Cyan hung back, putting a little distance between them so that he could listen for their pursuer more clearly. It was difficult now with the sounds of the hot springs bubbling around them, but he still caught snatches of movement nearby.
Hoping that the smell of fresh air would be enough for him to find his way out if he got lost, he broke off from the path they'd been taking. Cautiously, he pawed his way around the edges of the open chamber, poking his head into the honeycomb of tunnels wherever he found an opening. He hardly dared to breathe, fully aware of how even the slightest sound might carry to their pursuer's ears. The element of surprise was, as always, his biggest advantage.
It became more difficult to follow the other wolf's movements once he'd strayed away from April and Blackthorn. There was no consistency to the dim sounds, and several times Cyan found himself forced to stop and listen intently for several seconds before he managed to pinpoint where they were coming from. He gradually worked his way closer, until at one point he was sure the wolf was on the other side of the same cavern as him. He slowed his pace even further, trying to get as close as he could before revealing his presence. A faint scent hung in the air, but amongst the mineral-rich smell of the hot springs he had difficulty tracking it properly. He definitely recognised it as belonging to one of the male Highland wolves, but his damaged nose had trouble putting a name to the scent without stopping to examine it properly.
Faint glimmers of light began to outline the ripples in the pools around him. They were very close to the exit now, and that meant he was running out of time to catch up with their pursuer. He wondered for a moment why the wolf hadn't already dashed ahead to take the news to Hazel, before realising that April and Blackthorn must have been blocking the route to the exit.
Something still seemed wrong. He wasn't gaining on his quarry, no matter how close he seemed to get at the junction between one cavern chamber and the next. The path they took seemed to loop back and forth across itself, heading into side chambers only to exit back out again a few moments later. He could no longer hear April and Blackthorn, but if they had already made it out of the caves, then...
Cyan tensed as he realised he was no longer the one doing the stalking. The other wolf was leading him in circles, using his knowledge of the caves to his advantage to either try and get Cyan lost or set up an ambush of his own. It was cunning and subtle. Two traits that he'd come to recognise well in one wolf in particular.
Lowering his muzzle to the ground, he sniffed for the scent. It was hard to be certain, but moment by moment he became more convinced. Which member of the Highland pack had shown he was willing to brave the mountain passages in pursuit of April already? The reason Cyan hadn't put a name to the scent sooner was because they'd been following it ever since they stepped out of the underground stream. It had blurred into the background until he wasn't even paying attention to it any longer. Hazel had been the one following them the whole time, perhaps ever since they'd run into his patrol up on the mountain the evening before.
His wolf's hunger for blood began to rise, and Cyan bared his teeth as he whipped his head back and forth in the darkness, listening again for the sounds. If Hazel wanted a fight, then he could have it. He tried to remind himself that he wasn't here to take revenge, he was here to buy April the time she needed with her pack. But if Hazel managed to slip away and leave the caves, there might not be another chance to confront him.
Giving up all pretence of stealth, Cyan turned and broke into a run, headed straight in the direction he'd last heard April and Blackthorn. His paws skidded on the slippery stone, and a hard spur of rock slammed into his side painfully as he ran through a narrow opening. He ignored the pain and carried on, trying not to worry that he might sprint headlong into a wall if he wasn't careful. The light was still dim, but it grew more intense as he rounded the corners and made for the cave's exit. He could hear panicked footsteps trying to match his pace nearby, quicker than his own, but still behind him.
A wide patch of white opened up ahead as the entrance of the cave hove into view. The camp grounds were just a few dozen feet away. Two lines of pawprints in the snow marked April and Blackthorn's trail, but they were nowhere in sight.
Throwing all of his energy into the final spurt, Cyan covered the ground to the cave's entrance in seconds and skidded to a halt, hackles bristling as he spun around and bared his teeth at the darkness. He might not have been able to track Hazel down in the darkness, but he could still put himself between the other wolf and his only way out.
The patter of footsteps following him had stopped. The vague crags of the rocky walls stood still in the gloom. Cyan barked in triumph, ready to fight, and waited for Hazel to emerge.
Still nothing moved.
Several minutes passed, and the only noise that reached his ears was the faint gusting of the outside wind. He growled in irritation, pacing back and forth as he waited. Was Hazel doing the same? Picking his moment? Or was he afraid?
Cyan paused. Of course he was afraid. Any sane wolf would be. The fact that Cyan wasn't made his human side twitch with frustration. Without even realising it, he'd been ready to do exactly what Ingrid had asked of him. Once he began to think, his wolf began to fear. Not for himself, but for what he might be about to do. If he gave in to the same bloodlust that had driven him to try and kill Hazel the night Lisa died, he would be confirming all of the doubts that had driven April away from him in the first place. More than that, he would be betraying her trust. He couldn't do things Ingrid's way without at least trying April's first.
It took every ounce of Cyan's willpower to crush his burning aggression to the back of his mind, but he did it. His human thoughts took full control again, and his animal body receded until he was kneeling in his human form at the cave's entrance.
