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Soren snorts derisively, once again making his opinion clear, then settles back into a crouch. I squeeze my eyes shut and rub circles around my temples, trying to work out some of the tension in my head. When Soren starts to growl, though, my eyes snap open and I’m instantly on alert, following his gaze to the forest.
I expect to see the same thing I’ve been staring at for days, but shockingly, the wall of fire isn’t burning as tall as it was minutes ago. It’s dimmed, too, and looks almost like it’s shrinking in on itself.
At one point, it reached close to forty feet, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s closer to twenty. Without thinking, I take a step forward, but Soren lunges and snags the back of my jeans between those stupidly sharp teeth and pulls me back.
Stumbling, I turn and level him with a glare. “Okay, first of all, boundaries, dude. Second of all, how is your jaw so fucking strong?”
He obviously doesn’t reply, but swings his head back to the tree line and growls insistently. The fire’s shrunk even further, down to around ten feet, and seeing it retreating sends adrenaline rushing through me. My heart starts racing, pounding behind my ribs in anticipation.
Is it her? Is she coming back?
Only a few seconds later, the fire is gone, leaving nothing behind in its wake. The grass and trees are pristine, and not even a single flickering ember remains, as though it had never existed at all.
“Gods, how is that possible?”
Soren is zeroing in on something I can’t see. His ears twitch, and he lifts his nose, inhaling deeply and scenting the air. The vibrating growl in his chest gets louder and more menacing, and my hand instantly flies to the blade fastened at my hip.
“Easy,” I soothe, wrapping my grip around the hilt of my dagger. “What is it?”
The Beast takes a single step forward, his huge claws sinking into the Earth and leaving deep gouges with each step. I squint, straining to see into the forest shadows, searching for whatever the hell he’s picking up on.
It’s not Idril. If it were, he’d have raced off after her by now. The closer we creep toward the trees, I start to make out swirling tendrils of smoke I hadn’t seen before, clearly left by the fire. It seems thicker in some places than others, and doesn’t seem to be moving the way normal smoke does.
Something about it feels familiar, and my Alpha suddenly goes on high alert, sure we’ve forgotten something important.
Fates, what is it? Something about the smoke… or… something about the War Room?
It’s no use, though. The harder I try to remember what it is I’ve clearly forgotten, the harder it is to keep myself focused on it at all. It disappears completely, though, as a pair of yellow eyes appear from between the trees, flashing bright gold in the reflection of the early morning sun.
“Shade.” My chest tightens, and shockingly, so does my throat. A wave of emotion rushes over me, my heart swelling with affection as the behemoth of a feline slinks from the shadows of the trees, passing through the swirling smoke and making his way calmly toward us.
His pure black coat shimmers beneath the sun as he slinks across the yard. Like Soren, his paws also leave imprints with each step, if not nearly as large.
Releasing the hilt of my dagger, I exhale a long, relieved breath. Looks like Branwen was right again; Shade did want to leave the forest. And as happy as I am to see him, he seriously looks like he’s glaring at me, his features twisted in indignation.
“What are you doing, boy?” I ask, crouching down so I’m closer to eye level with him, and letting him decide how close he wants to get. He finally stops just a few feet away and sits, letting his long tail curl around the front of his legs as he stares at me with shimmering golden eyes that feel like they can see all the way to my soul.
Then he swings his head, golden gaze landing on Soren. The Beast makes another one of those chuffing sounds, which I’m assuming is meant to convey some form of greeting. Shade blinks slowly, then returns his attention to me and just stares, like he’s waiting for something.
For a long, awkward two or three minutes, we all sit here in the back of the training yard, one man and two feral, furry monsters. Then Shade apparently gets sick of my inability to read his mind, opens his mouth, and releases a low, scratchy, strained yowl. His piercing stare turns into a narrow-eyed glare, and his tail starts to move, flicking back and forth in a jerky, agitated motion.
He blinks once, twice, then stands, turns in a single fluid movement, and begins walking back toward the forest.
“What in the actual hell—”
No sooner have the words left my mouth than the panther stops abruptly and glances back at us. This time, his yowling howl of displeasure is much louder.
Fuck.
Groaning, I explain what I think is happening, just in case Soren hasn’t picked up on the same vibe.
“I’m pretty sure he wants us to follow him.”
That’s all Soren needs to hear, apparently. Without so much as a glance in my direction, he shoots to his feet and lunges, bounding off after the panther, and leaving me to hurry after them so I don’t wind up falling behind.
The forest is eerily quiet. Birds chirp in the trees, and the wind rustles through the leaves and branches, but other than that, all I hear are paws and boots thudding against the ground as we walk through the foliage.
The sun's position above us means we’ve been walking for about an hour, if my estimate is correct. It’s nothing I’d call strenuous work, but it’s incredibly boring, and I wish we could hurry. But every time I get irritated by how long this is taking, my Alpha makes sure to picture Idril in my head, walking out here at night. All alone, and with no idea how to get back to us.
