Chapter 35

For one, frozen, eternal minute, everything stopped. Rori turned around, hearing the stuttering of the old woman’s heart. Her breathing trembled to a complete stop. Her body slumped forward over her lap, tea spilling.

Half a dozen arms reached out to the elder instinctively though there was already nothing to be done. A loud ringing sounded in Rori’s ears. He couldn’t make his feet move. He was entirely frozen, staring at the old wolf.

There were cries of horror and then of agony as a couple females tried to move the alpha’s body only to recoil. They’d only just grazed the sodden hems of clothing when the tea, which should have cooled, burned them.

The burning wasn’t from temperature. Though they doused their hands in cool water, wailing, it did no good. These were chemical burns.

The alpha’s body was moved to the floor where everyone could see that her lips were a dark purple. The rest of her face was already turning ashen. Her eyes were closed like she’d fallen asleep, but they would never open again.

Rori staggered slightly. He leaned down, nudging at the hem of her shall which was still wet from the tea. It didn’t burn him at all. Perhaps because he didn’t have human skin?

Howls went up. Someone wrenched him by the shoulder. He couldn’t even see their faces anymore as he was pulled away. He felt that he should go. They didn’t want him here.

His instinct was to go toward Winnie, the only wolf female that would comfort him. He stepped toward the birthing room only to find the witches were being driven out. He caught only a small glimpse of Winnie, her face covered in sweat, eyes closed. She was breathing harshly, still in labor and with no idea what was happening outside that room.

Kimber reached toward Rori, but the wolves swarmed around them, snarling fiercely. It took him a moment to realize that they were being blamed. The witches. The outsiders. Him.

Rori moved without fuss. He could have fought them, he knew. He could have made a run for it or just torn them apart. Inside, the hollow feeling of hunger was worse than ever. He felt entirely empty as though his stomach had never seen food in his entire life.

He was tossed unceremoniously into a small room. There was no window, no visible way out. The only door was shut and once more, he was left in the dark.

Rori sat on the floor, hugging himself.

He was the outsider so it was his fault. He had handed her the tea. It was his fault. The kindly elder female was dead. It was his fault.

Would Mila come for him again, he wondered. Would she come save him from this darkness? Or would she blame him as well? Would she be blamed just for bringing him here?

The happiness he’d experienced as Mila’s adoptive son was more than he deserved, he knew. Ever since his original parents had left him, he’d known the truth of his existence. He knew that he was a monster undeserving of the loving kindness of family.

This time with Mila had been a lovely dream. Kody, Winnie, Dillon, such lovely dreams. Now the dream was over and he was back where he belonged, in the dark.



-



Mila rode the unicorn for as long as it was able to handle it. When it began to slow from exhaustion, she climbed onto Kody so as not to burden it with her weight.

Though they were surely exhausted, not having had a proper rest after the disastrous attempt on the city, the wolves continued to surge toward their home. Kody was fast, not slowing for a moment even with her attached. He was just as anxious as she to be back.

When she glanced behind them towards the other wolves, Dillon was looking even more peaky. He looked as though he could slide off his wolf brother any moment, his face lacked color. Even still, he clung to the wolf that carried him, his head lifted as he was determined to remain awake.

Mila’s guts felt gnarled. She had adapted fairly well from being one of many minds to just one on her own, but now she craved the comfort of multiple heads within her own. Never before had she been separated from anyone as important to her as Rori.

If he was of her species, they would have been able to communicate immediately. She would have seen what he’d seen as it happened. She would know for certain if he was okay.

But Rori was not one of her kin. He was a child she had taken in and handed over to a pack of wolves. She knew she could never forgive herself if anything happened to Rori. Or if he had to hurt them in defense.

Why had she hoped that history would not repeat itself? She knew well from the humans that even insignificant differences in appearance was enough to warrant extreme prejudice. She couldn’t know for sure what had happened to the elder. Perhaps she’d been wrong to trust the witches after all and the tribunal was perfectly justified. But she knew she wasn’t wrong about Rori.

Mila’s hands balled in Kody’s flank. His ears flicked slightly in her direction, but he didn’t stop. She was grateful for that.

The run felt like it would go on forever. She felt dizzy when they finally stopped at the border of the encampment. Only a few sentries were left, as most warriors had joined their march.

Mila slid down from Kody’s shoulders to allow him to transform. She attempted to bolt past the sentries, eager to return to her child. Human hands stopped her.

“Let me go!” She snarled, baring her serrated teeth.

“By orders of the acting alphas, no.” They stood like a wall, blocking her.

That was the wrong thing to say.

Mila lunged, aiming for jugulars when another set of hands gripped her from behind. Kody lifted her feet from the ground with ease, keeping her from gaining momentum.

“Let her pass.” Kody snarled in the alpha voice.

The wolfmen bowed their heads slightly, but still didn’t move. They had received orders from other alphas. Kody’s command could only go so far.

Mila struggled to throw her body around. She could easily break the bones of Kody’s hands to free herself if need be. It was foolish of him to hold her back.

“Mila needs to see her child.” Kody snarled, putting more force behind his voice.

“The tribunal hasn’t started yet. She can’t see that whelp.” The wolfmen relayed their orders, cringing under the weight of Kody’s alpha voice.

Kody set Mila on her feet, lurching forward himself. He threw them bodily away from himself, marching toward the center of the encampment. He didn’t even slow to put on clothes.

He stalked directly up to his father, the acting alpha, glaring him in the eye. “Mila will see her child now.”