When I woke, I found Grace and the older kids were already stripping the meat down to be smoked. Being that the scent would attract the wolves, I thought it was better if I went to the other side of the wall to dry it. This time I would be proactive. While they finished, I went over to start a pit for the fire on the other side of the wall.
Physical activity was great to keep my mind off everything, but once I had everything ready and got the meat from Grace, I had nothing to do but sit by the fire. Which, unfortunately, left me way too much time to think.
I needed to keep following leads and coming up with a way to save my friends, but it was getting harder. Grace wasn’t going to beat the curse much longer and what would happen to Nikkan when it took over. I knew she could fight it after her next change, but as it came more often, she would lose more often. She would be a monster, and she wouldn’t hesitate to attack my friend. How in the world could I protect them when I knew he wouldn’t fight back. If there was one thing I knew, he loved her and would never hurt her, no matter the monster she became. That didn’t leave me with options. If I wanted both of them safe, I had to either find the answer or stay here for the rest of my life and protect them.
The smell of the smoke was a comfort of home. It was the woods, and I was alone in nature, and it felt like the only place I ever wanted to be. I spent the rest of the day smoking the meat that we would save for the children. I wasn’t sure how long it would last them, but it was better than nothing. It would be easier if we had help getting food to the wolves, but Elder didn’t seem to be coming to the aid of the wolves as they should have. I would just have to keep working double-time to get them fed and safe and find a cure.
The forest on this side of the wall was everything I could remember of life in Elder, but the opposite side was nothing anyone wanted to experience. I felt for the wolves trapped there, but I was just one person. I could only do so much. My friends and the children were my priority.
As I checked the meat again, I heard Sera approach. She joined me at the fire and inspected my work.
“For the kids,” I explained.
Sera nodded.
“You’re a good man, Castiel,” Sera finally spoke. “I know this is stressful, and you don’t have time to think about all this, but what you are doing is worth it. Those kids are safe because of you.”
I nodded. I had no idea how she knew I needed the encouragement.
“But others aren’t as lucky. I feel bad that I can’t help the ones not cursed. They either are being attacked and fighting for their lives, or hiding. None of those sound like great options. Can you imagine spending the rest of your days living like that?”
“That’s why we need to keep looking for answers. I went back to the papers yesterday and spent the day looking through them. It seems like the only lead was the one you found, Prince Fallon. I think it’s worth going and meeting with him.”
I nodded. I knew it was, but what was I supposed to do? Leave my friends? Would they be there when I got back?
“I can’t leave them right now,” I finally replied.
Sera nodded as she understood.
We sat down on the ground near the fire and just waited. The meat was almost done, but that only solved one very small problem for a very short time. They would need more food and soon. They would need warmer clothing next winter, and you couldn’t exactly keep children in hanging beds all day. They needed to be able to play and be children. I was giving them none of that.
That was what my life had boiled down to. Problem after problem. I thought it was bad when I had to deal with Red, but this was much worse. I never in a million winters expected things to turn out like this.
Sera reached over and took my hand in hers.
“It may seem hopeless, but I know you’ll figure it out. You always do. You are the strongest and smartest man I know. If there is an answer, you can find it.”
And just like that, my heavy heart was lighter. Sera was reminding me of the truth. I didn’t give up. That wasn’t in my nature. I’d deal with one thing at a time, but I would find my answer. I would help my friends and the wolves I called family.
I let go of her hand and put my arm around her. I pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.
“Can you watch the meat while I go back and help Nikkan build more? We’re trying to build a treehouse for the kids, so they don’t have to hang in beds all day to stay safe.”
Sera nodded as I stood and pulled her up too.
“Once I get a safe structure for the children, I can leave Nikkan in charge of them so I can go explore my options more. See what else I might have missed.”
Sera smiled at me.
“There’s the Castiel I fell for seasons ago.”
I paused. Seasons ago? Really? I thought she hated my guts. Boy, was I wrong on that one, but I was never going to tell Grace that. Girls were so confusing, and yet they seemed to understand each other perfectly.
Sera let out a laugh.
“Go help the world. That’s what you’re best at.” Sera yanked on my hand, pulling me down so that our lips could meet again before she pushed me back and stepped to the fire to tend the meat.
I just shook my head. No matter what, Sera was still Sera, pushing me around and calling the shots. I doubt she could be any other way as neither could I. I didn’t need to save the world. Just my friends.
Without a second glance back, I took off into the woods and made it to the camp in no time. I actually wondered if my running speed had increased. Was that possible?
“No, no,” yelled Nikkan from the tree where he was sitting. The teenage children were staring back up at him from the ground. “We can’t use that board. I need the other one. They all need to look like the boards in the tree village, and that means they need to look like the one over there.”
I stared at where he pointed and had no clue what he was doing.
“This would work a lot better if we knew how to do it,” Grace grumbled as she stood next to me and watched Nikkan let out a frustrated growl. “Besides you, Nikkan is probably the only one still in his senses that had been around the tree village enough to try to replicate it.”
I grew up there and wasn’t completely certain how to replicate it.
