After the meeting broke up so that Jane, Ebony’s mother, could finish packing what she’d need at the site where they’d do the purification spell. She’d definitely need help to get all the salt alone to the site. Peter was not sure how they’d do it. But Jane had it all worked out, she claimed. Peter somehow ended up being Ebony’s only mate with the rest of her male family and he keenly felt their eyes watching him as he set up for the next meal. It seemed he would be the chief cook and bottle washer for this gathering. He didn’t mind so much because it gave him a place within the group with an excuse to make himself scarce when it all got too much for him. “So, we’ve not had a chance to really talk to you, Peter. Why don’t you come sit and we can all get to know each other better?” Ebony’s father’s voice wasn’t exactly as friendly as his words. Peter could hear that this wasn’t a suggestion, and Howard did not mean it as one. “If you like, but if I don’t get this started, my meal pr
Ebony could tell that Benedict was avoiding her male family members when he could by taking groups out to search the area for more information. Franco, too, made himself useful to do chores in the camp. Her sisters were helping their mother set up the packs for the next day. All four of them were dealing with last-minute things before they became last minute disasters. By the time night fell and dinner was ready for everyone, Ebony couldn’t believe that her brothers were in the kitchen with Peter getting things done. They usually made themselves scarce when there were domestic chores to be done. Her father, Ran and Magnus were all sorted out by how to create a defence against whatever they encountered. After all, they’d encountered these things before. With all that done, they set them for the morning when they’d be safest to get out there and find the exact location. Then they hopefully would have time to set up the trap and spel
Ebony did the one thing she hated, but it made the most sense. She didn’t want to explain the specifics behind her sleeping arrangement. Ebony knew it was foolish and probably unnecessary, but she didn’t want to talk about it with either of her parents. She was a grown she-wolf, but it still felt like she was sneaking around behind their backs. That was fine and all that. It might be part of the allure of having three mates. All the sex and sneaking around. The workplace relationships and even the variety of her lovers. It made it all exciting for her. Now the question she had when she saw her mates curled up with each other in such a sweet manner. Would this always be like this? Or would they settle down to something boring like couples did? Would there be a time when one or more than one of her lovers would have a falling out or lose interest in this fated bonding? Who was she kidding? She was questioning if this truly was a fated bonding.
Last-minute preparations were going on all around Ebony. People were doing their thing, and they felt the serious nature of their business throughout their camp. That’s what the ranger’s station had become. A Percival Encampment as pack members moved about. Ebony ran over the last things she had to do to secure the station. Her pack stood at the ready. The boys were doing their thing. Her father kept giving her that side eye thing he did when he thought something was up and he didn’t know for sure what it was. That meant he’d have something to say later when he knew whatever he suspected, and she wasn’t sure what he was studying about her or the situation. This gave her no comfort, and the boys were on edge as well. How would she change this up so that everyone could settle down? It wasn’t like they were actually saying anything or doing anything. She could respond to or deal with because if she did, she’d look like she was overreacting to something in
The morning started off a little iffy weather wise because as dawn hit the skies showed up for attendance dressed in a layer of grey crowds. No one commented on this, but everyone noticed. Would they have to trek through the rough terrain with heavy packs and a storm running wild around them? In the end, they didn’t have a problem with that. The clouds worked to benefit them and hinder them. The wolves moved through the uneven, wooded terrain in relative comfort because the sun didn’t beat down on them mercilessly. As they walked, most of the wolves there heard Ebony’s mother relax about how the clouds could become a problem. The weight and its minions would be reluctant to leave the space they inhabited currently because of the sun. She could no longer be sure if the clouds mattered or not. If they roamed about when the skies were overcast, it could force an encounter with the wight and its minions before they were ready. The environment the wolves passed
Ebony knew how bad it appeared to be, but she’d never actually gone very far into what she now knew to be a Wight’s Territory. The words barren and desolate were perfect to describe the grey and brown landscape of practically bare rock and dead trees. If she wasn’t aware of magic and magical creatures' abilities. She’d have believed the land poisoned or salted. Because this could be the only way something like this could happen. An extremely polluted land either naturally like the Barron Sea or manmade like a landfill. There were places on the earth still that nothing grew because human armies at some point poisoned the earth by laying down enormous amounts of salt. “I understand their hesitancy not to enter this place. It feels like something is hanging in the air and as you walk by in clings to you until it drags you down,” Sapphire said. Poor she-wolf was just getting the hang of her abilities. Abilities their aunt had wanted to steal. But she didn’t know which sister had the
