by TJ Nichols
Aubrey shrugged. “You can’t know for sure. You have to trust me.”
“Trust you?” He turned to Lyle. “Trust you?”
He should never have come returned. He should’ve left and started over somewhere far away, but old loyalty and love had drawn him back. He was a fool.
Lyle got out of bed, still clutching the sheet like it would save him. “We have to find a way to stop Morris. He’ll destroy the village and then he’ll dig up the ruins and take everything of value.”
It had been hundreds of years. Maybe no one could read those books and it no longer mattered. All the fighting and guarding was for nothing. Even his pack didn’t want to fight, choosing instead to melt away.
Jardin shook his head. “What’s the point? We can’t fight everyone.”
He wasn’t sure he wanted to fight at all. Let Morris take the lot, and it would be someone else’s problem. And when humans discovered the books and started to learn magic, how long until they hunted down what remained of the wolves? The few packs that had survived would be gone soon enough.
Lyle reached for him, but Jardin drew away. He should’ve known from the way Lyle had talked about Aubrey and the way he looked at him that this would happen. Maybe he’d have done the same if he thought his lover had left him.
Maybe he wouldn’t have. He could’ve gotten drunk alone, but that had never been Lyle’s thing. He liked to be part of the pack and being surrounded by people even though he was human. Now they had no pack.
“Even if we fight Morris, they won’t take us back. We’re better off leaving.” He jerked his chin at Aubrey. “You, too.”
“No. This ends here. I can’t go back to the city without a wolf, that is what the king has asked of me. I will not give him that.”
“Someone else will. Don’t you want me out of the way?”
“No…that’s… If you’d been here, we could’ve shared,” Lyle finished before glancing at Aubrey. “Right?”
Aubrey have one firm nod. “Can we sort this out later? Lyle drugged Morris, and I can’t imagine he’s going to be happy when he wakes. He’ll be heading to the village, and I’d like to leave him a few surprises.”
“And then what?” This wasn’t a battle they could win. The wolves had been losing for centuries, one strike at a time. Eventually one would be fatal. “They cast us out. Why should I care?”
“Because they are family,” Lyle said. “And this is home.”
Jardin drew in a breath. “Not anymore it’s not.” He strode over to the drawers. He hadn’t taken all of his clothes when he’d left; there was still an old pair of pants not worth taking in there. He pulled them on, hurt and anger still bubbling in his blood.
How could Lyle have thought that he’d leave without him?
“I spent the night in the ruins. There is nothing there worth killing for.”
“What did you find?” Aubrey asked. He was closer now, within striking distance.
Jardin curled his fingers then released them. Aubrey hadn’t betrayed the wolves…only him. He’d known from the first time he’d seen him that he’d be trouble. All hoods were trouble and were best in the ground where they couldn’t hurt anyone.
“There’s little gold or gems.” A few bits of jewelry weren’t worth all the trouble—though they would buy him a fresh start. “Just books.”
“Books?” Aubrey frowned.
“The books…the lost knowledge the soothsayer talked about?” Lyle’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah. Guess it’s not all lies and burning herbs.” Jardin glanced between Aubrey and Lyle. He wasn’t sure his relationship was much more than smoke.
“Of course it’s not.” Lyle gave him a tentative smile that Jardin couldn’t quite return.
“That doesn’t change anything. Morris will take whatever is there. He’ll be mayor, and the king will start hunting wolves while he has his best scholars examine the books. Do you really want others learning the magic?” Aubrey pulled on his shirt.
But Jardin knew what was beneath his clothes now. He knew why Lyle had found it so easy to fall into bed with the hood—and that was ignoring the way he wanted to do the right thing all the time.
“What will happen if you disobey the king?”
“Nothing good. I can’t go back to being a hood, not if it means betraying the wolves.”
“What do we mean to you?” Jardin snapped.
Aubrey had no blood to lose in this battle.
“I don’t think anyone deserves to be hunted down. I never knew werewolves were real until I came here. I don’t want that truth to be cut down by a bloodied blade.”
