The carnage around him surprised Sal more than anyone else. The blood, the dismembered limbs, the fear that exuded from everyone around him, both friend and foe. Then the boy barreled out of the forest and his appearance had somehow made the scene look less gruesome, as though the bright paleness of his hair was a light in the tragedy of what Sal had done. From the gold of his eyes and the number of his tails Sal could tell that the boy was a kitsune, the fox spirit.
Though what a fox was doing among wolves eluded Sal.
"They are the ones I saw in my dreams" the kitsune said, his eyes dancing with excitement as he pointed at Sal and his friends, his gaze fixed on the eyes of the black and white wolf who acknowledged him with a strange sort of affection.
"Are you sure Marcus?" asked the man who stood by Melchior's side, his eyes carried the same affection as the black and white wolf.
The kitsune nodded, pale hair flying around his young and innocent face.
Then the black and white wolf Shifted, it's bones cracking and it's fur receding, it's snout flattening and it's fangs and claws sinking back into it's paws as it's body stood from all fours and remained standing on two.
The woman that emerged was tall and naked, her skin as brown as Sal's though it's shade was darker and it glowed under the light of the moon. Her long hair was black and disheveled with little streaks of white in it and her eyes were a very bright brown as if they lit up from within, they stared at Sal with superiority, silently daring him to make another move, but after what he'd just done Sal didn't want to hurt anyone else.
The woman turned to the rest of the wolves whimpering behind her. She nodded at them, urging them to trust her with a single movement of her head. After she did all the wolves began to Shift as well, one by one the wolves that were left turned to naked dark skinned men and women, all their hairs were rough and unkept, all their eyes glowing with mixtures of gold and brown in them.
"Tend to the injured, gather the severely wounded, we're going home" instructed the woman, her accent was thick and her voice carried calm authority. There was no doubt in Sal's mind that this woman was the Alpha of this pack.
"You four" the woman called.
Sal turned to face her expecting to see her glaring at him, but as he looked on her face all he saw and felt from her was sadness.
"Come, we have waited a long time for your arrival" she said.
She turned and moved to one of her wounded pack members whimpering on the floor, lifting them up with a gentle yet firm hand, whispering words of comfort in their ear as she carried them up.
Sal looked back to his friends, all of them had a wounded werewolf leaning on them and was helping them walk towards the forest where the rest of the pack was heading.
Moans and groans of agony filled the night, the combined sound was almost musical, a symphony of pain. In that moment only one thing went through Sal's mind.
I made this music.
***
As Katarina walked through the thicket and supported the bleeding werewolf woman on her shoulder she couldn't help but feel worried. If she knew Sal, and she believed she had come to know well, he was most likely blaming himself for what happened. It was his fault no doubt, he had swung Kyrona with such ferocity that Katarina had been tempted to nock an arrow and shoot him herself, simply because she was afraid of being caught in his maelstrom of violence.
But after he'd come to his senses she'd seen the horror plane on his face, his eyes wide with fear as he looked at his tunic stained with the blood of the werewolves around them. After seeing that Katarina knew that they weren't the only ones who were scared of Sal, he was too.
The werewolf leaning on her hissed in pain pulling Katarina out of her thoughts, she faced her and whispered an apology, before following the rest as they moved deeper into the forest, there was no path that she could see and they seemed to be moving in no specific direction, but Katarina walked on, making sure to keep the Alpha of the pack in her sight.
After a while they came to a stop, the part of the forest they were in was thicker and darker than where they'd walked through, the moonlight only shone in little strips of white light so Katarina could see nothing but the light glow of the werewolves eyes as they waited and watched.
The Alpha moved towards two trees, the outline of it's leaves barely visible in the darkness, their branches stretched out towards each other forming an arc, reaching out like the arms of two lovers grasping for each other's reach, as though they'd been separated for being together.
Katarina heard Sal move beside her, a werewolf boy balanced on his shoulders, a glyph shining on the werewolf's skin and slowly healing the wound on his torso and legs. He was looking at the tree as well, blue eyes staring in fascination. Katarina could see his hands twitching, his fingers most likely itching for a pen and pad to sketch with.
