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The sun peeked through the thick canopy of leaves above Nox's head as he rode through the Dark Forest, his pack by his side. He could hear their breathing echo around him. It had become a familiar sound that kept him grounded and assured. The other Heirs and their sentries were only a few feet behind, keeping their watchful distance. He took in a deep breath, observing the rays of bright light that guided his path forward.

     The forest reached far and wide to his either side. As soon as they had passed the Lycan Royal castle several hours ago, an array of different trees had decorated the horizon. As he looked around him now, it was difficult to distinguish between the road and the treacherous paths that led to inevitable death. Only Nox' familiarity with the evergreen pines and spruces they passed kept them from losing track and disappearing into the shadows that followed them left and right.

     As a child, he had spent many hours inside these woods together with his father. He had learned everything he knew here. If he looked closely, he could still see the marks of steel and claw on the bark of the trees where he had trained. Marks that showed his progressing skill as they went farther into the forest––ever closer to the Wastelands behind it. Every lesson his father had given him was still etched in his memory. Being here now after his death, even though it had already been so many years ago, still hurt more than Nox wanted to admit.

     He was still lost in thought as he continued his way towards the tomb of the Dark King. He had only been that far North once, together with his father, on that one, dreadful night. Their pride and temper had led them all the way through the Dark Forest and into the Wastelands after a group of ghouls had attacked one of the villages in the Lycan Territory and had killed every man, woman, and child inside. Retribution had been on their minds when they had walked into those wasted fields, shadows caressing their skin with each step deeper into the claws of darkness.

     His father hadn't returned home after that night. He was killed by the creatures living in the Wastelands in an act to protect his son from that same fate. It had left Nox haunted with guilt. The memories of his father––despite everything that had come before then––were still tainted with blood and death. As he rode closer and closer to that damned place now, the images slowly faded. Yet, the pain still remained.

     The further they moved into the large forest, the thicker the shadows became. Nox could feel the tension slowly rising with it. His pack had never set foot in the Dark Forest before. The pressing darkness that continued to grow, had them all on edge. Especially after everything their Matriarch had told them. Marrok, Nox' second in command, gripped the reins of his horse tighter, while Namira, his third, swallowed hard. Rhys, Zev, and Karra behind them shifted nervously in their saddles, turning their heads toward every sound.

     Nox couldn't blame them. He had felt the same way after hearing the Dark King had awoken and the Undead had risen with him. That his grandfather was willing to send him into the Wastelands after what had happened all those years ago, told Nox more about the threat the Dark King possed than any words ever could. Still, his grandfather had told him everything about Aemon and the House of Cerin that was known. It didn't give him much to go on, but it confirmed the dangers that awaited them in this mission and how little time they had to complete it.

     That was why Nox had only allowed them one moment of rest since they had left the neutral ground of the old castle that housed the Council of Elders. Even then it had only been a few hours. Hours in which Nox could hear the wolves living in these woods howl about the dangers that lurked up ahead.

     The other Heirs had complained about it. About the short rest and the feral eyes watching them whilst they slept. But he had ignored them all. One of their Houses was the cause of all of this. The cause of the fear that spread amongst them like wildfire as they moved closer to the tomb––of the wolves retreating into their layers, warning him to do the same. One of them had activated the Dark King's spell by harming a human. Something that was against the rules their ancestors had made centuries ago to prevent the Undead from rising again. Until now, he still had no idea which one of them could be so foolish––which one of them he could trust even less than the others.

     As he looked over his shoulder, he could see Celyna, as well as Darran, Nyssa, and Verin, looking at him with the same question burning in their eyes. It made Nox turn his attention on the road ahead again.

     After another hour of riding in silence, it was Marrok that finally dared to speak.

     "So, I've been thinking..." he said, turning to Nox with his dark brown eyes filled with mischief.

     Rhys rode up on his other side, keeping his eyes on their surroundings while he too joined his Alpha to lighten the dark mood. "Well, that's never any good."

     Marrok glared at his brother before turning to Nox again. "We've been discussing this for a while, but I think we've finally figured out what your problem is."

     Nox raised a brow at his commander, wondering what he had been thinking about this time. For all his strength and skill in battle, Marrok wasn't the smartest of his friends. He could command an entire army of sentries and single-handedly win a battle, but strategy had never been his strong suit. Thinking wasn't either.

     "You need to get yourself a mate," Marrok said proudly.

     "Do I?"

     "Yes! I haven't seen you with a woman in what, fifty years? And I believe that was your Mother..."

     "I'm not looking for a mate," he simply replied, which was the truth. He wasn't looking for a mate, or wife, as the humans called it. Having a mate only gave him more responsibility. As Heir, with the weight of protecting his entire House already on his shoulders, he wasn't ready for that kind of commitment"

     "Well, it doesn't have to be permanent. It can also be for one night," Marrok grinned, eyeing Namira behind them as she talked quietly with Karra and Zev.

     "Namira is my cousin, Marrok."

     "Well, we're all cousins in some sense, aren't we?"

     Nox laughed softly, shaking his head. "I suppose you're right."

     "Well, then I don't see what the problem is."

