Jade (8 page)

We had some wards to set and a lot of ground to cover before they arrived.

* * * *

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep indeed,
I thought, as we arrived at the cabin.

Pack territory, especially those areas set aside for pack runs was virtually untouched by human hands. An occasional cabin or meeting hall, a few dirt roads, otherwise this was an area that looked much the same as it had several hundred years ago. The particular area we would be setting up wards in had been under pack ownership for two hundred years. There were strict laws on trespassing and poaching, most humans knew better than to take a chance getting caught where they were not supposed be without permission. Most packs, like the one James was Alpha of, took the patrolling and guarding of their territory very seriously. Today, their presence in the area designated for Emily’s first run was obvious.

The smell of wolf, for me and Rolfe, was almost overwhelming. Even Chris and Sarah had seen a few wolves shadowing the jeep as we made our way to the cabin. They were letting us know we were being protected.

This cabin was one of the larger and more modern ones owned by the pack and had been built as both a meeting place for a run and a sleep over place for those that were not shifting. Two large barracks-style sleeping rooms with a dozen cots each, a large kitchen and dining area, which doubled as a meeting place, and a beautiful family room with two large fireplaces and many tables, sofas and chairs grouped around a modern entertainment center.

Rolfe had taken a lot of time to organize and plan the setting of our wards. He knew the territory and I had told him what would be required. It was decided that Sarah would take the eastern side of the circle because it was more accessible by jeep and I would take the western side, which was a problem for a vehicle due to the many hills and streams on that side of the area. I would assist her with her first ward and then move on to mine. A shifter can travel almost faster than those in a jeep in this type of terrain. Still, it was going to be an exhausting day. The last ward would be the one we would place here right at the cabin just before nightfall, and we would need all wolves not participating in the run out of the area of the wards at that time. Once activated the wards would last until daybreak.

Sarah was looking over the map, going over the time involved. Rolfe had said he conservatively estimated it would take us four hours to complete.

“For me this would be a hike that would take almost a week,” she said, pointing at my side of the circle.

“Jade run with the wind,” I said and Rolfe laughed. He knew I was looking forward to it. Shifters love a run, even in their non-beast form.

Chris would stay at the cabin, he would be in charge of having dinner ready about two p.m., when we should be arriving back at the cabin. I was meeting them at the top of the circle and would ride in with them from there. The only snag would be if Sarah couldn’t set the power stations or the spells, I could tell she was worried about it. We all worry about things we haven’t done before. I rode with them to their first location, a large boulder set just off a nature path that we were barely able to get to with the jeep. It was an excellent choice Rolfe had made. A natural landmark for this would work the best.

It turned out to be harder than I had imagined to show Sarah how do the spell. I was not used to teaching, what I did by instinct most witches did by ritual, hand gestures and words. I simply built the spell in my mind and willed it to be. I had her observe me doing it on a smaller practice basis, she said she could see the lines of magic but it had little meaning for her. Some witches, ones that were experts on breaking spells are better at reading what had gone into the spell. She had some training in that area, but was far from an expert. As I paced back and forth in front of that boulder an idea came to me. I would show her each step of the spell through spells she already knew and she could design a “real” witch spell by that.

“Okay,” I said. “First, you are going to set up a containment area for our power station at the top of the boulder, let’s say about a square foot in area.” I had her do that, involving some magic phrases, words, and hand gestures. I then asked that spell to reveal itself and it did, looking like a glowing box rotating at the top of the boulder. I then built my containment area and revealed it next to hers. Mine was more circular and not rotating. “Can you build your spell to look more like this one?” I asked.

Sarah was staring at the box and sphere revealed at the top of the boulder in wonder. “Is this how you see magic?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“It is beautiful,” she said. “You are remarkable.”

Eventually she was able to make one that matched mine and we proceeded through the next steps much more quickly until she had a spell that matched mine perfectly. It had taken us an hour. Rolfe then called Chris to tell him to be looking for us about three p.m. to four p.m. instead. Lily and Emily and the other pack members going on the run with her would be here at seven p.m..

From that point I began my run, heading to the first landmark on my side. They would be one ahead of me and setting their second one by the time I arrived at my first. It would take Sarah longer to place her spell than me, however. Still, I had to make good time to catch them by the time we reached the last landmark. I had pretty much memorized the map Rolfe had given me with his notes and I had a cell phone if I had trouble finding the landmarks he had marked.
His landmarks were very bear-like,
I thought,
big things, something an eight-foot, nine-hundred-pound Kodiak bear would notice.
Stuff he had noticed in that form over the years. He and James had a good relationship and he said he had used this area for his shifts many times. This would make it a lot easier to find his landmarks.

Jade ran with the wind. I was still chock full of energy from my run in with the three witches, it had made me rethink how I could supplement my very restricted diet. My system was constantly craving food on most days. I loved the run, there is simply nothing like sinking yourself into a good run, even in non-beast form. Rolfe had asked me to consider shifting back and forth along my run, thinking I could be a natural runner, like a wolf. I had just smiled. That was a secret for another day. I would not be shifting even tonight at the full moon.

We arrived at the last landmark almost at the same time, they had beaten me by a matter of minutes. I had heard the sound of their jeep ten minutes earlier and had really pushed it to get there almost at the same time. Sarah looked beat. Sinking a lot of power into these things and building those spells had taken its toll. I had lost my excess energy about half way along my run and my body was screaming for food. I grabbed a few candy bars and a bottle of red wine I had left in the jeep for just such a thing and set the last ward for her, letting her rest.

