Chapter 5 Word from Enemy Territory
Lyra
It’s difficult to keep track of how many days have gone by. One of the first questions Jorin asked me was what day it was. He said he’d lost track. He’d been surprised that I’d been exiled on Spring Solstice, but then, once he considered how cruel Alpha Kaelen can be, he decided it wasn’t that shocking after all.
Our days are all relatively the same. I did go back to Song Pack’s abandoned village to get some more clothes and was lucky enough to find some hygiene products for women as well, so thank the Goddess for that. Not that I feel like She’s been paying too much attention to me lately–unless She just likes punishing me.
“I’m going out to hunt,” Jorin says to me nearly every morning. Sometimes he’s just gone when I wake up. We don’t have a refrigerator, unfortunately, and no way of keeping perishable food items cool, so one or both of us have to hunt pretty often. I’ve been setting some traps, and so far they’ve worked to catch small game, but of course, we are better hunters in our wolf forms.
“Be careful,” I tell him. I say that every time he goes out.
“You, too.” He pauses in the doorway for a moment and says, “I smell another wolf. Doesn’t smell like a rogue, and I don’t think it’s all that close, but if you go out, be cautious. No need for any problems.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I tell him. He leaves, and I do some tidying up of our little cottage. It’s nice that he insists that it’s home to both of us now, though I don’t know that I’m completely comfortable with it yet. He put so much effort into building this place, and I just live here.
When Jorin gets back, I do the cooking. Then, we gather up the bones and inedible parts of the rabbits he caught and prepare to carry them away from our dwelling. There’s no sense in letting other predators know there’s food around here.
As soon as we step outside, I smell what he smelled earlier. There’s definitely been a male wolf nearby recently, though not all that close to the cottage. Before I even shift, I pause and sniff the air. The scent is familiar to me–like leather and spices. I turn and look at Jorin. “I think I recognize that scent,” I tell him.
He raises an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Who is it?”
“I’m not sure,” I tell him, not because I don’t have a guess, but because I don’t want to say it and be wrong. “I don’t think they’re around now, though.”
“We can follow the scent and see if we can find any tracks if you’d like. Any direction is as good as another when it comes to dumping our trash.”
“Sounds good to me.” We separate, strip, and shift, and then Jorin grabs the leftover bits of the rabbits that he has tied up in a scrap of cloth, and we take off in the direction the smell is coming from.
We run for a while, and as we go, I realize we’re heading in the direction that would eventually lead us to Running River Pack, if we ran far enough. Of course, we won’t do that. Not yet anyway. Before I can go back there and exact vengeance on Alpha Kaelon, I need a solid plan, and I don’t have that yet.
Nevertheless, our noses carry us closer to Running River Pack territory. We won’t go as far as where the patrol makes their circuit, which is technically beyond the border of their pack land, but I must know if the scent I’m following belongs to the person I think it does.
The further we run, the stronger it gets. Yet, I don’t feel like he will be there when we arrive. No, it’s faded away enough that I will not be surprised if I only find traces of him, which is disappointing.
After a couple of hours of running at full speed, we enter a clearing, and I see something tucked into a tree up ahead. It’s small and white, and hidden fairly well. If it wasn’t for my superior eyesight, I would’ve missed it. Jorin doesn’t notice it at first. I tell him through the mind-link. “Look! It’s an envelope.”
“Where?” he asks, moving his head from side to side to try to find it.
“In that tree. I’m going to have to shift to get it.”
“Oh, I see. All right. I’ll go get rid of the bones and give you some privacy.” He turns to his left and bolts back into the trees, and I approach what appears to be an envelope with caution.
No one is around. I know that. I would smell them if they were, and unfortunately, the fragrance I’ve been following continues to go past this tree, closer to Running River territory.
I shift and pluck the letter from between the branches. When I see my name written on it in familiar handwriting, my heart begins to thump in my chest.
Quickly, I open the envelope and pull out the letter. The missive is short, but immediately, I know who it is from.
“Dear Lyra,
I hope you receive this. I have no idea how far away they took you, but if you’re still in range of my scent, hopefully, your nose will lead you to this.
I just wanted to let you know I’m on your side. I’m doing what I can from this end, trying to feel out the situation. I’m keeping a close eye on Tessa, too. She’s moved into the Alpha’s house.
I’ll leave letters for you whenever I can and try to figure out a way to strike when the time is right.
Take care of yourself, and stay strong.
B.”
I hold the letter to my chest for a moment. Bram. It’s from Bram, just as I expected. I knew he wouldn’t let me down.
I hear Jorin coming back through the trees before he mind-links me. “Have you shifted yet?”
Putting the letter back into the envelope, I keep it in my mouth as I shift back into my wolf form. “Yes,” I tell him.
He trots out from between the trees with a curious look on his face.
“It’s from Bram,” I tell him. “He’s going to do whatever he can to help us.”
Jorin’s wolf smiles as well as a wolf can. “That’s great news.”
“It is,” I agree. We turn for home, and as I run, I feel something I haven’t in a long time.
Hope.