I’m back!
Finally arriving at the little B&B they were staying at for a few days, it was a pretty place, quiet and a bit out of the way, perfect for them. Theo went to the desk to collect the keys for their rooms. Their rooms were all together on the same floor as it worked out. Which suited them just fine; it was easier to watch each other’s backs this way. They all climbed the 3 flights of stairs to the top floor to dump their bags in their room before getting something to eat.
Seph herded Theo and Kayla into their room and shut the door behind them. “I don’t know what we are walking into, and I can’t bear the thought of you two getting hurt. So, I need you to strip for me.” Seph told them as she rummaged in her bag; somehow, her arm buried up to the shoulder in the bag, which, when she held it, hadn’t looked much bigger than her hand. Theo hadn’t needed any encouragement and was naked on the bed in seconds.
“Seph… what? Why? And what the hell is going on with that bag?” Kayla asked
“Kay, we don’t have time; they might already know we are here. Please just get naked and put these on,” Seph replied urgently. Pulling a bright green clump of material out of her bag, followed by another. She threw what looked like a waistcoat and a pair of boxers at Theo and held back a pair of smaller shorts and a long sheet of material for Seph. “These will shift with you. They are kinda like my archer’s armour,” Seph lifted her shirt to show them her stomach was covered in a similar material, but Seph’s was red “it will stop most arrows, some bullets. I’ve also put my own shield and protection spells on them; it should help you out. Plus, when you shift back, you won’t be naked.” Seph finished and picked up the long piece of material. She wrapped it around Kayla’s stomach and fashioned a bra. “I thought this would be better for when you shift, but we can try a shirt like mine if it’s not comfortable,” Seph told Kayla quietly.
“It’s like it’s not even there; I can’t feel it,” Theo said, having pulled his on without a second thought the instant Seph had thrown them to him.
“That’s the point; you shouldn’t feel it. It kinda melds to your skin so you can shift with it,” Seph told Theo. As the twins got themselves dressed again and ready to leave. Seph was anxious to get things over with, but the wolves’ stomachs took priority, they burnt a lot of energy when they shifted, and since they weren’t sure of the reaction they would get, Seph figured it was best to feed them first.
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Lunch ended up being a burger at a nearby Burger King. The only thing everyone liked, and they could get Odilio to agree to try. The stubborn old git wouldn’t even consider a fish and chip shop, Frankie and Bennies, TGI Friday’s or Wetherspoons. He didn’t like the way they felt. Who knew that dragon sensitivities would beat wolf noses? He only agreed to Burger King because he could eat it outside near the car. They couldn’t even guess what he must have looked like to the humans. To most observers, he seemed to be an elderly man, crouched on the ground by a black people carrier, surrounded by stunning, muscly younger men and a pair of anxious-looking women. All watching as he cautiously sniffed at every inch of his food, checking for poison, they knew before hesitantly taking the tiniest little fairy bite off the edge of his burger. Only then did his companions relax and begin to unwrap their own food and tuck in.
Within 2.5 hours of leaving Manchester airport, the group pulled into the trees surrounding Booth Wood coven. “We walk from here, give them as little warning as possible”, Seph told the group at large as they all piled out of the car. As they had planned, it would make them harder to detect. The wolves all shifted. Archer and Remi walking at Seph’s side, the guards by Odilio. Seph and Odilio would shield them until they were clear of all the detection wards. They walked in silence. Not even a footstep could be heard as they made their way through the little village that once held so much pain for Seph but now meant nothing. She led her mates and companions right to the heart of the town. They stood before the community centre where the elders should be found most days, and Seph dropped the Sheild bubble she held around the group.
It didn’t take long for the gossip to spread. After all, this had been no actual stealth attack, no aerial drop. Persephone Adams had just marched 4 wolves and an old man through the streets. There was a crowd gathering to watch the spectacle. Seph noticed her parents were nowhere to be seen, though she had made sure to walk past the house. It only took a few minutes for the elders to emerge from the community centre. Seph noticed her parents slipping out to join the crowd’s edge though her eyes never left Peter in the middle of the elders. “Miss Adams, I thought we made ourselves clear the last time we spoke?” Peter demanded.
“Oh, you did. But when you send the council to my pack and demand to see me, what do you expect, Peter? Nearly 3 years ago, you threw me out to the wolves; here I am, leader of the pack!”