Otis didn’t hesitate and immediately pulled a shield over us. I needed to hurry before losing control over every body function. “I was hit by a paralyzing agent. I won’t be able to move for a couple of hours. They used it on me when I was held captive by Osprey. That means a hunter is here. You must not get hit, or else you won’t be able to do magic! We have to hurry and get everyone to safety!” Otis grabbed my arms and lifted me up. As he dragged me away, a Lycan came forward and pulled me in his arms. “Lycans, to me!” Shouted Otis, who ran to where our party had stopped. I could hear him giving out orders, then returning to my side with one of Xela’s healers and two other people. “Tell them what ails you, and they’ll do what they can. We’ll try to keep everyone safe.” I wanted to nod, but my body did nothing. I groaned and let my head fall back on the Lycan’s chest. “I thought you would have left with your pack,” I told the shifter. “I offered to stay in case healing was need

I chased after them both, flapping my wings as fast as possible while avoiding collisions with trees to get to Xander before he took hold of Silas with his maw. Seconds before it would happen, I tackled Xander on his side and grabbed hold of him, riding his back like I was on an enraged bull. He kicked and rolled, snarling at me. I imagined he had lost control over his temper, only seeing Silas in his red-narrowed vision. The second time he rolled on the ground, I fell, and the Lycan beast swiped his claws at me and opened three long gashes on the side of my right arm. I cried out in pain, then bit my lips to prevent anything else from coming out. Xander’s Lycan stiffened and walked over to my crumbled form on the soil, whimpering and licking the wound he had just made on my arm. I realized just how much my body hurt from the day's events, and that last blow made me stay on the ground, holding my aching self still until the burning pulse subsided. It was enough time for Xander to tu

Xander stalled our departure to Perch for a few days and kept the Lycan pack away from me as best he could until my heat was over. To humans, going into heat made no difference in how they reacted toward me. Their sense of smell could not detect anything. But to other shifters, it was a recipe for disaster. It was hard for Xander to be in my presence without ravishing me—which he frequently did, unable to control himself. I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for the others should they have smelled me. From what Xander explained, shifter folks went in heat once a year, and they would leave the pack with their mates, should they have had one, and return after four or five days once it had passed. Having the anatomy of a human, I had no such luck as it came monthly, like any typical human. This made me wonder what shifters did when they lived in a human village to find work outside their packs. Xander tried to stay away as much as he could, but I hated being alone in this f

Xander POV We had sprawled a map on the centre of the table, and Silas and I were looking at routes Osprey could take. Silas pressed his finger on a plain between the Red Mountains and Maple. It was in the farming district of White Birch, which separated us from them. “This is where the battle will take place. We should meet in this district section if we both start moving simultaneously. That’s only if Osprey leaves the comfort of his castle. It’s flat and would be the ideal place for a fight. We cannot penetrate Osprey city’s defences if he stays there. We need to draw him out if ever that’s the case.” “I agree. The mountainside surrounding the castle’s wall is too steep to climb, and an attack from the forest lining the south would make us vulnerable to any assaults from the outer wall. If we are to fight Osprey, we need it to happen here, where we have a better chance at having the upper hand.” I scanned the map again. The White Birch plain offered us a straight path to attack,

I had avoided Xander since the incident where I called out to other wielders. I had been dreadfully cold the first few days, shivering even though the hot summer days left everyone sweating and searching for shade. Xander had stayed by my side for as long as he could, warming me until I could finally have my own regular and consistent body heat. But then, duty called him as more and more shifters appeared and, having been proclaimed Lycan King came with its load of responsibilities. Avoiding Xander became easy with everything happening around us, but it didn’t lessen the guilt deep inside my chest. I was ashamed to have drained him to call forth the wielders. I didn’t know how I had done it, which made me even warier about using that sort of power. I realized just how much I still had to learn if I ever wanted to control myself. When Xander left my side for his duties, I moved around the many campsites, inspecting everything and welcoming the rebels. But I mostly spent my time her