Pack Captive (Moon Called Book 1), page 20
She put her hand over mine, meaning to comfort me, but the weight of this commitment, the protection of all wolfkind...I'd never felt anything so heavy in my life.
"Because if you fail...Fenris will eat the world."
29
Ayla
I didn’t get much time to practice before my time finally came.
Nearly four days passed before the bells began tolling again, echoing through the amphitheater and slamming into my eardrum. I’d only ever heard them from the temple before.
Down here, with the relentless sound bouncing off the wall, it felt like my head was going to explode from the noise alone.
Calian was with me, running laps and making it look absolutely effortless, when the ringing began.
I was once again looking like a mess as Eryn ran me through my paces, making me shift from human to wolf on the fly during sprints. I also had a suspicion that Calian was showing off, trying to distract me, because he was running shirtless on the same track and every time he passed, he gave me a quick smirk.
He came to a halt when the bells rang, and I looked up from where I sat on the edge of the track, catching my breath.
This time they rang a slightly different tone that I was used to.
Calian’s face was grim. “That’s the warning signal for a settlement. One of the lone packs has been attacked.”
Despite the sweat on my face, I suddenly felt cold inside.
It was like my village all over again. Would we find nothing but a razed mess?
Eryn waved a hand at me, his face just as hard as Calian’s. “Dismissed.”
I gritted my teeth, but Eryn was already bolting towards the entrance of the amphitheater—where Ryden was striding in, wearing the runed armor I’d seen him in for the first time.
“Pack Terra’s sent out a call for help,” he said.
The Claws and Warriors had all immediately dropped what they were doing and gathered around him, listening intently to his orders.
I was jostled to the back of the crowd, and I was also sure the elbow that caught me in the ribs was deliberate.
But Ryden’s gaze scanned the crowd until he caught sight of me.
“Moon Caller. Get armored up; you’re with me and the Second.”
The sudden silence was deafening. I could’ve melted under the heat of the glares directed my way.
“Let’s go,” Calian said quietly. “We don’t have much time.”
He put himself protectively between myself and the Claws, who were giving me looks of pure distrust.
We hurried back to the Dawn Palace, taking the stairs two at a time. I burst into my room and yanked off the training clothes, and the maid came bursting in after me.
“Your armor is here, Caller,” she said, looking frazzled and forgetting to ignore my title the way she’d done all week.
She yanked open a wardrobe I’d never bothered to explore before.
The armor wasn’t much like Ryden’s; it was similar to the ritual dresses, looking too pretty for battle with all the embroidery, but every inch of the cloth and golden metal was engraved in lunar runes.
Unlike the Warriors, who were expected to get up close and personal with teeth and claws, I would be expected to stay on the back lines.
I pulled it on quickly, scraping my hair back into a quick braid, and shifted, flowing around the maid’s legs and vanishing into the hall.
Calian was already striding towards my door, wearing the black-lacquered armor with his own protective runes.
I let a tiny amount of my power flow through me and they lit up, linking over his armor like an iridescent shell.
Calian shifted and nuzzled my neck. We meet Ryden at the city gates. He won’t go without you at his side now that he’s given out the order.
We galloped all the way there, finding Ryden already shifted and pacing back and forth, conferring with the leader of the Claws and arranging the Warriors in their ranks
Caller at my side, he demanded, and I didn’t allow myself to feel intimidated by the obvious disdain radiating from the wolves as I loped towards him.
This was, after all, what I had asked him to do for me. To let me run with the pack, be responsible for them and their lives, and finally prove that I wasn’t a Fenris colluder.
I’d never been the best example of a Moon Caller, but my Vesperan Warriors had known to expect me to stay with them.
Ryden needed to have that same trust in me if I was going to live up to my full potential, for all our sakes.
We go east, Ryden told me, his gaze shifting to Calian as well. A small settlement was attacked by a large contingent of shadow wolves. One scout made it here with the report, but there may be…something more than just the shadow wolves there.
Calian growled, his hackles rising as the Alpha gave him a warning look.
What is it? I demanded. What are you worried about?
Ryden just shook his head. If we come across it, you’ll know. It’s impossible to tell what sort of monstrosities Fenris will send out these days.
Ryden closed his eyes, and my head was suddenly filled with images of more wolves like the Berserker, wolves who dripped blood or had several sets of jaws.
I held back a shudder, not wanting to appear weak even though these creatures looked far worse than the shadow wolves.
We wasted no time after that. I fell back into the familiar lope at Ryden’s side, allowing him to take point as he led us out of Lykos.
The city doors slammed shut behind us. All the Guardians who had remained behind were manning the walls, keeping the doors barred.
We were taking no chances that Fenris would attack while we were gone, but we couldn’t stay here and ignore a call for help, either.
As we streamed into the forest, I released my grip on my power a little more, letting it flow from to Ryden, and to the rest of the pack.
Ryden and Calian were both glowing like stars, their runes so bright they left streaks on my vision, but the other wolves, even the ones who hated me, were brighter than the Vesperans had ever been.
