Fire And Ice

Chapter 37 - WolfNet

I could tell that Tim didn't like such treatment. Even as he was mouthing words, I caught the subtle twitching of his index finger and light furrow of his brow. He wanted to react but made no major movements or complaints about the dagger at his back.

Though I knew mine was the bronze wolf, I daren't risk turning around to assess my companion, lest she bite me. She was too close for comfort and I could feel her harsh breath on the back of my thighs through my leggings. However, if her breath only reached my thighs, then she wasn't very big and I could probably beat her in size. But she'd have the upper hand in fighting experience.

Ahead of us, the silvery grey wolf finally brought us to the pack. Wordlessly, she turned back to face us. She appeared to be addressing the others through their mind link. Finally, she nodded and went ahead to the largest building, probably to notify the Beta.

It wasn't long before a salt and pepper head emerged from the doorway, beckoning us inside.

Nobody made a sound as we were marched inside. I spotted several young pups hiding behind their wary, worn looking parents. The few times I smiled at the children, they would turn tail and scramble away with terror stricken faces.

'What on earth happened here?' Opelene questioned, horrified and sympathetic.

I wondered the same, noting the intense mood of apprehension and depression. Whatever the Lightwood pack had done here seemed to have left the place in a permanent state of latent despair.

How were only the four of us supposed to help them? We technically weren't even a pack yet.

We were led into a medium sized office. Like the rest of the building, it was in a state of disrepair. The wood of the table was splintered and the glass of the cabinets were missing. Faded spots of blood polka dotted the room, staining the wood and sparse furniture. There was a huge canvas rolled up above the space I was sure should have held a window. The frame was void of its glass and I assumed the canvas was to cover the hole when it rained and such.

A huge fight had obviously taken place and there hadn't been any major repairs besides removing the broken glass. The only breakable surface was a full length mirror in the farthest corner.

Behind the splintered, blood splattered table sat a man with greying brown hair and matching weary eyes. The lines of his face seemed to have deepened with more than just age, illustrating experiences and griefs too heavy to bear.

"Alpha, these are the intruding werewolves. They claim to pose no threat. That they simply want to get themselves connected to the WolfNet..." He gave us a sidelong glance, staring particularly at Tim. Then he returned his attention to the Alpha, "Personally, Alpha, I don't believe there's much damage they'll be able to do with only one semi competent looking wolf and three barely she-wolves."

Opelene huffed and I barely managed to not roll my eyes. Tim and Kaesha weren't so successful, indignation and sass bleeding into their postures at the jab to their capabilities.

With a quick glance about, I caught sight of Ari. Only she remained passive, subtley observing. Whether conscious or not, she'd seemed to fade out of everyone's focus and refused to keep her gaze directly on anyone for too long. I doubted the others fully registered her presence as she stood almost behind Tim.

The Alpha remained silent, carefully analysing the three of us.

Having made a decision, he got up and walked around the desk, "Shift and submit."

Wordlessly, the men closed their eyes while we took our clothes off and got down on all fours. I shifted, my bone structure rearranging and dark brunette fur sprouting, while Kesha worked her magic. Being Alpha born, there was a good chance my wolf would end up being larger than Tim's. Unwilling to risk it, we'd agreed to let Kaesha use a shrinking spell on my wolf which she'd need to undo it before I shifted back.