Tristan awoke with a flinch to something brushing against his face. He started to reactively bring a hand up, but he paused when he heard giggling. Tristan opened his eyes to two familiar faces looming over him.
Kit and Willa.
"It's time to wake up! Grandma says you have to go." Willa said excitedly. Tristan groggily glanced at the window. It was light out. He furrowed his brow with confusion. How long had he been asleep?
"And guess what? Grandma says I can go with you!" Willa squealed. Tristan looked at her.
"What?" Tristan asked. His mind was having trouble catching up.
"To Adalwolf! She said we will all go to visit great grandma for a while." Willa squealed happily.
Tristan looked at Kit. He looked grumpy.
"I can't go." He said.
"When did she say this?" Tristan asked as he ran a hand over his face and rested it over his eyes. The grogginess was fierce.
"Yetsurday. Emmet, Faye, James, Millie and Willa are going with you. Alpha Ada says it would be good to have some time away." Kit said. Even in his tired state, Tristan immediately read between the lines. His mother probably wanted them away from their father...
"And Kit said Dena went to find mommy! She left this morning!" Willa said excitedly.
The grogginess left him. Tristan's eye snapped to her.
What?
"Kit said you found me a mommy." She repeated. Tristan just stared at her, before he looked at Kit.
"I just told her your gifted is nice and pretty." Kit said guiltily. Tristan rubbed a hand over his face again. The emotions of that hit him strangely.
Dena left already? What time was it?
"I hope she will be nicer then your other one. She keeps coming to ask if you're awake yet." Willa said. Tristan looked at the window again.
She keeps coming?
"How long have I been sleeping?" He asked, and it wasn't until that moment he became very aware of his overfilled bladder. Especially as Willa hopped on top of him to sit on it.
"Like... days." Kit said.
Shit...
He really slept that long? Tristan gently set Willa aside and shoved up out of bed. He fumbled for a moment and nearly fell when his foot got caught in the blanket. Both kids laughed.
Out in the hallway, he came face to face with his mother.
"You leave in an hour." She said, but her attention was on the two pups behind him.
"Willa, go find Charlotte... and Kit, you should be with Mark." Ada said scoldingly. She waited for both pups to run off under her stern gaze, before she looked back at him.
"You slept for nineteen hours. I worry for you... have you truly been sleeping so badly?" His mother asked. Tristan said nothing. What was he supposed to say?
No, he hadn't.
Ada sighed deeply and pinched her brow. She truly looked stressed.
"How is he? Is he better?" Tristan asked hopefully. Ada met eyes again.
"He's back on the ama, but I wouldn't say he's better. I am afraid we will be living separately from now on." Ada said with a careful tone. Tristan studied his mother. She revealed nothing. The Alpha in her was good at that. Putting on that mask.
He couldn't help the sinking feeling inside him for her though. His siblings...
For their family...
"I'm so-" Tristan began.
"No, none of that. You're taking the young ones, I think it best they get a break from all this. Your father's state is affecting them more. My mother is more than happy to receive them, she's quite excited for it actually. They will take up lessons with their cousins for the time being. I think it best they stay with you as long as you are there. I will visit when I can." Ada said firmly. Tristan looked to the hallway when he heard wood creak.
Jay was standing there. Tristan stared at his third eldest brother for a moment. He looked... stressed.
Clearly this was effecting them all.
"Grady went with Dena. So did Gus and Jake. They insisted." Ada said. Tristan didn't expect that.
"I don't want you to worry. I want you focused. They will find her and bring her back." Ada said firmly. Tristan just gave a slight nod, but he couldn't help that his mind was out there...
He felt his restless wolf.
"Where is Emma?" Tristan asked. His wolf couldn't stand her now, but the human part of him knew he owed her this. An actual talk now that the danger and chaos was hopefully behind them. Ada had an immediate look of disapproval on her face.
"I sent her away not long ago." Ada said. Tristan turned for the bathroom. He needed to relieve himself, shower and change.
He'd talk to her on the way out of the territory.
"Be very careful what you offer that female, but if she doesn't wish to return home... we can find a place for her." Ada cautioned. Tristan paused and glanced back at his mother. She had a serious look.
Tristan wondered if there was something she wasn't telling him.
Twenty minutes later he stood in front of his old house. Aside from having belongings there, he'd used it so little over the years. Emma had heard him coming. She was out on the porch before he even reached the door.