     "Maybe you should just leave it, brother," Rhys cut in, his eyes still locked on Namira. "I'm sure Nox knows what's best for him."

     "You're just jealous because Nox has first pick as our Alpha," Marrok laughed.

     "You know I don't believe in those old traditions," Nox interrupted. "You can mate anyone you want to."

     At those words, Marrok's grin turned even broader. "In that case... Namira," he cried out to her, turning in his saddle. "Come over here for a second."

     "What were you talking about?" Namira asked as she, Zev, and Karra rode up to them, her eyes as clear and dark blue as the cold winter's night. "When you three are alone that can never be anything good."

     "We were just discussing with our Alpha how good of a mate you'd be to him."

     "Nox is my cousin," she raised a brow, letting those stern eyes pass all three of the males.

     Marrok sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "You two Heirs are no fun to mess around with."

     "I'm not Heir, Marrok," Namira said.

     "Well, you might soon be if Cain dies and Nox here hasn't found himself a mate and made some Heirs."

     At those words, Rhys punched his brother, more because he wanted to than because of the words he had spoken to his Alpha. "Cain can't die as long he wears the Crown."

     "All lycans can die, Rhys," Nox objected. "Even my grandfather."

     "But the Crown protects him, right?"

     Nox nodded, though, with everything he had learned last night, he wasn't sure anymore what to believe. He let his eyes wander to the horizon where the pines kept rising from the shadows. He knew though, by the colors of the darkening trees, that they were almost at the border of the Wastelands. With each step, they were getting closer to the darkness that had consumed the once beautiful lands of Ozark. Now all that was left of it were the ever white peaks of the Ozark Mountains that stood bright even in those godforsaken lands.

     "You let your sentries talk to you like that?" it sounded from behind them, waking Nox from his thoughts. When they turned their heads, his pack growled, their hands reaching for their weapons in an instant.

     "It's alright," Nox said, dismissing them with a simple hand gesture. He narrowed his eyes at the woman that rode up to him and took Marrok's place beside him.

     "You have an interesting relationship with your inferiors," Celyna said, amusement flickering in her eyes as her lips curled slightly into a smile.

     "They're not my inferiors, Celyna," Nox replied, letting his eyes shift over her beautiful face. A beauty that hid the vileness within. "And what you overheard is none of your business. Besides," he smiled back. "It could be a lot worse."

     Her brow furrowed. "Worse?"

     "Sometimes we even fight," he laughed, forgetting for a moment who he was talking to. "One time Rhys and Marrok fought over who would get the largest piece of meat. It was Namira who eventually got to eat it."

     "How can you allow them to be so disrespectful?"

     Nox snapped back, seeing the disgust in the Vampire Heir's eyes. "I allow them because they're not just my sentries. They are my friends, my family. But I guess you wouldn't understand," he said bitterly, remembering all the stories he had heard about the vampires when he was younger. He even had scars more recent that reminded him of those stories. He looked over his shoulder for a moment, watching the other Heirs who were all observing them, trying to overhear their conversation. "None of you do."

     Trying to figure out what Celyna hoped to gain by talking to him, he almost missed the unfamiliar sounds around him, the smell that brushed against his nostrils, and the wolf inside him that clawed at his instinct.

     "Despite what you might think, Nox, I do understand," Celyna said, her voice barely a whisper. "We've all lost many things over the years. Some more than others. I believe–"

     "Be quiet," he interrupted her, his eyes shooting from one corner of the forest to the other. The world had slowly grown quiet around them and the tall trees now obscured the sky, shadowing the forest in darkness.

    "Excuse me?"

     He halted her, his hand resting on her shoulder. She shuddered underneath his sudden touch, her sentries reaching for the weapons on their belt, thinking he was the threat. He could hear the wind blow through the thick canopy of leaves and needles, flowing through the woods and rustling Celyna's hair. Her eyes filled with anger and in that exact moment, a foul smell enveloped them. He heard the flow of wind falter, the leaves cracking in response.

     With all his speed and strength he pulled the Vampire Heir from her horse. A soft groan escaped her lips as she fell to the soft ground. His eyes focused on her as she looked up at him in confusion. A second later a heavy bolt seared through the air, nesting into the tree behind Celyna's horse, cleaving it in two. If she had still been on her mare, her sentries would had to have scraped her guts from the trees.

     Unearthly battle cries sounded in the distance while his pack and all the other Houses unsheathed their weapons. Nox was still looking at Celyna, reaching his hand out to her, when he felt a shift in the air. Before he could react, a scream filled his ears and another bolt shot through the forest.

     "Nox!" Celyna cried again, picking herself up as he slowly felt himself sag from his horse, a long, thick arrow sticking from his chest.

     The last thing he remembered as the world went dark, was the glowing orbs that flickered around him and the worried eyes of the Vampire Heir that looked at him.

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Dam dam dam!!!
Any thoughts on this chapter? Will Celyna leave poor Nox there to die?

What do you think about Nox's pack?

Please don't forget to vote and comment! It is very much appreciated.

I will post the next part before December 19th

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Word count 2130 (6853 total)

Copyright © Cameron R. Lewis