Rolfe called Chris as we headed back to the cabin. I was pretty smelly from the run and thinking about first food, then shower. Rolfe had the windows down on the way back. The temperature had started to cool and the breeze and the smells of the forest were wonderful. I had left my jacket and gun at the cabin and had run in my jeans and T-shirt, both had a variety of rips and tears and stains. Sarah had picked out a second change of clothes for us at the safe house and I was looking forward to a fresh set. I could smell the steaks on the grill five minutes before we got there. My mouth was watering already, and it turned out to be one of the best steaks I had ever had. After a shower and change, I was ready to go.

Lily, Emily, and six female weres joined us about seven p.m.. Emily was in a great deal of distress, it would now only be a matter of minutes before her change. Lily sent the word out and we could hear the howling of wolves as they told each other it was time to back out of the area. I knew they would now be patrolling the borders of our run for the rest of the night. The wards that Sarah and I had set should prevent Emily from sensing them and heading their way to explore and challenge.

Sarah had needed a keyword to set her wards for me it was just a frequency that would match the same result. I asked the spell to reveal itself momentarily as it was activated so Sarah could see her handiwork. I had set the last of the power stations at a large tree stump directly behind the cabin. Emily and the other weres would be heading out into our circle. The word of activation was Kodiak, something that seemed to please Rolfe to no end. He would not be shifting tonight either, Emily might regard him as a threat and attack.

Sarah spoke the keyword and the spell showed itself briefly, the glowing blue sphere of power with two green ward lines heading in different directions along our little relay system. I love it when a plan comes together.

Chapter Twelve

James would not be shifting tonight. He would be back at the Pack’s main hall and keeping in touch with his spotters and Rolfe via cell phone. One of the primary benefits of a pack was to have kids. An Alpha could prevent a pregnant pack member from shifting at the full moon and even though there were several minor Alphas within the pack, he would be taking that duty tonight. In order to have kids, pregnant members could not shift during their pregnancy or they would lose their baby. Non-Alphas had no hope of resisting the change without the help and influence of an Alpha. Emily, destined to be one of the few female Alphas would be a huge asset for any pack.

Eight naked females, having already disrobed in anticipation of the change, wandered about the cabin. Two sets of twins were among them. Twins and even triplets were pretty common among the Pack. The birthrate was low and it was a survival trait. Sarah had sat Chris in front of the TV and told him to keep his eyes glued to the game. It was almost funny watching a set of twins passing between him and the TV set, probably on purpose. He had brought his hands up and covered his eyes. I had known that Chris and Sarah were somewhat more than partners even though they kept it professional in front of us, a shifter can tell these things. Knowing who is mated to whom is a big part of being a were.

Rolfe was unattached and the girls were flirting unashamedly around him. Nudity was not something that bothered weres, it comes with the territory, but female pack members, especially those that were unattached, were not above using that to their advantage. I didn’t take it personally as this was a normal instinct for an unattached were. Rolfe handled it well, acknowledging their beauty with appreciative glances and comments, but avoiding doing any flirting back in response.

Emily was bouncing about the room and she had so much excess energy it was almost painful to watch. A first shift can’t be denied even among Alphas.

As the girls exited the cabin we stayed inside. It was decided that would be the best thing for us to do, not wanting to distract Emily with our presence immediately after her change. Lily was sure she could get her focused on the woods and a hunt. Emily would lead the hunt as it was the natural place for the strongest Alpha to lead. There would be no other Alphas in her group tonight, she would take that as a challenge. Wolf instincts were hard to control the first time around.

This did not prevent us from watching from the large windows, however. Sarah even let Chris watch this part.

All shifters gain at least some mass during the change as it was part of their shifter magic to add to the existing mass. The stronger their magic the more mass they would gain. I had predicted that Emily would be a huge wolf and I was not mistaken. Probably a hundred pounds soaking wet she had to be at least four-hundred-pounds when her shift completed, faster than those around her as if it had just ripped through her as the moon came out.

Almost completely white, there was just a touch of grey on the tip of her tail and her back paws. She looked around, growling and baring her fangs as the rest of her pack for the night completed the change. She was almost twice as big as any of the others around her when they all had completed their shift. Lily came up to her and nudged her in the direction we wanted her to take. She had taken a chance that her daughter would not attack. Emily sniffed the air, her front legs trembling in anticipation, and then they were off, moving at a speed unheard of in a natural wolf.

Rolfe and I were taking the first watch, we didn’t say anything as Sarah led Chris in the direction of one of the sleeping halls. I had a feeling they would be putting two or three cots together.

James called around midnight, saying the wards were working, Emily had reached the edge of our area once already and turned back, heading back into the territory we wanted her to remain in. The hunt had already been successful, several rabbits and a deer had already been taken down. Emily was getting the hang of things and the rest were letting her lead the way. We didn’t wake Chris and Sarah at one am to take over the watch, we could sense they were sound asleep, and it’s hard to sleep as a shifter during the full moon.

James called back a few minutes after that, two vamps had been caught trying to sneak across the border of Pack territory, heading in the direction of the cabin, and had been ripped to shreds by four Pack members guarding the edges of our territory. We definitely had a leak somewhere, they always found us no matter where we went and they were hell bent on killing us.

At three am, the Captain called to say that the surviving two witches were dead, it was believed that their food was poisoned. An investigation was underway. This made the status of the three vamps in custody even more important. The fae FBI agent had talked to the vamps and concluded that Luca’s two vamps had been under a compulsion. She had discussed this with the public defenders of those two and negotiations were under way. The Captain indicated they had doubled security around the vamps, and any bottles of blood brought in for their feeding were being tested for poisons. He also said he had talked to the FBI agent in charge and after our meeting with the Summer Queen at noon, they were taking us off the grid. They didn’t want to know where we were or what we were doing until the case was solved. He would keep us informed of any new information that would help us and we would do the same.