It made Yasemin’s thoughts pretty clear; I was destined to be with Pack Azura, and I needed to do everything in my power to bring every single one of them home safely.
Pace yourselves, Ryden commanded. We have hours to go. This is not a race.
I fell into an easy rhythm, letting the forest pass by as we ran.
Several hours later, my paws were finally beginning to ache. I panted a little harder now, and Ryden ordered a halt near a river.
We all plunged our heads in, drinking silently and quickly.
When I raised my head, shaking water off my muzzle and ears, I smelled it.
It was just a breath of wind, but it carried the reek of rotting meat and the scent of ash.
Shadow wolves. We’re close. Ryden grimly stared up the river, his ears perked forward. I doubt we’ll find any survivors, but be on the lookout.
We reassembled, Calian and I flanking Ryden with the Claws behind us, and moved upriver as quickly as possible.
When we found it, I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.
It looked exactly like my village had once, but every house was burned to the ground. Ashes and blood were smeared across the ground in a frenetic mess.
The bodies of wolves were strewn everywhere. The pack had fought and died to the last one.
Flames still licked at the roof of the final building, which was surrounded by an entire circle of shadow wolves. The dark creatures milled around, panting and barking with excitement.
And from inside, we heard the wail of pups.
They’re burning them, I thought in shock, not caring if I’d broadcasted my thoughts to the entire pack. Ryden!
Go, he snarled, as the first of the shadow wolves looked up.
One by one, their heads turned our way in unison, their eerie red eyes glowing with reflected flames.
My blood boiling with rage, I released the floodgates on my power.
Ryden came crashing down on the leader of the shadow wolves, blazing so brightly the wolf disintegrated into ash before his teeth had fully closed on it.
The Warriors tore into them, and all around me the two packs mixed and became a snarling, frothing sea of flying blood and howls.
The jolt from the crypts went through me. Shimmering mist floated over the battlefield.
I watched in stunned disbelief as several ghostly wolves materialized from Pack Terra’s corpses, shaking themselves as though they’d just climbed out of a lake, and plunged into battle at my pack’s side.
I’d called the spirits without trying. But I couldn't think about that now, while the wails of the pups were growing fainter by the moment.
I needed to get through that ocean of violence and claws to the door, but wolves were ripping at each other in front of me; I was just as likely to get disemboweled by my own people.
Then two of the spirit wolves broke off. They circled to flank me, pushing in tight at my sides, and waited.
I took a step, and they came with me.
They were making themselves into shields for me, giving me a way through to their children.
I jumped into the fray, and the spirits formed a wall between me and the others. Not even the shadow wolves were able to tear through their ghostly hides, and the spirits snapped back, ripping at anything that dared to attack me.
I crawled under the seething mass of the battle, whimpering when the wind blew red-hot cinders into my fur, where they smoldered painfully.
We had to circle the building, the spirit wolves protecting my back the entire way, until I found the front door. It was already creaking, the boards eaten away by the flames.
I coughed as ash filled my nose and throat, then rammed my shoulder into the door.
The boards rained down on my head, and I couldn’t see anything at first with all the smoke swirling inside.
My runes lit up, the brightness of the moon cutting through the darkness.
Several small, black-smeared faces looked back at me, streaked clean with tear tracks.
Three pups were crouched low on the floor, an empty jug on the floor beside them. Their hair was soaked, and they held dripping cloths over their faces, steam wisping into the air.
Come with me, I told them, and summoned my ghosts.
The pups’ whimpered at the sight of the spirit wolves, then broke into wracking coughs. Their eyes were starting to glaze over.
Panic bit at me, then I grabbed one pup by the back of his neck and shook him gently.
Shift, I told him, and he slowly slid into his wolf form, becoming lighter and easier to carry.
The other two pups followed, and the spirit wolves picked them up by their scruffs.
Mom, one of the pups cried, and the spirit wolf holding her growled reassuringly.
I’m here, the spirit whispered.
I wanted to cry, but the smoke was sucking all the moisture out of me, and over the crackle of flames we could still hear the fight.
I pushed back through the door, keeping my head tucked so the pup was near my chest.
We burst through the doors into a storm of cinders, the ground both hot and wet with blood underfoot.
It was nearly impossible now to tell the difference between my pack and the shadow wolves, except for the brightness of their runes. More spirits had risen from Terra’s dead, and fought at their sides, tearing through the shadows like they were nothing.
We carried the pups away, stumbling over the bodies of the dead, until we were out of sight.
Keep them safe, I ordered the spirits, and ran back towards the battle.
More misty spirits condensed from the air, gathering around me. We tore through, and I saw Ryden ahead of me, the building collapsing behind him as several shadow wolves piled on top of him.
The ghosts howled, and the runes of every Azuran wolf went white-hot.
Shadow wolves dissolved into heaps of ash, mixing with the slurry of blood and mud under our paws.
