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Someone knocked on Jackson's door.
Jackson tensed, gripping the blanket beneath him. "Uh...who is it?" he called nervously.
"It's Tokala."
"Oh." He got up, headed over to the door, and pulled the chair away from it, letting Tokala in.
"What's with the chair?" the orange-haired man asked.
"I didn't want any surprises," he grumbled, sitting on the edge of his bed. "What's up?"
"The chief told me everything."
Jackson wasn't sure how to feel about that. But Tokala was Damon's right-hand man, right? And since Damon couldn't trust Elias anymore, Jackson wasn't surprised.
"You shifted by yourself, huh?" he asked with a proud smirk. "And you gained control of your wolf on the full moon. All in the space of a few days. Impressive."
"I had good teachers," he said with a shrug.
"Chief's really proud of you—so am I. And I'm glad you're back. I know it might all feel a little weird right now, but things will calm down. I think everyone's just shocked...you know, with the whole you being Alpha Damon's mate."
Jackson didn't fail to notice the disappointment in Tokala's voice, and he suspected its presence was due to Damon being right about his suspicion that Tokala might just have something else other than friendship on his mind. He felt a little guilty, but he'd never done or said anything that he thought would make Tokala think he felt the same.
"Yeah, I...I was surprised as well. A lot has happened over the past few days."
Tokala nodded as he cautiously approached and leaned against the wall not too far from the bed. "Demon blood, huh?"
Damon really had told him everything.
"I never thought I'd see a hybrid."
"I didn't even know I was one...not until I was kidnapped by demons."
"That must have been a freaky experience. Lucky Alpha Damon got to you in time."
"Yeah. He saved my life...again."
"I hear you saved his, too. Pulled that bullet right out of him."
"Yeah, I...I've never had to pull a bullet out of someone. But I guess there's a first time for everything."
"I don't want to say that you'll get used to it, but...you probably will."
Jackson nodded and looked down at his boots. "I, uh...I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."
"About what?"
"About how I felt for Damon—A-Alpha Da—"
"You don't have to call him that anymore. You're his mate."
"Oh.... Well, I'm still sorry. Damon said that he suspected you might like me...like like me, and I should have seen it."
Tokala shrugged. "No big deal. I wouldn't be the first wolf to be wrong about who they thought their mate was. I'm not mad."
"You're not?" he asked in surprise, looking at him.
"No. A little upset, sure. I do really like you, Jackson. But if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. I'll find my mate one day. Like I said, I just gotta wait for the Grey Moon."
Jackson smiled a little, relieved that Tokala wasn't about to snap or shout at him. "You're a good guy. You'll find someone."
"Yeah," he said with a breathy sigh. "Anyway, Alpha Damon told me to come and get you. We're going on a hunt. The Kappas have picked up a moose trail. You're an Upsilon now, so it's time to start learning new skills which will help you work out what role you want to take on."
"I'm pretty sure I wanna be a Cupitor."
"Well, all wolves still need to learn to hunt. We're low on Kappas, so everyone needs to chip in."
That made sense. It'd probably be exhausting for the same few wolves to have to hunt every night. "Okay," he said, climbing to his feet.
"If you don't want to tear those fancy-looking clothes, I'd suggest you shift here and meet me in the hallway."
"Oh...yeah, okay."
Tokala left the room and pulled the door shut behind him.
Jackson swiftly pulled his clothes off, but when the gold, black onyx-encrusted ring fell out of his pocket and clinked when it hit the floor, he crouched down and picked it up. He'd forgotten about it until now.
He put it back into his trouser pocket, folded his clothes, and placed them on his bed. Then, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He concentrated, focusing on his ethos—and without any struggle at all, his body morphed into the form of his wolf in the blink of an eye.
For a moment, he stood on all fours, revelling in the fact it felt so simple now.
But he didn't have time to stand around. He headed over to the door, pulled it open by gripping the handle with his teeth, and hurried to join the pack.
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Jackson followed Tokala and the Kappas over the fallen wall and into the woods. As the sun climbed higher, and the falling snow thinned, they made their way through the forest, across a frozen lake, and past an old collapsed mill.