“So we flee. Head to the coast and forget all about Nightlark.” Jardin rummaged around until he found a shirt. It was one of Lyle’s usually that wouldn’t matter—today it did. When he closed his eyes, he could imagine Lyle making the gasps and cries he only made with him. He clenched the cloth too tight. He should go. No, Aubrey should go. “You want to fight, Hood? Go and find some weapons.”
Aubrey hesitated, then he sheathed the knife and walked out with bare feet.
Lyle waited until the door shut before he ventured one step closer to Jardin. He’d never expected to see him again, but the joy twisted with guilt. There was no hiding what had happened. Even if Jardin wasn’t a wolf, finding them in bed was a big enough clue.
“I really thought you were gone for good.”
Jardin closed his eyes. “Maybe it would be better if I had been.” He sighed and looked at Lyle. “You still trust him?”
“He was their prisoner, not their helper.” Had he made the wrong choice in staying in town to watch Morris instead of returning to the village? “Why did we get kicked out of the pack?”
“They found the cache, realized we were the highwaymen, and that was that. Aubrey arriving with Morris didn’t help any either.”
“You thought he’d actually betrayed us?”
“He’s a hood, he works for the king, the same as Morris.” Jardin snarled.
“He isn’t like Morris, and you know that.”
Aubrey wanted to protect the wolves now he knew the truth.
“He seems to be quite happy to take what belongs to another.”
“I don’t belong to you. I choose to be with you.”
Jardin lifted one eyebrow. “Do you?”
“Yes…that is if—”
Jardin’s kiss silenced him. And for those few moments, Lyle let himself believe it would all be okay. That they could stop Morris, and the pack would take them back, and everything would go back to how it had been. But he didn’t know how Aubrey fitted into that dream. There was nowhere for him to fit. He drew back, needing to breathe. “What about Aubrey?”
Jardin caressed the side of Lyle’s face, his fingertips warm. He took another kiss. “I don’t know. He lives in the city. Maybe we go there for a bit before finding our own place.”
“You aren’t going to kill him?”
“No…I thought it would happen.” Jardin glanced down. “He’s human like you. He wouldn’t leave you to run in the woods when the moon is full.”
“I don’t care about that.” Lyle kissed Jardin’s palm.
“No one was happy when we got together.”
“That’s only because they like wolves to mate with wolves…we’re never going to have pups.”
Jardin smiled. “True. Maybe we don’t need a pack.”
“Three is a pack.”
“Then we should help him with this foolish idea of defending the village.” Jardin drew on the shirt. “They won’t have taken everything when they fled into the woods.”
Jardin left, and Lyle dressed. This morning the house was still cold, but it no longer felt abandoned. It felt too small. Maybe it had for a while. All their big plans had taken up space, even though they’d never done more than dream. Now they had the chance to do more than that, and neither of them know what to do next.
When he stepped out of the house, Jardin and Aubrey were talking—which was better than fighting. Au
brey had assembled a plie of things, as well as finding himself some boots and a sword. Jardin glanced at Lyle and beckoned him over.
“We don’t have long, but if we can save the village and take out some of Morris’s men, then we’ll have less of a fight at the ruins,” Aubrey said as though organizing a battle was just one of those things he did every other day. “Morris wants the forest folk and the wolves dead. He will be aiming to kill, not wound.”
“There’s one more thing I should do.” Jardin pulled off his clothes, fur already bristling on his skin.
His shift was fast, and there was a large grey wolf in front of Lyle. He drew in a breath. It didn’t matter how many times he saw the transformation, it was still amazing. Somewhere in his bloodline was that ability, but he hadn’t inherited it. Neither had his brother, even though his parents were wolves.
The wolf tore a chunk of fur from its shoulder where it was longest and dropped it on the ground. It was Aubrey who picked it up as though he knew what to do with it. From the chunk of fur, he fashioned a bracelet. Lyle frowned. Why did he need another?