"I'm sorry, I didn't intend to sleep that long." Tristan said as he forcibly kept down his wolf. His inner beast truly did not like her presence.
"You're abandoning me again?" She asked with little emotion. Tristan tried to calm the irritation inside him.
It wasn't her fault.
"I already told you... this was a mistake. I never should have agreed to it. My intention was never to hurt you... I'm sorry, but I shouldn't have mated you knowing that it was possible I'd find her someday." Tristan said.
The mask of her face broke at that, and she looked truly devastated. Tristan couldn't help but feel the guilt dig just a bit deeper.
"I can't go against fate. I don't even want to. She's... precious to me in a way I didn't understand right away. I reacted badly, and I didn't think. I should never have made those promises to your father. I just keep making mistakes." Tristan said.
"I'm a mistake?" She said with hurt. Tristan couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at that, was she not listening? His wolf was hating her presence more and more.
He had to keep shoving down that temperamental side of himself.
"You were not a mistake, the situation was. If you don't want to go home to Eyolf... you can stay here, we can find a place for you. Or maybe even with a surrounding pack if you don't feel comfortable. But you and I, were no more the moment I met her. I need you to understand that." Tristan said firmly.
Emma's face truly crumbled now, and Tristan felt another spike of guilt. He couldn't not. Though he didn't love her, and he truly doubted she loved him, they had been intimate... many times. They were mates for four years, they had a prospective future she was allowed to grieve. It was hard not to feel something by her heartbreak.
"I'm truly sorry, find another male, one that will be better to you. I will be gone for some time." Tristan said. Emma sniffed, but said nothing.
Tristan backed up, before he turned and started walking down the pathway again. He half expected her to say something, but she didn't.
So he just kept walking and don't look back.
_
Lily stared at the ocean with her legs tucked up against her. The van was packed. They were leaving early tomorrow...
The sun was close to setting.
She couldn't help how the thought of going back to the woodlands was making her extremely uncomfortable. More than uncomfortable. Dread was sinking in. Bordering on terror.
It was where all her troubles awaited...
And Gila knew nothing about it. Not even Sil, not truly. Lily felt guilty, she couldn't not.
She knew she should tell them.
And were any Vargas still alive? She couldn't help the spike of fear.
"Are you even listening?" Rin asked. Lily's attention snapped back to her. Rin, Inaya and she were sitting on the sand in the rays of the setting sun as Rin told them stories of their travels the years previously.
Lily had been listening, aptly at that. She found her tails of everywhere they'd been fascinating. Rin was always telling her stories, and usually Lily loved listening to them.
But now... she couldn't help that the worry was a heavy distraction.
"I'm sorry, yes I'm listening." Lily quickly said.
"Okay... and then there was this other pack, on the other coast, and they did this weird thing where they all gathered by a fire-" Rin's voice trailed off in Lily's head as she became distracted again.
Her attention returned to the waves. Even as the crunch of sand behind them alerted to another joining them. Lily initially ignored the feel of eyes on her, but eventually she couldn't stand it and glanced up. Gila was studying her hard.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" Gila asked. Lily couldn't help but feel nervous.
"Nothing." She said quickly.
"Mom! Don't interrupt. Anyway-" Rin began again.
"Do you fear going back?" Gila interrupted. Lily furrowed her brow and avoided her eyes. Why was she so perceptive? She couldn't bring herself to say anything.
"Hm..." Gila said.
"Seriously, I'm trying-" Rin tried to begin again but Gila didn't let her.
"I suppose we haven't been branching out much lately from our usual spots. We are due for some wandering... The woodland packs aren't going anywhere. It actually may be best to stay away for a while until whatever was going on gets settled... we can return next season." Gila said with a thoughtful tone. She looked at Rin and Inaya.
"What do you say? Shall we go back to the east for a bit? Or maybe up north? We haven't been south much yet..." Gila said with a smile.
"Yeah! Let's go back to the Kopple's!" Rin said. Lily's eyes snapped to Gila.
"... but I thought you wanted to look for your fated?" Lily asked. Guilt rained down on her. Was she not going back because of her?
"I've waited this long... another year won't change anything. And I have four other daughter's mate's to find." She said with a grin.
"We may even run into yours sweetheart. And I think it would do you good to see more of the world." Gila added. Lily felt a strange spike through her chest at her words.
Guilt... fear... worry...
She knew she should tell her... but she just couldn't.
