Along the Border

Colin stopped suddenly, causing Reed to crash into his back. “What the fuck?” he groaned, bending down to pick his phone off the ground.

Colin didn’t answer, face towards the sky. He wasn’t listening to a word around him, unable to focus on anything other than the scent that wafted over him on the random breeze. “Did you smell that?” He asked his brother, turning on his heels and grabbing his shoulders.

Reed wrinkled his nose, “You mean that dying doe? Yeah, of course.”

Colin had noticed that, yes. But there was something else. Something that he had no words for. It smelt like a bonfire; warmth, safety, comfort.

Colin was 24 years old and had not struggled with shifting since his teenage years. But in that moment, a snarl ripped from his throat as he dropped onto all fours. Reed knew what was happening and tried to force his brother to control himself, but there was no stopping him. Reed was thrown into a nearby tree as Colin’s bones snapped and changed. In just a few seconds, where a young man had just stood, there was a large, russet wolf, flecks of blood on the ends of his thick fur. The wolf picked up the pieces of torn skin off the ground and swallowed them in a single bite before taking off into the woods.

Only a small part of Colin felt guilty for hitting his brother. The rest of him was focused on that smell. He had to find it, take it. He was a hunter, an apex predator searching for prey. His padded feet easily crushed the twigs and leaves beneath them, but it could have been running on hot coals for all he knew. He could think of nothing but whoever made that intoxicating smell.

Colin stopped suddenly, nearly tripping over himself from speed. Something was looking at him. He could feel the eyes in his direction. The direction of the scent. But now that he was closer, there was more to it.

It couldn’t just be the bond that made this smell so strange. It wasn’t like anything he had read or been told about. It was as if the scent wasn’t made by a creature he knew. Not a wolf, human, or witch. But still, his heart pounded as he neared the source.

Before Colin could figure out what was happening, a large, gray wolf slammed into him, pinning him to the ground with a low growl.

“What are you doing?!” Reed yelled through their mind link “We’re nearly a quarter-mile into the witches’ woods!”

Colin snarled in frustration and tried to push him away, but Reed was bigger and stronger. Colin snapped in the air, next to his brother’s ears; a warning to get off. But Reed was unfazed, staring into his brother’s crazed eyes.

Colin growled, “I have to get to them!”

“Get to who?”

Colin didn’t want to explain. He didn’t want to tell his brother that he may have found his mate, not yet. Not until he figured out what the hell was happening. Reed groaned and let Colin stand back up, shaking out the leaves on his coat. He pointed his head towards the scent, which Reed had now noticed as well. It wasn’t just some carcass. There was something near it, something odd. Colin nodded, and the two carefully stalked over towards it.

They reached where the scent was strongest. But the only thing there was a deer body, large bites ripped out of its shoulders and haunches. Colin stepped towards it, sniffing aggressively. Not for food, but for the smell. He could not explain why her scent was over the deer. Perhaps she had come across it and felt bad? Tried to stop the bleeding? Perhaps she was a witch, but some kind he had never heard of and needed parts of the deer for a spell? There had to be an explanation as to why she had covered the deer with her scent, but everywhere else was only a light trace.

It goes in that direction, Colin stated, pointing deeper into the woods.

“We can go back to the house and send warriors to investigate this, Colin. We shouldn’t be here,” Reed pleaded.

Colin huffed and shook his head. He placed his nose to the ground and began to try to track the smell. It was faint, as if to say she had floated over the ground as opposed to stepping on it. It ran onto trees and logs in the same manner.

Reed sighed and followed his brother, not willing to leave him alone outside their territory. They had only walked for a few minutes when both fell to their knees, rocked by the anger pounding in their minds. “Boys!” Their father’s voice roared through the mind link. “Come to the house, immediately.”

It was not a request, it was a demand. The weight of the command forced Colin to turn on his haunches, but not a single part of him liked it. Something was wrong with his mate, he knew it. And he couldn’t even get to her.

Reed stayed a few steps ahead, searching the woods for the warriors who must’ve reported their excursion. His father would not take kindly to his own sons going beyond their borders, especially not Colin. He looked back at his brother, who sulked pitifully, constantly sniffing the air for the smell that had clouded his mind. They were in the witches’ lands. Perhaps he had been caught by a spell of sorts? That would be a good enough reason to save Colin the public punishment.

They made their way up the mountain road to the packhouse. When they arrived, their father was waiting at the door. “Shift,” he commanded.

They did. He did not offer them a towel to clean off the blood, nor fresh clothes. While nudity was not a big deal to wolves, they knew that he was doing this so that everyone in the house would know that they had been forced to shift. That they were going to face punishment. It was a warning to the rest of the pack: if I will not spare my own sons, I will not spare you.

When they reached the Alpha’s office, Peter Lucin took his seat, but the pair stood, knowing not to dirty his leather chairs. “Care to explain why Chris caught you shifted outside our borders?”

Of course, it was Chris who caught them. If it had just been Reed, he may have let it slide, scolding the young man himself. But once Colin had been thrown into the mix, Chris had probably smiled as he told their father.

Before Reed could speak on behalf of them, Colin said calmly, “I believe I caught the scent of my mate, sir.”

Reed nearly snapped his own neck as he turned to look at his little brother. Why hadn’t he said anything?!

Peter narrowed his eyes. “In the witches’ woods?” Colin nodded, clenching his hands in fists to keep them from shaking. “You understand what that means, don’t you?”

Colin nodded again, and the room stewed in hot silence. “But she was not a witch.”

“You saw her?” Reed blurted out, regretting it immediately.

Peter frowned and snapped, “Explain yourself, boy.”

Swallowing his anger and nerves, he replied, “We were on the path back from town when I caught the scent. I had no intention of crossing the border, sir. But I did not realize I had until Reed informed me.” He glanced apologetically in his direction. “But I got close enough to know that she was not a witch or human.”

Peter leaned back in his seat thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked, “So you think your mate is a rogue, traveling through hostile territory?”

Colin bit his tongue to keep from snapping at his father. His tone was demeaning, mocking his mate. It fueled his already burning anger. He shook his head slowly, trying to find the right words. Eventually, he gave up and said, “She was not a wolf either.”