Chapter 38

S carlet sat between Knox and Wulfric at the table eating her soup. Something had happened when Wulfric had talked with Eirwyn. She'd thought about speaking to him about it, but he was busy smiling and talking with the couple beside him.

He was in his element. It should have been impossible, a Growler, a monster at a dinner party. But he was a predator on a mission to force every single person near him to surrender. Was there anything he wasn't good at? She seriously doubted it.

Knox turned to her and smiled. "Are you making it, Red?"

Her nose wriggled at the dreaded nickname. "I'm fine. Thanks for sitting me next to you. You know I'm no good at these social situations."

He shrugged. "I wouldn't say that. I'd say you're just very selective in social situations."

The servants brought the next course, and Wulfric engaged the couple across the table from them. They'd been prominent nobles back in Busparia but had spent the past six months trying to build a road to the gem mines in the north. She'd expected them to give up well before now like the pampered nobles they were, but they were still pushing strong.

A quarter way down the table, voices rose higher.

"I'm not so sure a treaty benefits us at all," said one of the Robins on the Confederation Council.

Ashur crossed his arms and leaned back to glare across the table. "I disagree. They're a ready army should we need them. You've heard the stories as well as I have."

The Robin glared back. "Exactly. It's not safe. Besides, what use have we of an army when the Robins are still ready to meet whatever need our king declares?"

The other conversations around the table faltered until Eirwyn at the end of the table cleared her throat. "An excellent point, gentlemen. Perhaps—since you obviously do not wish to wait until tomorrow to talk politics—we can discuss it right here, right now. Wulfric? An introduction, please."

Wulfric stiffened beside her, and Scarlet put her hand on his thigh under the table. He gripped her hand tightly but smiled down the table. "Very well, princess—"

"Queen," Knox said quietly.

Wulfric paused and nodded, "Pardon, my queen. Many have heard stories of Growlers as mindless beasts who hunt, fuck, and kill indiscriminately."

Several of the ladies gasped at the crude language, but Wulfric ignored them as he smiled and let his face shift into the Growler. The seams of his shirt at his neck tore, and he reversed the magic back to his normal self.

"Growlers are much more, as you can see. I'm sitting here eating and drinking. I'm not tamed, but neither am I a monster. In fact, I was born in Busparia right on the edge of the Feral Forest. I grew up listening to those same stories of Growlers."

"Then where do the stories come from?" someone asked.

Wulfric explained. "Excellent question. Three hundred years ago, the Growlers were all natural born but dying off. Very few pregnancies led many to fear that the entire race would go extinct. The goddess decided to spare the Growlers and taught them how to weave a spell to turn humans into Growlers. That's what I am, a turned Growler."

A woman gasped. "What's to stop the Growlers from turning every human into a beast?"

Wulfric frowned. "No, being turned is always a choice, and some choose not to accept the chance at a second life. The goddess made sure the Growlers took the ability seriously and would not abuse it. It works best when a human body is near death."

"So you'll attack, then as we're bleeding out, turn us?"

Scarlet's teeth ground together, and Wulfric stiffened. But it was Knox who interrupted.

"For gods' sake, let the man explain his purpose here before you go jumping to the worst possible conclusions. You did the same thing when you first saw me as a dragon, remember? I thought we'd grown past this."

Murmurs along the table made Scarlet squirm, but Knox turned to Wulfric. "Please, Growler, continue. Is that what happened to you? Were you near death?"

Wulfric paused, a flash of sorrow and pain on his face. He didn't hide it, and the sight made the murmurs stop. "Yes, the Elders approached as I lay dying on the Southern Road, injured in the war. The army had transported the injured home, but several of those who were too close to death were simply… left to die."

A woman gasped, and Wulfric cleared his throat. "I thought my family was all dead, so I had nothing else to lose. I accepted the Elders' offer of a new life, and when the spell was done, all my memories of my life in Busparia were gone too."

"No memories?"

"Ah, I wouldn't mind forgetting myself."

"You said you were born in Busparia. How do you know if your memories are gone?"