"But-" Lily began.
"No buts... I think it's about time to give my heart a break from the disappointment anyway. There are some packs Jeffery suggested we visit. Promising for a few of my girl's." Gila added. Lily said nothing.
She didn't know what to say. But profound relief coursed through her.
"So... east coast then?" Sil shouted from the porch. Gila glanced back.
"Yup!! I wanna see that old man dance again!" Rin shouted excitedly.
"Nooo!" Both Mia and Sil shouted simultaneously. Lily couldn't help but smile. Gila chuckled
"I guess we will stay here until the end of the week, and then we'll be off." She said.
-
Tristan carried Millie on his back, and Willa under his arm as they approached the main road into a Adalwolf just after dusk. The two girls had grown tired, even though it wasn't a long trek. They were still just pups.
Faye, Emmet and James had griped nearly the entire way there to the point even the stoic enforcers who accompanied them were growing annoyed. Not one of his teen siblings was happy to be 'kicked out of their homelands,' as they so dramatically put it.
"Oh how you've grown!" Vera exclaimed happily. Both Millie and Willa jumped down to run up to her.
"You just saw us!" Millie said excitedly. Tristan was happy at least the two youngest saw it as an adventure. He glanced once more to his sibling's grim faces, before focusing on his grandfather. His uncle and some of his aunts and cousins were out there waiting to greet them.
"Well... I have quite a few treats lined up for you." Their grandmother said with a large grin.
"Mama said you'd say that, and to tell you we aren't to have sweets so close to bed." Millie said.
"Look around sweetheart, is your mama here? No, and this is my domain, I rule. And here, we eat sweets right before bed." Vera said.
"But-" Willa started.
"No buts! I don't know how I raised such a strict mother." She said jokingly. She was all smiles with them, but the moment Tristan and she met eyes, she gave him a look of sympathy.
It was just a bitter reminder.
"Tristan." Hutch said.
"Come on, all of you." Vera said to the younger ones as the cousins were greeting each other. She and his aunts gently started to usher them all away. Tristan got a few sympathy pats from his aunts, before he was left alone with Hutch and his uncle Thomas.
"Are you doing okay?" Thomas asked him. Tristan just stared at him for a moment.
Why did that feel like such a loaded question?
... and why did it just seem to highlight to him how messed up his life was now? That he couldn't even answer.
"How was it working with Byron's Beta?" Hutch asked him instead. Tris felt suddenly grateful to his grandfather for changing the subject.
"Eren is skilless, I don't know why he's Byron's beta." Tristan said. Hutch chuckled and patted his shoulder.
"I've been telling Byron that for years. Come on, let's get you to your room. Our days are going to be long I'm afraid." Hutch said. His tone started joking but ended on a more serious note.
"You'll he staying with Thomas." Hutch added. Tristan just felt the weight of all the responsibility crashing down on him that much harder.
He knew this was going to be a very long year...
-
Two years later...
Lily tasted dirt for the fourth time that day and growled with frustration. She glared up at Sil with aggravation.
Sil just grinned in that annoying way that grated on every raw nerve inside her and offered her hand. Lily swatted it away and stood up herself. Gila sighed deeply. It just irritated Lily more... because she knew what she was about to say...
"My sweet daughter, I told you, it's okay. There are those that just don't have it in them. Your mother was right, you are a gentle soul, and there is nothing wrong with that." Gila said.
Lily took an irritated breath. She'd been hearing that for the last six months.
Lily was determined to prove her wrong, but all she had been doing was proving her right...
"Imee is the same, I don't think she will be even half as good as you. She has a gentle nurturing spirit. I believe those mountain females definitely are a gentle kind. Sometimes your soul just shows you a different path. Being a strong fighter is not all there is in life." Gila said as she lightly petted her hair in an attempt to soothe her deep frustration, before she started digging in her pack.
Lily couldn't help but feel internally defeated. She looked at Sil with resentment. Even now that Lily had a tad advantage of height on her, she still couldn't beat her. Sil gave her another annoying sisterly grin.
Two years of never having a win.
Sil wandered off to where their sisters were sitting on a log to grab her water skin from Mia. Lily's eyes trailed over to them. They were all giving her encouraging smiles, except Imee, who was too busy picking flowers in a field behind them to pay attention to anything that was going on.
The toddler truly was a gentle little spirit. So different than their other sisters. She had no interest at all in Gila trying to teach her any kind of survival skills.
