Chapter 4: Colt

Chapter 4: Colt

Trudging back to where my pack had been hiding, I could only think of the celestial creature I had seen earlier. I couldn’t shake her from my thoughts. So pale and perfect; it was like she’d been glowing in the starlight. So beautiful, her angular visage and shining horn promised humanity that she was even more stunning than her beast. Everything about her, from her smell to her mere posture, captivated me. And I had tried to hurt her.

Resorting to solitude once more, I didn’t bother checking in with the dragons. They could handle themselves. I went straight through Dalesbloom territory south and then considered deviating, stalling so that I wouldn’t have to explain myself to my father. I would have to return eventually, though. Best to just get it over with.

By sunrise, I followed the scents of my packmates right to the heart of where all three territories merged. In the center of Dalesbloom territory, close to the southern borders but north of the junction of Grandbay and Eastpeak territory, the mountains became jagged and steep. A treacherous canyon carved beneath a mountainside that then rose above the rest of the Gunnison National Forest. There was only a single road leading here, and it was rarely traveled, if ever, and strangely the scents of wolves became muddled. It wasn’t actually our scents, though; it was our sense of smell. Wolf shifters had no use of their nose here. The effects of the abandoned silver mine were far-reaching and concentrated, even with most of the silver ore mined out of the mountain. It was so intense that it robbed a wolf of its ability to smell—so, even though it was dangerously close to Eastpeak and Grandbay, the abandoned silver mine was the perfect place for us to hide.

I made the laborious climb up the mountainside, passing vegetation until it thinned into stone. At the top of the ridge, one might expect a lush valley nestled between the mountains—instead, it was a barren pit circled by ledges like an open mouth, littered with piles of slumping gravel dotted by weeds. Obsidian reptiles lay sprawled in the rising sun, refusing to hide themselves here, while wolves and humans prowled in idle patrol. They all looked up at me, a dark speck on the edge of the mine. Everyone was on guard, and everyone was hungry since we could no longer hunt while we were in hiding. Had I been a stranger, I would have been swarmed. They only watched me descend into the mine, heading toward a gaping cavern.

All the recent activity had kicked up dust and dirt that made my throat dry. I skulked into the darkness, my eyes readjusting to the sight of several more shifters within, some sleeping, eating, reading by flashlight, or playing cards—anything to pass the time while they were forced away from their homes. Keeping my eyes ahead, I went deeper into the mine to an alcove where I kept my belongings: my bag full of clothes, a couple of books, a handgun, and my shoes. I still had to go to work Monday through Friday at the insurance brokerage firm I was hired at last year, but it was getting increasingly more difficult to hide my fatigue and pretend I wasn’t risking my life every day in this secret war. Fortunately, today was a Sunday. I could rest today.

After shifting back into human form, I dressed myself in jeans and a black sweater, feeling dirty. The only access to a shower I had was the camper one of my packmates had parked on the road leading up to the mine, but I would do that later. First, I had to speak to my father.

He wasn’t too much further into the mine. I didn’t even need a flashlight, as my packmates had set lanterns throughout the tunnel that spewed dull yellow light across the rock walls. Turning a corner, I saw long shadows ripple across the cavern, voices dimming into silence until I met the eyes of my father and his new Beta, Garrett Roydon. The tension left my father, and he turned his attention back to Garrett, continuing with what he’d been saying before.

“Since the Mythguard are searching along the eastern edge, we should be able to send a hunting party to the western part of the territory tonight. I don’t want them to come back unless it’s with at least two deer,” said David. “And I need you to go to the train station at 6 PM and pick up a pallet from the freight dock. It will have arrived under the name Brandon Gillam. You’ll have to sign for it, which I’ve already pre-approved.”

Garrett folded his arms. “That’s in Eastpeak. I won’t risk running into the Mythguard or any of Everett’s wolves, will I?”

“Wear a hat and sunglasses,” my father replied irritably.

“Right.” Garrett turned away, catching my eye briefly before leaving the cavern for another tunnel.

As the Beta’s footsteps faded away, I stepped closer to my father, wary of getting too close—or else his rage might lash out at me and leave me with a scar matching the one Gavin had given me across my nose. David looked more tired than all of us, with bags under his eyes and his hair uncombed, his beard untrimmed, and body odor creeping out from under his stained dress shirt. He frowned at me. “What is it, Colt?”

I stood before him with my hands at my sides. Did I really want to confess to what I had seen last night? Well, if I didn’t say anything, the dragons would.

“I found something last night,” I began, meeting my father’s gaze. His expression was unchanged: constant disappointment and underlying anger. With a slow inhale, I continued. “The dragons were hunting a wolf shifter on our northeastern border.”

