Chapter 32 – Caden

Watching Grace say good bye to the Fae has a smile growing on my face. Apparently Princess Airia and her are close, closer than I thought initially, and seeing how the Fae Princess kept my secret safe has me rethinking on when I should tell Grace the truth. Waiting with Amelia and Sunny who sits on Amelia’s head, I think about what I need to do when I make it to the lodge. Zander has already gathered wolves that support me, I will need to be fast as well if it means stopping Felix from being named Heir. But most importantly, I will need to keep the two she-wolves I have traveled with safe from my father and cousin.

“Sorry about that.” Grace sheepishly apologizes as she makes her way towards me, a backpack fixed to her back. Her dirty clothes have been changed into a slick pair of black leggings and a black fitted hoodie; her silver hair tied back into a braid. We all felt better with the baths from last night, the hospitality shown to us something I will not forget.

Wagging my tail, I stand and trot towards the woman that has captured my heat, nuzzling Grace’s check. She giggles as my fur tickles her, my tail swaying happily knowing that her attention is on me.

“Well I will be your guide out of the Fae camp. Where we exit will be about a days run to the lodge.” Sunny chimes in, her little wings folded neatly behind her back. I nod my head, ready to leave so as not to miss our chance, with any luck tomorrow night we will be safe and sound in the lodge. Grace scratches behind my ear, distracting me momentarily as I lean into her touch, a small smile on my snout.

“I guess we should be going now. Airia packed this bag with food for us so we will be good to go all night.” Grace states, her hand leaving my ear as she moves to my side. I bend down, allowing her to climb onto my back and relish in the feel of her eight on me while she stretches out. Her hands come around my neck, her fingers interlocking. With a small sigh, she lets me know she is ready and we take off. I allow Amelia to take the lead with Sunny on her head, the little Pixie telling the blonde wolf when to turn in the maze like walls of trees that the Fae have created to protect their camp. We have no fear of bumping into mateless wolves right not, nor Ragers as Grace explained earlier today that the guardian of the lake wiped them out. This was good news for all of us. It meant the next Run the Ragers won’t be participating. All we need to do is follow Sunny’s direction and keep a steady pace in order to make it safely to the lodge.

After hours of running through the maze and breaking to eat the food packed for us, the trip comes to an end and we find ourself in front of a large weeping willow tree. It’s long branches sway in the wind as it sits beside a small pond surrounded by a meadow of wild flowers shrouded in the blue glow of the moon. The scene is calming, a perfect place for a picnic date. But now is not the time for romance. We only have another day to run and make it to the lodge.

“This is were we part.” Sunny mutters sadly, her big eyes filled with unshed tears. Grace sits up, her legs squeezing slightly to keep herself from falling off of me as she holds out her palm. Taking the chance, Sunny places a soft kiss on Amelia’s head before flying over to us and landing on the offered palm.

“Thank you for guiding us Sunny. When this is all over, come visit me okay!” Grace states, her voice light and cheery.

“I will Silver Fur. Stay safe.” With that, we watch the pixie fly back into the maze entrance, watching at the branches of the trees bend and weave with each other until a wall of wood and leaves remain where the maze opening once was. Shocked, I stare at the greenery for a moment before Grace reminds us we need to leave, and leave we do. We have until tomorrow at midnight to make it to the Lodge for Grace to win the bet. Grace leans against my back once more, hooking her arms around me and letting me know we can leave. With the night still going strong, we take off in the direction of the Lodge. The forest is quiet, many wolves either already safely at the Lodge, or curled in a cave mated. Maybe a few stragglers still rushing to get to the Lodge unmated remain but they will be too focused on either securing a mate or fighting off the desperate males.

“Leave us alone!” A shout to our left sounds. I pause, my front right paw in the air as I look in the direction of the shout. Grace shifts above me, taking a deep breath and I silently curse. Someone if in danger and I recognize at least one of the scents.

“I will not hand my mate over!” The same voice shouts in anger. It seems some wolves are truly desperate and will stop at nothing to claim a mate. Grace shifts again, her body leaning towards the direction the voice came from. With a sigh, I carefully step to the left, feeling Grace lean back onto my body as Amelia trails after me. I have a feeling tonight will be a long night. The sounds of a fight coming to an end can be heard as we grow closer. Pushing past some bushes I come face to face of a man trying to crawl his way towards another who has positioned himself between the legs of an unconscious female. The fur along my spine bristled as I let out a low warning growl, recognizing this wolf as Leon – a guard under my father. I watch as all movement stops, Leon visibly stiffening with fear as his head slowly moves towards me.

“A…Alpha. I see you found a m-mate.” Leon stutters out, slowly standing and backing away from the she-wolf. His hand moves to cover his erect penis and I growl again, already feeling anger rising in me. To think I would run into him here.

[Leave now.] I command, allowing the power in my blood to seep into my words. Leon nods, his fear keeping him mute as she shifts into his muddy brown wolf and he runs away towards the direction of the Lodge with his tail between his legs. Grace slides off of me, rushing to the injured male and helping him to stand as Amelia moves to guard the she-wolf. I pad over to Grace and the man, letting him lean against me instead of grace as he grips my fur with each step we take until we reach the she-wolf and he kneels beside her, pulling her into his arms.

“Thank you so much for saving us.” He whimpers out, his green eyes filling with tears. Grace takes out some medicine that Princess Airia gave us, helping the man feed it to is mate before she gives me a glare I haven’t seen since we first met.

“I want answers Caden.”