by Arizona Tape
"Oh come on, guys. Can't we just let bygones be bygones?" Chesca asked nonchalantly, twirling her hair around her finger as she sniffed Regan's backpack. He pulled a face, but managed to keep his cool. Somehow.
"Bygones?" Aspen growled, his eyes flashing dark amber. Oh-oh, that wasn’t a good sign.
"You really shouldn't hold a grudge like that," she sang, dancing between all of us. She seemed far too carefree, but nobody was this oblivious. The murderous tension hanging between my new friends was not something easily missed.
"A grudge?" His muscles bulged and a wave of power surged from him. Even shielded behind the glass, my wolf felt his Alpha's call and she howled in my chest. Angrily, I told her to shut up and tried to ignore Aspen, but he wasn't very easy to deny. The veins were bulging through his skin, his muscles wound so tight they brought a whole new definition to sculpted. Gods, he really was beautiful. Especially with his emotions raging so close to the surface and his Alpha howling in domination.
No! I shouldn't be thinking like that. Not anymore. Not after I told Ashleigh she was the only one I wanted. Stupid traitorous wolf.
I glared at Aspen and reminded my wolf that he was the reason our shift failed. She let out a soft whimper and ran as far from the surface as she could. Aspen's pull on me weakened and relieved, I tore my eyes away from him.
Good, now that I dealt with that, I needed to find a solution to this weird tension hanging between everyone. Why they loathed Chesca so much wasn't very clear to me, but if even JP hated her, they probably had a good reason.
"W-We're grateful f-for your help. B-But I think you s-should leave." He grimaced. The hard lines drawn on his face made him look uncharacteristically stern and it was almost scary.
"Yes. Leave," Darren hissed through gritted teeth. He balled his hands into fists and he flashed the blade of his dagger. He really meant business. They all did.
"Disappear," Regan added, his voice cold and hard. Wow, Chesca really got to them all. I wondered why.
"Now, now. That's not a very nice thank you. I was just trying to help." She pouted, pushing out her bottom lip. It almost made her look innocent. Almost. The devious twinkle in her eyes couldn't be interpreted for anything else but devilish.
"You're no longer needed," Ashleigh snapped, stepping between Chesca and the group. The furious look in her eyes almost made me tremble and even without an Alpha, she radiated her own kind of power. A different kind.
"You sure? Doesn't Akira want to shift again?" the Puma purred, winking at me.
Chapter 3. Puma
"Eep." I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth, hoping to stifle my reaction, but I was too late. Chesca's eyes lit up and she pointed at me.
"Akira will need me."
"We'll figure it out without you," Danny barked, pulling on Regan's arm. "Let's go."
"Don't you dare follow us," Darren bit out, hiding his spoon in his pocket. "And never touch my stuff again."
"But guys..." The words fell off my tongue before I could even stop it. Danny turned and narrowed her eyes. I flinched under her glare, intimidated by her aura. I'd seen her angry when she had a spat with Ashleigh, but this was different. She was cold, almost unrecognisably so. Chesca really brought out the worst in them, but nobody was telling me why. And from all the people I needed, I had to need this devil.
"She taught you what to do, you'll be fine without her," Danny growled, tugging me away from Chesca.
"But—"
"We don't need her," Darren added, waving his spoon in her face. "Stay away from us!"
"That's a little ungrateful," I murmured, glancing back at the young girl. A solemn look had fallen over her face and she looked genuinely hurt.
"Don't believe her sad little looks, remember what she did last time?" Aspen bared his teeth and a low rumble emitted from him. His Alpha was definitely showing again.
I turned to Ashleigh, hoping to get her opinion. But apart from a worried look running through her eyes, she didn't say anything else.
"If I don't get this down, the magic will keep bringing Aspen's Alpha out, right?" I argued, remembering the terrifying trance he put us under last time. I didn't know what Chesca was capable off, but I felt Aspen's Alpha. I knew what power he held. It couldn't be more frightening than what the Puma did.