"I know you're there," he called into the darkness, his voice echoing off the rocks around him. "And I know what you're thinking. I don't want you to slip by me again, and you don't want me to get my claws into you. So how about we talk?" He waited for a response, wishing he still had his wolf's night eyes to pierce the darkness. He was answered with more silence. "Or we could wait here all night. I know I can."
Another few moments passed, then he heard a noise from within the cave. A human silhouette stepped forward. Cyan squinted to try and make it out in the dark, but the figure kept a safe distance.
"As soon as my pack find you back here, they'll kill you," Hazel said. His tone was as collected as always, but the heaviness of his breath betrayed his exhaustion. There was every chance he'd been tracking them all day and night.
"And where are your pack? They can't be that loyal if you had to follow us by yourself."
"Dealing with the ferals, but they'll be back soon. You could have left, you know. What's exile to a wolf like you?"
Cyan sat down and folded his hands in his lap, but his eyes never left Hazel. The other male hesitated for a moment, likely contemplating whether to make a run for it or not, then sat down as well. A grim smile threatened to tug at Cyan's lips. Perhaps he didn't have to fight Hazel to get what he wanted.
"I was going to, but April persuaded me to stay," he said. "My wolf can't stick around in one place for long unless he's got something worth staying for. Usually that means something he can control. I think you understand what that's like, don't you?"
"I don't think you understand what it's like to make hard decisions for the greater good."
"I've never killed an innocent woman for my own peace of mind," Cyan growled. "Or had someone whipped half to death to make an example of them. But I have lied. I've been a hypocrite, controlled, manipulated, hurt people," he grit his teeth, "and there's been more than one time when I've wanted to kill. But better people than me always been there to step in before I go too far."
"Do you think I'm going too far?"
"Much. And I understand why." Cyan hesitated, but Hazel waited for him to continue. He didn't feel comfortable playing these word games. "I was an alpha too, and
I led my pack the way I did because I knew it was right. My wolf knew, and I didn't have the sense to stop listening to him. I kept on doing what my instincts told me without stopping to think for a second that all those human doubts at the back of my head might just be worth paying attention to. You know how that ended, Hazel?" More silence. "My own people turned on me. It only takes one or two, just like April and Blackthorn, and the rest will see you for what you really are."
"Some of them disagree with me," Hazel said, "but not all. I don't want to be a tyrant to them. I'll name new elders, ones who know how to do what's best for our pack. There'll be no more Ingrid, and no more lies."
"Apart from yours?"
"There won't be any need to lie once we have elders who respect our traditions!" Hazel snapped.
"And what happens when one of your new elders disagrees with you one day? Or someone in your pack starts to speak up, and the others start listening?"
"Why would they? We never had problems like this when our leaders followed the rules. I'm just trying to take us back to that."
"That's exactly how I used to think. As long as everyone falls in line, what's to worry about, right?"
Hazel nodded, as though it was the most reasonable expectation in the world.
Cyan's temper prickled. "People who fall in line aren't happy, they're scared! I've known dozens of wolves who live in fear of their leaders. Most of them will spend their whole lives like that unless someone speaks up for them."
"Of course you'd think like that," Hazel scoffed. "I smelled the human on you the day you arrived. You weren't born a werewolf, you don't understand how we live. You might think you do because you led your own band for a while, but it's not something you can learn that easily. We're born knowing that the pack is more important than the person. We do what's expected of us, because we understand that selfishness leads to people like Harriet and her whole line." His eyes glinted in the darkness. "And unless we weed those people out, they can bring the entire group down with them. I'm willing to bet that's what happened to your pack, isn't it?"
Cyan glared at him. The nagging anger of his wolf grew. In Hazel he saw a grim reflection of himself, and Hazel's words held the same reasoning he'd used to justify his own actions years ago. It maddened him to realise how blinkered Hazel was to the reality of what he was saying. More than that, it maddened him to understand exactly how those who'd confronted him in the past must have felt.
He had never been a man of articulate words, and he felt as though he was running out of arguments to make. But just as he was about to give in to the urges of his wolf, another thought struck him.
"If April and her family are such a problem, why do you want her as your mate?"
Hazel twitched. "She won't cause any more problems once I can keep an eye on her."
"Won't she?" Cyan let out a bark of cold laughter. "And I thought you were supposed to know your own pack better than me? If you can lie to yourself about that, you can lie to yourself about anything. Your people aren't going to fall in line and be perfect little wolves just because you say so."
Hazel sprang to his feet, his hands clenched into fists. "Why am I sitting here talking about this with you, an exile!"
"Because if we can't settle this with words, you know how it's going to end," Cyan growled as he rose into a crouching position, his muscles tensed.
Hazel glanced around, agitation written all over his face. It brought Cyan a grim satisfaction to see him lost for words.
"If you don't get out of my way," Hazel hissed, "I'll have her killed as well. She's done more than enough to earn it."
The urge to lunge at him grew so strong that Cyan's shoulders trembled with the effort of containing his wolf. "No, you won't," he growled.