“Sera’s tending the meat,” I explained as Grace looked me over. “It should be done by before nighttime.”
“Good, because I’m pretty sure that won’t be.” Grace pointed up to Nikkan.
With one last chuckle, I climbed the tree to join my friend in his building pursuit. Neither of us had a real clue about how to build a treehouse, but it was better than nothing. It couldn’t be too hard, right?
The afternoon passed quickly as we hammered and pushed the boards into place. It wasn’t much of a house, but it was a walkway under the hanging beds of the children. They seemed to appreciate our work, even if we didn’t know what we were doing. Before dusk, I was able to help get the children settled for the night before I could make a quick run back to Sera.
Cracking of bones brought my attention back to the trees around me. It was too early to change, but I assumed Nikkan wanted to beat us this time. I turned to tell Grace to wait for him to finish and found her red wolf growling at me.
“Nikkan,” I yelled for my friend. He had gone down to the river to fill the canteens for the children. “Nikkan!” I yelled again as my friend's red wolf lunged for me as I scrambled down the tree.
I ducked out of the way, and she went flying over me. I didn’t wait to see if she was going to attack again. Her wolf was out for blood, and I was the only thing she could attack.
“Pull the rope up,” I yelled to Samuel. We were lucky all of the children were already up there. Samuel was going to have to get them in all their beds. I had to deal with Grace.
“Nikkan!” I gave one last shout. “Tell him I’m going after Grace,” I instructed Samuel.
“I will. Be safe,” he yelled back.
While Grace went north the night before
, this time, she headed right back to all the action, the wolf village. I changed into my wolf form.
‘Grace,’ I yelled, mentally to my friend. As expected, there was no response.
I picked up my speed as I chased her. I needed to get to her before she got with the other wolves.
‘Grace, come back,’ I tried again.
Nothing worked. The red wolf that was my friend kept straight on her path to the village. I wasn’t sure what to do next. I needed to keep her safe, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone else.
While trying to come up with my options, I didn’t need to think any further as a pack of wolves jumped out at Grace. She viciously bit into the first one she could reach. I watched as another one was going to attack her back. Even cursed, they were working together. Actually, they were working more together than they normally would.
I didn’t wait to be invited to the brawl as I jumped into it and defended Grace. She turned and nipped at me, but luckily, she was distracted by yet another wolf attacking her. Grace bit at him before sliding out of the wolves that had been circling her. Now, they were circling me and waiting to attack. I didn’t have time to deal with them. I needed to get to Grace.
As I tried to see how to get out of the group, all the heads turned to the new wolf joining the group and growling at everyone, Nikkan.
“Go get Grace; let me deal with these,” I told him.
Images from Nikkan came back to me. He wanted me to get Grace as he claimed he wasn’t fast enough.
‘Yes, you are.’
Nikkan shook his blond wolf head.
‘And you are still injured from last night.’
Nikkan sent back images to tell me he was fine, and he wanted Grace safe more than anything, even his own life. I wanted to argue with my friend and planned to do just that when he jumped into the circle of wolves and pushed me out of the way. He wanted me to leave now.
I looked back at Nikkan. He kicked off the wolf that tried to bite his back legs. We didn’t have time to argue more or keep trading places. I knew how stubborn my friend was, and I had to let him be. He’d made up his mind, and I wasn’t going to change it. The more time I spent trying, the more likely Grace would be hurt.
‘Stay safe,’ I told him before taking off after Grace.
I followed her scent into the village. It was a wreck, but I didn’t have time to inspect what I was passing. I ignored the wolves around me and tried my best not to see the blood that was splattering the walls of the huts. It was bad in the daylight but worse in the dark. It was complete chaos.
Grace had gone into the village and roamed around. I wasn’t sure if she was looking for something or just wandering. As I finally caught sight of her red coat, I took off faster, jumping the fighting wolves and knocking one from a human that had been unfortunate enough to be outside his house.
The night was dark, but the wolves were all out. Something about the new moon seemed to make the curse stronger. From what I could see, either the cursed wolves were hurting other wolves, or they were hurting themselves equally or at the same time. Either way, they were all being injured. The super healing of the wolves could only go so far. I was afraid of what morning would bring.
Grace ducked from my sights, and I chased her into a home. I didn’t expect her to attack when I entered, but I should have known better. Grace wasn’t in control of her wolf, and I had just cornered her in a house.
She jumped on my back, and her claws raked into my unprepared body. I could feel the scratch bleed, but I didn’t have time to contemplate what to do next. I just acted on instinct and flipped her off me. She flew into a pile of wooden boxes by the doorway and yelped. Sitting back and ready to pounce again, I expected her to take off. Instead, she stood and growled at me.
“I don’t want to fight you,” I called to her, hoping there was at least a bit of sanity left in her.
There wasn’t. She jumped at me, planning to clamp down on my forepaw. I twisted and caught her neck with my mouth instead. I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to draw blood, but she wrestled under my paws, and I knew I was cutting into her. She wasn’t giving me a choice.
“Come back to me, friend. Come back.”