"That looks sad" she said out loud not knowing exactly why.
Then, to her surprise, he spoke.
"Well I see beauty" he answered. "But who say sadness can't be beautiful too"
Katarina looked at him, stunned by his answer, only to see that he was looking at her, the blue of his eyes and the silver of his hair were bright and in great contrast with his skin and the darkness around them. There was an apology in his eyes, a plea for her to not run away from him in fear.
If only he knew that losing him was her greatest fear.
Just then there was a slight whir that drew both their attentions away from each other.
The Alpha had just put her hand into the gap between the two trees, the space shimmering and rippling outwards like disturbed water, as she did the hand disappeared and then she walked through the space, disappearing and sending larger ripples out into the air.
Katarina sensed Sal getting distressed beside her but he relaxed as soon as the werewolf that ambushed Melchior came to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Relax, it is only the Shade, the Alpha is the only one among us that can dispel it for us to pass." said the werewolf.
Sal looked at the hand on his shoulder and stared at it, in a split second he expressed surprise, hurt and then discomfort. He shrugged the hand off and walked forward, the wounded wolf on his shoulders moaning softly as they resumed motion towards the arc.
"I'm sorry about him, he's not usually like this, I'm Katarina by the way" Katarina said as they walked.
"Morpheus, and you don't need to apologize"
"No I do, he nearly killed half your pack"
"He thought his friend was in danger, I know if I were him and it was one of my packmates I would have done the same thing."
Katarina sighed, she'd never seen Sal like that before and it bothered her, he hadn't heard a word they said and that scared her.
What if one day they wouldn't be able to reach him.
"You are afraid for him, afraid of what he might become if he is left untamed." Morpheus said.
Katarina whipped her head to Morpheus with the ferocity of a wild cat.
"What are you a mind reader, besides Sal isn't an animal." She argued.
"No but he can be as feral as one, anger can do that to someone, amongst other things, sadness, guilt....grief."
The fire that had just flared up dissipated instantly, replaced by a slow, creeping cold.
Katarina stared at Morpheus, the werewolf leaning on her shoulder's completely forgotten.
"How did you…"
"I am not a mind reader Katarina, I simply understand." he said.
He looked to her as they got to the barrier of Shade, they were the only ones left on the other side and the little streams of moonlight above them were becoming less and less.
"I am sorry for your loss" Morpheus said.
Katarina nodded and watched as Morpheus walked through the barrier of Shade, his back hunched as he carried a young wolf with him.
She followed him, the weight of the werewolf on her shoulder suddenly heavier.
***
Sal had walked through the Shade barrier (which felt like walking through jello) with a bleeding werewolf and a shred of anger.
He wasn't angry at the werewolf that had ambushed Melchior, far from it, he was angry at the way he'd felt when he'd been touched on the shoulder. Only those that had cared for Sal touched him there, Boulder, Lucifer, Peter, a random werewolf who'd made him think he'd lost another friend clearly didn't qualify.
But all Sal's anger disappeared as he layed eyes on what lay on the other side of the barrier.
The pack grounds was unlike anything Sal had seen since he started his journey, and he'd been to the Bermuda Triangle.
First off everyone was either naked or half naked, male, female and young werewolves moved towards them, nothing covering their bodies, aside from a few who wore shorts shredded at their hems from constant Shifting.
They moved as one, hurrying to their fellow pack members in concern. One stark naked werewolf boy pointed at the werewolf leaning on Sal's shoulders.
"Brother?" said the boy, his eyes shining with tears.
Sal's heart broke for the little boy, especially because this was his fault.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Sal said.
Just then an older werewolf, this one female and half naked, came to him and took the werewolf from his shoulders. Sal nodded in gratitude and watched as the werewolf's brother followed behind the female werewolf and his groaning brother.
It made Sal think of the brothers he himself had at home, of Lester and of Antony.
"You are doing it again." Melchior said.
Sal turned to look at him and saw that Melchior wasn't even facing him, he was looking at the werewolves around them. He seemed older somehow, his more face set, his back straighter, his ocean eyes darker than they usually were. Like the sea before a storm.