When they reached the edge of the forest, Jackson stared out at the vast tundra. He couldn't see any trees; a few tall hills of snow lay ahead, and in the far, far distance, he spotted several towering mountains. Scattered pools of frozen water shimmered as the sunlight hit them, and small collections of brown foliage lay here and there, protruding through the thick bed of snow.
"There," the black-furred, green-eyed wolf, Cleo, whispered.
Everyone looked in the direction she was staring.
In the snow a few feet from the tree line, Jackson gawped at the hoof tracks. He followed them with his eyes, left, right, and dead ahead, and it didn't take him long to locate the dark blur through the snowy mist.
The creature was tall like a horse and possessed a pair of gigantic, magnificent antlers. Jackson had never seen a moose in person before, and now that he was just a hundred yards or so from the elegant beast, he felt horrifically guilty that they had come to kill it.
"Moose are very dangerous, remember that," Tokala whispered. "There are six of us; Cleo, Lalo, Maab, and Jackson: you'll each take a leg and keep it from kicking. I'll go for its throat. Aiyana, you'll keep at a distance and watch this time."
Aiyana nodded nervously.
"Jackson, are you up for this?" Tokala asked him.
Was he? Just like Aiyana, he was training, and he felt as anxious as she looked.
He looked over at the moose's silhouette in the frosty mist. It looked as tall as he was—maybe a little taller. But there were five wolves and one moose, and all he had to do was hold one of its legs.
"Yeah," he answered.
"All right. Jackson, follow Lalo; you two will take the left legs. Cleo and Maab, you'll take the right. Once you're in position, wait for my signal."
Everyone got to work.
Jackson watched as Lalo, the coffee and tawny-brown wolf with a faint scar across his muzzle, crouched and prowled out into the tundra, and as he scurried towards the moose, Jackson followed and copied his every move.
They travelled quickly and silently, and once they reached a thick gathering of foliage, they crouched behind it and waited.
The moose was rummaging through the pools of ice, which it cracked open by stomping its hooves down on them. It chewed on the green plants once it pulled them from the water, and while it ate, it scoured the area for signs of danger.
But it hadn't yet noticed it was being stalked.
Jackson looked at Lalo, who had his sights fixed on the moose. "What's Tokala's signal?" he whispered.
Lalo didn't answer, though. He shot a condescending glance his way.
What was his problem? Jackson rolled his eyes and set his gaze back on the moose. He watched it crack open another puddle and pull the reeds out from inside, and as it chewed on them, it looked around again.
That was when a cold shiver spiralled down Jackson's spine. His fur ruffled in the wind, and he pricked his ears up, listening for the danger his instincts were convincing him was nearby.
He looked behind him, but he could see nothing but endless tundra for miles. There was nothing but the scent of his wolf comrades in the air, and the distant smell of pine and lavender from the forest.
With a perturbed frown, he did his best to shove his unsettled feeling aside and glared at the moose.
And then he heard it. A distant howl.
Lalo burst into action, sprinting towards the moose.
Jackson lagged behind a little, but he caught up, racing forward.
The moose spotted them and started running, but when Cleo and Maab charged towards it from the direction it was fleeing in, it skidded on the snow and ran to the right.
Jackson continued following Lalo as he glanced over at Cleo and Maab; his heart was racing, and his breaths were frantic. A part of him seemed to find this chase almost thrilling.
They were closing in on the moose....
Closer...and closer....
They were practically inches away—
But then the moose came to an abrupt halt and swung its head towards Lalo, who dodged the beast's massive horns just in time. Cleo pounced and went for the moose's back leg, but it kicked both its back legs, slamming its hooves into Cleo's side.
Cleo went tumbling across the snow, and the moose swung around and raced towards her as she struggled to get up.
"Cleo!" Maab yelled.
Jackson seized his chance to grab the moose's back right leg—he was the closest one to it. So he snatched it with this jaw, and as the beast whined and went to kick his head with its other back hoof, Maab clamped her teeth around the moose's ankle.
The moose whined and screeched, no longer able to run. It swung its head around and stomped its front hooves. The moment Cleo recovered, she snatched the moose's front left leg, and Lalo grabbed the right. Then, out of nowhere, Tokala burst forward and sunk his teeth into the beast's throat.
