Thirty minutes earlier...
The two wolves flew past the trees with far less caution than they had approached the clearing. Blake, free from the pressure of organising his pack, pressed on through the undergrowth with single-minded determination. His dominance had never been more tested as Rothan constantly strove for control. Heedless of the need to subdue the Elmwood Alpha, the powerful wolf's only focus lay with the redhead he sought to protect.
From the north, the first sounds of wolves fighting drifted towards them, shouts over the link suggesting the invading wolves had encountered the first resistance hidden amidst the trees. The Alpha ignored the distant skirmishes, steadily making his way deeper into the forest away from the cacophony of snarls and vicious growls.
While Kaden weaved around the deadly patches of dog’s Mercury, Blake threw himself straight through the middle, confident his wolf was strong enough to withstand any poisonous side-effects. For a moment, silence fell upon the forest. The only sound, the raspy breath of the two wolves and the rustling of the foliage against their flanks.
Painfully aware that few of the defenders were likely to survive, Kaden turned his head frequently to peer through the tall trunks, as though he could penetrate the thick foliage that blocked his view and seek out the members of his pack. Agitation made his fur bristle upwards like he'd stuck one paw in an electric socket, and he let out an unconscious whine of misery.
Without warning, the young wolf's ears flicked forward, and he skittered to a undignified halt right in the middle of a patch of feathered ferns. It took Blake a second to register his companion was no longer on his heels; his mind half on Hannah, and half on the pack link, waiting for word on the forts. With a huff of impatience, he slowed to a halt, sniffing the air.
From the east, a unmistakable, musky aroma penetrated the natural smells of the forest.
Rogue.
Kaden didn't hesitate, swinging towards the source with a guttural snarl. He moved with a speed that belied his poor condition, his shoulders set, head low to the ground, leaving Blake with no other option but to follow him.
Far from any of the trails, the forest grew less ordered, the pine trees clumping together like groups of undisciplined militia, facing off against each other in the fight for food and sunlight. Occasionally, a pine had fallen – its corpse a visual reminder of the price of defeat.
Without constant maintenance, the trees had left behind a desert of pine needles strewn across the battlefield, the ground foliage having to work twice as hard to thrive.
Pinned against one of those trees, a foppish-looking young man shook with terror as he tried to extract himself from his attacker – a rogue twice his size, with dirty, matted hair and an evil gleam in his eyes.
Slapping ineffectively at the hand wrapped around his throat, the man let out a high-pitched squeal, his toes barely scraping the ground below.
The rogue let out a soft, sibilant laugh; so immersed in his enjoyment, he remained oblivious to the enormous wolves emerging from the trees behind him. One claw traced the beads of sweat running down his victim’s neck with a kind of perverse pleasure. "Oh little mouse," he purred. "Squeal some more for me."
Kaden's growl held a low menace, his teeth bared with a very personal hatred.
The rogue turned, his black eyes narrowed with irritation at the interruption. His gaze swept over the two new arrivals, nose scenting the air, and he let out a rumble of recognition. “Interesting,” he whispered to himself. “An Alpha and a raggedy wolf.” His lips curled upwards in a cruel smile. “How's life outside your hole, Kaden?”
Kaden shifted, his haggard face dark and dangerous. “Davos.” He snapped the name with the same force he'd use to bite into the rogues neck. “You've moved up in the world. Last I saw you, your friends were busy planning your immediate demise.”
The rogue’s smile widened. “They died first.” He looked Kaden up and down. “Last I saw you, you were cowering in a puddle of your own excrement.” His eyes shifted to the huge black wolf at Kaden's side. “Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?”
Kaden glanced at the Alpha. “I'd rather not. I wouldn’t want to insult him.”
The rogue sniffed the air again, his nostrils flaring. “Ah. No ordinary Alpha, a Hunter no less. What a stroke of good luck," he declared to his victim, his lip curled in arrogant satisfaction. "It looks like I get to bag two legends in one fell swoop."
"Unlikely," Kaden responded in a voice laden with nonchalance. "But then, I am a tad out of practice." He glanced over at the Alpha who appeared to be struggling to contain his impatience. "Do mind if I--?" He gestured towards the rogue.
