Chapter 4: Colt

T

rudging back to where my pack had been hiding, I could only think of the celestial creature I had seen earlier. I couldn’t shake her from my thoughts. So pale and perfect; it was like she’d been glowing in the starlight. So beautiful, her angular visage and shining horn promised humanity that she was even more stunning than her beast. Everything about her, from her smell to her mere posture, captivated me. And I had tried to hurt her.

Resorting to solitude once more, I didn’t bother checking in with the dragons. They could handle themselves. I went straight through Dalesbloom territory south and then considered deviating, stalling so that I wouldn’t have to explain myself to my father. I would have to return eventually, though. Best to just get it over with.

By sunrise, I followed the scents of my packmates right to the heart of where all three territories merged. In the center of Dalesbloom territory, close to the southern borders but north of the junction of Grandbay and Eastpeak territory, the mountains became jagged and steep. A treacherous canyon carved beneath a mountainside that then rose above the rest of the Gunnison National Forest. There was only a single road leading here, and it was rarely traveled, if ever, and strangely the scents of wolves became muddled. It wasn’t actually our scents, though; it was our sense of smell. Wolf shifters had no use of their nose here. The effects of the abandoned silver mine were far-reaching and concentrated, even with most of the silver ore mined out of the mountain. It was so intense that it robbed a wolf of its ability to smell—so, even though it was dangerously close to Eastpeak and Grandbay, the abandoned silver mine was the perfect place for us to hide.

I made the laborious climb up the mountainside, passing vegetation until it thinned into stone. At the top of the ridge, one might expect a lush valley nestled between the mountains—instead, it was a barren pit circled by ledges like an open mouth, littered with piles of slumping gravel dotted by weeds. Obsidian reptiles lay sprawled in the rising sun, refusing to hide themselves here, while wolves and humans prowled in idle patrol. They all looked up at me, a dark speck on the edge of the mine. Everyone was on guard, and everyone was hungry since we could no longer hunt while we were in hiding. Had I been a stranger, I would have been swarmed. They only watched me descend into the mine, heading toward a gaping cavern.

All the recent activity had kicked up dust and dirt that made my throat dry. I skulked into the darkness, my eyes readjusting to the sight of several more shifters within, some sleeping, eating, reading by flashlight, or playing cards—anything to pass the time while they were forced away from their homes. Keeping my eyes ahead, I went deeper into the mine to an alcove where I kept my belongings: my bag full of clothes, a couple of books, a handgun, and my shoes. I still had to go to work Monday through Friday at the insurance brokerage firm I was hired at last year, but it was getting increasingly more difficult to hide my fatigue and pretend I wasn’t risking my life every day in this secret war. Fortunately, today was a Sunday. I could rest today.

After shifting back into human form, I dressed myself in jeans and a black sweater, feeling dirty. The only access to a shower I had was the camper one of my packmates had parked on the road leading up to the mine, but I would do that later. First, I had to speak to my father.

He wasn’t too much further into the mine. I didn’t even need a flashlight, as my packmates had set lanterns throughout the tunnel that spewed dull yellow light across the rock walls. Turning a corner, I saw long shadows ripple across the cavern, voices dimming into silence until I met the eyes of my father and his new Beta, Garrett Roydon. The tension left my father, and he turned his attention back to Garrett, continuing with what he’d been saying before.

“Since the Mythguard are searching along the eastern edge, we should be able to send a hunting party to the western part of the territory tonight. I don’t want them to come back unless it’s with at least two deer,” said David. “And I need you to go to the train station at 6 PM and pick up a pallet from the freight dock. It will have arrived under the name Brandon Gillam. You’ll have to sign for it, which I’ve already pre-approved.”

Garrett folded his arms. “That’s in Eastpeak. I won’t risk running into the Mythguard or any of Everett’s wolves, will I?”

“Wear a hat and sunglasses,” my father replied irritably.

“Right.” Garrett turned away, catching my eye briefly before leaving the cavern for another tunnel.

As the Beta’s footsteps faded away, I stepped closer to my father, wary of getting too close—or else his rage might lash out at me and leave me with a scar matching the one Gavin had given me across my nose. David looked more tired than all of us, with bags under his eyes and his hair uncombed, his beard untrimmed, and body odor creeping out from under his stained dress shirt. He frowned at me. “What is it, Colt?”

I stood before him with my hands at my sides. Did I really want to confess to what I had seen last night? Well, if I didn’t say anything, the dragons would.

“I found something last night,” I began, meeting my father’s gaze. His expression was unchanged: constant disappointment and underlying anger. With a slow inhale, I continued. “The dragons were hunting a wolf shifter on our northeastern border.”

“And?”

“She wasn’t just any wolf shifter.”

David’s eyes narrowed. He took a step closer, his presence imposing. I wanted to step back, but I held my ground before my father. “Do we know her?”