"I'm doing what again?" Sal asked.
"Blaming yourself and thinking of everything you could possibly lose" Melchior replied.
"But this was my fault."
"Is it?, you did this to save me, you're just too good and kind to admit whose fault it really is."
Sal didn't understand at first, but then he noticed Melchior's fingers fiddling with Casmir's ring once again, it had become a new habit of his, something Melchior did when his emotions became a whirlwind.
"Melchior you can't really believe that you caused this."
"You told me to stop and I refused, I was tossed to the floor like a rag, I am weak and that is the problem."
"That's not…"
"Guys"
Sal sighed and turned to see Katarina and the werewolf from earlier standing side by side before them.
"This is Morpheus, he's the Alpha's mate" Katarina said.
Sal looked at Morpheus, for the first time he noticed a thin scar that ran across his eyeball. The scar on Lester's arm came to his mind almost immediately, they needed to hurry, this was no time for pleasantries.
"Hi, I'm Salome Nightshade and these are my friends, is there a place we can talk?"
"Of course, you're here for my son, please follow me." Morpheus said, his voice nearly inaudible, he walked without looking back.
"His son?" Sal asked.
"Yes the kitsune, Marcus, that's his son." Melchior said before following Morpheus, his eyes searching the pack grounds for Bloom.
Sal started walking when he felt a soft, delicate hand grab his, he turned and saw Katarina looking at him, concern filled her eyes as they stared back at his.
"Sal, are you okay?" she asked.
She sounded so worried, so sincere, it hurt. Sal smiled and gently released himself from her grasp, she didn't protest, though she looked hurt when he did.
"I'm fine Kat, come on, we have work to do." he said.
He walked away without looking back.
***
The pack grounds in the Sambisa was every bit like what Bloom imagined it would be, wolves huddled together, bonfires at every corner, the occasional chorus of howls into the night sky.
What she hadn't imagined were the tents, everywhere there were large tents of different colours that could accommodate two or three people, how the werewolves had acquired tents and why they had chosen to live in them she didn't know, but it fascinated her greatly as well as confused her in the same sense.
She'd followed the werewolf that had attacked Melchior (who she now knew was called Morpheus and who was Melchior's new acquaintance) deeper into the grounds. Melchior was right in front of her having what seemed to be an interesting conversation with Morpheus.
Bloom knew Melchior had always loved the Shaded beings that didn't live in the Fey, had always fantasized about how they lived and how he would love to meet some of them someday, she knew he must be excited, just as he'd been excited when he met Casmir.
Casmir.
Melchior turned at that moment, feeling her thoughts through their soul binding, he frowned at her, a question in his eyes, but she shook her head, there was no way she was bringing up Casmir now, not now that Melchior was finally happy, even if it was for a little while.
They walked further down until they reached the deepest part of the pack grounds. Situated there and away from the tents was a large mansion that no doubt housed all the werewolves of the pack. It was about four storeys high and had a warm glow emanating from within through it's windows. Morpheus opened the door and gestured for them to walk in. Melchior followed without hesitation and Bloom went right after him afraid that his trustworthiness might lead them into trouble.
The inside of the mansion was a great contrast to the outside, it was brighter, the light from the chandelier above them casting rays across the marble foyer floor and making it glisten, the walls were a warm peach and across the foyer was a beautifully tiled staircase that spiralled up to the other floors. There were two doorways on either side of the foyer, both sealed by strong wooden doors that shone as though they'd been polished just before their arrival.
"The living room is right down that way", Morpheus said pointing at the doorway to the left, "I will be with you shortly and we will talk about my son and his role to play in all of this."
He then turned and made his way up the stairs, his naked back glistening under the light.
"You seem very intrigued by his backside Bloom." Melchior said.
Bloom glared at Melchior and his grinning face but that was all she did. It was such a Casmir thing to say, Bloom didn't know if Melchior was trying to be that for them, the funny one as Casmir had been, so she let it slide in order to protect his feelings.