Wulfric chuckled, and she squeezed his hand at the sound. "The prophecy I mentioned? When dragons ride once more, Growlers will regain what they've lost. Only when the dragons, Growlers, and druids unite will they be able to defeat the evil one and stop the next ice age."

Knox cleared his throat. "You've felt the winter lingering, haven't you? Growing colder? When Wulfric and Scarlet arrived three days ago, they brought an ice creature they'd defeated."

Leopol stepped from behind Knox and said, "The creature is a memphit, a skeletal ice daemon spawn."

At the word daemon, several chairs raked the stone floor as men jumped up. One woman fainted in her seat. Scarlet's lip twitched as Ashur rolled his eyes down the table. She'd always liked the man, even before he'd turned into a gargoyle.

"Enough," Knox bellowed. Everyone froze as a haze of green smoke sank from his nose, and he waved it away. "Sit down and listen. Please."

Leopol cleared his throat and gripped the lapels of his jacket. "As I was saying, the memphit is small but powerful enough to create a blizzard. They don't travel alone either, but in packs of a dozen."

The whispers around the table grew louder, and Leopol put his hand on Knox's shoulder.

Knox rapped on the table, and all eyes turned to him. "Someone has to be controlling the memphits, or at the very least, releasing them into our world. They don't belong here."

Wulfric coughed, and Knox's gaze swiveled to him. Wulfric said quietly, "The prophecy mentioned an evil one who would bring the next ice age."

Scarlet tightened her grip on his hand. They'd talked about this with Knox and Grandma for the past two days, researching books in the library with Leopol and trying to find everything they could about the evil one and daemons. They each had theories, but this was the one that made the most sense.

Knox looked around the table once more, meeting each person's gaze. "We have a plan to root out the evil one and stop the ice age, but it will require us to work with the Growlers. We need their help to protect the forest and investigate Busparia, which seems to be the center of the cold according to recent reports."

Eirwyn cleared her throat and all eyes swung to her end of the table. "Right, so this is what the Growler alpha Wulfric, Knox, Scarlet, and I have been discussing thus far."

Eirwyn threw light magic to the ceiling, casting shadows of figures running through the forest as she explained.

"The turned Growlers are going to be the most easily integrated into our society, especially now that their memories are back. Remember, some of them might even be your missing family members who went off to war and never returned."

A murmur of whispers echoed in the room as the servants removed the now cold food and served the next course. Eirwyn continued.

"The Growlers can root out other memphits in the forest and provide wider protection. They can work with the Robins, but we'll start with low doses. We'll introduce a few Growlers at a time to Vidrland, but if there are objections in town, then we'll start here at Hartsgrove."

The light and shadows danced on the ceiling, showing wolves chasing a monster and making it burst into a shower of light.

"While the Growlers help the Robins protect the forest, Scarlet will lead the Hunters into Busparia to ferret out exactly what's going on there. You've heard the reports from the other Hunters. Monsters roam at night. Anyone out after dark is never heard from again. Is this because there are more memphits or something else, something more, something bigger?"

The lights on the ceiling showed a shadow attacking a village, and the villagers bursting into light. One man cleared his throat and braved a question.

"But there's no need for a treaty with the Growlers. They can help ferret out the daemons, but so can the Robins. It's what they're trained for. We don't need the Growlers."

Scarlet's chest itched, and she cleared her throat. All eyes swiveled to her, and she froze. Wulfric squeezed her hand, and she looked up at him. She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "Dragon Claws."

He nodded and sat up straight, turning to the table. "The druid Olive can attest to this story, but as you all know, Scarlet's mother was killed by Growlers thirty years ago."

Several people nodded around the table, but Wulfric's thumb stroked the back of her hand, distracting her from their eyes.

"What you might not know is that they weren't just turned or natural born Growlers. There is a secret division of the Hunters known as the Dragon Claws."

Whispers flew across the table, and Scarlet saw Ashur frown and nod, saying to the man next to him, "I've heard of them."

Wulfric said, "If asked a few weeks ago, Scarlet would've said they were a myth. But she asked the Elders of my tribe about it, and between them and Olive's own account, we now believe the Dragon Claws were the ones who killed her mother."

