AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I slid off the bed, grabbed the clothes Emily had dumped on the floor, and took them to the bathroom to change. When I stepped back into the bedroom, Ember and Silas were sitting on the bed, apparently having woken up from their naps.
We spent what little time we had left just hanging out and watching the color TV—which had only 50 channels, 45 of which were static or infomercials. Then, at a little past 11 p.m., we headed into the woods with our chains, going far enough from the hotel to be away from people. Not like we had to travel far; the motel was in the middle of the country.
Emily created the barrier, ensuring us it would be strong enough to withstand the night. She’d been practicing smaller barriers at home and was getting better.
Silas, Griffin, and I stripped from our clothes and folded them up, placing them on the ground for the morning. Emily snuck one last peek at Griffin and me before she and Ember went back to the motel for the night.
One day, I’d sleep next to her, body curled up against me, waking in the morning together, rather than with metal chains around my naked body in a cold cement cage or the forest in the middle of nowhere.
* * *
Cassian
The next day, we drove the eight hours back to the warehouse. Griffin and Emily slept for half the drive, and Ember was listening to music with her headphones on, so Silas and I had a little one-on-one chat.
He told me all sorts of stories about Alpha Radolph, Alpha Koda, and even my father. Silas had been around, and he knew many people. But knowing that he’d personally been friends with my father made our talk all the more special.
I wished I had paid attention when dad brought me to visit other packs, trying to guide me for when I became alpha. If only I had listened more and noticed the people that were around me. Maybe then I’d have remembered meeting Silas and the Ash Hounds once as a child.
There was a level of comfort, knowing that he knew my father. Finally, I had someone older and wiser, someone with experience, to guide me now.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing as alpha,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road and avoiding his stare. “So much is happening, and I don’t know how to get my pack through it. If I screw up, everyone pays the price. It’s just… it’s a lot of pressure. At least before I had Grace.” My voice choked on her name. “But now, there’s no one to help me lead my pack. Don’t get me wrong, there’s Emily and my beta, and everyone in this car, but they don’t know much about being alpha.”
Thank god they were asleep while I spilled my feelings to Silas, otherwise, it would have been so embarrassing.
“I understand what you mean. You need a parental kind of support. A mentor or teacher. Someone to guide you through the struggles.”
I nodded, thrilled to have someone who understood. “Yes!” Not that my friends and packmates wouldn’t understand, but they didn’t need to waste time worrying about their leader. But Silas wasn’t in my pack, and we’d spent a good portion of the car ride bonding, so I felt comfortable enough to talk with him about these heavy burdens.
Silas let out a half-laugh, looking out the window. “I’ll let you in on a secret, young pup. Even those of us with experience get it wrong. Sure, we can offer wisdom from our encounters, but times change—people change. What worked for us might not be the answer now. Me, personally? I think it’s the wisdom from the youth that we should seek out. The idealism that we lose as we gain our experience.”
Through my peripheral vision, I could see Silas was facing me. And though I couldn’t see the details of his face, I felt the sincerity in his words.
“Believe in yourself, little pup. Listen to what you know to be true in your heart. Your instincts as a wolf will guide you, but you need to let them. Don’t fear your wolf’s aggressive nature—let it lead you and your pack. But never let it control you,” he added with a laugh.
“Our wolf side can urge us to act when we should wait and listen. Those are the moments you’ll be guided with your heart and your mind. You’ll learn to tell the difference. You might make a few mistakes in the beginning, but eventually, you’ll get the hang of this thing we call life. The catch is that by the time you figure it out, you’re too old to use that knowledge. So, you pass it on to the next generation of pups, and hopefully, they can get something out of it. Though, young pups rarely listen to their elders.”
He chuckled, facing the window again, pointing to a cow on a farm we passed.
I laughed too, enjoying this moment of simplicity after such a complex life lesson. “You know, you really are a wise elder,” I said, pointing to another cow.
“Yeah, I know. And someday, you’ll be a wise elder, too, guiding another young pup who’s worried about their ability to lead a pack, too. And you’ll tell them that as long as they have the pack’s best interest at heart, and they don’t make decisions based on their own selfish desires, then they are already an excellent alpha to lead the pack.”
I mulled over his words for the rest of the ride, which at that point was only an hour more.
By the time we reached the warehouse, my back was aching from driving all day. Because the others were sleeping, I was the only one that drove that trip, stopping only once for gas.
When we stepped out of the vehicle, before we could say anything to Sam or Radolph, a letter appeared in the air above us, fluttering to the ground. Emily picked it up, waving it through the air.
“It’s from the High Council!”
She broke the red wax seal with their emblem engraved on it and opened the letter. There were no words, just a blank sheet of paper. Not that it mattered because Queen Amaranth’s voice spoke through the air. I recognized the strong tone of her voice, which was that of a leader.
“After a long, grueling discussion, you’ve managed to persuade us this time. We will help you, but only on our terms.”
Juniper’s voice was next, softer and kinder, and she said, “I will gather the covens and advise them to join us in this fight. However, according to the terms of our agreement for any involvement, I will not force them to fight. I can strongly urge them to, but the ultimate decision is based solely on them and is their prerogative.”
Alpha Leonidas was the next voice we heard, summarizing what Juniper explained in his deep, raspy growl. “That is the only way we will help you. I will make the other packs aware of the situation, but whether they choose to fight is on them. However, I will not risk my own pack, and the High Council will not be directly involved with this battle.”