Darren clacked his tongue and turned to his redhead. He whispered something in her ear that lit up her eyes. Danny turned to Regan, brushing against his chest. The whisper travelled from her to Regan, from Regan to JP. The four of them exchanged a weird look and a strain fell over our group.
"Chesca can stay, but one of us will watch her at all times," Danny snarled, eyeing the young woman suspiciously. "And as soon as you get the magic under control, she's out of here."
"Yay, we'll be travelling buddies again," Chesca cheered, completely ignoring the tension and clapping her hands in excitement. She was back to her innocent self, but that didn't mean anything. Then again, I didn't do this for her. I was doing it for me, for my wolf, and for the twins. This power struggle was giving me a headache. I just wanted to be with Ashleigh and not be attracted to Aspen every time his Alpha winked in my direction.
"B-But this doesn't m-mean you're part of the g-group," JP hissed, glaring angrily at Chesca. She shrugged and threw her long hair over her shoulder in a similar fashion as Danny.
"Let's go," Regan directed, putting the group in motion. Protectively, he placed a hand on Danny's shoulder as if to shield her from our newest travel companion.
Aspen clenched his jaw, his hands trembling. He jogged towards me, never taking his eyes off of the Puma. "You alright?" he asked, concern clear in his voice. I nodded, melting a little under his gaze. The gold in his eyes seemed much deeper than usual and I wondered what that was about.
"I got her," Ashleigh growled from behind me, wrapping a warm arm around my waist. "You okay to walk?"
The muscles in my calves spasmed, but walking wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. The climb up the hill was tiring and long, but Ashleigh's presence gave me strength I didn't even know I had. I glanced at Chesca, wondering if I hadn't just made a huge mistake by wanting to keep her. Then again, none of Darren's instruction worked and Aspen’s suffering was clear. His Alpha was unstable and making his life miserable. No, I couldn't let that continue.
The fire between our tents was still burning and the warmth mellowed some of the pain away. Or maybe the small relief was coming from Ashleigh's strong hands massaging my shoulders.
"What's the deal between you and Chesca anyway?" I muttered, glancing back and forth at the Puma and the rest of the group. There was a very strange vibe between them that seemed to bounce between friendly and hostile. Danny cautiously watching the girl, while JP and Regan watched her in turn. Aspen removed himself from the group, but even from behind the tree, I could sense him glaring at Chesca. From all the people, Ashleigh seemed the most unbothered by her presence, but maybe just because she had me close to her.
"We go way back," Ashleigh mumbled, trailing figures over my back. "Believe it or not, Danny and Chesca used to be best friends."
"Is that so?" I glanced at the two women and frowned. That seemed unlikely. Danny was spitting fire with her eyes and Chesca's last stunt didn't seem very friendly. Well, not her last stunt. Her helping me out was very friendly. It almost made up for her creepy trick the time before that.
I shuddered as I recalled the nightmare and tore my eyes away from her. What was with this girl?
"Oh, Danny," Chesca sang, clapping her hands as she twirled her hair into a braid.
"What?"
"Do you remember the last time we were together around a fire?" Without a care in the world, Chesca sat down next to Darren, blatantly ignoring his string of death threats. He grumbled and scooted away from her, practically crawling into JP's lap.
"No," Danny huffed, but she was lying. I could tell. I'd been around her for a good while now, and if there was one thing she was bad at, it was lying.
; "I think you do. We were much younger back then. You caught a fish, I roasted it?" Chesca mused, tilting her head as she licked her lips at the memory. Not that I could blame her. Roasted fish sounded heavenly. If only we caught some of them earlier.
"Ooh yes, I remember," Danny replied. "The fish was so slippery, it slapped its tail in your face. That was great."
"Weren't those good times," Chesca smiled, oblivious to all the animosity.
"Yes, great times. Right up until you blamed me for your death and tried to kill me," Danny spat out, her eyes flashing red again.
Chesca held out her hands and laughed. "Woah, woah. I never blamed you for that. Why would you think so?"