"It's your territory," Blake shrugged. "Be my guest."
"Marvellous," Kaden murmured. He rolled both his shoulders, squaring up for the fight, and the rogue bared his teeth in a snarl of pleasure, dropping his forgotten victim unceremoniously on the frozen ground.
As the two enemies began circling each other, Blake found himself navigating a fight on two fronts as flashes from the fight on the Northern fort came through the link in a disconcerting visual display that overlapped the scene unfolding right in front of him. He grimaced and concentrated on keeping them separated.
“Watch your flank – ” A stone wall rose up out of the forest floor, sloping upwards to meet a pitched roof, low enough for a wolf to jump onto. Liam provided cover for his engineers as they ran towards a strategic crack in the wall, each hauling a familiar, silver canister. “You two, get into position!”
Missiles began to fly wildly from a slit in the wall, and the warriors quickly found themselves trapped behind the narrow trees, unable to advance.
“This is almost like old times, isn't it?” the rogue taunted Kaden, taking a calculated swipe at his shoulder. “You know, I’ve missed our little sessions, raggedy wolf. Lets see how quickly I can make you bleed today.”
“The only one bleeding today will be you,” Kaden promised grimly, rolling out of the way and shifting into his wolf.
“Now that's cheating,” Davos tutted, leaping to meet Kaden's lunge. He dodged the jaws which snapped inches from his throat, blocking Kaden's attack with a violent blow to his head. Kaden rolled, shifted back to human form and ripped at the rogue’s torso with his claws.
“Charlie, get their bloody attention will you?” Liam's voice was tight with frustration. “We need a clear shot – ” Charlie and the remaining warriors broke cover on the other side of the fort, making as much noise as possible as they harangued and harassed the defenders with a series of swooping attacks, drawing their fire.”
A thin line of red appeared through the rogue's shirt as he failed to manoeuvre himself out of reach of Kaden's attack, but his smile remained plastered across his face as he countered with a flurry of blows.
Rapidly forced backwards by the rogues assault, Kaden gave way, allowing himself to be pushed under the canopy of trees. While his physical condition had been worn down by months in captivity, he'd lost none of the skills taught to him in training, and Blake could see no hint of panic in the young wolf's eyes.
He's got potential, he observed to his wolf. At full strength, he'll be more than capable.
He's taking too long, Rothan sniffed. You might want to brace yourself, he added as the rogue prepared for an overhead strike that was sure to render Kaden unconscious.
He's ready for it, Blake disagreed. See how he's positioned himself?
Not them, Rothan snapped. Pay attention!
“Don't just stand there! Hit the valve and chuck ‘em in!” Over at the fort Liam’s voice was filled with supressed excitement – clearly Charlie's diversion had worked, leaving the way clear for the engineers. Blake was treated to a quick flash of two silver canisters flying through a narrow window, followed by shaky ground and thundering paws as Liam fled the scene. “Everybody get clear,” he yelled over the link.
Blake's eyes widened. “Kaden?” he barked. “Brace yourself!”
Kaden’s response was purely instinctive, and he crouched low to the ground, swinging one foot around to sweep the rogue’s legs out from under him.
Over half a mile away, the canisters ignited and the resulting explosion shook the canopy of trees around them. The vibrations continued right through the clearing, the accompanying boom loud enough to alert any wolves not already aware that they had company.
Lets hope the humans didn't hear that, Blake muttered, wincing at the pain in his ears.
Lets hope Syrus did, his wolf countered savagely.
The rogue lay stunned on the damp ground, his dark eyes startled by the unexpected explosion. It was all the opening Kaden needed to end the fight, and he thrust his claws into the rogues side with a hiss of satisfaction.
"Oh, little mouse," Kaden whispered, as his claws continued to slide deeper into the rogues lung. "Squeal for me." The rogue offered up one final grimace – a gurgle that may have been a laugh rising up from his throat, before his body fell limp and silent on Kaden's arm.
"Not bad," Blake observed, shifting to human form. "A little dramatic, maybe, but not bad."
