Aot Scout Novels & Stories

“Kyla is my lover, and the two are mates. It’s… complicated, but I’d be very thankful.” The scout’s eyebrows shoot up as she hears Dereck. She then considers me and Kyla once more before shaking her head in disbelief and then replies, “then I’ll request enough for everyone. I never thought two leaders like them could be mates, but you were one to befriend the oddest of people all the time, so I’m not surprised.” At last, the scout stops just outside a pair of large doors. She gives it a knock and then, with a loud voice, she says, “the leaders and Dereck are here now.”

The wind pushed through the courtyard gate, carrying the sharp scent of silver from the distant camps. Rowan sighed. “Great. Now the ground is joining the war.” A scout sprinted into the courtyard. “South patrol returning!” he shouted. Three wolves rushed through the gate moments later. Snow covered their cloaks. One of them looked pale. Rowan crossed the yard quickly. “Report.” The lead scout struggled to catch his breath. “Hunter squads confirmed in the southern forest.” “We know that,” Rowan said. The scout shook his head. “That’s not the problem.”

“Like a present.” “Viking?” Zoe paused next to his work area, and he looked up from the butterfly tat that he was inking on a woman’s lower back, his red hair as wild as ever. “Can you listen for Keira? She’s sleeping, and I think she’s out for at least two hours, but can you just stay alert? I’ll be back in a few minutes.” “Two minutes,” Scars corrected her. “Scout’s Honor.” “You were a Boy Scout?” Zoe asked him skeptically. “Tidy little uniform and badges and making fire by rubbing two sticks together ?”

“A tracker is already hunting for the humans, but there’s no word so far. When Caleb gets here, he’ll probably follow.” “When was the last time you heard from Dad?” Nick asked. “This morning. He told us to watch...” The scout's voice trailed off as he looked at him and the Ava. “We had a few tasks to complete,” he finished. They had obviously been sworn to secrecy, too. “Where are the hunters?” Ava asked. The scout’s eyebrows rose as he looked at Ava and then turned his questioning gaze on Nate. “We should wait for Caleb and Beta Michael. You kids need to head back home; it’s not safe out here right now,” the scout said.

It was supposed to be locked, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t stop one of Ethan’s scouts. The door opened a crack, and a voice whispered, “Tessa?” “Yeah,” I whispered back. “I’ve got Sable and Leo.” “Great, come on.” The scout waved us through the door. “Figured you couldn’t shift with the baby, so we’re going the long way,” the scout said. “Can you both run?” “Yes,” Leo said. “Great. Just follow me, and ignore any explosions you may hear behind you. All part of the plan.”

He could have been just trying to get under our skin. “Or captured,” the scout I know says. Caleb immediately dismisses that. “He’d rather be dead.” “It’s a two day drive to the edge of the forest where Tristan was headed,” says the scout I don’t know, pulling the conversation back on track. “We have a car and can take you there.” “We want to see for ourselves where this trail leads,” says the scout I know. “You can address me as Scott while we’re together.” “And I’m Wade,” says the other scout.

Rex’s POV The hairs on my skin prickled as the scout finished speaking. They were here? Here where? “What are you talking about?” Aries cut in sharply, eyes narrowing. “They are where?” “Forgive me, Alpha,” the scout stammered, anxiety spilling from every word. “I didn’t ask you to beg,” Aries seethed. “Clarify yourself.” The scout swallowed hard, then straightened. “The Blue Crescent pack is on their way here, Alpha. If I’m not wrong, they’ll be on your grounds in about thirty minutes.”

My father gave it to me the night I inherited the title, pressing it into my palm with a look that said more than any oath. I tuck it into the sheath at my hip, let the weight remind me of what I am. “Standard formation,” I say. “Tessa, you take the right. Luka left. Scouts in diamond. I’ll be at point. We move silent until we have visual, then you follow my lead.” Tessa and Luka exchange a glance—less about trust, more about who gets first crack. The scouts, both named something with too many consonants, simply nod and slip into the snow like ghosts. They’ve done this before.

*We decide which truths people haven’t earned the strength to carry yet. She suppressed a shiver and focused on the map. “—if your scouts don’t report the symbol sightings to us in real time, we’re blind for half a day,” Rowan was saying. “And if we hand you every scrap of fear our pups chalk on a rock, we’ll drown in noise,” Jerrik countered. The neutral facilitator lifted a hand. “There is perhaps a middle—” The doors slammed open. A young scout skidded in, dripping water, breath coming in ragged gasps. Mud streaked his legs to the knee. His eyes went straight to the Alphas, then—almost guiltily—to Rin and Kael.

“Or to you.” The room went silent. “How many?” I demanded. “Fifteen. Maybe more.” Fifteen. Families. Children. People who’d chosen our side. “Where?” Kael asked sharply. “Eastern clearing. The old gathering ground.” The scout swallowed hard. “He’s waiting for you. Sent me to deliver a message.” “What message?” The scout reached into his jacket with shaking hands. Pulled out a folded paper. I took it. Unfolded it.