Ryden ripped a shadow wolf apart, and the spirit wolves ran through the village, tearing apart the last of them.
I staggered back to the pups, my legs feeling weak.
The spirit wolf licked the little girl’s forehead as the pup cried, then dissolved into mist.
Every last shadow wolf was dead.
The threat is gone for now, Ryden told the pack. Reassemble, and search for survivors.
We might have driven out the threat…but looking at the pups, who were huddled together and shaking, their entire pack lost...I didn’t feel like we’d won at all.
30
Ayla
I held the funeral rites for the dead right there in the village.
It wasn't ideal, not without the moon overhead and the stink of smoke still hanging over their village, but as the Warriors tended to the pups and cleaned their wounds, Ryden and Calian helped me build a funeral pyre.
"They'll need a place to come back to," I told them, carefully laying yet another dead wolf on the oil-soaked boards. "Somewhere to feel a connection to their ancestors."
I regretted not being able to bring back any of the pups' family, but I'd do my best.
After we lit the pyre, I drew on the moon's light, letting the cool blue flames engulf the bodies and rapidly consume them.
In seconds, only ashes would remain.
I said a few words for them, even though I didn't know them at all, and sent them off with the traditional, "Go to the moon, and become its light."
When the last of the flames burned out, the Alpha and his Second helped me collect some of the ashes in jars, which I would bring back to the Lykos necropolis.
It was the least I could do for the pups. They would have their own family vault and somewhere to visit with the memories of their people.
One of the Guardians, who was strapped down with packs, took the jar and promised to deliver it straight to the Elder Caller.
Then we left for Lykos.
It wasn't easy. The pups cried, and their little feet grew sore. We had them shift into their human forms and cling to the backs of the Warriors, who carried them the whole way back to the city.
When we arrived at Lykos, it was already well into the evening of the next day.
Calian's steps slowed as we entered the city. I'll go with the Claws and find new families for them, he told us.
Ask my people, I said, twitching an ear towards the district where they were quartered. They have pups of their own. These ones might feel more comfortable around other children.
Calian nodded, brushing his nose over my muzzle. He licked my cheek, then guided the Warriors towards the quarters where stray packs were housed.
I hesitated, then took a step after them. The Alpha blocked my way.
You're not going with them, Ryden said. What's wrong?
I'd been staring after Calian and the pups. I realized the Alpha had been watching me the whole time, his blue eyes intent, and he hadn't missed the way my ears and tail were drooping.
I'm tired, I admitted. We got there too late. I feel like every time there's an opportunity to help...we're not there in time. I'm never there in time. And what's the point of anything if I can't do what I was made for?
I knew perfectly well it was exhaustion and grief talking.
There was always a point. It was better to go down fighting than to lie down and let Fenris roll over us all.
There was also a terror beneath that, that if Ryden knew my true feelings of despair, he wouldn't let me run with the pack as a free wolf.
Come on. Ryden jerked his head towards the Palace. I'm going to tell you something.
As the gates of Lykos were closed and barred behind us, we padded up the street.
I felt weary all the way down to my bones.
You can't save them all, he finally said. You do what you can, and you never stop trying, but you also accept that some things are beyond your control. What we can do is never stop. Never let Fenris break us down.
We walked over the bridge, and Ryden bumped into me with his shoulder, giving a gentle nudge.
You can't beat yourself up for it. Callers weren't just made to help wolves; you also put them to rest when no one else would've done it. That's part of what you made for. Now the pups will have ancestors to speak to. When they're older, they'll take comfort in knowing the souls of their dead aren't lost and wandering.
I heaved a sigh. Calian didn't have that comfort; it was terrible to know that your people were unburied and possibly lost forever, never to become part of the moon's path.
I also knew logically that I'd done what was needed of me, but it still didn't feel like enough.
Ryden nudged me towards the stairs, even though I was so tired I didn't want to walk anymore.
I forced myself to slink upwards, holding onto the promise of a warm bed and a dreamless sleep at the top.
As Alpha, I've had to accept these things, too. Ryden kept pace with me, and if he noticed I leaned a little heavily on his shoulder, he didn't say anything about it. I do my best by my pack, and fix what I can. Maybe I seem like a villain to some, but I do it for the good of my people.
I glanced at him sidelong. I'd once thought him the villain, but now I saw why he did the things he did.
In a world where Fenris took out an entire pack overnight, you were always between a rock and a hard place. There were no easy choices anymore.
We reached the top of the stairs, and I shifted, stumbling a little as I adjusted to walking on only two feet again.
My emotional state was dragging me down, making me want to sleep for a hundred years without waking.
Ryden slipped a hand around my waist and pushed open my door.
"Thank you," he said.
I looked up at him, taking in the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, the tension in his jaw.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you. I asked you to make me part of things, and you did. I don't mean to complain about it, I just..." I took a breath and exhaled. "Those things you talked about...they're hard to accept."
"They are, but that's why we lean on each other."
