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Michael chuckled from his place beside me in the passenger seat. “Yeah, and that they don’t shoot me on sight.”
I glanced across at him. “Don’t worry. We don’t carry guns in the pack.”
He snorted and looked out the window. “Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”
I chuckled, before turning up the radio. We drove the rest of the way in comfortable silence.
When I pulled the truck off the main road and began weaving my way down the dirt road that led to our pack, my heart began to skip a little harder. We were almost home! And we hadn’t yet been struck by any of that strange magical lightning that had chased us to Michael’s cottage.
Monique sat up and began staring out the side window into the wooded forest. “Wow. It’s really beautiful around here. Different to the realm. Wilder and more untamed-looking, but kind of...real. Majestic.”
I nodded, staring out the windscreen at the tall trees and greenery that surrounded us. I cracked the window a little to breathe in the fresh scent. “Yeah. It is. Though I have to warn you, the pack grounds themselves have seen better days.”
“What do you mean?”
A sigh fell from my lips, making my chest ache. “The lack of females born over the past thirty years has taken its toll on the pack’s morale. The people, and the pack lands, have suffered. You’ll see what I mean when we get there.”
I slowed down as we passed onto pack lands. After a few more minutes on the dirt track, we hit the edge of our town. I turned onto the main street, still dirt, and coasted through the center of town in the direction of our cabin.
We passed people going about their business, mostly without smiles or laughter. Little boys ran up and down the street, but even in the children there was a solemnity that couldn’t be denied. There were no flowers, no fruit trees, no laughter, like there had been in Monique’s town. The depressive nature of my people and the curse that hung over all of us made it hard to breathe once more. I’d forgotten that, even in the short time Kyle and I had been gone.
When we reached our cabin, I pulled the truck up outside and turned off the engine. Despite everything, I was glad to be back. Particularly so now that Monique was here, too. “We’re home.”
“Is this your place?” Monique asked, and a credit to her vibrant nature, she still sounded excited, even surrounded by the subdued nature of our territory.
“Yeah. Kyle and I built it when we paired up ten years ago. It’s a bachelor cabin, so when we build our family home, some of the younger guys will take over this one.”
Michael sat forward in his seat, his gaze interested as he stared around. “That’s a good idea.”
“Yeah, I agree. Helps the pack grow and gives the young guys their own space.” I opened the car door and groaned as I stretched my legs. I hated long stretches of driving as a general rule, but especially the feeling of being restricted and tight behind the wheel.
Kyle and I led Monique and Michael up the path and into the house. “It’s a simple cottage. Two bedrooms, one living space, one bathroom,” I explained, gesturing around to the various parts of our home.
It was not at all the impressive cabin that Michael had magicked out of thin air.
“I really need to pee,” Monique said, looking around. “Is the bathroom...”
“Yeah, it’s through the bedroom,” I said, pointing. “Either one. They both have a door that leads in. Jack-and-Jill style.”
“Oh, cool.” She grinned and ran off.
There was silence for a moment as Michael walked around the living area, looking up at the ceilings and running his hand along the window frame.
Was he going to criticize it, because it hadn’t been built with magic? I opened my mouth to snap at him when he said. “This is really beautiful. Did you build it yourself?”
“Yeah. We did,” Kyle said.
“Wow.” Michael smiled. “It’s really impressive.”
The words were nice, but I still wasn’t sure I believed him. “Nothing like your cabin.”
Michael shrugged. “Yeah, but using magic is cheating. I couldn’t build something like this with my hands if you gave me five years and unlimited supplies.”
He actually sounded like he meant it, which I had to admit, felt good.
“Gonna need something bigger for Monique, though,” Kyle said.
“We could combine forces, maybe,” Michael said, a thoughtful look on his face. “You guys build, and I can use a bit of magic to embellish if its needed.”
