2 - Glimmer of Hope

~Ellie's Point of View~

I came to a clearing and sighed, desperate to rest. Just when I almost keeled over from exhaustion, I heard the sound of pups laughing. A second wind of energy washed through me and I followed the beautiful sound. I came to a family playing in a lake and washing clothes.

As I began to approach the woman and her two pups, I collapsed in the grass.

“Oh my goddess, pup are you okay,” she asked.

My eyes were heavy, I was keen to sleep for a few days but I was also starving. I gathered what strength I had, and made a desperate pitch to her.

“My family was killed in an attack, I’ve been running for a long time, will you take me in,” I asked in a small whisper. 

I wasn’t above stretching the truth at this point, I was desperate as could be. A pup came with a small bowl of water from the lake, and I took it, chugging it down and panting. 

The woman nodded and the second pup brought more water as she started to clean my legs. I leaned down to see a horrible fright … they were scratched and bleeding, and covered with dirt and mud. My clothes were tattered and filthy. 

I knew my blonde hair was likely full of dirt and mud, it was stuck to my neck and it was damp. I was sure I looked like a crazy person.

“My name is Valerie, and you are welcome to stay with my pack for as long as you need, what is your name pup,” she asked.

I smiled, “Ellie, I’m Ellie.”

She smiled back at me, as did her pups, introducing themselves as Molly and Greg. I guessed them to be twins, and about ten. Multiples were very common among shapeshifters.

I laid in the grass with my new friends until they were done with their laundry, and then followed them to their pack.  

I decided I couldn’t just come right out and tell my new pack the real story, I would have to blend in, gain their trust first. I felt awful being dishonest but I didn’t think I had a choice. 

After some time, I would come clean and hopefully by then I would have proven my worth and they would let me stay. 

My new pack, Whisper Crescent, was very small and full of kind hearted people. Blood Claw was so focused on fighting, war and power but this pack was happy and content in a way I had never experienced. Everyone was just so nice, and actually genuine, it was like a fairy tale. 

Whisper Crescent tried to live in harmony with nature, and therefore they had no electricity and no running water anywhere. 

I was at first blown away by this, but after a few weeks I didn’t even miss it anymore. I learned how to cook with a wood stove and I learned how to make a fire from just what I could find in the woods. I treasured every day with my new friends, and as the weeks and months blew away, 

I knew I would have to come clean with my secret soon. 

Rumors soon passed through the pack that Blood Claw was successful in their wars which had waged on for months. In the end, they had gained two new packs and took on a massive amount of new territory, making it one of the largest packs in all of Canada. 

We were entering winter, and I was starting to learn more about our geography. I discovered I had made it all the way above Moon Comet’s pack lands, to my current destination. 

Unfortunately, Moon Comet was no more, and was now controlled by Alpha Gunner. Which meant, Blood Claw was now our neighbor. When I heard this news, my heart sank, feeling that they could literally be here any day now. 

I prayed to the Goddess every single night to help me, to help me find my mate. I was beginning to feel incredibly depressed, and hopeless. One night at dinner, I confessed to Valerie and her mate Thomas about my blood oath and how Alpha Gunner had vowed to find me if I ran away. 

Thomas sat in shock, confused and angry but not at me, thankfully.

“Your oath is void, an eight year old cannot be forced to agree to that, you were … heck you are still a pup since you are without your wolf. The council would never enforce that, it’s absolutely ridiculous!”

Valerie nodded in agreement, “we will keep you safe here, this is a peaceful pack and no one bothers us, plus it gets way too cold here for anyone to want this territory. You’ll see, in another two months we’ll all be huddled up together half the time, trying to stay warm!” 

The pups laughed and nodded. 

“Ohh, I hate the cold,” I sighed.

“I would say you get used to it, but I’ve been here all my life and I still need to sit as close to the fire as I can, even a male wolf gets cold this far north,” Thomas said. 

That gave me some relief that maybe the Alpha would stay away, but I was still incredibly unsettled. 