Danny's hands flew into her hair and she screamed in frustration. "Aarggh, you and your multiple personalities!"
"Stay calm," Regan tried, earning him his own death stare.
"I am calm!" Danny screeched, glaring in a way that shut him right up.
JP curled an arm around his woman and whispered something in her ear. Her angry expression melted from her face and she relaxed into his arms.
“Yes, listen to your little boytoy,” Chesca sneered, flaming up the redhead’s rage. With balled fists, Danny jumped up, her muscles flexing visibly under her slender arms. But before she could even lay one finger on Chesca, Aspen shoved her aside. If I thought Danny was muscled, Aspen was proving me wrong. With blazing eyes and veins marbled over his arms, he yanked Chesca up by her collar.
“Insult JP one more time and I’ll kill you again,” he hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. My body cried in pain as I jumped up, but I couldn’t just sit back and watch the spectacle unfold. I wrapped my hands around Aspen’s arm, ignoring the heat pulsating from him, and pulled him away from her. He softened slightly under my touch, but the hardness in his eyes never left. Carefully, he moved away from Chesca, never turning his back to her. He growled and his menacing aura vibrated over me. My wolf cowered, even if his Alpha was more or less held back. It wasn’t as dominating as the last time, but it was enough to scare me. And probably scare him. I wouldn’t know what to do with such a beast in my chest.
No, I couldn’t let Aspen go through this alone. I needed to master the magic inside the amulet and bind the powers to me so tightly, his wolf couldn’t steal it away.
“We should kill her right here,” Darren threatened, pointing at Chesca with his spoon.
“S-She got o-off lightly l-last t-time,” JP weighed in, looking quite offended by being called ‘boytoy’.
Danny frowned and pulled a dagger from a hidden pocket in her dress. “I’m sleeping with this under my head.”
“J-Just like Darren,” JP teased, but I could hear the warning shine through his voice.
“No need for a weapon, I’ll kill her right here,” Aspen growled, his muscles bulging in anger.
Darren’s eyes glinted in agreement and he traded in his spoon for his dagger. “Bring it on,” he grinned, twirling the blade between his fingers.
A dark vibe rolled from the two men and the low growl from Aspen’s Alpha sent another chill down my spine. I studied his face, a flash of black shifting through his amber eyes. He was definitely losing control and that didn’t bode well. Exasperated, I jumped in between the group.
“Okay, that’s it! Unless one of you can teach me to control the magic, we’re keeping Chesca,” I shouted, willing my voice not to tremble. The words came out far more confident than I felt and I just hoped it would be good enough. My leg cramped from the sudden movement and I barely held a groan of pain back. A warm body pressed into my back and I leant into her for support, her fruity scent almost as comforting as her arms around my waist.
“But,” Darren protested, earning himself a glare from Ashleigh.
“But,” Danny tried, quickly shutting up as Ashleigh directed her glare to her. The redhead huffed and kicked a little log. “Fine. But one of us will always watch her. And if she touches one of my men, even with one finger, I will claw out her eyes and feed it to the crows!”
“Oookay...” I pressed myself into Ashleigh, hoping to get out of Danny’s reach. She could be very sweet, but there was definitely something scary about her.
“Hi,” Ashleigh whispered, her breath tickling my ear. Happily, I turned in her arms, momentarily lost in her eyes.
“Hi,” I breathed back. A big smile stretched across my face as she swiped her fingers over my cheek. There was a softness to every gesture that left me a little breathless.
“That was hot,” she grinned, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear. My cheeks heated up and I bit my lip, driving the grin back.
“Shut up,” I giggled, surprising myself. Since when did I giggle?
“Yes, please shut up,” Aspen grunted behind me, not looking too happy with his sister wrapped around me.
Chapter 4. Myth
“Don’t mind my brother, it’s his time of the month.” Ashleigh flashed him a sarcastic smile and nudged me towards our previous spot. My right leg twitched in pain, but sitting down relieved some of the stress. Careful, I patted my calf, wincing as a burning sensation shot through me. That didn’t seem very healthy. I felt around, gritting my teeth in pain as I found the sore spot. Stupid leg, I didn’t need this now. If I couldn’t walk properly, I’d never make it to the Winter Stone. Although, at this point, what was the use?
