go into The Deadlands?” I ask Charles, tilting my head and wondering if he’s lost his fucking mind.
I move my eyes to Leo, my second in command, and see his brows furrowed in confusion, just like mine. His blue eyes briefly meet my green ones before he settles back into his seat next to me, returning his gaze to Lord Higher Charles while he waits for his reply.
“It’s just like I said, Darius,” he sighs. “A member of the Nightshade pack has been taken, and Alpha Christopher asked for my help a few days ago. A sighting was brought to my attention this morning by my scouts after our regular meeting. I showed them a drawing of Christopher’s missing pack member for them to keep an eye out, and a female matching the woman’s description was seen with another person going into The Deadlands two nights ago. My scouts saw her side profile, and are adamant it was the same woman in this sketch. Who else could it be? No one willingly goes into The Deadlands.”
“They can’t tell if it’s the girl just from looking at the side of her face,” I scoff.
“No,” he agrees. “However, they said the person with her was half dragging her into the forest.”
“And they didn’t think to check if there was a problem?” I ask. Some fucking scouts they are.
“Of course not. I don’t pay them to intervene with nonsense.” He huffs, shaking his dark head before he continues. “I sent more scouts to search the area to see if they could track a scent. There was no trace because of the heavy rain we have been experiencing. I need you and the Elites to go into The Deadlands to find this woman to see if she is, in fact, the missing Nightshade member.”
“We don’t deal with missing people.” I eye him where he sits behind his desk. “We take out creatures, manage power spikes and search for a way to stop the Rogures.” I lean back in the chair, spreading my legs, already done with this conversation. Why would he even help the Alpha? “Packs usually deal with their problems internally, so who is this girl for them to ask for outside help?”
Even as Elites, we are a pack. We know how pack structure works. Things like this are dealt with internally and handled quietly. To ask for outside help is very unusual. For Lord Higher Charles to ask for our help with this, even more so.
“She is set to be mated.” He steeples his hands atop his desk in front of him, dark eyes boring into mine with determination.
“Have her mate look for her. This matter doesn’t affect us at all. It doesn’t affect you.”
“It does affect me,” Charles says in a hard tone, and I raise an eyebrow at him. Leo shifts uncomfortably in his seat next to me, not liking the Higher’s tone any more than I do. “Alpha Christopher is an important ally to us. We have had an alliance with him for over fifty years. He has personally come here to ask for assistance, and I assured him I would help in any way I can.”
“You could get anyone to search for her. Why the Elites? We are needed elsewhere for more important issues. The Rogures are an important issue.” I’m not letting this go until he tells me. Something is up, and I want to know.
We Elites mainly hunt creatures causing havoc across Vrohkaria. When we get a power spike hit from the Highers’ witches after they scry the lands, we go and investigate. It could be that a spell was cast by someone to bless the land or heal a large number of wounded, or it could be a spike of power from a creature that has no business running amok in a village. If we’re not hunting creatures, we’re actively searching for a way to stop the Rogures that are plaguing Vrohkaria.
We don’t search for missing women.
“We are on a time limit. You are the best of the best. If anyone can find her, it is the Elites.” He keeps his stare on me, and I stare right back, not giving him a word until he tells me why it is so important. He lets out a heavy sigh. “She is from a good line and due for an arranged mating four months from now,” he finally concedes, shocking me into silence.
“An arranged mating?” Leo asks before I can. “We don’t have arranged matings anymore. It’s been proven that the mated pair struggle with fertility. There hasn’t been one in hundreds of years.”
“We know of the complications it can bring, however, this arrangement gains the Nightshade pack a new ally in the Aragnis pack, and therefore, the Highers. The other Highers and I have agreed to accept the arranged mating that was proposed. We have also agreed to allow others to go ahead with arrangements if their application is approved by us. We are also looking to offer other pairings to our current alliances,” Charles tells me, sitting up straighter. “The people are beginning to question our authority, causing riots because we are the most unaffected by the Rogures. These matings will bring hope to the people and help regain faith that their Highers are doing this for them. That I am doing this for them. This is greatly beneficial to us all, especially with the Rogures slowly, but surely, reaching all Vrohkaria and closing in on Fenrikar. Food sources are getting lesser, materials thinner and villages torn apart.”