Sure enough, in just over an hour, they located a natural cave with well-worn stone carvings inside and around the opening. Ebony would have missed the thing. The opening appeared as a crack between two rocks at first. The marks to her looked like weathering and it didn’t correlate to anything the forest rangers learned about. What else lay hidden out here that went missed because the few people who entered the area were unskilled to pick up on the existence? At first, all Ebony stood there and touched the marks until her father pulled her hands away from it and shook his head. Her mother looked at the other side of the entrance where Ebony was unsure how any adult would fit through, let alone a wolf shifter. It would be a tight squeeze. Maybe that’s why the servants weren’t wandering around? “Are we sure this is it? I mean, can you read any of this to confirm this is the correct spot?” Michael asked his mate, seeing what looked like random scratches in the r
Ebony ended up as one of the wolves to enter the Wight’s Den and search through it for the Wight and its servants. The space was dark, rough, and tight. This place appeared at first sight as a location to fight in. She couldn’t figure out how they’d get the thing out and defeat them all at once. But her mother claimed she had a plan to fix it. Ebony wasn’t sure if it would work and when she said something to that affect her mother stated it will work if we can pull them to this entrance. Her mother admitted if there were other entrances, then it might not work completely. But she claimed it would be odd for such a place like this to have more than one entrance. She’d never heard of it occurring. For that, Ebony felt grateful. Now, with powerful lights and weapons in hand, they stalked the tiny space that acted as a tunnel or corridor. But really, it looked like a natural crack in the ground, which didn’t make her feel any more confident about entering it. Crevices like this could eas
TWO YEARS LATER Ebony stood there watching as the last of the vehicles left for the day. This was the first year their rescue training center was in full swing and opened to everyone including the human population. Today had been the first day people could be present to do physical registration. The human turnout had been greater than expected. Which surprised them with an interest they hadn’t expected. It turned out the human forest rangers sent representatives to learn from and to make connections. They wanted to ensure that the different systems didn’t conflict with each other. There was now an an awareness of not just wolf shifters but other shifters, but other types of supernatural creatures. Before all this the creatures would struggle as they hid in silence. Now, they could speak up and get the recognition they needed to thrive.The supernatural beings who attended the registration were still using the portal grove to leave for the day after the mass registration and intr
FOUR WEEKS LATEREbony awoke feeling uncomfortable or different. She wouldn’t call what she felt like she wasn’t in full labor so she said nothing to Benedict. Instead she tried to go about her day and wrap up everything she could. Finish what she could and hand over other things without others noticing why she was doing it now and not in a few weeks. No one mentioned why she was doing this but they didn’t push back either. Benedict took projects and gave them to others to supervise. He hated being trapped behind a desk, but he wanted to be close to Ebony when her time came. His nerves had been running tripwire tight lately and everyone knew not to mention or ask about Ebony’s health, wellbeing, or how close she was to her time. Various family members were calling nightly to check with them. Though they didn’t ask directly. Ebony’s mother said they’d call but wouldn’t come until they were requested to with a specific reason. His mother said the same thing. It appeared to be what
Ebony was relieved when they returned to their territory a week later. Benedict was fully healed now and the needed parts were on the way. The supernatural government and human government had come to an agreement.“I’ve never said this before but I’m going to say it now. I’m glad to be home again love. Look at this place it’s real. I can see it. Not just in the land, but in the wolves. How they interact with each other and function together. Their seamless communication and the emotional bond I can feel it now.” Benedict said as they settled back into his place beside Ebony after the last of their pack had greeted them and gave them reports. “It’s great to know we can step out a few days and things don’t fall apart.”Ebony smirked. “Really right now I don’t think it’s got far to fall apart.” “Ebony it’s not like that anymore.” Benedict looked about in disbelief as they both realized they were both wrong.“No, I guess not. The pack’s not a group of strangers anymore either an