They walked to the door that led to the living room and walked in. The room was large and seemed to be like a common room were majority of the pack stayed, it was filled with a combination of sofas, couches, armchairs, and beanbags of different colours, shapes and sizes. The room was empty save for Marcus who sat crosslegged in the middle, his eyes closed in concentration, his body glowing like starlight. In that moment Bloom remembered what Sal had said that first day they met.
You are most beautiful among beauties and most dangerous among dangers fair one.
But they hadn't known Marcus, for if they had Sal would have seen something more beautiful and more dangerous than any Fey creature could possibly hope to be.
Marcus's nose twitched and he opened his eyes, they were bright and golden, a layer of mischief hidden underneath, and as he smiled they smiled with him, blazing like small yellow suns.
"It's really you", Marcus said with that beautiful, unusual accent, his eyes scanning each of them in awe, "I've only ever seen visions, illustrations of what you might be like, a pond and a purple flower, a storm rising from the sea, a crow with feathers of black and silver...", then his eyes landed on Bloom and they glazed over before softening all in the space of a second. "and a crown of vines, sometimes it's a ring, the vision's never clear when it comes to you."
Bloom stood still, unsure what to do next. Marcus's eyes were fixed entirely on her. He looked so young, but there was nothing young about the way he looked at her, it made her unable to speak, she knew if she did it would probably come out as gibberish, luckily Sal took the lead and spoke instead.
"Marcus" Sal said, "it's nice to meet you, I'm Salome Nightshade, these are my friends, Katarina, Melchior and Bloom."
Marcus's smile grew wider and his eyes shone brighter.
"I have waited months to see you all, though we're usually six under the red moon—" Marcus said.
"We lost one" Katarina answered sharply.
Marcus looked to Sal, confused, then he nodded in understanding.
"Of course, the black bird and the ashes, but still sometimes…"
"That's enough Marcus." said a female voice.
They all turned and saw the Alpha standing in the doorway, her face expressionless, she was no longer naked, a satin red robe covered her body, rippling like a mirage, her brown skin glistened as well and her dark hair was packed up, the little streaks of white no longer as visible as they'd been out in the moonlight. Morpheus stood very closely beside her, he wore nothing but a pair of jeans, the lines of his waist were visible and so were his strong, chiseled abs and scarred, slender biceps.
Bloom tried desperately not to stare.
She failed.
"Please have your seats, there is much we need to discuss." Morpheus said.
They all moved to sit and Marcus moved closer to his parents, both their eyes were fixed on him and they both smiled sadly.
"I understand you require our son's assistance for this hunt." Morpheus said.
"Yes, we do" Sal said.
"And what exactly do you need him for?" The Alpha asked, from the way she spoke it was clear they weren't welcome.
"They will need me for many things Mama, you know I have many talents ." Marcus said.
"I know Marcus, but I am asking the people that came to take you away."
Take?, though Bloom.
"We aren't taking anyone." Sal corrected, "we need his help, it is his to give, if he refuses we will leave"
"Then leave." said the Alpha.
"Mama!" protested Marcus.
Morpheus placed a hand on the Alpha's exposed knee and whispered softly.
"Leah, let him decide for himself."
The Alpha—Leah—turned to face Morpheus.
"But he isn't ready." she whispered back.
"I am." protested Marcus, his eyes were set in a fiery gaze, Bloom could tell that he wanted to fight, could see that he wanted to explore, like her this kitsune didn't like sitting still.
He stretched out his hand and a bright circle of golden fire hovered over his fingers illuminating his pale, concentrated face and making his eyes shine brighter, his pale hair fluttering slightly.
"See?"
Then the circle of fire moved from over his hand and shot towards Sal. Sal raised his hand, his movements a blur, and the fire bolt roared against his shirt sleeve before disappearing completely.
"I see" Sal said, a smile on his face as he dusted his blackened sleeve.
Marcus smiled apologetically and bowed his head in embarrassment.
"I'm really sorry, but as you can see Marcus needs more training, we can't let him go, not yet." Morpheus said.