After a few minutes of silence I said, “what’s the council?” 

I had never heard of such a thing, as Alpha Gunner did little to educate me about life outside the pack.

Thomas smiled, “the council is a ruling body, and they house the Shadow Warriors which are like the peace keepers of the supernatural world, I wouldn’t be surprised if they step in and do something about Gunner. He’s a ruthless beast who has been out of control for far too long. He’s a lunatic who has to be stopped.”

I hummed over that, and immediately loved the idea that someone could potentially take him down. I didn’t think anyone could possibly ruin the Alpha, he was so strong. However, if he was killed, the debt of my oath fell to Tyson. If he still wanted it fulfilled, I would have to agree. However if Tyson was also killed before an heir could be produced, I would be free. 

“I didn’t know there was such a thing,” I said, plainly.

I hoped they might tell me more. I really did try to take in all the knowledge I could. Shadow Warriors … that sounded scary but interesting all at the same time.

“Oh yes, there are leaders from all of the major groups of supernatural creatures. There are vampires, shapeshifters, witches, fae and even demons … they all tolerate each other enough to help keep the peace. Honestly, it is quite shocking that Gunner was able to get away with a war that lasted for months,” Thomas said.

Vampires, demons?! How could they possibly be trusted, and friendly? Surely Gunner couldn’t win against that kind of power. I was anxious and on the edge of my seat wanting to know more. 

“Where are they? Maybe I can go to them and ask for help,” I asked. 

“They are kind of everywhere and nowhere, they travel. I don’t know as though they have a central location, if they did they could be attacked. They just kind of show up where they are needed, or if an Alpha or leader calls on them for help. No one I know has ever met or seen one, that’s kind of why they are called shadows,” Valerie explained.

So maybe one of them could sneak into Blood Claw and kill Gunner and Tyson in their sleep! I smiled at the visual. Just another prayer to add to my list of things I begged the Goddess for every night. 

I went to bed that night with a sense of security, which was unfounded since I didn’t know anything about these Shadows or if they could even help. But just knowing that there were people out there, well … creatures, that could potentially stand up to Gunner gave me a new level of hope, of possibility.  

As the next couple of weeks went by everyone went crazy prepping for the winter. It was the same in Blood Claw, so I was used to this … however I understood this place to get much colder. 

There was a heavily insulated underground bunker where the pack could go for weeks on end if the weather got too bad. It was a major undertaking to ensure there was enough food and water stocked for everyone in case that happened. I heard stories about blizzards lasting for a week, and I seriously hoped that didn’t occur.

“Did you hear that both of Bruce’s boys are missing? They were out running guard patrols two nights ago and no one has seen them since,” I heard Thomas telling Valerie in a hushed voice.

“Oh goddess no! They are two of our best guards, oh their mother must be so worried,” Valerie said, in a whisper. 

The pack was very small, and we only had about a dozen guards. Since we were such a peaceful pack, the guards never really ran into any issues so we didn’t have a need for more than that. 

My heart sank at the news, and something told me Alpha Gunner was responsible. Why would he attack this pack, and why now, right before winter? Then it hit me, he likely wanted the food stockpile he knew we would surely have! If he had been at war for this long, it was likely his resources were low. He was also having to now take on likely hundreds more from his raids.

I had a comfortable enough relationship with our Alpha that I ran right to his cabin as fast as my feet would take me. I didn’t know if he would believe me, listen to me at all. But I had to try.

“Alpha Nelson, may I please speak to you,” I said, out of breath.

“Not now Ellie dear, I’m a bit busy,” he said, dismissing me. 

“Alpha please, I used to be in the Blood Claw pack, and I believe that Alpha Gunner may try to strike before winter to steal our food!” 

He looked at me in shock and called for his Beta, who was just outside.

“Tell me everything, and start at the beginning, pup,” he said, giving me a serious stare. 

By the end of my story, Alpha Nelson was sending two messengers to ask the Shadow Warriors for assistance, and begged them to come as soon as possible.