Jardin’s wet nose nudged at Lyle’s hand, lifting it toward Aubrey. Aubrey tied it around Lyle’s wrist.
“Wounds heal fast, but they still hurt, and a wise wolf once told me that some wounds are fatal.”
It was only then Lyle realized he’d been worrying about what would happen after the battle. There may not be an after.
Aubrey ran through moves to familiarize himself with the weight of the sword in his hand. It wasn’t good quality, but it was better than nothing, and its edge was sharp as though someone cared about the weapon. Aubrey hoped it was up to the fight that was coming.
He glanced up to where Lyle had made himself comfortable with a bow and every arrow they could find. Somewhere in the woods Jardin was roaming, searching for Morris and his militia so they’d have some warning.
They hadn’t done enough, but hopefully they could save the village and slow Morris down. Was it treason to stop a new acting mayor from burning a village, or would it be treason to stand aside and let it happen? He was still a hood, so he was the king’s justice…but Morris, as mayor, was a stand-in for the king and should be obeyed.
Burning homes wasn’t what Aubrey had signed on for.
Around him the forest was silent, as though the animals had sensed the danger and fled. Even the wolves and forest folk had fled. He took a drink of water and waited. The waiting was always the worst.
A howl and two yips cut through the trees.
They’d worked out a very quick code before Jardin had left. Morris and his men were on foot and approaching on all sides. That wasn’t the way a man planning to burn a village and scare off the inhabitants attacked. That was the way a man who wanted to slaughter them where they stood behaved.
He hoped Jardin was telling the truth. He’d seen the hurt in Jardin’s eyes when he’d stepped into the house. The rigidity of his body as he’d thrummed with betrayal and hurt and anger. Aubrey would have liked to find some small amount of regret but couldn’t. So he hadn’t apologized.
Jardin hadn’t demanded one. Instead, it had all been work. Lyle had drawn away, too. If Aubrey closed his eyes, he could almost believe he was alone in the forest, miles from people and wolves. That wasn’t what he wanted…he hadn’t wanted to hurt Jardin either. But there had always been tension between them.
The wolf burst into the village, skidded to a stop by a pile of clothes, and was shifting before the dust had settled. Jardin tugged on his pants and shirt.
“How close?”
“Two gave chase. I didn’t stop to fight them.”
Aubrey nodded. That was too dangerous, given that the king wanted a werewolf. If Jardin was wounded, he’d shift back to human and reveal the truth. “I’ll meet them. Be ready with the pots and pans.”
Jardin drew a knife and sprinted toward the perimeter. Strung up in the trees was anything weighty. Pots and rocks, lumps of wood. When the rope was severed, they’d land on the men beneath.
There hadn’t been time to dig deep holes and fill them with spikes. But they had set snares and shallow holes that could break a man’s leg. To Jardin’s disgust, Aubrey had insisted on doing something in each quadrant, and something different so the attackers couldn’t prepare. Jardin had expected Morris to ride in on a horse, waving a firebrand.
That would’ve been harder to fight. Morris’s deception worked in their favor.
Aubrey strode out of the village to meet the men who’d chased after Jardin. He picked his way through the concealed holes, whistling as he went. Sword at his side, ax on his shoulder.
He saw the man before the man saw him. He kept walking, as though everything was fine and he was looking for a fallen tree to chop.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” the soldier called.
“What are you doing here?” Aubrey saw the second man out of the corner of his eye.
“Um…”
The second man rushed Aubrey. Aubrey swung the ax, catching the man’s arm, then he ran, knowing he’d be chased, and it would only take one wrong step for them to be out of the battle.
He jumped a hole, and the man behind him fell with a cry and a snapping of bone. Aubrey winced and risked a glance back. But both men weren’t going to be causing any more problems.
To his right came the clatter of pots and pans. To his left the whistle of arrows. On the opposite side of the village, the snares would hopefully be catching their prey. He returned to the center of the village, ready to take on anyone who made it that far.
Three men made it. All were bleeding, but none of the wounds were fatal.
