Chapter 37 Chapter 37
~ Brendan POV cont. ~
It had fallen deep into the night, certainly later than I’d expected to be out. I was growing fearful that our parents would be concerned about our whereabouts.
Hadeon and his so-called friends left to pull this prank, but I couldn’t help but feel like something was off. His friends were consistent with their odd behaviour. I could almost sense their own uneasiness, but without my full wolf powers, I couldn’t indicate it clearly, and I couldn’t force myself to tap into it without weakening myself, and I needed my strength to get us through the pack borders unnoticed.
So, I did as I was told. I waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like centuries.
A combination of tiredness and boredom had hit me so hard that I eventually drifted off into a slumber, leaning against a tree deep in the forest where my brother had left me. My curious mind couldn’t help but wonder what my brother was up to, even as I slept.
The shadows surrounded me and brushed against my skin. I could feel the shadows penetrate my mind. It felt like they were trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t understand. I couldn’t see a thing, but I felt gloom and dread.
Then I felt pain, suffering, and a high-pitched ring in my ears.
Awakening in a panic, Hadeon was in front of me, shaking me awake.
“Brendan, get up!” he yelled, hauling me up to my feet, practically dragging me through the forest.
Still delirious and half-asleep, I asked, “What’s going on?”
“We’ve got to go right now!”
I could barely feel my feet touch the ground; we were sprinting so fast towards the same part of the forest where we had initially broken into the pack.
Approaching the border, Hadeon looked around to make sure there were no guards around. “Conceal us,” he demanded breathlessly.
“Hadeon, what is going on?!” I panted.
He grabbed me by the shirt and reeled me in closer. “Conceal us!” he roared.
I shoved him away and focused on my power; I felt too tired to argue with him, my mind still trying to awaken fully, but it was my sluggish mind that was delaying me from concealing all of us. There were too many people, and I was overwhelmed and tired.
“What the fuck is taking this kid so long?” one of his companions yelled.
“Shut up so he can focus,” Hadeon spat. “Brother, please, focus, or we’re all screwed.”
Pushing his voice out of my head, I focused on my breathing and could finally feel my connection with the shadow magic, yielding it to do my bidding and conceal us from prying eyes and from being traced.
The rest of that night that followed felt like a blur. We returned to the outer parts of the Nighttide pack in what felt like no time at all. I either fell asleep in the car or was hyped up on adrenaline, or both. All I remembered was waking up the next day tired, delirious and full of questions. Questions I knew my brother would refuse to answer for me.
About a week later, we heard news of a tragic incident that occurred at Moonstone: a family was attacked in their home late at night – the same night that we were in the pack – resulting in two casualties and one traumatised child who had suddenly become an orphan in the blink of an eye.
My family discussed it at breakfast the morning the information came about, saddened at the news, but I was silent as I listened to each horrific detail my father discussed. Mother hated it, but Father said that knowing the dangers of the world made us stronger, it prepared us for the worst.
It didn’t take a genius to piece it all together, but when I looked over at Hadeon, he looked equally shocked as I did. So, perhaps it was just a coincidence, my brother could never do such horrendous things.
A month or so had gone by, and things had somewhat gone back to normal, but this inkling of guilt kept eating away at me. So, one day, when Hadeon and I were out in the depths of the forest together, throwing a ball in a few rounds of catch, I broke my silence on the matter.
“I need you to tell me it wasn’t you,” I said.
“What?” he asked, raising a brow.
Dropping the ball on the ground, I crossed my arms. “That night, we were at Moonstone, did you and your friends…?”
Hadeon looked at me wide-eyed like I had turned purple, “What?! How long have you been thinking this? Oh, goddess,” he paced over to me and hugged me, “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about the correlation of timing of the accident and us being there.” He gripped my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes as he spoke sternly, “I promise, I did not go into that house and harm anyone.”
There was truth in his words and in his eyes. Even with my growing abilities, I could sense his honesty. I believed him. So, why did I still have this pang of guilt eating away at me? My instincts were still fighting against something.
“Okay, look, I know I’m not a full-fledged werewolf with powers and all, but Father did show me some tricks growing up in preparation for if I did gain power. I think this one might help you out. Do you want to try?”
I sighed, “Okay.”
“Close your eyes.”
I did as I was told.
“Now, keep them closed,” he said as he moved me in a specific direction.
“Where are we–”
“Shh, focus. Think about the shadows around you, think about how they bring you comfort and security, think about how you feel safe when the shadows shelter you.”
Again, I did as I was told and thought about it.
“What do you feel?”
Humming as I thought about it, then I spoke softly, “I feel the coolness of the shadows against my hot skin, but it’s not a horrible contrast; it’s inviting, almost like a perfect balance. Like we’re a team and not enemies.”
“That’s perfect, little bro. Now invite them to you, open yourself to the shadows and allow them to open up to you too.”
The images were clear in my head; I could see the shadows opening clearly, allowing me to see and feel the warmth they hide within themselves. Where some think evil and danger lurked within them, I knew it was different. The shadows were safe; they protect us, allow us to breathe, and they heal us.
“Remind yourself that there is always that opening, even if you can’t visibly see it open, between you and the shadows, it will always allow you access to gain that comfort you seek.
My head dropped back, and I cooed, “I feel better…”
“I’m glad. You can open your eyes now.”
I did so and looked down at my hands; they felt hot with power as if I had actually wielded shadows around us. I looked around, confused. We were close to the borders, but not close enough for me to manipulate them with the small percentage of power I possessed.
At least that was what I thought…
A couple of days later, our pack was struck by an attack from monsters we never expected to ever infiltrate our home. Many families were killed, and others were kidnapped, never to be heard from again. It was a short but traumatic battle between the two species that lasted less than a week, but it left a gaping hole within our pack, and an angry Alpha who demanded answers.
People were spiralling, looking for someone to blame; there had to be someone to blame. The pack borders were impossible to infiltrate unless someone could wield shadow magic. And that’s when the lineup of potential traitors began to shorten.
It only took another day or so for them to find the tampered spot on the borders, which they kept secret for obvious reasons until they found the culprit. Shadow magic was like most magic, easy to determine when it was cast if you know what indicators to look for. It was harder to trace who cast shadow magic, but not impossible.
Many people were found innocent almost instantly, since most of the members of the pack who had this power were warriors or guards and were at their designated posts at all times and could not have possibly tampered with the borders.
That’s when word spread that there was one person who wasn’t accounted for – a youngling new to his powers and no trace of where he had been the day the border was tampered with.
Me.