What the fuck!”

“Derek is going to kill you!”

River nods as he walks past them, and one of the wolves with us goes into the little guard house and opens the gates.

“Neith?” River says as he glances back at me.

“Yeah, gorgeous?” I grin, and his eyes light with amusement.

He holds a hand out to me, and I immediately take it as I move to stand next to him, at the front of the group.

The guys all share a knowing look that I, unfortunately, can’t question them about because now is not the time.

I look up at River questioningly.

“You need to be next to me,” he says, looking confused himself. He adds, sounding slightly unsure, “It’s a kitsune thing.”

I smile, “It’s good with me. I will always stand by your side.”

The tension drains from him immediately, and he smiles before his expression becomes serious again. I get the feeling that he doesn't really know why he needs me next to him, but that’s okay.

I meant what I said. I will always stand beside him when he needs me to.

We all follow River’s lead. At this point, I am reasonably sure that he doesn’t need us at all. He’s got this handled. We’re just here in case shit really hits the fan, and he needs us to provide backup. Plus, for things like magical handcuffs so the wolves loyal to Derek don’t escape or cause issues, and because if any of them alert Ahren to what is going on here, then he would have to look into it, and that could, no, it will cause problems for us.

We have no idea if the alpha command that Derek gave to the wolves also stops the wolves who are loyal to him from talking to Ahren, and it’s not a risk that we can take.

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