The druid stiffened. “You felt it.”
“Yes,” I whispered. “What was that?”
“Something unwanted.” Their gaze sharpened. “Shaman.”
My stomach dropped. “Are they here?”
“No,” the druid murmured. “Watching. Not interfering.”
Not interfering. I think that was almost worse. “What do you think they want?” I asked.
“I don’t profess to know the way of a shaman,” the druid said simply. “Maybe they simply want to understand what the Council is too blind to face.”
I straightened slowly, the hair on my arms rising. The shaman hadn’t felt like a threat—but he hadn’t felt friendly either. Just old. Older than any of us had words for. Not physically. His center, his soul wasold.
“He’s not here to help us?” I asked carefully.
“He’s not here to hurt us.” The druid met my eyes. “He’s here to witness what’s coming.”
Cold washed through me. “It’s happening soon, isn’t it?” I asked softly.
The druid set the last branch down with quiet precision. “War always does,” they said. “And truth.”
A howl tore across the clearing—Diesel’s bark of a howl, sharp and commanding.
Wolfe’s voice echoed through everyone’s skull. “To the southern ridge—now!”
I stood, heart thudding hard. I could hear my pack respond. Wolves surged through the land over the clearing, gathering their weapons, shifting, running.
It even felt like the wind changed direction. The Hollow pulsed beneath my feet once more, almost like it was answering the call.
I took one last breath, preparing to run to Wolfe, when the druid grabbed my arm and shook their head. “Not you.”
“What?” I asked, pulling away, but their grip was like a vise.
“His pregnant mate running to danger is not what your alpha needs right now.”
“Druid…” I tugged my arm. “No…”
They shook their head. “This is what my alpha asked of me. You stay here.” Their mismatched gaze held room for no quarter. “With me.”
I almost pulled my arm from their grasp, but my reaction was a mix of anger and confusion. “Wolfe told you to keep me here?”
“The alpha asked me to keep you safe.”
“He asked you to keep me away from the battle?” I demanded, glad they’d let me go, and I rubbed my arm reflexively. “He knows I can fight.”
“He knows you’re pregnant.” The druid gathered the herbs and satchels. “Come, you can help me catalogue this.”
My eyes had to be hanging out of my head in disbelief. “Wolfe needs fighters at the southern ridge.”
“And you are my apprentice. An apprenticedruid, not a fighter.”
“I…” I stopped. I knew, just from that look of theirs, that I was stuck here. “If I wasn’t pregnant?—”
“But you are.” The druid pointed to a half-full sack. “Come along, we can have tea.”
Tea.