She was more interested in flowers.
"I heard it said that whatever you lack, your mate makes up for tenfold. I bet that gifted of yours when you meet him will be an absolute brute of a male. But I imagine he will lack your sense and empathy. You will fill in his blanks, and he will fill in yours. Your softness will mold all his hard edges. It will make you better leaders, if he is an Alpha, which I imagine he will be." Gila said warmly.
Sil choked on her water and started on an all out coughing fit. Lily shot her a look.
True to her word, Sil never told.
Six months into their travels, Lily finally decided to confide fully in Sil when they were alone, she told her everything about her life, growing up in the Varga pack, meeting her mate, the death of her mother, all the way up to escaping from the cave. Sil had listened quietly, with no judgement or comments. Lily wasn't sure what to make of her reaction. She had just remained quiet. She never offered any condolences or advice.
When Lily was finished telling her, Sil just changed the subject and carried on as usual. Lily didn't know what to make of it.
They never talked about it since. But it had taken a weight off Lily she didn't realize she'd needed until then. She had since told Gila snippets of her life, but not everything.
She told Gila about her mother, and how she often spoke to her.
Gila cast an annoyed glance over at Sil, but she just turned away and tried to get control of her breathing. Gila looked back at Lily and gently cupped her chin. Lily reluctantly looked her in the eyes when she realized that's what she wanted. Gila had pulled out a cloth and wetted it with water from her pack to softly clean the dirt off her face.
"There is something to be said for the strength of a motherly type. The Alpha female is known as the great mother to all her pack. The way you take to the younger ones, with such a natural nurturing touch, and wherever we go, you must have noticed. People instantly love you, they are drawn to you, and the ones that don't, I know their character is questionable.
You have been quite helpful in that sense, knowing which wolves are good and which are not. It usually takes me some time to judge, but you make it instant. It has helped us tremendously. You must recognize that... It is a truly valuable skill to have.
You will be an Alpha female that her pack will happily fight for. Physical strength isn't everything. You have improved so much from where you started. Winning is not the goal, survival is. I don't worry for you anymore." Gila said warmly. Lily still frowned.
"I believe your mate is likely a male that is exceptional on the battlefield, but lacks sense in the softer role of leadership. You are an excellent observer, a careful thinker. I see it in you, you are always watching, considering, thinking. And while that doesn't serve you well in the quick reacting world of a fighter, it will serve you very well as a leader of a pack." Gila continued.
"But-" Lily began.
"No, I told you, you have your own strengths. Find it in yourself and focus on that. You are no fighter sweetheart, and that's okay. The mightiest can still be brought down by the weakest, when conditions are right. I don't want to keep watching you frustrate yourself needlessly." Gila said firmly.
"None of that will help me when I'm attacked." Lily said with frustration.
She couldn't help it...
She had hoped to be able to defend herself. Lily looked at Sil, Mia, Rin and Inaya again. Even at three years old, Inaya's developing skills seemed far above her own. She was a quiet ruthless little female. They were all exceptional. But not her...
"True, but you won't ever be alone. You will always have us. If it makes you feel any better, I seriously worry for when Sil has her first pup. I fear she will either leave it someplace or forget to feed it. You've seen how she cares for her sisters." Gila said.
"I'm right here mother," Sil growled.
"So far, Rin I think is the only balanced daughter that I believe can actually raise a child to adulthood and survive well enough to do it. Those other four..." Gila sighed.
"We are right here Mom." Mia said with an eye roll. Inaya just gave her a scowl as she munched on some fruit. Lily couldn't help but smile a little.
Gila had all but adopted her.
Lily so easily managed to adapt to life with them, it almost felt like she had never been anywhere else. She had sisters... and a mother again. Her life before felt so far away now. Almost like a bad dream that she wasn't sure was real.
And as the months turned to years, she had thought of Tristan less and less. She still felt him from time to time, especially when intense emotion overcame him.
But it didn't hurt anymore.
"You should be able to answer the call now though... something is holding you back. You and your wolf are still not in harmony." Gila said thoughtfully. Lily felt Sil's eyes on her. Lily looked away from them, back to Imee in that field.
They hadn't returned to the woodland region, not truly, but they had visited a few packs on the other side of the mountains.
And Lily heard the call again. Imee heard it too.