“And?”

“She wasn’t just any wolf shifter.”

David’s eyes narrowed. He took a step closer, his presence imposing. I wanted to step back, but I held my ground before my father. “Do we know her?”

“In a way.” My fists balled up. “I believe she’s Muriel Vale’s daughter. She’s a white wolf with a unicorn horn.”

From narrow slits, my father’s eyes then widened. His brows rose into his forehead under loose frocks of hair before his nose wrinkled up in a look of snide amusement. “Is that so?”

I nodded.

“You’re telling me that not only do we now have Muriel Vale in our grasp, but we have her daughter—a shifter possessing another unicorn horn—right on our doorstep? Things are turning out far better than I anticipated,” drawled David.

He wasn’t as shocked as I thought he’d be. I would argue that things weren’t exactly turning out great, but all that mattered to my father was getting our hands on a unicorn horn, so I supposed ‘far better than anticipated’ was subjective.

“And you say you found her?”

“I came across her after she escaped the dragons. She was in the creek.”

“…And?”

David was expecting me to tell him I’d caught her. My eyes averted when I spoke next. “She fled before I could get too close.”

I didn’t see it, but I heard his frustration in a grunt. “Idiot boy.” The insult stung me. Then, he laughed dully under his breath. “No matter. I expected Kiara would follow her mother here. Now that I know she’s within reach, we can be more tactical about capturing her.”

“She’s more dangerous than you’d think,” I warned. “She impaled a dragon and killed them. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about it when the dragons return.”

“Did she? A unicorn hybrid, slaughtering my dragons?”

They aren’t your dragons, I wanted to tell him.

David’s laughter continued, gaining body and strength. “That’s funny. I suppose we’d better catch her quickly before she poisons herself, trying to fight back.”

“I can search for her again this evening,” I offered.

“Yes. You will. But I want you to go with the dragons,” said David. “I can’t have you getting impaled too.”

“Okay.”

David had begun pacing, turning his attention to papers strewn on a folding table they had set up in the room, rubbing his beard. The lantern light passed over him from different angles, highlighting his grubby appearance. He was a far cry from the polished man he used to be a couple of months ago. Machinations were unfolding in his mind; I could see it. But when he erratically came toward me, I hadn’t expected him to reach out and grab my jaw, pulling me closer. “I need you to not say anything about Kiara’s presence to anyone,” growled David. “Do you understand?”

“Lothair’s going to find out from the dragons,” I said.

“I’m not worried about Lothair. I’m more worried about the mutts in Grandbay and Eastpeak.”

My stomach soured. “You don’t still think I’m trying to talk to Aislin and Billie.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” snarled David. He threw my jaw to the side, wrenching my body.

Staggering, I forced myself to stand upright and refrained from rubbing my jaw, where I still felt the intensity of my father’s grip. “I’m not talking to them. After what happened at the Mundy house, they have no reason to trust anything I say. Why would I waste my time on them?”

“Because you’re a sentimental fool, Colt. Don’t think I don’t know my own son.”

“I want nothing to do with them.”

David scoffed. “Good. You know what will happen if I catch you communicating with them.”

He would kill me. It wasn’t the first time he’d threatened me.

When my father marched over to me again, my body stiffened, expecting another strike. He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Let’s save time and inform Lothair of what you’ve found, shall we?”

I nodded and followed David deeper into the mine. My father had become so unpredictable that any rapid movement he made could be led by violence. My trust in him had long since withered, but if I wanted to keep living and uphold the Hexen legacy, I had to do as he said. I had to abandon Billie and Aislin. And, for the sake of proving myself strong enough, I would hunt this Kiara girl and deliver her to my father.

The cavern opened back up into another large room. Before the mine had been converted into a largescale industrial operation, it had been excavated by hand, and this room was the furthest they had gone in search of silver ore. Veins of gleaming white metal still strafed through the stone. Illuminated by the lanterns were five people: four people standing and talking quietly among themselves, including one heavily pregnant blond woman. The fifth was a silver-haired woman sitting on the rocky ground, handcuffs around her wrists attached to a thick cable fastened to metal hooks driven into the rock.

Muriel raised her eyes, her skin scuffed with dirt and bruises. She looked right at me like she already knew what had transpired.

David sneered. “Seems you’ll have company soon, unicorn.”

Her gaze shifted to my father. Then, she paled, realizing what he meant. “No…”

Lothair and Sibyelle withdrew from their conversation with interest.

“Yes,” gloated David. “Your daughter Kiara has arrived in Dalesbloom.”