A few hours later, I flopped down in the long grass of a meadow about a half hour's walk from the castle. My tongue flopped out of my mouth and I was panting heavily. Sienna had been running around with Aislinn's wolf, Vera, for a while and had finally begun to tire out.
Vera plopped down beside me and rubbed her sandy blonde snout against my own. I looked over to her and gave her a toothy grin. I could tell she had needed this just as much as Sienna had.
A twig cracked behind us, making my ears twitch back, but the familiar scent of the guards who had accompanied us wafted by and I was able to settle. After a few more moments of rest, Vera prodded my side and gestured to where we had left our clothing. I took the hint and followed her over to shift back.
Once we were dressed again, Aislinn spoke.
"When you asked me to show you where to run, I wasn't expecting that I would be joining you. That was a lot of fun, thank you. I'm so glad I was assigned to you." She beamed at me.
"You're more than just my lady in waiting, Aislinn, you're my friend," I told her sincerely.
Her eyes shone for a brief moment before she threw her arms around me. It took me split second before I was hugging her back. It was nice to finally have a friend here. We began to make our way back to the castle.
"Hey, so I wanted to ask you a question," I started. She shifted her gaze to me.
"Okay, shoot."
"Valen and Von seemed on edge today before they left. Is there something going on?" She paused for a moment and bit down on her lip before answering.
"Well, I shouldn't be telling you this," she glanced back at the guards behind us and lowered her voice.
"But there have been wolves stalking just outside of the kingdom's perimeter. They don't come close enough for us to attack and get a scent on them, but they don't seem afraid of us either. I believe they went out there to try and frighten them off, but I'm not sure."
I thought for a moment.
"Well, why doesn't someone just go out there far enough to catch their scent and see what they want?"
"Because, regardless of our pack's reputation, we're not going to attack first. Especially not so close to our borders. There are a lot of wolves to protect."
"Okay, I can see that. But what if someone who, say, isn't a part of the pack yet, went out and did a little recon?" I asked while trying to feign a blank expression. She gave me a side-eyed glance.
"Indigo, I know you well enough now to know what you're thinking. That wouldn't be a good idea, either. Listen, the paper work for you to join the pack is already underway, regardless of the outcome of the ball. They really do want you here. To go out alone on a mission like that? It could get you killed. Or be seen as treason against DarkBlood. It's just not a good idea." Aislinn shook her head at me.
"Besides, do you really think the princes would let you leave alone?"
I sighed. "You've got a good point. It was just a thought, is all." She smiled at me and put her hand on my shoulder.
"You definitely think like a warrior, I'll give you that much. But there's just too much going on right now to risk it." I just nodded and smiled back at her as we continued on to the castle.
Little did she know, I knew exactly what I had to do.
***
That night, I waited silently in my bed while straining my ears to listen as the last member of staff retired for the night. When I heard the last door click closed, I waited a few minutes longer to make sure there were no more footsteps roaming the halls.
Satisfied that everyone was asleep, I zipped up my dark hoodie and quietly made my way out of my room. I left my door open just a crack so that I wouldn't make any noise when I came back in.
I tiptoed down the stairs, being careful where I placed my feet. What felt like hours later, I finally reached the bottom and silently said a prayer of thanks to the Moon Goddess for getting down without making any noise.
I slid along the walls as I continued my way to the front door. I had expected there to be more guards around at this hour, but I guess being the most feared kingdom in the werewolf world comes with some perks.
I slipped out of the door unnoticed, and broke into a jog as I approached the pack perimeter. I stopped near the edge of the trees and looked back at the castle. I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.
Deciding that this mission was more important than dealing with that issue, I turned back to the trees and quickly undressed before shifting. Now that I could see the world through Sienna's eyes, the dark was no issue to me. I took off into the trees, being as silent as possible.
Awhile later, I began approaching the edge of the border. I slowed my pace and slunk my lean body down into the bushes. It was a clear night, and the moon shone brilliantly in thin silver rays on Sienna's fur.
As much as I admired the beauty, I knew I needed to keep hidden. A white wolf is fairly easy to spot in the dark. Once I was satisfied with my hiding spot, I watched and waited.
Finally, about an hour later, a small group of wolves began to appear just under a mile a way. I didn't have to strain my eyes very hard to get a good look. The first three wolves were smaller in stature and grey in color, with their snouts glued to the forest floor. They didn't seem to be doing anything besides sniffing at the land just past the border. I was thankful that they were too far away to pick up on my scent. However, I was baffled.
What on Earth could they be doing?
As I moved my gaze to the other two wolves my breathing stopped. There, standing in the middle of the field, was Beta Alexander and his son Marc from the Moonlight pack.
My shock made me suck in an audible breath, and all of their ears shot toward me. Beta Alexander lowered his head to the ground and let out a warning growl. They began advancing toward my hiding spot.