Lily had at least done well on all Gila's teaching for her fur side. She could hunt, and live in fur if needed now, something she doubted she'd ever have been able to do before. Gila had taken them to stay with a feral pack for that sole purpose of teaching her to get fully intune with that part of herself. They had stayed there for months.
Yet still... Lily couldn't answer. Even though Gila had taught her how. And though Gila didn't know why, Lily did.
Maybe a part of her... still wanted to return to Tristan.
"Come on, we have to go if we are going to get to Navarre before nightfall." Gila insisted. They had stopped in a wooded area along the highway to stretch their legs.
And Lily couldn't help but want to try again... especially with where they were headed. Lily didn't feel as fearful as she once had, but the fear was still there.
Two long years... and they were headed back into the woodlands. They had stayed too long with a pack down south, where they had recently found Mia's mate. The Beta's middle son. They were the same age, thirteen.
And they were hard to get apart. They hadn't intended to stay so long, but they remained for almost four months.
Mia had been pouty for over a day since they left. Seeing two mates happily find each other, even as young as they were, gave Lily such a strange mix of emotions. Happiness for her sister was the most prominent, but the ache was there too... deep down.
... why couldn't it have been that way for her too?
But then... she wouldn't have met her family. Lily had such conflicting thoughts. Gratefulness that she ended up with them, and sadness for the loss that still stung deep inside her.
That still pulled her toward him...
At least with Brielle's remedy she hadn't suffered through her heats since. She had gone back and begged before they left, and Brielle had relented and given her some for the following mating moon. Gila advised her against it, but didn't push it either way. They returned last year to spend the winter with them again and Lily managed to get more.
Even Sil decided to take it after her first heat made her miserable. Now winter was approaching again. As was the autumn mating moon. It was only three weeks away...
At least Gila only planned to stay for a few weeks before they headed back to Wayla for the winter. But now that Sil and Lily were older... they wouldn't be allowed to stay near the pack territory during their heats.
It made Lily nervous.
At least Gila had nothing to worry about this mating moon. Lily looked over at her pregnant stomach.
"Why aren't you excited to see your mate? It's been two years." Mia asked Rin on the way back to their van. Lily looked over at her too. She welcomed the distraction.
"I dunno, I'm just not. He's annoying, and clingy." Rin said. Gila laughed.
"Oh that poor boy." She chuckled.
"She's only eight mom," Sil said. Lily looked back at her carrying Imee on her shoulders. The little toddler had hands full of flowers.
"Still, you can treat the poor little soul a bit better young one." Gila said with amusement.
"What do I do?" Rin asked, genuinely confused.
"Be grateful to see him for one, and don't call him annoying after you haven't seen him in two years. I'm sure he's beside himself. I should have sent a letter..." Gila said thoughtfully.
"Oh well.. we should be there in a few hours." Gila said.
It took longer than that. They hit unexpected traffic. So by the time they hid the van and were trudging down on of the woodland trails, it was well beyond nightfall.
Lily just kept feeling her nervousness grow. Something seemed... off.
As they neared the Navarre territory, Gila suddenly halted them. Lily paused. She was carrying Imee on her shoulders and Sil had a sleepy Rin on her back.
"What?" Sil asked her mom.
"Come with me Sil, leave the bags." Gila said seriously as she started to strip out of her clothes. Sil didn't hesitate, she set Rin down and pulled her pack off. Lily felt her nervousness turn to actually fear.
"What's wrong?" She asked quietly.
"There are scents of too many wolves out here..." Gila said worriedly. Lily took a deep breath of the cool forest air, and immediately understood what she meant. She caught a lot of foreign scents that didn't seem to belong to the pack that frequented the area.
But they weren't fresh...
Fear truly spiked through her chest now. She felt her heart rate increase. Sil looked over at her as she stripped out of her clothes.
"Stay with them." Gila growled low at Lily, before she and Sil shifted and vanished into the forest. Mia looked back at her, but Lily didn't return her look. Her focus was on the woods around them.
She was listening hard for anything out of place while also concentrating on Gila and Sil's fading paws, not that they were easy to hear. Worry hit her hard.
"Why would all the packs be out here? They have never come out this far before." Mia asked quietly, clearly confused. Imee made a loud yawn.
"I'm tired." She said.
"We have to wait." Rin told her.
And the wait was torture.
A feeling of dread kept building inside her. Fear too.
Why would they be looking for her? It couldn't be about her... right? Her mate didn't want her... and the others packs wouldn't care that she disappeared, why would they? Maybe they were still hunting the Vargas...