Grace continued to twist in my paws, forcing me to hurt her further. If I let go, she was just going to attack, but I didn’t like this either. I was staying safe, but there was no way for me to keep her safe.
The stupid curse was ruining Elder. My friends were trapped not just by a wall but by their wolf. It was supposed to be a part of them, a way of life. But it wasn’t. Instead, it was taking over their lives. This wasn’t Grace. She bucked under me, snarling; she wasn’t my friend. But she was still there. I knew she was. Her human side wasn’t gone. Grace wasn’t gone, but this curse was trying to destroy her.
I hated everything about the curse. The people of Elder didn’t deserve this. The wolves didn’t deserve this. Grace didn’t deserve this. I wanted more than anything to save her, to save the people I loved.
Grace growled and bucked at me. I loosened my grip on her throat, and she tried to bite me, making my sharp teeth scratch against her. If needed, I was going to hold her in this house until morning came, and she returned to herself. I just didn’t know how much of her would be left. I had already marked her up more than I ever wanted.
“I’m not giving up on you, Grace. Never.”
The wolf stopped for a moment, and I looked in her eyes. I wanted more than anything to see my friend, but when the beast below me snapped at me and caught my shoulder in her tight jaw, I knew for tonight the curse had won. Grace wasn’t in control. She wasn’t coming back to me until morning. I pushed more of my body weight into her to keep her in her place.
‘I’m sorry, Grace, but I’m not letting this curse win. We’re going to beat this curse. I’m going to change things.’
And with that thought, my body started to tingle from my toes up to my head. It felt familiar but more like when I changed forms.
Crap. This wasn’t the time for me to be testing any of my powers. If I changed into something smaller than Grace, she was likely to eat me on the spot. The tingles continued, and I saw my human form starting to take shape. That was at least better than turning into a mouse, which would be supper for my hungry friend.
When the tingling stopped, I waited to be bitten by her. I already felt the blood dripping down my back and my shoulder where she had cut me the deepest, but I was sure I was scratched from head to toe. I knew she would attack. But something was strange. She hadn’t attacked.
I looked down to see I was pinning a very human Grace to the ground. I scrambled off her.
There was only one reason a wolf turned human, not on their own. When they died. No matter the form they died in, their bodies always returned to human. There was Grace lying on the dirt floor as human as she could get. I had somehow killed Grace.
Nikkan was going to kill me. He was going to be devastated. Grace was dead.
I reached down and took her lifeless body into my arms. I tried not to cry. She didn’t deserve to die. She didn’t deserve to be cursed. She was young and had much more life to live. This wasn’t fair. I hugged her body close to me.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you,” I whispered into her hair. I had failed. Life wasn’t fair.
The world was losing a great spark of life with Grace. She was kind, compassionate, and strong-willed. She was going to make Nikkan happy for the rest of his life, and now she was gone. I wasn’t sure what I did, but she was gone. Nikkan would never forgive me. I was never going to forgive me.
Nothing could have prepared me for the onslaught of guilt that hit me. All I wanted to do was save my friends and the wolves, and I couldn’t even do that. All this magic was inside me, and it wasn’t good for a single thing. I was useless.
Grace gasped in my arms, and I almost dropped her in shock.
“Castiel?” she said with a hoarse voice like she hadn’t spoken in days.
“How is this p
ossible?”
I knew she couldn’t answer me, but I just didn’t understand.
“You’re alive.”
Grace didn’t open her eyes.
“Seems so,” she whispered as she wiggled her fingers.
I could see why she wasn’t moving as her body was dripping as much blood as mine was. After another glance at her body, I could tell she was cut, bit, and scraped probably twice as much as I had been.
“And you’re human.”
“That too,” she added as her eyes finally fluttered open. “What’s going on?”
“I have no idea,” I replied. “But we need to shift and get the heck out of here. The wolves are going crazy tonight.”
Grace sat up and shook. Nothing happened. She looked at me and then closed her eyes in concentration. Her entire body shook again; then, her eyes snapped open to me.
“I can’t change.” Panic laced her voice.
“What?” I asked. That was impossible. She had been born a wolf. She could never be cured.
“I don’t know why, but I can’t change.” Her eyes darted to the open door. She was food for the cursed wolves. It wasn’t safe anywhere in the village.
I didn’t have time to contemplate why this was happening, but without her wolf, we couldn’t leave the village. She would be eaten before we made it a house away.
“Then, we need to find shelter right now.”
I turned back to the open door. When we had entered, wolves were running past. More than one caught sight of me when we tangled, but luckily, no one entered. They would be coming back. I didn’t need to take any chances with the very human friend I now had.
“Now,” I repeated as Grace tried to stand.
I didn’t wait. I scooped her into my arms and pushed further into the small house. I aimed for the middle room, which I knew it would be the hardest to get into. Luckily, she had chosen a home that had more than one room, as many didn’t. I set Grace in the middle of the room and started to stack everything I could find in front of the doorways. Throwing some blankets at her, I went back to barricading us in the room.
“Cover up with the blankets, and hopefully, the scent of your blood will be less. I’m going to transform and stand guard.”
God of Shifters Page 6