“Are you okay?”
I put on a brave face and waved Ashleigh’s concern away. “I’m fine.”
“Fine never means fine,” she replied, pulling up her eyebrow sternly. “Where does it hurt?”
“I’m okay,” I lied, pulling my hands away from my leg.
“It is your leg?”
Damn, if only I’d been more subtle.
“No.” Another lie.
Ashleigh shook her head, a smile dancing around her lips. “Liar, liar, tail on fire. Let me see your leg.”
Reluctantly, I stretched my leg and masked the pain as she gently explored my skin.
“Does it hurt here?”
“No.”
“What about here?”
I shook my head, watching her fingers walk up my calf. In just about three, two— “Ouch.”
Ashleigh shot me a look of concern mixed with triumph. “Aha! I knew you were hurting. Let me see it.”
For a moment, I debated whether to protest, but did I really want to find out how persistent Ashleigh could be?
"It doesn't hurt too bad," I muttered, carefully pulling up the fabric. The skin underneath looked smooth and just as pale as ever. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Do you think it's broken?" She pressed her fingers into my calf and I winced.
"No, I don't think so. Besides, it'll heal in no time," I argued, recalling the last time I had a bad fall. My wrist looked wonky for a couple of days, but my wolf took care of it. She always did, even from behind her enclosure.
"Your wolf has an aptitude for healing?"
I frowned, not exactly sure what Ashleigh was getting at. "Umm... I don't know?"
She pulled the fabric down and grinned. With a stick, she poked up the fire. "Another thing they don't teach you in your village?"
"You've lost me," I admitted, cursing the Elders for not educating us more. A couple of weeks in the wild with a bunch of strangers already taught me more about the Wolf than they had my whole life. I glanced at Ashleigh's muscled back and Aspen's grumpy face. Well, they were no longer strangers. My raven-haired companion turned and scooted next to me. Gingerly, she wrapped her arm around me and softly kissed my cheek. "We're all part of a bigger whole. Dark and light, black and white. Life and death. Everyone has a bit of both, but we all favour one over the other."
I frowned. "Okay?"
"There's power and there's healing. Two sides of the same coin."
"Wait, I think my grandpappy told me about this. Something to do with the White Wolf and the Black Wolf?"
"I guess so, but that's just a myth."
"But you heard it too?"
Ashleigh scru
nched her forehead and shot me a look I couldn't really place. For a moment, she seemed lost in thought and I wasn't too sure what to do.
"Myths are myths for a reason. Anyway, there are two sides to every wolf. Healing and power. Of course, all our wolves help us heal faster than regular humans, and we all get some boost from them. But we've all got an aptitude for one of the two."
I nodded as things clicked into place. "Oohh... And I'm healing?"
She tilted her head and inspected me. My cheeks heated up under her gaze and I felt the urge to hide my face in my hands.
"From what you said, possibly, yes. Danny is a healer too."
I turned to the redhead. "She is?"
Danny pointed at herself. "I sure am! Regan is my powerhouse. And Darren, well, you've seen it. He's got the gentle touch."
"Oi!" Darren protested, but I really couldn't take him seriously with a flower on his lap and the miniature moss house he was building with JP.
"Aspen is power too, right?" I caught his gaze and a dark flicker ran through them.
"You better believe it," he grinned, flexing his biceps as if to demonstrate. A little unnecessary, we all experienced just how powerful he was. With his Alpha, there was no doubt about it. Aspen possessed immense power. Power that could bend kings and queens to their knees.
I scratched my nape and turned back to Ashleigh. "And what are you?"
"Probably power, if you're healing."
"What does that got to do with me?"
Ashleigh chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "First mates always come in opposite pairs."
"Oh." I studied Danny and Regan, and then turned back to Ashleigh. "OH!"