So many stressful thoughts started to swirl in Lily's head...
It was a relief when she heard their paws returning. But it was short lived.
"You met your mate?" Gila accused the moment she shifted back. Sil was close behind her. She had a sheepish look on her face. Lily felt herself pale as she glanced at her. Sil's eyes flicked backward, toward the pack.
Lily looked back as well. She felt the panic truly rise.
"I-" Lily began.
"From the Lykaia pack." Gila continued. Lily finally looked at her, and what she saw on her face crushed her more than anything. She didn't seem mad, she seemed hurt.
"Apparently they sent others out to wait for you here, thinking we'd bring you back. They left after six months, but they still occasionally send scouts out here to see if they'd seen you. And the other packs too." Gila said. Lily felt all their eyes on her.
She didn't know what to say...
Gila took a heavy breath and rested a hand over her face for a moment. She seemed deeply irritated. Lily looked at Mia and Rin. Their brows were furrowed in confusion.
"I'm so sorry..." Lily said quickly. She looked at Sil again as she felt tears brim in her eyes.
"I... I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think less of me. Or that your thoughts on gifted mates would change... He doesn't want me, he made that clear... I don't know why he'd send anyone in search of me." Lily said.
"Sweetheart, they have been searching for you. And do you realize what could have happened with your heat? How could you not tell me?" Gila growled a bit now. Lily felt her heart sink further.
Would she want her to leave now?
...after she just found a place among them...
"I-" Lily fumbled with something to say. Her chest felt like it was being crushed with a vice as she felt the warm tears trail down her cheeks.
"Please don't tell them." Lily begged. Terror truly began to build inside her at the thought of having to see her mate again.
And see him happy with another...
She didn't want that. She didn't want to go there where she was unwanted, she didn't want to feel like a prisoner again.
Panic was building inside her.
"He... he mated someone else. He told me he was going to stay with his chosen. He... he thinks my blood vile. All those packs wanted to end my bloodline, they were going to kill me. His father... the Lykaia Alpha wants me dead. He almost did... he tried. My mate just wants me close because he can't resist his wolf. But I'm nothing to him." Lily said as tears continued to drip. Gila was studying her face hard now, and a pained expression came over hers.
"Sweetheart..." Gila began.
"No! You don't understand... you don't understand what it's like. To be told by someone that's meant to be your most precious gift... that they want you dead. What it was like for me, living with that. Knowing how much he hated me. I can't do it again... I can't." Lily said with a choppy voice as her panic rose. Gila stepped toward her but Lily quickly backed up. She felt on the verge of running. Terror was swirling inside her.
"Calm down." Gila firmly demanded using her Alpha tone, but Lily was beyond hearing it. Her wolf was rising in a bad way. A scared way. She felt tightly strung. Backed into a corner. Her breathing was coming hard now.
"Lo." Gila growled to try to get her focus back.
But she said the wrong thing... she knew, she knew everything...
Lily shifted and ran. She didn't want to hear that name again. She didn't want to go back there...
She knew Gila's stance on mates. She would make her go back...
"LILY!" She heard her sisters shout. No... not her sisters. Why did she let herself think she'd found a place? She was an unwanted wolf. Of course they would reject her too knowing this.
Lily ran hard, barreling through the bushes and trees. She had no plan, she didn't know where she was going.
She just wanted to get away so they wouldn't send her back to where she would only have pain...
Lily had never run so hard in her life. Her muscles were shaking when she finally let herself slow. She had heard Sil take off after her... but Lily had speed on her. It was the only thing she could beat her in.
Lily panted as she looked around the unfamiliar woodlands. She had no idea where she was...
She glanced back when she heard Sil, Mia and Rin still coming after her, but they were a distance back now. Lily scanned her surroundings. She could both hear and smell a stream close by. It would get them off her trail...
If she had to live as a wolf for the rest of her days, she'd rather do that than go back to her mate. Lily darted that way and was relieved when she reached it. She started running up the stream at full pace, keeping to the water to make them lose her scent.
And she ran for miles. She ran until she was too exhausted to run anymore.
It wasn't until she was alone, deep in the unfamiliar woods, that her panicked mind began to recognize how rash she had acted. Lily trotted carefully amidst the brush. Her thick winter fur kept the cold of the night out. She was made for the snow...
But the fear of her now lone status was truly starting to sink in.