"For what purpose?" someone asked.

Knox shook his head. "We don't know."

Ashur rubbed his chin. "But we do know the purpose of the Dragon Claws. They were always rumored to be the king's personal mercenaries, an elite hidden force who originally belonged to the Hunters but were no longer."

Scarlet looked at Ashur and nodded. "But when the Hunters began to offer their services for a fee to anyone who could pay, the kings of Busparia kept the Dragon Claws for their own political machinations."

Her face flamed and her throat closed again. Wulfric squeezed her hand twice, and she took a deep breath.

Eirwyn's shadows shifted to six Growlers wearing Buspartan army clothing, the medallion on their cloaks clear in the light magic. Scarlet had drawn them a picture, and it had even been in one obscure book Leopol had found in the library.

"So someone—most likely the king—had Scarlet's mother killed. Olive the druid has confirmed that there have always been sporadic attacks against the druids, which is why there are only three of them left," Knox said.

Wulfric's voice grew louder. "This is why the treaty is necessary. Who better to sniff out an elite band of Growlers than other Growlers? We can find them and the daemons, if you'll help us."

"Help how? What exactly is in this treaty, then?" someone grumbled.

Eirwyn's light magic shifted. "I'm so glad you asked. Growlers, both turned and natural born, will maintain sovereignty over themselves, but the Feral Forest will officially be split into a northern and southern kingdom. They will keep their hierarchy of five tribes each with an alpha and three Elders to settle disputes within their sub-territories, but will officially recognize an alpha king. Wulfric, do I understand that you already fill that role?"

"Yes, your highness. Even though we don't officially recognize my position as higher than any other alpha, I do settle disputes between the tribes. The biggest difference with the treaty is that Growlers would officially be welcomed into the northern kingdom."

Eirwyn nodded. "Correct, and if we recognize the Growlers as a kingdom, Glathen and Busparia will soon follow. If Growlers wish to settle in our new towns in the Feral Forest, they will fall under the same laws as everyone else. If they wish to swear fealty to the dragon king and renounce their citizenship as a Growler, then they will be allowed to vote as a full citizen."

"Wait, if they have five alphas, who says the other four tribes will even abide by the treaty?" someone asked.

Wulfric nodded. "That's a good point, but I met with the other four, and we're all in agreement. I speak for all of them, but I have also provided signed documentation to the king and queen to prove it. You're welcome to send delegates to each of the tribes and ask the other alphas themselves, though."

Several shifted uncomfortably in their seats but all avoided making eye contact with him. It made Scarlet angry, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

"I was there, in the Growler camp. He is the alpha and does have authority to make the treaty. Shove your questions of his integrity and honor up your ass. No one disparages my mate and gets away with it."

The room went silent as all eyes fell on her. The heat of anger froze in her veins, and she felt her flushed cheeks grow cold. Wulfric squeezed her hand twice, and she remembered to breathe.

Then he pulled her hand from under the table and kissed her palm. "Ah, bunny, I adore when you get all fiery and defensive. Say more nice things about me."

Ashur chuckled, and some others at the table smiled. She scowled at Wulfric, "Don't push it, wolfie."

That brought on more chuckles. Wulfric grinned wide, his golden eyes glowing with predatory desire. At whispering behind her, she turned to see Leopol talking quietly to Knox, who frowned and nodded.

When he looked back at the table, he nodded to Eirwyn. "Continue, love. And for gods' sake, everyone eat before they take the course away again."

The discussion grew more political and less antagonistic after that, and soon dessert was finished. Eirwyn and Knox led them back into the parlor, but none of them could escape the night yet. As soon as Wulfric and Scarlet settled into the same corner as earlier, Leopol came through the door and walked directly to them.

"The dwarves have arrived and wish to see you," he said.

Wulfric was being waved over by Ashur, so Scarlet shooed him over. "Go, be sociable. Remember your humanity while I go deal with the dwarves."

Wulfric paused. "Are they safe? Friend or foe?"

She rolled her eyes and stepped back through the door as she said over her shoulder, "Friends. No foe would dare enter the dragon's lair."