"I'm a little rusty," Kaden admitted ruefully. “Nice timing with that distraction of yours.”
“Seems to have worked,” Blake agreed casually with a tight grin. In his head, the pack link had lit up with reports of wolves fleeing into the surrounding forest. A second explosion tore through the trees and he grunted in satisfaction. “I believe the northern passage has just been subdued.”
Kaden prodded the dead rogue with his foot. "How much of a coincidence do you think it would be for a random rogue to attack Elmwood at the exact same time as us?"
"Too much," Blake growled. He crouched by the body searching for the tell-tale tattoo. He exposed the crude ink to Kaden with a grimace, a litany of swearwords running through his head. "Where there's one, there'll be more."
"Damn." The Elmwood wolf sighed. He gifted the dead rogue with one last, vicious kick.
Blake raised one eyebrow speculatively. “I take it you two had history?”
“Davos liked to keep me company whenever he felt bored of life as a rogue,” Kaden explained, his face taut with remembered pain. “He found it a challenge to seek out new and unusual ways to bleed me every Saturday night. He was quite good at it,” the young wolf acknowledged in a strangely neutral voice.
“Thank the Goddess!” The Elmwood wolf had pulled himself to his feet and was busy dusting himself down, his nose wrinkling at his crumpled clothes. “I thought that mangy mutt was going to be the death of me.”
His clothes were elaborate and expensive. He wore his status the same way a debutante would wear her jewels, and his voice had a natural stridency to it that set Blake's teeth on edge.
Once satisfied his finery was salvageable, he raised grateful eyes to his rescuers. It took only seconds for the smile to slip from his face, replaced by a look of stupid confusion and he stood, mouth agape as he stared at the last two faces he ever expected to see in Elmwood.
Kaden blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry,” he offered genially. “I'd forgotten you were there. Are you okay?" He took a closer look, checking for injuries.
A splutter, and the man regained the use of his tongue in strident and indignant protest. "You can't be here! You're dead!"
Blake recognised the obnoxious little secretary that had kicked up such a fuss during their diplomatic mission. The last he'd seen of him, he'd been half-carrying a drunken Meagan out of the hall.
"Funny," Kaden noted in a dry tone. "I don't feel dead. Perhaps you are mistaken?"
"You left the territory on some foolish mission, and died in an ambush!" the Eta argued with a stubborn squeal, shaking his head in furious denial. "The Alpha confirmed it himself."
"Did he indeed?" Kaden growled quietly. He turned to the Alpha. “May I introduce – ?”
“We've met,” Blake said shortly.
The Eta's eyes flicked rapidly between Kaden and Blake and he peered at them suspiciously,
the cogs turning as he attempted to put two and two together.
“You're – ” he started, pointing at Blake. “And you – ” he stumbled, his finger swinging back to Kaden, almost poking him the chest. “But, he's – ” His face settled into a look of scandalised horror. “You're a traitor!” he declared dramatically. His cheeks puffed out in a display of pompous indignation and a tell-tale glaze appeared in his eyes as he reached out over the link to report his findings.
Stop him! Rothan warned. If he alerts Syrus to Kaden's presence...
Blake jumped forward but, moving with impressive speed, Kaden was way ahead of them both, wrapping his hand around the Eta's throat and pushing him back against the tree. “Now that's ungrateful,” he warned softly. “Is that how you were taught to greet the son of your Alpha? I’m no traitor, and you might want to remember that I've just saved your pathetic little life. So stop that.”
The Eta squeaked in reply, his face turning a gentle puce colour as Kaden applied pressure to his windpipe.
“What you can do,” Kaden continued, smiling a smile that could freeze steam. “Is provide me with the answers to a number of pressing questions. Is that okay?”
The Eta squeaked again, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water desperately trying to take a gulp of air. He nodded frantically, his eyes rolling up into his head.
“Good,” Kaden murmured. “Lets start with an easy one. What are you doing out here all alone?”
The Eta let out a noise similar to air escaping a deflating balloon, bubbles forming on his chapped lips, but no words escaped him.
Blake raised an eyebrow. “You might want to loosen the grip a little.”