They were on a pause between healing sessions. Benedict needed to have several sessions before his bones were completely healed again. Until they were healed then he wouldn’t be able to shift into his wolf. “How are you feeling now?” Ebony came to sit beside Benedict. She hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder after she left a kiss on his cheek.Benedict blinked. The healers had left minutes ago, neither healer was happy with each other. They had left to deal with their issues while Benedict’s body needed time to recover. So, here they were for the first time in seemed alone. Quiet and alone together. “I swear everything hurts more than it did before. But I was told I had several bones that hadn’t set perfectly in the past so they’re fixing them too.”“You had broken bones that weren’t set correctly.” Ebony pointed out with a sympathetic wincing look of pain on her face as she said this to her mate. She tried to keep it light but how could she? It’s obvious he must n
Ebony took Benedict to the closest healing center she had her Beta call ahead to explain the situation to explain that they weren’t having an emergency but they did need extensive healing for a leader. Her Beta sent a file that Benedict’s Beta received from the healer about his condition so that they could understand what to expect when they arrived. They wouldn’t book an appointment until the healer received it. But when she received the file it took minutes to receive a response. Ebony wasn’t happy that they didn’t seem to accept their words and explanations. It wasn’t until someone recognized Ebony’s last name and connected it to her mother then things changed. “Why did you have no one say anything about it Luna?” A junior healer who worked as a senior administrator and was working as the leader of the group managing Benedict’s needs while was there. “I love my family but I’m not a shadow or a facet of anyone of them. I’m
“When when last spoke and I told you I hadn’t received injuries I wasn’t lying. We had a freak accident nothing that we could have predicted or accounted for. They misplaced truck and the ground was too wet under it. When a second vehicle moved out while they were moving a skid of equipment into place. The earth under the rear wheels shifted off the back of the truck in seconds and I was beneath it. The skid was no longer full but heavy enough to break my femur and three ribs.We had a healer there, so they patched me up. The planes needed several repairs that would take days. I didn’t want them to take time away from the repairs to take me to a healing center then it would take longer to get home. Before you say anything, I didn’t believe I was that severely injured.” Benedict hadn’t believed he’d been that injured until after the Druid had stabilized his breaks and the pain had settled in when his adrenaline had faded. He’d been embarrassed by his response to that, but it was to la
Benedict didn’t tell Ebony that he stayed away an extra two days because he had gone to the front lines to review the damage to their equipment and vehicles. Fate got him and he ran right into a freak accident and a human skid slid off the back of a flatbed truck. There was no question about it the accident being an accident. Wolves and humans were working together to pack the truck at the time. But the mud under the truck shifted when another vehicle started and moved out.He’d left with a broken leg and three ribs. At least they’d had a druid healer here who could start his healing process. But he wouldn’t be able to shift for a week. Benedict would walk home though a little slowly.Benedict knew he’d lied to Ebony, but he didn’t want to explain it on the phone. Not when she was so close to giving birth. His people had to make several repairs on their vehicles there in the field to get it home anyway. It took a day longer and it didn’t hurt Benedict’s recovery. Even though h
Ebony waited at the Pack house. It had been three days since Benedict and their team had left for the fire. The pilots had come in for fuel and repairs. Several vehicles had come in baring injured people on the way to get care. They’d been found trapped within the fire or were injured during fighting the fire. But so far, their wolves, mages, druids, bears, and such had stayed safe and were still working toward stopping the fire. However, Ebony had heard complaints that magic was a disappointment by the human fighting contingents and not nearly as powerful or magical as they had believed it should have been. Which received sighs, warnings, and reminders of their that there were limits like anything within reality. Ebony used the time, or she tried to, to finish the pups’ suite. It wouldn’t be used fully right away. They would have the pups in their room first before they would use their suite. She wondered who these pups would look like. Ebony h
Benedict was teasing Ebony with names over dinner when the call came through. The first real call. They’d been watching a storm for the last three days. It’s winds were pushing thirty-five miles an hour and lightning was flashing randomly throughout the mountains. The problems they were having was the area the storm was in had been a dry zone for the last eight months. They were waiting for the lightning to start multiple fires, flash floods, landslides, and car accidents. Humans would need help it’s how these things worked. Extreme weather was becoming worse not better. Humans could handle a lot but it was adding up.“Go on, this is what we made this place for. Show them why we’re here and what we can offer.” Ebony all but pushed Benedict out the door. “I have enough people here to help me. I’ll be fine here missing you. Now go.”“Right. Don’t do anything crazy while I’m gone okay?” Benedict begged. He wasn’t sure what she would do. But she was pushing him out the door when he w