41. Atticus

41

ATTICUS

I stepped into the same clearing I’d seen in my dream, my boots sinking slightly into the underbrush. The distance between here and my den meant shadow walking wasn’t possible. I’d opted to run on four paws along the boundaries of the Crimson Fang. To explore and see what I could discover before reaching the old pack grounds, but it ended up taking longer than I had expected.

The sight of the old dens, now just piles of wood and stone covered with vines, nearly tore my heart apart. I tried to keep all emotion off my face, but it was a losing battle.

I scanned the territory where my pack—my father’s pack—had once thrived. It was too quiet here. No howling, no pups running around and playing. Just silence and the weight of abandonment.

I kept walking, catching glimpses of the past in every corner. Memories danced around like ghosts. The boulder I used to climb as a kid was now just another part of the wild landscape, moss-covered and forgotten.

As I approached my childhood home, a lump formed in my throat. It looked nothing like I remembered, just dilapidated walls and the flattened earth where my mother’s garden used to bloom. I could almost hear her soft, soothing voice, a lullaby against the harshness of this place. Among the wreckage, a handful of roses had defied the odds and were still flourishing, their vibrant colors a stark contrast to their surroundings.

Her face appeared in my mind, and I knew what she’d tell me in this moment. I heard her voice as if she were standing right beside me.

“Atticus, be brave, my love.”

The cold edge of my father’s ambition seeped from the ground, but it was no match for the love that surged through me at the thought of her. I saw her hanging clothes on the line, intercepting my father when his temper flared, and her hands, always gentle, showing me the shifter ways.

I stepped over a fallen log, the rotting wood disintegrating when the toe of my boot nudged it. I could feel Aria in my mind, her presence a steady pulse against the backdrop of loss. She was working on her shields. When she had them up, it was much harder to feel her, to sense her.

A gust of wind swept through the trees, carrying whispers of what used to be. I shook them off, focusing instead on the mental image of Aria’s face, never far from the front of my thoughts. It was a shield that guarded me from the ghosts of my past.

Aria would tell me I was stronger than I believed myself to be. I clung to those words, let them sink into the marrow of my bones. They replaced the echo of my mother’s lullabies, filled the void the absence of the pack had left.

“Nothing will stop me,” I shouted defiantly into the wind. I was no longer just a shifter bound by blood and pain. I was Aria’s protector, her warrior. My magic stirred, responding to the truth of my vow.

The glen had changed drastically since my last visit. Fallen trees lay scattered around, new saplings had sprouted, and the underbrush had taken on a different appearance. I closed my eyes, focusing on the dream, on what had been near the spot my mother had taken me to. A weathered oak had stood proudly in the center. I checked my surroundings and let out a bitter laugh. I was in a fucking forest. There were any number of oak trees nearby.

Dejected, I wandered around, searching around the base of each oak tree I came across. Frustrated by yet another failed attempt at scrabbling in the dirt, I was on the verge of giving up when I felt a sudden heat envelop my left hand, jolting me. I shook it off, thinking I’d brushed up against some wolfsbane, but the sensation persisted, growing warmer and more distinct.

It was oddly comforting.

“Mama?” I asked skeptically.

The heat pulsed twice in reply.

A vivid memory of my mom and me in the garden burst forth. We used to play a game where I would cover my face and count to ten, and she would hide a treat. I would search the garden, and she would give me clues, calling ‘colder’ when I was moving away from the sweet surprise and ‘hotter’ as I got closer.

With nothing but that recollection and hope, I turned left and took slow, deliberate steps forward. Five steps later, my right hand radiated with the same heat, and I pivoted in that direction. I slowly walked around the forest, playing a ghostly game of follow-my-lead.

It took time and effort, but I eventually made it to the oak tree. When I placed both hands on its sturdy trunk, heat pulsed in both hands before draining away. I fell to my knees and dug at the earth, dirt wedging beneath my fingernails. Sweat dripped off my brow, mixing with the soil as I dug deeper.

“Come on,” I muttered, the urgency pulsing through my veins like a drumbeat.

Finally, finally , my hands hit something hard nestled under the gnarled roots of the ancient tree. I brushed away the remaining dirt, revealing the relic. It was smaller than I expected, no bigger than my fist. As soon as my skin made contact, a shockwave slammed into me. Raw, untamed power.

I gasped, unable to contain the surprise. The cold bite of the relic against my skin sent a sharp jolt through me. My muscles tensed, every hair on my arms standing on end.

“Whoa,” I muttered, the sensation grounding me to the spot. I turned the relic over in my hand. A soft glow emanated from its surface, pulsing gently, almost as though it recognized me as its keeper. Despite the situation, I grinned. No more waiting, no more searching. It was time to act.

I pocketed the relic, its weight settling against my thigh. Every second counted. Aria was out there, possibly waiting, probably worried that I hadn’t been to see her yet. I couldn’t keep her in the dark, not about this. I shifted, the relic remaining with me, and ran. The urgency to reach her pushed me forward. Once I got closer, I could shadow walk, but from this distance I’d have to do many small bursts, which would only exhaust me.

So I ran. With each step, the hard-packed ground solid beneath my paws; the vibrations traveling up my legs. My breaths came in quick pants, hot and heavy in the damp night air. Out of nowhere, a sense of impending came over me. Aria. Something was wrong. Heart racing, I pushed myself to the limit.