Hazel looked past him suddenly as the crunch of boots against snow sounded nearby. Cyan turned, and as he caught sight of April looking out anxiously from behind one of the cabins he realised his mistake.
Hazel was in his wolf form in an instant, using the distraction to streak past Cyan before he could react. He growled in frustration, letting his bestial instincts take control as he shifted and gave chase, trying to ignore the horrible mental images of Hazel slipping past him as he chased after Lisa. Cyan's teeth closed on thin air as he snapped at the other wolf's tail. He couldn't catch up. Hazel was faster than him, and he shot down the ravine like lightning headed straight towards April.
Cyan's thoughts froze, his breath catching as his legs worked desperately to give chase. But Hazel ignored her, running on towards the main camp. Cyan's tried not to let his relief slow him down. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his ears.
Just as Hazel exited the ravine Blackthorn burst out of the trees in his animal form, barking so loudly that the other wolf stumbled and skidded, almost losing his footing before being forced to turn and run past the cabins away from the central meeting area.
The chase barely lasted half a minute, but with neither Cyan nor Blackthorn able to catch up the two larger wolves were forced to stop as Hazel dashed past the camp's entrance and fled into the night. Seconds later, he was gone.
* * * * *
April's heart sank as she rounded the corner to see Cyan and Blackthorn already walking back towards her in their human forms. There was no sign of Hazel. His tracks led out of the camp in the direction of the bridge, back to where he could easily meet up with his patrols.
"I told you to go," Cyan panted, giving her a severe look.
"I wasn't going to leave you there!"
"Your pack's more important than me, isn't it?"
April frowned at him and said nothing, but the tense moment quickly passed when the sound of voices and footsteps on gravel reached their ears. The commotion had disturbed whoever was still left at the camp. Blackthorn grabbed the pair of them and made them hunker down behind one of the cabins, lowering his voice.
"If Hazel went back up the mountain then he's probably got more people he can rely on up there than he does here. This might be our best chance to talk to the ones who'll be willing to listen"
"And you should make it fast," Cyan said. "Now he knows we're here he'll be back, and he'll be bringing the other half of the pack with him."
"Do you think we've got long?" April asked.
"No idea. Might be an hour, might be a day, depending on how far out his patrols are."
"I want to speak with Harriet first," she said, "before I let the others know I'm back. I'm not sure how they'll react to me."
"They'll listen once you show them that." Blackthorn nodded to the token hanging around her neck. "But make it quick. Cyan's right, every minute's precious."
"And I'm guessing you'll have enough difficult questions to answer already without me being around," Cyan said.
An anxious knot formed in April's stomach, and she clutched his arm before she could think to stop herself. "What are you going to do?"
Cyan's expression was unreadable as he glanced in the direction of Hazel's footprints. "Follow him out there. If he's as tired as he looked maybe I'll catch up, if not I can at least try to warn you when he's coming back."
April suspected more, and a terrible fear came over her as she looked into Cyan's eyes. All of a sudden the reality that this might be the last night they ever saw each other hit her hard. She was about to tell him not to go when Blackthorn shushed them, pulling them back against the cabin wall as a group of people walked past in the direction of the ravine, mumbling concerned whispers to one another as they went.
"We can't waste any more time," Cyan said once they were out of earshot.
April clung to his arm tighter. She was already moving to kiss him when he turned away and shifted into his wolf form, leaving her with a wisp of black fur between her fingers and the warmth of his body fading on her skin. She stared after him, struggling to swallow the tightness that felt like it would burst from her throat at any moment.
"He's strong," was all Blackthorn said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "And s
o are you."
April closed her eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, then nodded.
"I'll go and gather up everyone I can find," he said. "I'll let them know what's happening, but you'll have to do most of the convincing. Do you know what you're going to say?"
"I don't know. I suppose." She hesitated. "I know what I want to say, I'm just not sure how to say it." In truth she wasn't sure at all. She was still hoping that Harriet would have some wisdom to share that would make all the pieces click together. Could she really convince her people to turn their backs on tradition and depose Hazel?
"I'll be there to back you up," Blackthorn said. "Go on, before anyone notices us."
April peered out from behind the cabin to make sure the coast was clear, then hurried around the edge of the camp away from the ravine. It was strange to feel so threatened in the place she called home. She didn't like sneaking around, but it would be better if Blackthorn approached the others first. He, at least, hadn't done anything to earn the ire of their pack. Having him there to pave the way for her arrival would go a long way towards making the others listen.
She clambered up the slope that led to Harriet's cabin, which stood alone on a small hillock up against the cliff wall. It was a secluded little spot away from the bustle of the camp. Ideal for someone who cared more for her own thoughts than those of the people around her.
When April reached the door she knocked quickly, her heavy breath misting the air as she glanced back at the camp. Several figures were already milling about between the cabins. She hoped none of them chanced to look in her direction.
She knocked again, and this time she was answered by a faint grumble followed by a loud thud, as though something heavy had just been thrown at the door.
Broken Moon: Part 5 Page 5