Kaden frowned. “I can't risk him alerting the link.”
“Silence is good,” Blake agreed sagely. “Breathing is better. Especially if you want answers.”
Kaden's eyes widened and he let the Eta drop to the ground for the second time, where he lay gasping for breath. “I guess it's been a while since I had to check my strength,” Kaden muttered. “It feels strange to think of myself as the heir again.”
“Meagan's the heir,” the Eta croaked.
“Meagan's a rogue,” Kaden corrected. “He can't be heir to anything. Lets try again, shall we? What are you doing out here?”
“Rogues,” the Eta griped. “They're everywhere. They're attacking – ” He trailed off, his eyes flicking between the two wolves and the dead rogue, two and two clearly trying to add up to five.
“Where's my father?” Kaden asked with some asperity. “Is he leading the defence?”
“I don't know, no. He's searching for something though. Something he says will end the attack, save us all!”
Hannah, Rothan snarled.
Blake's hackles rose and he failed to prevent the growl that rippled up from within.
The Eta shot him a look of terror, but continued to babble. “The Alpha will have both your heads for this treachery! And Meagan – ”
Kaden snarled at the mention of his half-brother. “The only traitor here is my father,” he snapped, his patience wearing thin. “Now be quiet.”
The Eta opened his mouth to argue, but his predicament seemed to have rendered him speechless. He was clearly put out at being contradicted however, and his scowl deepened as he tried to rearrange the facts to suit his own perception of the situation. After moment of intense and painful looking contemplation the scowl faded, replaced with a look of smug satisfaction that suggested his mental gymnastics had somehow successfully won out over whatever common sense he had left.
“What do we do with him?” Kaden asked. “We can't let him go. As soon as we're out of sight he'll alert everyone.”
“I’m not sure that he will,” Blake murmured. “He's had several opportunities since you let him go.” He closed his eyes a moment, focusing his attention on Kaden’ scent, and a look of satisfaction crossed his face. “I think he'd be less trouble as a wolf. Why don't you try ordering him to shift? He suggested.
“Okay,” Kaden said uncertainly. “Shift,” he demanded. Nothing happened.
The Eta glared up at the Alpha's son, a triumphant look in his eyes as though Kaden's failure had just confirmed all his suspicions.
“Try again,” Blake suggested, his voice intent.
“Shift.”
This time a strangely appalled look crossed the Eta's face, and he found himself involuntarily drawn to the ground, his bones and muscles working against him. A wail of protest escaping his lips as his clothes tore and fell to the ground around him, and it was a scrawny, pathetic looking wolf that nuzzled the remains with a soft whine of sorrow.
“Well would you look at that, it actually worked,” Kaden murmured in surprise.
“I thought so,” Blake nodded. “He might have removed you from the pack link, but Syrus declared you dead, remember? So when he named a new successor there was no reason to officially sever the bonds to you. In the eyes of pack law, you're still the heir apparent, and the wolves recognise your authority, even if the humans don't.”
Kaden's pale face reflected his myriad of complicated emotions as he processed the new information. “Well,” he said finally. “That simplifies things at least.” He cast a stern look in the Eta's direction, drawing himself up to his full height. “I know you can still understand me, so listen closely. I forbid you to call on the pack link. I forbid you to mention my name to any wolf you encounter. In fact,” he tilted his head thoughtfully. “Best to stay quiet until I bid you otherwise, okay?”
The wolf whined, whether in protest or agreement, Blake wasn't sure, but the power of Kaden's Alpha voice was strong enough to leave Blake certain that the Eta wouldn't be revealing their presence to anyone anytime soon.
“Now what?” Kaden pondered. “We don't really need him, do we?” he asked the Alpha.
Blake looked the scraggly wolf up and down in contempt. “As bait, maybe,” he grunted. “Can't think of another use for him.”
“No, neither can I,” Kaden agreed. He leant down to look the wolf in the eyes. “Well?” he asked bluntly. “Can I tempt you?”
The Eta turned tail and fled.
Kaden cocked his head to one side, a cacophony of snapping twigs and rustling leaves echoing through the forest as the simpering sycophant fled mindlessly through the foliage, his tail tucked firmly between his legs.