With a panicked whine and desperate groan, the moose tried to pull free and shake the wolves off, but its blood was oozing from its wounds, and it didn't take long for the beast to collapse on its side.
It continued trying to fight, but its weak movements did nothing. Tokala pulled his teeth from its neck, letting it bleed out, and when everyone else let go, Jackson did, too.
He stepped back, watching the moose's life fade away. He still felt guilty, but the pack had to eat, right?
"Are you okay?" Maab asked Cleo.
The green-eyed wolf nodded. "Yeah, just a little cut."
"Well done, everyone," Tokala said, taking his eyes off the moose once it fell still and silent.
Jackson heard the snow crunching behind him. He swiftly turned around, but it was only Aiyana.
"That was amazing," she said with a look of awe on her face.
"You did good, Jackson," Tokala said, nudging his shoulder with his own. "Especially for your first hunt."
Lalo scoffed quietly. "He was all right."
"You're just mad he went for the first bite," Cleo sneered, but then grimaced as she stood on her right paw.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Maab asked.
"Yeah, yeah," she dismissed. "Just a little sore."
"It's a good thing we brought the city boy, then," Lalo said, nudging the moose's head with his back leg. "You can help us drag it home."
Jackson frowned at him, but he held his tongue. He wasn't about to start an argument with someone. He didn't know enough about Lalo, and he wasn't going to risk starting something with a guy that might rip him apart in half a second.
"Yeah," Jackson said calmly. "I don't mind helping out."
"All right, the sooner we get this back, the sooner we can turn it into a stew; this thing'll feed the whole pack for the next few days," Tokala said. "Jackson, grab one of the legs and drag it with me. Maab and Lalo will take over for us when we're halfway home."
With a nod, Jackson gripped one of the legs with his teeth, and when Tokala began dragging, so did he.
As they headed back into the trees, the sun climbed higher and higher, and the bed of snow glistened like stars in the night sky. The woods were silent, still, and felt as though they went on forever.
But Jackson didn't feel as unsettled as he did before. Gaining control of his wolf and embracing this new part of himself made him feel a whole lot more at home in the forest. A part of him did miss Farrydare, though; the people, the commotion of traffic and the sounds of city life. That town was the closest he'd felt to Dawnward since leaving, and no matter how strongly connected he felt to Greykin—now or in the future—he would always miss his home.
Would he ever get to go back?
He let himself sink into sadness for a moment. This was probably the worst his homesickness had ever been. And now that he was with Damon, he thought about taking the Alpha to his city and showing him all his favourite spots and then bringing him to his apartment so they could stare down at the bustling life below.
His sadness became heavier. After all of this—once he found Wilson and the other missing journalists—he wasn't even sure what would come next. He hadn't even gotten to ask Thomas if he wanted to go back to Dawnward. But when he found Wilson, he was sure they could head back to Farrydare together and plan from there.
What about Damon, though?
Jackson's thoughts started fighting one another, as did his heart. The part that wanted to go home and the part that wanted to stay wrestled, causing a stabbing pain in his chest. But that was a problem he could solve later. There was no point in letting himself become depressed before he'd even found Wilson and the others. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the fact that he and Damon were together, and that he was finally finding the answers to all the questions coming out to Ascela had presented him with.
He glanced over at Tokala as they dragged the moose through the snow. "Hey, uh...can I ask you some stuff about...well, what being mated means and all that?"
A hint of sadness flickered through Tokala's purple eyes as he looked at Jackson. "Sure."
"I have a question," Lalo blurted.
Both Jackson and Tokala glared at him.
"Did our Alpha fuck you like this, or were you in your human bodies?"
Jackson felt embarrassment gush through him.
"Do you have to be so vile?" Cleo uttered.
"That's private, Lalo," Aiyana added.
Lalo glanced back at her. "Don't talk to me, Omega."
Aiyana frowned despondently and looked away.
"Don't be an asshole," Tokala growled. "We all respect each other. Apologize to Aiyana—now."
With a heavy sigh, Lalo glanced back at her. "Sorry."
"Now apologize to Jackson."
"Why? I'm just asking. I'm allowed to be curious."
"Not about someone else's private life," Maab said firmly.