Regret was hitting her hard.
Lily looked back the way she came, but she didn't even fully know if she could find her way back. She had run blindly, panicked.
...what had she done?
Snapping branches had her on high alert. Every sound seemed so much more vivid now that she was alone. More ominous. She scented no one in the immediate area, but trail markings weren't far off. She was close to some wolf's territory, she just didn't know whose...
Lily turned to go the opposite direction to avoid the border markings and picked up to a run again to get away from them. But she scented even more miles down the road. A different pack.
Gila's words came back to her in her moment of dread. How hard it was to cross through these woods because of how tightly packed the woodland packs were, how territorial they were... how they handled territory infringers, even if they were just close to their borders.
It was what made it so difficult for Gila to search deeper for her mate.
Lily took a panicked breath and started running back the way she came. She finally caught her own scent and started running hard.
It was truly sinking in now what danger she just put herself in... being so close to two woodland packs. It was just as she began to think she was out of danger... that she heard the thumping of paws from somewhere behind her.
Heavy ones. A male's.
Lily felt the panic growing again as she increased her speed to head back for the stream. She had been running for so long now though... she felt her muscles shaking. The exertion was getting to her.
The male was gaining on her. And soon, others joined him. She could hear their pounding footpads racing through the forest that was clearly familiar to them. It wasn't to her. They had the advantage.
Lily panted hard as she pushed herself as much as she could. She was relieved when she scented the stream ahead.
But the sound of a calling howl made her blood run cold...
Gila was calling to her. What was she doing?! Lily felt true panic sink inside her.
Despite her fear, Lily stopped abruptly and looked back.
Could she lose them? Truly? What if she lead them straight back to Gila?
... what would they do?
Lily felt the fear, panic and dread whirl inside her. But not for herself.
She did this... This was her fault. Gila and her girls had no conflict with the woodland packs, she couldn't be the reason they developed one.
She wouldn't let them suffer because of it, not after everything they'd done for her.
With a painful swallow, Lily turned and started running away from them, adjacent to the border markings to lead those who pursued her away from those she cared about.
Lily just hoped Gila would someday forgive her for lying to her and not remember her poorly... and if the wolves behind her intended to end her life, that they would do it quick.
But it became clear to her they weren't hunting her down to kill her. As others joined the chase, they were leading her, not trying to attack her.
She recognized it, yet she could do nothing about it... she knew she couldn't fight them, and even if she could... not that many.
Soon they had her fully on their territory. And after that... they easily cornered her with her backed against a cliff that dropped off steeply to a raging river far below. The moonlight reflected off the water.
Lily gazed around her in a panic at the enforcer males that were surrounding her. She could feel how shaky her muscles were, but adrenaline and fright were keeping her tense.
"Shift female." An enforcer snarled at her as he approached. Lily darted her eyes around again. The others remained in fur, he was the only one who shifted to skin.
"Now." He snarled. Lily inched backward, feeling her paw brush some pebbles over the cliff.
She had no intention of doing so...
"Don't make us force you. Do it willingly, and this will go much easier for you." He said in a less harsh tone. Lily felt confused.
What did they want?
"We have no intention of hurting you, unless you are uncooperative. I will take you to the Alpha. Shift." He repeated. Lily hesitated. The male looked irritated, but he patiently waited.
It took some time, Lily checked every direction, worked through every possible scenario in her head, stared down over the cliff to the raging river, until she fully realized she was good and trapped.
There was no getting out of this. There was nothing she could do...
Lily reluctantly obeyed and shifted back. The freezing air was immediately painful on her bared skin. And the shivers were almost immediate. Not that they seemed to care...
It wasn't until they got to the pack buildings that another enforcer came out and handed her clothes. Lily gratefully put them on, but it took another ten minutes of walking to get to what she assumed was their Alpha housing. She glanced up at it. It was large, three stories at least.
Not that it impressed her anymore. She'd seen grander...
They led her through several hallways and enforcer check points before they opened a large door and ushered her in. It was a large meeting room, but Lily's eyes were drawn to the lone large male with his back to her standing beside a table.
"Think of shifting girl and we will put you down hard." The Alpha male said as he finished writing on a piece of paper. Lily stared at him. She vaguely recognized his scent, but she didn't remember ever seeing him before.
He must have been one of the Alphas that visited the Varga lands.