"He needs to work on his stealth." Blake observed flatly. A particularly sharp crack echoed from between the furthest trees, followed by an equally high-pitched yelp of pain. He turned to raise an eyebrow at Kaden. "He does realise fleeing will do him no good once you take over as Alpha, doesn't he?"
"Perhaps he's hoping we lose." The young wolf suggested in a neutral tone, his ears twitching as the sounds of fleeing wolf began to fade into the distance.
Blake shrugged. "That's understandable, I suppose. Where would we be without hope?"
Kaden let out a soft chortle of pleasure, somehow devoid of all real humour.
“Should we be worried?”
“No,” Kaden rubbed absentmindedly at one of the scars across his face. “he's a bootlicker, but he's not completely suicidal. He'll find a nice deep hole to hide in until this is all over, then emerge with a suitably fanciful excuse, and fawn over whoever's still standing.”
“How long do you think he’ll hide?”
“If we win?” Kaden feigned a look of thoughtful concern. “Several months ought to do it... somewhere damp and uncomfortable, preferably.” He shot Blake a grin and jerked his head towards the village. "Shall we?"
The two allies shifted once more, their pace steady as they made their way closer and closer to the lower village. It didn't take long before they crossed into the part of the forest rife with tunnels linking to the Twin forts, and they made sure to keep to the very edges, their keen eyes keeping a close watch for any hidden entrances. They needn't have worried.
The stench that suddenly rose from the forest floor around them could have been shipped in from the very depths of hell itself. It was neither hot sewage nor rotting flesh, but an odorous, festering mix of the two, with an undertone he likened to stale vomit.
“Did we crush some?” Kaden asked, eying the Dogs wood in alarm, his hackles rising as the stench washed over them. “Did we crush all of it?”
The miasma leeched up through the tunnels below, and almost crawled across the moss covered ground in a thick, invisible fog that stopped even the strongest wolf in its tracks.
It was foul. It was stomach churning. It was familiar. All of a sudden, the contents of the two rucksacks his lieutenants had handled so carefully had become alarmingly clear.
“No,” Blake snarled. “It's not the damn plant." Eyes streaming, he pushed forward, eager to escape the stench. If it could create this much havoc on his senses out in the open air, he couldn't imagine how it had affected the Elmwood warriors trapped within the walls of the two strongholds. “It's the Twins.”
Oh, I'm going to kill those two, he growled as he strove to keep the contents of his stomach on the inside.
You've got to admire their intuition, Rothan choked out. His whine of distress matched Blake's revulsion.
Their intuition, yes. The Alpha cast wild eyes around the, now putrid smelling, forest. Their foresight? Not so much. This stuff is going to linger for weeks.
Not our territory, not our problem.
I’m not sure Kaden would agree, the Alpha argued, glancing back at his companion through a fog of painful tears.
The young wolf's ears lay flat upon his head, and he opened and closed his jaws in an involuntary expression of disgust, weaving as his paws stumbled forward like a drunk with only partial control of his limbs. "I can actually taste it," Kaden whined as he sought to keep up. "What in Goddess name is it?"
"Effective," Blake said through gritted teeth, all the while attempting not to draw breath. "I guarantee you not one of those wolves is fighting anymore." He glanced again at the young wolf. "And no deaths either, as promised."
"They might not be dead," Kaden muttered as they reached what appeared to be the fringes of the spread. "But how many of them wish they were?"
Blake continued to run until he was absolutely sure the stench could no longer follow them, then raised his muzzle to the sky and howled. The cry resonated through the forest, bouncing off trees and startling the nearby birds. Caught on the wind it soured above the canopy, calling to his two lieutenants.
He didn't have to wait long for a response. Marcus's howl was almost quizzical, he hadn't been expecting to hear from his Alpha so soon. Alex's howl was full of mirth, as though the wolf was having the time of his life amidst the chaos he had created. The four wolves began to converge on one another, the lieutenants picking up on the tension their Alpha was exuding.
“What is it, Alpha?” the Beta called over the link as soon as they were in range.
“We have company,” came Blake's grim reply.