"And especially not Alpha Damon's," Tokala concurred. "Apologize."
Lalo rolled his eyes. "Sorry," he grunted.
"It's fine," Jackson mumbled.
"Keep your nose out of our conversation," Tokala warned, and then set his sights back on Jackson. "Ask away."
Jackson tried to shove his embarrassment aside and attempted to remember what he was going to ask. "Oh, uh...well, you said that because I'm Damon's mate, I don't have to refer to him as Alpha Damon."
"That's right."
"And...when Alpha Aysel was his mate, she was called his Luna, right?"
"You want to know what the pack will refer to you as?"
"Y-yeah."
"Well, I don't know. Typically, the Alpha male's female mate is called a Luna. Since you're male, I have no idea. I guess you'd have to ask Alpha Damon. But it wouldn't be Alpha; you can't just earn that role by becoming an Alpha's mate."
Jackson nodded. "Yeah, I thought so. I guess I'll ask him when we get back." He had other questions, but they were more intimate, and he'd prefer to ask Damon. "So...the only way any wolf can become Alpha is by beating another Alpha?"
"In most cases. Although some Alphas have risen to power by simply starting, maintaining, and leading a pack. Others have also become Alpha when the Alpha died and there was no blood heir to take his or her place, so the strongest Beta rose to become Alpha."
"I heard that...Damon's brother died when your old packhouse was attacked by cadejo."
"Mm-hmm. Alpha Alaric. We were all broken by his loss. Alpha Damon was always strong and firm, but back when Alpha Alaric was in charge, he was kind of...well, quiet. We were all a little scared of him, to be honest."
"He'd kinda just...skulk around the house like a phantom," Maab called from the back. "And that stare he does...it was way worse back then. No one knew what he was thinking, and he'd just...stare at you, and you'd freeze on the spot like you'd been caught red-handed for some sort of crime."
"He used to scare the hell out of me," Aiyana said, shivering.
Jackson smiled amusedly. "Well, I mean...he is still kinda scary."
They all laughed, apart from Lalo who grunted quietly.
"He's a good Alpha, though—he's done a lot for everyone and got us all out of situations we thought would be our last," Tokala said. "If it weren't for Alpha Damon, there would be even fewer of us left."
Aiyana nodded. "He just—"
A branch snapped behind them.
Everyone stopped walking, and Tokala and Jackson let go of the moose.
"What was that?" Maab breathed.
Jackson tensed up, scouring the forest with his eyes. Despite there being no fog to obscure his vision, he couldn't see anything.
"Come on, let's keep moving," Tokala said. "Maab, Lalo, take over from us now."
They did as they were told and gripped one of the moose's legs each. Then, as Tokala led the way and picked up the pace, everyone followed.
But when the wind raced through the trees, it carried with it something minacious—something which made Jackson's heart race and his body stiffen up.
Jackson looked over his shoulder as he hurried forward—he could have sworn he saw something dart behind a tree, and a sickening feeling of déjà vu suddenly smacked him in his face.
"Tokala...I think something's following us," he breathed, keeping his eyes fixed on the tree he'd seen something move behind.
"Keep moving," Tokala said. "We're getting close."
Jackson reluctantly took his eyes off the tree and stared ahead, searching for a glimpse of the ruin.
But all he could see was white and trees.
He glanced back again.
A twig snapped, and a pile of snow fell from a tree branch, hitting the ground with a quiet thump.
Jackson's heart beat harder, and he started to quiver. He knew something was out there.
"T-Tokala, I really think we should stop."
With a concerned frown, Tokala slowed and came to a halt, and so did everyone else.
They all stared into the forest again, searching...but there was nothing.
"Guy's crazy," Lalo uttered, gripping one of the moose's legs again. "Come on. I wanna get home today."
"Stay alert," Tokala ordered, and then continued leading the way.
Jackson was certain that he'd seen something, and he couldn't shake this minacious feeling. It was the same feeling he got when that cadejo had attacked him on the frozen lake, and when that group of them had ambushed the pack.
There was no scent of rotting flesh, though, nor could he hear savage snarls. But he wasn't going to let his guard down, and he wasn't going to start convincing himself he was imagining it.
Something was out there....
But what?
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