Sal looked at them, his blue eyes scanning Morpheus and Leah carefully, Bloom could see his mark glowing through his tunic and knew that he must be reading their minds.
"Marcus is of your blood but he is so different from the both of you" Sal said. "How is that possible?"
Leah glared at Sal, but then her eyes softened and she spoke.
"He was born a wolf but The Court had other plans for him, being a werewolf wasn't part of his destiny, so he was imparted with a wandering kitsune spirit, he was to be taken away from us, was supposed to be trained under the fox goddess, but thanks to Hestia, greek goddess of the home, he stayed with us, she understood that he needed to know loyalty and love, he needed to be a fox with morals."
She wiped a tear from her cheek and Bloom saw Morpheus squeeze her knee.
"I was so relieved when I found out he was to stay" Leah said.
"But the fear of losing him never left, did it?" Sal asked.
Leah shook her head, her eyes were levelled with Sal's, her chin held up, even in tears her dignity shone through, clearly the Alpha of this pack understood that crying wasn't a sign of weakness, it was only a show of emotion, and there was nothing stronger than emotions.
"I swear by the Moon, I will protect Marcus with my life, I will make sure he stays safe, and I will make sure he comes back to you." Sal said.
Bloom felt the power of the oath fill the room, swearing by the Moon was a powerful promise among werewolves, if broken, there would be dire consequences. Bloom looked to Sal, hoping to see some reaction, but his eyes were on Leah's, his right hand on his chest, over his mark, over his heart.
Leah was shocked, which was the first expression Bloom had seen on the Alpha all night. Then it disappeared and she nodded.
"You do know what that promise entails" she said.
"Yes, and I am ready to take that risk." Sal answered.
Leah peered at Sal, searching his eyes for trust, Sal smiled, like he was used to getting that look. Leah raised her eyebrows in confusion, then shook her head and looked at Marcus who was staring at his parents with wide golden eyes.
"You can go with them Marcus." She said.
Marcus smiled and the room literally lit up, fire danced above his head for a split second as he got up and barreled into his mother's embrace, then his father's, and then Sal's.
Sal was stunned, his eyes flew wide, then he wrapped his hands around Marcus with a smile.
And that became the most beautiful thing Bloom had seen since she left the Fey.
***
As Sal stepped out of the portal in the front porch of Katarina's house he couldn't help but sigh in relief, they'd done it, they'd found the last Shaded being and he turned out to be the sweetest thing Sal had ever seen in his life.
He turned and saw the rest of his friends step out one by one, and then lastly Marcus, his eyes wide as he looked at Katarina's house in front of him
"You live here?!" He exclaimed.
"Wait till you see the inside." Katarina said.
She was smiling, for the first time since Casmir died she was smiling, and it was beautiful.
"You're staring Salome." Bloom said.
He shook his head and turned to her.
"I was not" he answered.
She smirked and walked up to the front door, Melchior walking right beside her.
"Thank you for letting me come." Sal heard Marcus say.
He turned to see Marcus right behind him, he was so young, Sal really wondered why he was with them, what he was needed for, but he pushed it aside, they could figure that out later.
"No need to thank me, you're one of us now, so…"
"What in all the hells are you doing here?!" Katarina yelled from inside.
Sal turned, the universe couldn't just give him a win, could it?
He gestured for Marcus to follow and then he ran to the doorway.
When he walked in everyone was looking in one direction, all their weapons drawn, all their eyes burning with anger.
"Guys what's…oh shit."
Standing in the middle of the living room, with his hands raised in surrender and with a nervous smile on his face, was Antony.
"Hello brother, could you tell your friends to put away their weapons, please?"
There were a million things Sal could have said after that, like what the fuck was Antony doing here?!, how the hell did he know where Katarina lived?, and more importantly, why come to a place he knew he wasn't wanted.
But Sal simply stepped forward and placed a hand on Katarina's shoulder, she was shivering with anger, the hold on her bow and arrow unsteady, her eyes focused on Antony, the smile gone from her face.
"Katarina, please, just wait." Sal said.
She didn't answer, she pulled the arrow towards her ready to fire.
And then she let it fly.