Klampi

Away from the others, I turned to Gavrill and Alistair again and slammed my hand into both of their chests, shoving them backwards.

"What is it with you two," I yelled.

Both growled, eyes flickering between unnatural hues and black.

"It was unnecessary to get involved with that and yet you did," Alistair seethed, his canines growing.

"Getting involved with matters outside of our border can cause extra problems, Noir," Gavrill chimes in.

Throwing my hands up I just stared at the two men in front of me.

"I don't give a boar's ass. Those were members of our pack and they died following your orders," I spat, pointing at Alistair.

"The least you can do I'd give them a proper departure to their next life for fuck sake."

"Watch it, Noir," Gavrill growled as he took a step forward.

"No, you watch it," I growled back before looking back to Alistair.

"You're their fucking Alpha. At least honor them."

"Yeah? And you have no right doing what you did back there," Alistair snapped, standing straight.

I gawked at him, my jaw nearly hitting the forest floor.

"I have no right? You ass. YOU," I began, my body rippling with anger, "have marked me," I said through gritted teeth, pointing at his mark.

"That makes ME Luna or Freya, whichever I'm called, thus puts me equal to you."

Alistair and Gavrill shared a look before turning their attention back to me.

"Regardless, a few members aren't worth the safety of an entire pack," Gavrill calmly said.

"And regardless of honor and beliefs, that simple stunt could cause future problems for the pack," Alistair added.

"Not to mention, it makes you an even bigger target. Not just by Calder who is already adamant on getting you but now by skelmar who are going to seek some unrighteous revenge," Gavrill spoke up again, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Do not think for one moment that we don't honor our fallen but in certain situations, we can't follow custom due to a bigger picture."

"A few fallen shouldn't cause the possible annihilation of a pack, the pack's Alpha(s) or it's Luna. These men and women know their duty as warriors and fight willingly for their pack and their pack leaders. They never die in vain and are always remembered."

What they said made sense and doused my anger, making me feel small.

"And what happens if there is a war? Right now only a handful of warriors died but if a war took place, hundreds could die, werewolf, lycan or other. What are you going to do then," Alistair stated and questioned, unmoving in his resolve.

"I...," I fumbled for the right response as I began to feel more foolish.

"We understand," Gavrill started. "But you have to look at the bigger picture and you have to understand your role."

"Which is much bigger than nurturing and providing pups," Alistair added.

When I just stared at him, he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Which is a plus," Alistair quickly added, embracing me.

"But you are important to Dark Wood. You need to be more calm and think things through," Gavrill said.

"You have got to be more careful," Alistair said softly.

Gavrill hummed in agreement as he leaned against an old oak.

"We're ready," Triaa spoke through the mindlink.

"Be right there."

"They're waiting on us," I said.

Nodding, I linked my arm with Alistair and we headed back to the group.

No one said a word as the remains laid in a neatly dug grave. I didn't know them but my heart ached as I stared down at warriors.

Herlief looked at me and when I nodded, he touched Evenora on the shoulder.

In seconds, she held a soft flame that danced in her palms before she sat on her knees and extended her hand, the magical flames igniting the dry leaves and wood that rested below the deceased.

We watched the fire flash into further existence in a wash of red and yellow sparks. Like the beauty of running water, it was unearthly, yet it had a dangerous beauty.

The fire jumped, picking up speed. It ate everything in its path.

Yellow, red and orange. The colours of autumn; yet can autumn cause so much destruction?

I stood entranced by its beautiful depths.

The flames ate away the warriors causing the smell of burning flesh to finally hit me, bringing me out of my trance.

Looking up, I watched the smoke that we believed would help carry our deceased to the next life.

The smoke wasn't completely opaque but its long grey wisps seemed to curl with others that were much darker, some near black.

These stretching entities would show themselves in short, dramatic eclipses as they fled to the sky.

When the fire began to die down and there was nothing left but glowing embers and ash, Rayshon, Vuk and Snowball filled the grave with the loose dirt then looked at the rest of us.

Triaa then draped her arm over my shoulders.

"Let's go home. We have had a long day and mead is calling our names," she giggled.

"That sounds amazing," I chirped, looking up one last time to the sky.

Leaning in, I whispered in her ear, "you think the guys will let us ride them?"

"Systir, I've already done that," Triaa teases.

I stared at her blankly.

"I meant I ride on Rune or something and you ride on Snowball."

Arching a brow, Triaa just stared at me.

"Snowball," she questioned.

"Uh," I thought, rubbing the back of my neck. "Whatever Valenner's wolf is named."

Now she stared at me emotionless.

"Sköll."

"Oh yeah. Him. Anyways, we can ride on them like Everona rides on Vuk and we could race," I almost shouted as we ducked our heads and laughed.

"What are you two concocting," Valenner said cautiously as he approached us followed by Alistair, Gavrill and Cuyler.

A grin creeped across Triaa's face before I did the same.

Walking up to Gavrill and Alistair, I poked both of them.

"Do one of you boys mind letting me ride on you in the form of Rune or Eskil," I asked, trying to stifle a laugh

Both men looked at each other confused before looking back at me.

"What's in it for me," they asked at the same time.

I thought about this question for a minute and smiled.

"If you win, I'll finally sleep in your chambers," I said, pointing to Alistair.

"And you, if you win, I'll uh... oh, I'll do all the errands for you that you need done that seem to overly bore you," I laughed, pointing at Gavrill.

Without thought, both Alistair and Gavrill shifted into Rune and Eskil with tongues lolling to the side.

I looked to Triaa who was already on Snowball and flashed a devilish grin before looking at the two lycans, Nebo running a hand down his face.

"Give me a moment," I playfully shouted through the link.

"Catch me and we will have a champion," I laughed and bolted.

All I heard was my sister laughing through the link and playful growls.

I ran, like the autumn breeze colliding into inanimate objects. My red hair whipped back and forth behind me like a fiery tail as I flung myself over sharp rocks and heavy tree trunks, laughing.

I didn't know what I was getting myself into, all I knew was I had to keep running forward. Not stopping for anything.

The next thing I knew, I was tackled. We hit the forest floor and tumbled and when we stopped, I was looking down at a human Alistair.

Eskil was there seconds later and tripped over us causing Alistair to roll on top of me as Eskil tumbled to our left.

Looking up at Alistair, I couldn't stop myself as my fingertips traced his jawline and further south.

Leaning down, he kissed my jawline and whispered, "I win and you're with me tonight."

With that, Alistair jumped off of me and pulled me up before shifting back into Rune. When he lowered his massive body, he turned his head and helped hoist me up.

I looked back at Eskil who comically snorted before nodding.

With that, I patted Rune's shoulder and we took off back to the group with Eskil in pursuit.