Prologue—No Going Home

     “Okay, man. You got me here. What is this place? If I didn’t know better, I’d think it’s a grave.” The night was warm in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly anywhere. This was on the outskirts of a small town called Brixton Hill. Its secret claim to fame was being neutral territory for the three wolf shifter packs in the area.

     Jay stood by an old holy bush. The thing was large enough now to be a tree. He’d been called there by Tyler Randell, Alpha of some rogue wolves, the Shadow Pack. He’d been getting to know them, and they appeared legit. Though they were unknown in the area. Jay was looking for a place to belong and it wasn’t in the pack he’d grown up in. Over the last year, he’d made friends with these wolves and built-up trust.

     “It’s a grave. We brought you here, so you’ll understand what’s about to happen. We’ll tell you what happened and then you can decide to be a part of it, or you can walk away. If you stay, there’s no leaving.” It sounded ominous, but that made sense in the climate. Anyone new entering could feel something was off. No one was free to speak their mind. The joy of living in peace seemed elusive. Jay grew up close by after his family fled and joined a different pack. He’d been born a member of the Hollow Wood Pack under Tyler’s father’s leadership. When the pack switched leadership during the last series of wars, his family stayed safely out of it. Jay never felt a part of the Blue Lotus Pack. Many saw them as cowards for leaving their pack during the conflict. Some saw them as traitors.

     “It’s a grave. A mass grave. A grave that proves a coward and criminal controls the Hollow Wood Pack. Here lie several corpses of wolves poisoned by wolfsbane and then chased from their homes. Hunted until they died from the poison or were torn to pieces when they were too weak to fight back.”

     “What? Who? Are you saying that Russel Angles gained control of the Hollow Wood Pack through the use of poison and slaughter?” Jay could hardly believe it. No, it made sense looking in on the problem. Listening to Russel speak, he was everyone’s hero and saviour.

     “I’m saying that exactly. I was there. One body beneath us is my mother’s. She died here, as did others that night. She forced me from the fighting and hauled me here. In the darkness and the chaos, an arrow hit her. An arrow dipped in wolfsbane. I still have the arrow and the promise she forced from me that night she died.”

     Jay didn’t have any reason not to believe Tyler’s words. Except because the man Tyler, spoke of ruled the Hollow Wood Pack and the Hollow Wood Pack kept the town safe. Alpha Angles appeared to the world as the guardian of Brixton Hill. He was the law leader and the last word. That’s why Jay continued to listen to Tyler. It was 10 years since that night, almost to the day. Russel had the last word in everything within the town’s limits, and that could become a problem for many.

     “What promise did you make?” Jay couldn’t relate to the horrible loss Tyler went through. Or the horror of that night. Jay knew Tyler’s father had died then, and he’d heard the conspiracy theories of how he’d been betrayed and murdered. Rumours claimed he’d been drugged, imprisoned, and left to burn to death.

     No one knew what happened to his mate or son.

     “She made me promise to regain the Hollow Wood Pack and lead them properly. She knew the corruption would fester in the pack and the town was coming. She believed my father could stop it, but he didn’t listen, and he trusted the wrong people.”

     “So, the conspiracy theories are correct? Your father was drugged and left to burn to death accidentally?”

     “It wasn’t an accident. They forced me to watch as Russel ordered the man, who’s now his Beta, Jack Davidson, to set the fire. The scum wouldn’t sully his hands with the deed. My mother was present with me. I shifted and attacked Jack Davidson. She shifted and tore me off him. My mother tried to run with me in her jaws with my scruff, even after the poisoned arrow pierced her right flank. I remember the sounds of them chasing us. Her laboured breathing. The arrow landing and sinking into her flesh. The darkness that surrounded us. By the time dawn came, she was dead. Leaving me alone for my uncle to find.”

     “You couldn’t have been much over ten years old.” Tyler’s words got Jay’s full attention. His mind still struggled to find holes in Tyler’s, but Jay couldn’t.

     “I was twelve. My uncle found me, helped me bury my mother, and explained I shifted because of the trauma I experienced.” Jay looked at the other three men standing there. He could only see their sorrow and anger stamped on their faces. This wasn’t a ghoulish prank. He could feel the cold wash over him as he realized Tyler’s descriptions were too detailed to be anything but real. His dark eyes had an unfocused look of someone remembering an old and unpleasant memory.

         “How? Why did he do it? What motive could he have had?”

         “Power. Control. Greed. Take your pick or a bit of all three. I’m partial to jealousy. My father found his fated mate and Russel didn’t. My mother gave my father a male pup. His mate gave him a female pup. I don’t know his reasons, but it’s something I intend to find out before I’m done with him.”

         “What will happen to the packs and the town?”

         “Live as they should. My father started the idea of the town. He did the back-breaking work to get it working. I won’t let Russel bury it in debt and depression. Are you with us or not? It’s time you choose a side.”

         “I’m in. What do you need?” Jay stood there and looked at the faces of those who should be his pack mates and friends. This was the best for everyone. Jay couldn’t deny the town felt wrong and the Hollow Wood Pack wasn’t like the others.

         “Welcome to the Shadow Pack, Jay. Understand one thing. When it’s over, the Shadow Pack will end up as part of the Hollow Wood Pack and end. We have two purposes. Survival and fix everything.” Tyler clasped Jay’s shoulder as he said this, then each pack member stepped forward to clasp his shoulder and was welcome. “We start the reclamation in the morning. Let’s have a beer and we’ll explain the plan. There will be no war or assassinations. No thieving or cowardice.”

         The wolves faded into the night.