Then... Nothing. My connection to Aria vanished. Not just muted, but totally, utterly silent. Like it had never been there at all.

Her mental shields weren’t strong enough to cut me off completely.

I pounded the earth, shifting back and forth between wolf and shadow. The rhythm used to soothe me, but not now. Not with the silence in my head where Aria should be. Each transition drained me a little more, but I couldn’t stop. Couldn’t slow down.

The forest was a blur and whispers of wind, nothing more. Usually, the night spoke to me, alive with hidden secrets. Tonight, it was just a path, a means to an end. My breath hitched, my heart hammered against my ribs, not from the run, but from the fear. I growled as I stumbled over an unseen root, barely catching myself. I couldn’t keep up the shadow walking for much longer, but the thought of being any later clawed at my throat. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. I could feel it in the hollow pit of my stomach, in the way my skin crawled.

“Aria, where are you?” No answer came, nothing but oppressive silence.

I broke through a thicket, panting, the familiar scent of home finally hitting my nostrils. It did nothing to ease the panic. If anything, the closer I got, the deeper the knife of her absence twisted inside me.

My legs trembled. Aria and I were linked, soul deep. To lose that connection...

I couldn’t think like that. I tried to beat back the dark thoughts creeping in. She was fine. She had to be.

As I raced through the woods, the bite of reality sank its teeth into me, relentless and cruel. I couldn’t sense her. Couldn’t feel even a tendril of her presence. That bond we shared, that guide through darkness and distance, gone.

No. A roar tore from my throat. The need to see her, to find her safe... It consumed me, burning through the fatigue like wildfire through dry brush.

The boundary markers of my territory came into sight, the scents and sounds so familiar, but they did nothing to lift the crushing weight off my chest. The connection with Aria, always a pulsing lifeline, was now just emptiness. It gnawed at me, an anchor dragging me down into dark waters.

I paused, looking over the expanse of land that led to my den. Nothing. No flicker of her aura, no whisper of her thoughts. Every instinct screamed that something wasn’t right. I shook my head, trying to dislodge the panic that clung to me.

I forced one foot in front of the other. Aria was strong. She was a fighter.

The silence was louder than any roar, any growl I could muster. Doubt crept in and images flashed through my mind. Aria hurt, Aria captured, Aria... worse. Each scenario left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Fuck. I ran faster, driven by the need to make those thoughts lies. To see her, alive and well, to feel her laugh through our bond again.

I shifted and stepped into the den. It felt like walking into a void. My boots thudded against the wooden floor, the sound bouncing back at me, empty. I searched room to room, but there was no sign of Aria. No lingering warmth of her presence, just cold air and silence. She should have been here, where I left her, her energy mingling with mine. Not overpowering, just there like a heartbeat. Now, nothing. Each empty space pulled my hope down another notch.

“Damn it,” I muttered. The light outside dimmed, marking the day’s end, and with it, my optimism faded.

I couldn’t stand still, not when every instinct screamed that something was wrong. I left the den again, letting the shadows embrace me. I shadow walked, the need to find Aria pushing me to the edge of madness. Exhaustion be damned.

As I moved unseen through the twilight, images of Caius flashed before my eyes. His hunger for power knew no bounds. What if he’d done something to Aria? Leaving her alone had been a mistake.

I growled. I should’ve let her come with me.

The manor’s lights pierced the dusk. I stepped out of the shadows and rushed forward.

In the foyer, Eldan was hammering a piece of wood into place, building what looked like a shelf. Seren corralled a group of younger shifters nearby, her voice firm but encouraging.

They both looked up as I approached. Eldan’s hand stilled, hammer mid-swing. Surprise flashed across their faces before it crumbled into worry.

“Atticus, you look like hell,” Eldan said.

Seren stepped closer, her eyes scanning me. “What happened? Where’s Aria?”

“Isn’t she here?” I asked. My voice came out strangled, each word drenched in panic.

Eldan and Seren exchanged a glance, then shook their heads in unison. “We thought she was with you,” Eldan said, his brow creasing.

“Where is she?” Seren left the young shifters to their own devices and grabbed my arm. “She hasn’t been here since she left to meet you. What’s happened?”

The confirmation of her absence was like a punch to the gut. I could barely breathe. I paced back and forth, the weight of their stares heavy on my shoulders. My lungs constricted, my throat tightening, making each breath a labor. Eldan and Seren’s faces blurred as countless reasons for Aria’s disappearance flooded my mind.

“It’s Caius,” I said, each word laced with a cold certainty that froze my veins. “I think he has her.”

Eldan’s hand clenched into a fist, his knuckles whitening. “Your father?”

“Philesia’s been holding his sycophants back. They wouldn’t have gotten past her.” I could almost see the shadows dance at the mention of Philesia, her power a silent force even now. “But Caius is stronger than his minions. He’s using a magic that isn’t his and is hungrier for more.”

Seren’s eyes darkened, a storm brewing in their depths. “You think he took her because of her powers?”

“Why else?” I spat out. “He’s the only one who would dare.”

“What are you going to do?” Eldan asked.

“I’m going to go see him,” I said, the decision made before I had time to think it through properly. “I’ve got to find out if he has her.”

“Atticus,” Seren began, but I was already moving toward the forest.

“Stay safe,” Eldan called after me, but I was a shadow slipping through the night, gone before the echo of his words faded.