Page 66 of Conflicted Fate
Iwas alone at the head of our army when a lone wolf appeared far ahead of us.
They stood unmoving, watching us. Turning my head, I growled at one of the nearby wolves to go fetch Kiel and for the rest of us to spread out and be alert. If an ambush was about to be sprung, I didn’t want us to be caught in a column. That would make us targets.
We weren’t a professional army by any standard, but any wolf knew how to scout the territory, and all along our flanks, individuals took that seriously, spreading out wide, off the road, into the fields, and the clumps of forest behind that, looking to warn the main body of any traps that had been laid.
I padded forward slowly as the solo wolf waited, standing at the top of a hill, their head faced down toward us. Kiel had been near the rear of the army, supervising the stragglers, so I knew it would take him some time to reach me. Setting my pace to appear firm but wary, I approached.
If itwerea loyalist, their appearance there made little sense. The field was a terrible place to corner us. We had exits in every direction and could see oncoming foes from many miles away through the undulating terrain.
When I was halfway between my army and the single wolf, Kiel joined me, having finally caught up. I made a questioning noise about what the hell was going on. He had no idea.
I came to a stop some thirty feet in front of the wolf and waited, carefully watching the brown-furred animal, waiting for it to act. When it finally started toward us, I breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever would happen, it was here to talk, not to spring a trap, else it wouldn’t expose itself so much.
A moment later, my relief turned to shock.
“Gare?” I stuttered as I shifted to human form as well. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Jada,” he said, his attention focused on me, though he gave Kiel a nod.
For his part, Kiel was still looking back where Gare had come, his nose in the air. Was he trying to tell me something about where Gare had come from? He didn’t seem alarmed. Just … curious.
“I’ll be honest,” I said, trying to unobtrusively brace myself. “I hadn’t expected to ever see you again.”
Was he there to settle the score with me? I didn’t want to be caught by surprise if he attacked. Kiel’s body language didn’t seem to think that was a problem, but then, he hadn’t been there when I’d told Gare about his father. Hadn’t seen the fury in his eyes. I wouldn’t let my guard down.
“I wasn’t sure you were going to either,” Gare admitted, some of the tension leaving his body. “After I left, I vowed I was done with it all. That I was moving on, letting you guys do the work. That it wasn’t for me. My mother was alone, and she needed me.”
I grimaced. Habit told me to apologize again, but I didn’t want Gare to think I was just saying it to say it. It was better, I decided, to let him talk.
“But then I heard about Arcadia,” he said, his head coming up, his eyes full of fury. “And I knew I had to be a part of it. No matter what.”
The anger burned bright but petered out before I could respond. It was replaced equally quickly with a tear.
“I also wanted to thank you,” he said, staring directly at me.
“Thank me?” I asked incredulously. Why would heeverwant to thankme? I was the one who’d gotten his father killed.
“Yes,” he said. “For telling me how he died. I … I understand why you didn’t at first. I’ll never like that you put it off, but Iunderstand.”
“Not that it helps, butIdon’t like that I did it,” I said. “It was a cowardly thing, and I regret it immensely. You deserved better.Hedeserved better.”
To my utter surprise, Gare smiled. “Yes, he did,” he said. Then he shrugged. “But thanks to you, we knowhowhe died, and that means a lot. He gave his life for a cause that he thought was worth fighting for. Worthdyingfor, and that really was who he was as a person in the end.”
“What do you mean, ‘in the end’? He believed in the cause for many years. Didn’t he?”
Gare nodded. “He was a big believer, yes. I was very young when he became the head of the Lycaon cell. My mother nearly had a fit. She cussed him out big time for putting me at risk, or so I suspect. She won’t admit to it. Because of that, I think, my father was big ontalkbut not so big on action. Until the end. Until you two showed him there was a reason to fight. And thatreasonis each other. It’s a message I think got lost by a lot of people over the years.”
“That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing,” I said. “Trying to show everyone out there the true strength of our people. The people themselves. They don’t need to be herded like sheep. We need to live free. To let the winds guide us, not some crusty immortal prick.”
Gare smiled. “As it so happens, I agree.”
“I’m glad,” I said.
He stepped forward and wrapped me in an embrace, yet another surprise for the day. I hugged him back.
“I forgive you,” he whispered in my ear. “Not that you truly did anything dastardly, but I wanted you to know. I hold no grudge or ill will. Not to you.”
Blinking back a couple of tears, I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t regret it.”
