Chapter 28

**Asher**


We step out of the weird portal thing once again, but this time things look a hell of a lot different. For one thing, there is blood everywhere, and for another, it seems like those left well enough to get away didn't bother taking the dead men.

"What is this? They did not take their fallen brothers." Eli walks over to the nearest body and crouches down beside it. "There is something not quite right with these bodies."

Curiosity gets the best of me, so I walk over beside him to take a look. He's right. The man is half-shifted but he doesn't look like a wolf I have ever seen before. He looks almost...sick. In the areas where he is a wolf, his fur is matted and sections look to have fallen out. There are burns and scars on the area of the skin visible. If I didn't know any better I would say this guy had already been dead. More to that point his eyes are clouded and pale yellow, something that happens when one of our kind dies. He had been dead for less than an hour so this sort of decomposition should not have reached this level yet.

"It does seem strange they would leave evidence of their attack behind. We could easily contact the Agency Law with the evidence we have here." The Mage says.

Agency Law...

Those bastards don't do a damn thing unless it furthers their agenda. They are as corrupt as they come.

"I doubt they'll care about a few rogue wolf shifters because that's all they'll see." I wave my hand over the scene in front of us.

Three men are lying close by but from what I can smell there are several that got lost in the water as well.

"Even with such proof it would not point a finger in my father's direction. I can sense the aftershocks of his portal but to others, it would be unnoticeable." The Mage sighs and moves past us.

It's times like these that I'm glad I don't have any family left. They cause you nothing but trouble, and that's something I don't need in my life. Except now I've been locked in a bond that's already making me want to rip some heads off.

Feeling my irritation growing I move away to check out the rest of the property. There is a wall of trees leading toward the next property that is about five miles away. I don't see any signs that anyone tried to run this way which is weird since the woods is a pretty obvious place to hide. So why didn't they try to run this way once they realized they were going to lose?

The Mage...uh Charles said his father had opened a portal to bring the wolves here, but I hadn't seen him. Did he return for the rest of the men? It seems like the only explanation.

I walk further into the trees and a few steps in a sound catches my attention. How hadn't I caught a scent of something out here? Shaking my head I walk slowly in the direction of the sound and try to pick up on something that can hint at what I'm about to see.

Still nothing.

Another sound comes from the same direction, it sounds a lot like a whimper. That has my feet moving quicker but I nearly trip when I stop suddenly. A small wolf is laying on the ground twisted in pain.

I should have been able to scent him.

Forgetting that for now I rush over to get a better look at him. He's too small to be an adult. How did he get here?

"Kid, I need you to shift," I tell him but he cries out in pain again.

I can try to force him to shift but it could kill him if he's too seriously injured. My mind races through my options and only one will work right now. Carefully I scoop the wolf into my arms and run back to where the other guys were. When I find them they turn in unison to see me carrying a strange wolf. Eli growl and takes a defensive stance, but Charles stops him.

"What is this?" Charles asks moving closer and looking down at the wolf. "He is hurt."

"Yeah. He's a kid. None of the men who attacked us were this young." I tell him.

"Can you force him to shift?" Charles asks but I shake my head.

"It's too risky. Do you think Nova can help him?" God, I hope she can.

"We can ask, but I am not sure how willing she will be given the torture she has endured for her blood."

I cringe at the reminder, but I know my mate wouldn't let an innocent kid suffer. We may not know each other well yet, but I can tell she's a good person.

"I will go get her." Charles doesn't hesitate.

He waves his hands in the air and the portal appears a second later. We watch him disappear inside but it doesn't close behind him. It stays open for several minutes until Nova, Charles, and Chase all step through. One sniff and I can tell they have been...busy. My wolf bristles not out of jealousy but envy. He's dying to get a taste of our mate, but there is plenty of time for that later.

Nova looks my way and smiles but when her eyes move down to what I'm holding the smile quickly falls.

"Oh my gosh!" She gasps and rushes over to me. "What happened?"

"I found him in the woods. There was no scent trail which is weird but I heard him." I explain.

"He's so small." Her voice is soft and at the sound, the wolf turns his head in her direction.

He whimpers at her and I watch her eyes become glossy with tears.

"Can you help him?" I ask.

She looks up at me and my chest tightens when I see the sadness on her face.

"Of course." She nods at me and then lifts her wrist to her mouth.

I tense up when she bites down on it and red blood bubbles up from the wound. She holds her wrist to the wolf's mouth, but instead of him licking it he bites down on her arm.

She cries out in surprise but when Eli moves toward us to help her she holds her hand up to stop him.

"He is hurting you," Eli tells her but she shakes her head.

"I'm fine." Her eyes are on me again and her look tells me she knows something. "He has vampire genes in him. It could be why you couldn't pick up on his scent and also why he can feed on me."

Okay, that's something we need to unpack later.

When the wolf finally releases her it sighs and its body relaxes. I turn his head to face me and pull on my wolf.

"Shift," I say in my Alpha tone and carefully set him down.

It takes a little longer for him to shift since he's so young but once he does Nova gasps. She drops down to her knees and scoops up the small boy. He wraps his arms around her neck and she pulls him up with her when she stands.

"He can't be more than four years old." She says brushing back some of the small boy's brown hair.

He buries his face in her neck and she holds him tighter against her.

"What do we do with him?" Eli asks looking at the kid like he's an alien or something.

"We keep him with us until we can figure out where he is from and why he was left behind. That being said it is time for me to get to work so we have a place for him to stay." Charles says and walks off.

I watch him move to the center of the clearing and faces toward the swamp. When I glance over at the others they look as confused as I am, but none of us say a word. We watch him hold his arms straight out from both sides and then he slaps them together.

The sound ripples along the ground like an earthquake and water from the swamp shoot up. Charles moves his hands around with crazy gestures and I watch roots lift from the water and snake along the ground. There are a bunch more hand motions and it's as if the roots are alive. They lift into the air a twist in all directions until they create a solid piece.

The roots continue to move but Charles crouches down and slams his hand on the ground causing another quake. It breaks the ground near him and just like the water roots are coming out of the dark opening.

"Wow," Nova says breathlessly.

My wolf huffs at her clear sexual interest in Charles right now, and I can't say I'm feeling any less upset.

That stuffy bastard is wooing my mate by doing his weird voodoo again and it's pissing me the fuck off.