“Yes, and?” she insisted.
“And we lost it. We were attacked by Djarins. They took it from her. I killed them but couldn’t find the Amulet near any of their corpses. Maybe… maybe some of them managed to escape?”
“No, Lyall. You killed them all.”
My mother cried out and threw her head back, covering her face with both hands as soon as she pronounced those words. To my shock, she fell to her knees before me and slapped her palms on the packed dirt ground for support. Only then did I see a massive gash splitting her face from the top of her silver white hair, running down her left eye, down the side of her neck, and disappearing under the fur lining of the collar of her long dress. The grievous wound made no mystery as to how excruciating it had to be.
My mothernevercrossed the Covenant. That she did in that instance meant she had deliberately accepted its punishment as there was no other way—in her mind—to lead me on the right path to possibly save my mate. If she crossed it again, the punishment would be so severe, it would leave her incapacitated for hours, maybe even days. Under different circumstances, I would kiss her feet in gratitude at this undeniable proof of her true love for me. But time was of the essence.
Teeth clenched through the pain, Mother lifted her head to stare at me with unnerving intensity while the wound closedever so slowly. She didn’t speak, clearly waiting for me to derive the proper conclusion.
“That means the Amulet is somewhere in the forest,” I said, my mind racing. “But I couldn’t find it. I don’t know what to do, Mother. I can’t lose her. It will kill me.”
“Listen to me, Lyall. Listen very carefully,” she said, articulating slowly as if I was a little dense. “You have friends.”
I blinked, confused by that statement. It echoed words she had previously spoken to me. But how were they relevant?
“A year ago, another man stood in desperation on a plateau, holding his dying mate. He didn’t know what to do.Youguided him.Youhelped save his mate.”
“Remus? What the fuck does—?”
“LISTEN!” she snapped, interrupting me even as she grabbed my face with both hands. “You have friends, Lyall. You claimed to have lost something in the forests of Wolfmoon Mountains. Who knows them better than anyone?”
“The Lycans…” I breathed out, shocked that the thought never entered my mind.
“There is no time. You have friends, Lyall,” she said in a pressing tone. She glanced at her wall through the open door then returned her attention towards me with something akin to fear. “Go, my son, before it’s too late. Go!”
I began shifting even as I shot to my feet. I flew as hard as I could towards the Howl Inn, berating myself for not thinking of it first. The Lycan packs of Wolfmoon Mountains indeed intimately knew every corner of its forests, valleys, and mountain range. But the radius of the battle we fought was so large, how would they ever be able to pinpoint something so small in a short enough period of time? And yet, there were no other options.
More importantly, the Weaver never spoke in vain. Every word my mother spoke always had a purpose. That she allowedherself to be struck by the Covenant to set me on the right path further reinforced that she believed this course of action could yield the outcome I prayed for.
If only I had heeded her words better. How many times did she tell me that I had friends? But how could I even claim him as such? After Amara was healed, I left like a thief in the night and never openly contacted them afterwards. In my obsession with her, I kept tabs on them from the shadows. Did they ever even think of me? Had their gratitude for my assistance dimmed over the last year?
After what felt like much too long, I landed outside the Howl Inn, a popular establishment where the main pack of the region usually hung out. It was also where tourists and hunters would come to hire a Lycan guide to escort them on their adventures in the mountains.
In my haste, I nearly kicked the heavy doors open. The animated voices within instantly stopped, close to seventy pairs of eyes turned to look at me. A single look sufficed to recognize them all as Lycans. Although mostly human in appearance, they all had pointy wolf ears, the unusual eye colors typical of wolves, and patches of fur running down the length of their shoulders and upper arms, mainly for the males. Their surprise almost instantly shifted into threatening stances, both males and females in attendance jumping to their feet from the tables they’d been sitting at.
“Demon!” a male shouted, his fangs and claws descending. “What have you done to the woman?!”
Many growls resounded in the room as all the others also began partially shifting.
“I’m not your enemy!” I said in a loud voice while trying not to appear menacing. “I need help for her!”
“It’s a trick,” a different male hissed. “He’s trying to lure us into a trap to devour us.”
My chest constricted at the growing hostility. There would be no reasoning with these people. If I stayed any longer, they would attack. Although I could easily take them all out, any violence against them would shatter any hope of earning their assistance to save my beloved.
“Lyall?” a familiar voice called out in a surprised tone.
I jerked my head towards the back of the room, where I saw Amara swiftly descending the stairs into the main hall. Hope exploded in my heart as she hurried towards me with an air of concern.
“Amara, stand back!” the first male said in a worried voice.
She waved him off in an appeasing fashion. “It’s okay, Ulric. Lyall is a friend. He’s the one who flew me back from the plateau and who led Remus back to his safe room after he turned me. We’re both alive thanks to him.”
Everyone gasped, their eyes widening in surprise as they stared at me in shock. All aggression bled out of them, their fangs and claws receding.
“That was him?!” the man she named Ulric asked.
