Smudge Warriors Novels & Stories

He uncorked it. “The warriors rely heavily on smell. If they catch even a whiff of your scent…” He paused, then smiled widely. “…we’re dead.”

“He won’t put his sister in harm’s way.” Omen cleared his throat and Jake turned to look at him. “When I was recruited to the Warriors, I had to be sponsored by a permanent member of the club to prospect. It was the same for Weasel, Rebel, and Shadow. Are we going to stick to that or how are we going to recruit new prospects since we currently don’t have any?”

What… what was happening? Before I could ask, another warrior approached carrying a black cloak. Unlike mine… this one bore the silver crescent emblem of Silver Moon Pack stitched across the shoulder. The head warrior gestured, and the warriors immediately released me. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the ground. The head warrior tossed the cloak toward me. "Wear it." I stared at him in confusion. "You have one hour." His voice was cold. "Leave Silver Moon territory before then. If you're found here after that..."

I’d asked Smith about him, but he only knew the basics: Gold Moon lineage, powerful, rarely seen at events like this. I ordered another. Then another. The vodka burned clean and steady down my throat, loosening the knot in my chest. The hall was packed now, voices blending into a low, constant roar around me. I was definitely getting tipsy, the edges of the room had gone soft, the lights a little brighter but I still had to appear on stage later. Warriors would be introduced one by one, and I refused to stumble up there looking like I couldn’t hold my liquor. “Stormy, where have you been?” Smith appeared suddenly at my side, breathless, his eyes scanning me like he’d been searching the entir

The memories of that day, the last moment of happiness I had felt as my brother had given me a hug and taken the stage, his handsome face glowing with happiness. “MysticWarriors, my pack, was a very small one and ancient,” I answered. “We didn’t believe in fighting for power, we believed in peace and kept to ourselves. It has been like that for years. We were all powerful warriors by blood but having power and strength doesn’t mean needing to exercise it. That day we were taken by surprise and were heavily outnumbered. But we fought, to the end, till each one of us fell apart but…” “But…”

They coughed, gagging on the rotten-egg smell. "Form up!" Vane shouted, his voice muffled by the smoke. "Protective sphere!" The mages tried to link their magic, but they couldn't see each other. "Phase Two!" Ashren shouted from the smoke. The Strike Team moved in. They wore wet cloths over their faces to filter the smoke. They moved low, crawling on hands and knees. They carried clubs dipped in the sticky sap adhesive. They didn't strike to kill. They struck the weapons.

I sent a prayer to the Goddess for blessing this pack with such amazing cubs. “Think of this as training in coordination and teamwork,” I went on, finishing up my speech. “Head into the forest, stay together at all times, and keep a sharp eye for your two marksmen. One shooter at the head of the group and one at the rear. Call out targets, keep as silent as you can otherwise, and keep your heads. I know some of you are scared, or think that you are not ready for this, but I’ve worked with all of you at one point or another. Which means I know better than anyone that you’re all more than capable. Now, make your family’s, and your Pack, proud. Move out, Warriors. Operation Search and Destroy t

As he spoke, Mane and Lam’s eyes glowed as they wished for powerful weapons of their own. “This world is more mysterious than we thought,” Hildegarde stated from atop Mane’s shoulder, and Mane nodded in reply. Indeed, this world was a fascinating one. There were Soul-Bound warriors, Returning to Origin warriors, and blacksmiths capable of fashioning intelligent middle class weapons. Now Mane was very interested in visiting Blacksmith City. “Are you interested in going there?” Vital Orange asked with light glowing in his eyes. Mane furrowed his brows upon noticing this. He suddenly realised that Vital Orange didn’t tell him this for nothing.

“I think she meant ‘bar’ as in a pub. Like a bar with drinks?” Oh. I blushed, feeling a bit stupid. “Yeah. That makes sense. But which bar? How will we…” “Your highness,” one of my warriors said. “There’s a rogue camp not far from here. It has…um…how do I say this? Have you ever heard of the Easy Spit?” The what? No. I shook my head. The warriors side-eyed each other. They knew something and they were reluctant to say it. “Well, spit it out,” I said, no pun intended.

Once everyone had properly surrounded me, I measured the volume in my head and started to speak. “Brave Warriors. You all know what our mission today is. But In case you don’t know, let me remind you. We are headed for these Rogue camps that have infected our integrity to burn them up in the flames of pain and death! We’re going to remind them why they should have never turned against their own kind in the first place!” I voiced and they all roared their approval around me.