Morris grimaced. “You. I should’ve known.”
“You have no authority to destroy this village.”
“I have every authority. I am the mayor,” he yelled.
“The forest is the king’s land. And I am still a hood.”
“They are harboring highwaymen. Until they are turned in, they will pay.” He drew his sword.
This time Aubrey knew how Morris liked to fight. He was a coward who wouldn’t attack on his own.
But Aubrey wasn’t alone. Jardin appeared behind Morris and his men. Then other melted out of the woods. The forest folk had returned. Aubrey smiled and nodded.
“They have set fires in the forest,” Jardin said.
Morris glanced over his shoulder. Then his eyes widened as other men and women of the forest folk surrounded Morris. They were armed with knives and axs and bows.
Three wolves were with them, snarling like chained dogs.
“Sit and stay,” a man who was an older version of Jardin said.
The wolves obeyed. Jardin looked confused.
Aubrey took control before too many questions could be raised. “I ask for your surrender, Morris Harrow. I arrest you in the king’s name for destruction of property.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. These people are werewolves. They can lead us to the treasure. I’ll share it with you.” Morris glanced at Aubrey.
“Werewolves?” the older man said. “We train wolves to help us hunt.” He ruffled the fur of the wolf next to him.
Aubrey wanted to believe the lie, it made so much more sense than men who could shapeshift, and he’d seen it done twice this morning. He addressed Morris again. “Put down your weapons.”
The men standing with Morris dropped their swords. They were outnumbered, and from their growl the wolves wouldn’t stop with a simple wound. They’d tear the men apart.
“Morris, you, too, or I’ll step back, and the wolves can show off their hunting skills.” Aubrey glanced at the man in charge of the wolves and got a nod in return.
The calculations crossed Morris’s face. But there was nowhere to run. His sword fell silently to the ground.
Smoke drifted through the trees, carrying the cries of the dying and wounded. They had saved the village and protected the ruins, but at what cost? The leader strode over to Jardin. Was he going to toss him out again? Jardin wo
uldn’t fight the pack even though he shouldn’t still be on their land. He lifted his chin, ready for the threat. Ready to be told to run before he was forced off the land that had once been home.
He’d stayed because of Lyle and Aubrey. Because he had nowhere else to go, and all those dreams he’d had, had been just that. He didn’t know how to live anywhere else. He was a wolf and he needed other wolves.
“You didn’t leave,” his father said.
“I couldn’t. I saved your homes. You’re welcome.”
“You’re welcome back. You’ve proved yourself.”
He shouldn’t have had to prove himself. He shouldn’t have been stealing from the rich who passed through, but he wanted more than skulking about the forest. He wanted to live in town and…and…do something. He didn’t know what, only that the itch was under his skin, and staying here wouldn’t alleviate it. He shook his head. “I need a new adventure. I’m going to help Aubrey.”
There was still Morris to bring to justice. And after that, he didn’t know. Three was a pack, and while they weren’t wolves, they shared a bond.
“Where will you go?”
“Town for a start.” Maybe that would be far enough.
His father grasped his hands, and for a moment he was no longer the pack leader. “You will always be welcome to run with us, son.”
Yeah…maybe. One day. He’d never been good enough to fill his father’s pawprints. But maybe he didn’t need to. He could make his own.
Chapter 10
Aubrey stood in what were currently passing for his best clothes. They were nice, but they weren’t his. The sword was. He’d reclaimed that as soon as he’d found it. His hood he had neatly folded on the table in the mayor’s office. The king sat on the other side, his armed guards waiting outside the room. Ready to defend the king or arrest Aubrey if this went badly.
Morris was being held. He might be the mayor, but he had no right to burn down the forest folk’s village or hunt them down.
Aubrey had sent a letter to that effect the moment he’d reached town with Morris in custody. A reply from the king had come the following day. The next day, the king had arrived to settle the issue for good. So far, he appeared to be rather underwhelmed by the town and the ruins and the village.