Shit, this isn't good. I had to do something to get them away from me. I couldn't risk being found out here all alone.
Think Indigo, think!
As my heart rate began to increase, I noticed the wind started to pick up. I paused for a second before realization dawned over me.
All of these things I thought had been coincidences- the lights burning out, the crazy rain storm when I met with Valen- they all seemed to happen at high emotional points in my life. Almost as if I was the one making it happen. I glanced back and saw the wolves prowling even closer.
I decided now was as good a time as any to test my hypothesis. I closed my eyes and inhaled deep, feeling the wind howling around me. I focused on the beating of my heart; the blood running through my veins.
I counted to three in my head, before exhaling hard and feeling a surge of power run through my body. It was as if I was connected to someone other than myself.
An ethereal tether to the heavens above pulled at my consciousness. I opened my eyes and could see with a clarity I had never witnessed before. Colors I didn't even know existed bounced off of the sharp planes of the scene before me. I rose up to stand on all fours, making eye contact with Beta Alexander. He faltered for a moment, before baring his teeth at me. I could still feel the wind, dancing in small circles through my fur.
I focused all of my energy on that feeling. I looked Beta Alexander directly in the eyes, and directed the wind purposefully at his posse. The strength of the gust threw them back a few yards and they looked back at me in shock.
Beta Alexander's eyes never left mine, as he growled once more before huffing an order of retreat to the other wolves. I let out my breath and turned to run home. I had to tell the royal family.
Soon, I was back in the castle, clothed, and making my way back to my room. I decided to hold onto the information I'd gathered till morning, when everyone would be coherent enough to understand what I was saying.
I was still mulling over in my mind whether or not I wanted to tell them I had discovered a new power.
On one hand, I felt they deserved to know for being so open to taking me in, but on the other, I had just discovered it. I didn't have the slightest clue of anything being different about me until just recently. Maybe I needed a little more time to practice with my powers and see what I was capable of.
I pushed my door open a crack, before slipping in and carefully pulling it closed. I heard a rustle near my bed, and I froze for a second.
I quickly withdrew the dagger I had stored in my boot and, I flung it in the direction of my assailant as I turned toward them. The blade stuck in one of the wooden posts of the bed. The light flicked on and the color drained from my face. Shit.
Von was sitting on my bed.
"Have a nice stroll?" he asked me, while crossing his arms over his chest.
"I, uh..." I stammered out as Valen emerged from the closet, glaring at me. He pulled the dagger from the post and flipped it expertly in his hands.
"You know," he began, "Aislinn told us you had asked about what we were up to today. She mentioned she was worried you'd try going out on your own. I told her that there was no way you would be stupid enough to do that. Of course, you'd come to one of us first. But what do you know? I hear the front door opening in the dead of night and see you running off toward the woods. Care to explain?"
I gulped. "Okay, I know this looks bad, but I was really just trying to help," I began to explain before Von cut me off.
"And then- get this- we follow you out there and watch you as you're stalking the same wolves that we had been looking for earlier. And what do we witness? Well, it seemed a lot like you were able to literally blow them off of your trail. Controlling the elements? That's unheard of. Who are you, really Indigo? What are you?" Von asked with a coldness in his voice.
"Look, if you'd just listen for a damn second I could explain," I ground out. They both stared at me with caution in their eyes, so I continued.
"Yes, I asked Aislinn about what was going on, and she explained the situation to me. I figured it would be best if I was to go out and do a little scouting, since I'm not initiated into the pack yet. That way, my scent wouldn't alert them. So I did just that. But what I discovered while I was watching, was that the wolves are from the Moonlight pack. The Beta and his son were there, along with some lower ranking wolves. If they had intended to fight, they would've brought stronger warriors. I'm not sure what they're up to, but I have a bad feeling about it" I rushed out.
"Okay, and what about the wind?" Valen questioned.
I shrugged. "That's new, too. I realized weird things kept happening around me in highly charged situations, so I... meditated or something, and felt a connection to some higher power being brandished through me. Through that connection, I was able to control the wind to blow them back with a huge amount of force. I've never done that before, and I've never even known until tonight that I could. You guys have to believe me. If I knew anything about this before I came here, I would have told you by now," I pleaded with them. They regarded me with cold eyes.
Finally, Valen sighed.
"I believe you." I breathed out a sigh of relief, but before I could thank him he put a hand up.
"I believe you, but we still have to tell our father about this," he said while glancing at Von, who nodded in agreement. I felt my heart deflate.
"What will happen to me?" I whispered.
"That's for him to decide. Try to get some sleep. We'll plead with him on your behalf," Von said as they left my room. I sat on my bed stunned.
What had I gotten myself into now?
Author's Note:
Okay, this one is a little shorter, but I'm running on like four hours of sleep and a lot of Redbull.
Let me know what you think!
And as always, don't forget to vote!
Xoxo
CrimsynIris