"Hm... so you are what all the fuss is about." The Alpha said as he finally turned back to observe her. Lily observed him in turn. He had a mark of fate, and a claim mark on his neck.
"Who are you?" Lily asked.
"My name is Byron, we have never had the pleasure of meeting." He said as he observed her. Lily studied him hard.
"What do you want?" Lily asked. She didn't know what made her so bold... but she suddenly felt angry.
She wasn't on his territory. He had no right to take her.
"You are the gifted of an Alpha that has some things I want. I'm sorry sweetheart, but you will be my guest until I get those things." He said with a very flat tone. Lily furrowed her brow.
Alpha? Tristan? Was he mistaken? Didn't he mean son?
"I'm your guest or prisoner?" She asked. Bryon grinned.
"And here they told me you were a timid little thing." He said with some amusement.
"Tristan doesn't want me." Lily said firmly. Maybe she could talk her way out of this... and he'd let her go.
"Is that what he told you?" Bryon asked with that amused tone of his.
"It's true." Lily insisted.
"Interesting, I've heard otherwise. He's been trying to find you, despite all this pretense that he's still mated to Arthur's daughter." Bryon said. Lily felt the pain of that hit her. Hard. She knew it showed, despite trying to keep it hidden. Lily took a shaky breath, before continuing.
"He is mated to her..." Lily insisted. Byron just stared at her with amusement. It was frustrating her.
"You heard wrong, he let them take me, he didn't even try to stop them. I have no conflicts with any of you, please let me go. I'll leave the woods and never come back." Lily insisted.
"I believe you, young one. But be that as it may, having you as a bargaining chip I won't be allowing to slip through my fingers." Bryon said. Lily grit her teeth in anger, but before she could say anything...
"Lo?" Rafe's surprised voice almost startled her. Lily stiffened and looked over at him with wide eyes.
... what was he doing there?
"What the hell are you doing Byron?" Rafe growled.
"Not your territory... none of your business." Bryon growled back. Lily furrowed her brow in confusion.
Didn't Rafe tell her his territory was closer to the mountains? What was he doing all the way out there?
"Eren, take her to a guest suite." Bryon commanded as he and Rafe had a hard stare down. Lily looked behind her at several males who had accumulated at the door.
"And feed her, if she wishes." Bryon added dismissively. Lily looked at Rafe. He glanced over at her too.
"We will get this sorted." Rafe told her, but Lily had no idea what he meant by that. Suddenly a male's hand grabbed her roughly by the arm and yanked her back the way they'd come. Lily didn't have a choice, but she didn't resist anyway and followed along where he led her.
She cast one last glance at Rafe, but his full focus was on Byron. One of the male's slammed the door and she could no longer see them. The male who held her arm painfully yanked her forward. She nearly lost her feet and tripped.
"Eren, that is unnecessary." A female voice spoke harshly. Eren paused, and all the males around them gave her a bow of respect.
"Simply following orders." He said. Lily stared at the female with the mark of fate beneath her eye. Her claim mark was just slightly hidden by her hair.
She smelled of the Alpha male. Clearly... this was his mate.
"I will take her, all of you... leave." She commanded.
"The Alpha-" Eren began.
"Now." She growled. All of the males bowed respectfully, before quickly departing. They were left alone in the hallway.
Lily observed the female, and her gaze went down to her pregnant belly.
"I apologize. Come with me." She said as she gestured her toward the stairs. Lily hesitated. She glanced at the door.
"You are deep in our territory. I wouldn't try it." She warned. After another moment of hesitation, Lily reluctantly followed her.
"My name is Amelia. I hear your name is-" She began.
"Call me Lily." Lily quickly corrected her. She hated that she was being thrown back into her old life.
At least she could control this...
"Lily, are you hungry?" She asked. Lily just shook her head. Even though she knew she should be, after everything, nerves had her stomach in knots. Her muscles were truly feeling her exertion now. She just wanted to lay down... Amelia sighed deeply.
"I'm sorry you are being pulled into all this male nonsense. Hopefully it will be a quick resolution, and we can return you to your mate." She said warmly. Lily paused briefly on the stairs. The dread of that almost took her breath. Amelia paused and looked back at her. Lily avoided her eyes.
Amelia observed her curiously.
"Come on, I think you could use a nice hot bath and a warm meal." She said to change the subject. Lily hesitantly followed her. She glanced out the window they passed at the moon brightly in the sky.
And she hoped Gila and the others were okay...