He’s not telling me anything I don’t already know. I travel all over Vrohkaria for weeks on end, visiting different territories. I see all this firsthand. Mothers cradling children who were killed by Rogures, villages destroyed, people fighting over food, murders over materials, and it’s just getting worse. Especially with the Rogures numbers growing. He’s lying about one thing though, food is not as scarce as it seems to be as he has it stored here within the castle.
“It’s time to unite us all across Vrohkaria and bring in more alliances. We have had eight sightings of rogure packs in Fenrikar this month alone, and each time they are creeping closer to the surrounding homes of Wolvorn Castle. We need to come together and be rid of them once and for all,” he growls, slamming his palms on his desk.
“We kill off any Rogures we see. We hunt them, and more keep coming. We need to find the original source, but our scouting missions have come up empty. We have no idea where they’re coming from, or how many there are. We keep searching but come back with nothing. We have been trying to get rid of them for years. Gaining more alliances and approving arranged matings won’t change that,” I state, and Leo nods his head in agreement.
“It is done, and I need you to find the girl.” His tone leaves no room for argument. It is a done deal in his eyes.
I grind my teeth and look around the obnoxious office. We sit in the center of the room, a window at his back overlooks the courtyard. Lord Higher Charles has a taste for the expensive and rare. His thousand-year-old, hand carved, white wood desk is made from wood as rare as finding a Phoenix. His high back, you guessed it, white, wood chair is embedded with terbium that has been magically turned solid around the edges of the silk, padded seat. The chandelier above us is translucent ore, one of only twenty made, and let’s not forget his blue crystal tumblers to go with his extensive, expensive liquor collection, just to name a few items. How do I know all this? The first time I stepped into this room after my father passed, he bored me to near self-mutilation by telling me about the rarity of every single object.
Even his door has a spell on it so that no one can gain entry. Charles doesn’t like anybody touching his things without permission. None of this will matter, though, if we don’t find a way to deal with the Rogures.
The Rogures appeared about twenty-one years ago, seemingly out of nowhere and started creating havoc throughout Vrohkaria, and only Vrohkaria. The Rogures are mindless, bloodthirsty creatures that look like large, deformed hounds, with rotting gray skin dripping from their bodies and a double set of sharp, pointed teeth. They kill anything and everything apart from others like them.
No one knows how the Rogures came to be. Some say it was a spell gone wrong by the blood witches, while others say the fae put a curse upon Vrohkaria for selfish reasons. Others still think the demons want to see us suffer for their own amusement. The most recent theory is the Gods are punishing us for taking advantage of the land they gave us and not giving back to it.
No matter what may have caused it, we have tried and failed countless times to get rid of them or figure out where they come from. And they keep coming back in greater numbers. We have had the most powerful witches cast every known spell to try and eradicate the beasts from Vrohkaria. But all we manage is cutting down a few with no real end in sight.
“With this new alliance between the Nightshade and the Aragnis pack, and with many more coming in the future, the result will only be beneficial to us all. We’ll be gaining more numbers while also gaining peace among territories. We will be able to send out search parties much more efficiently, and do so without trespassing on other territories in the process. Of course, we are still in conversations with other packs to search their lands, as well as the witches in the southwest woods. After all these years, they still refuse to form any kind of alliance with us. But with some added pressure and the knowledge that our alliances are growing, the witches will come around.” A dark look spreads across Charles’ face before his expression returns neutral. “There is the pesky problem of The Deadlands being included in the area we haven’t searched yet, and you could do so while looking for the girl.”
“We haven’t searched that land for a reason. The creatures living there can be deadly, and not many are up to the task. We also haven’t searched there because we haven’t witnessed any Rogures coming from the area. There is no reason to risk lives unnecessarily. We don’t have the numbers behind us to kill the Rogures roaming the lands and search for a way to stop them, while also continuing to hunt other creatures that become a problem. I don’t see why you and some of the other Highers can’t go in there yourselves to look for the missing woman.”
“You can also search for rogure dens while you’re in there,” he adds. “You know the other Highers and I are needed here to ensure the laws of Vrohkaria are upheld. We are extremely busy with day-to-day meetings and going over reports while also attending trials. And we now have the added workload of reading through proposals for arranged matings and packs coming and going from the Castle that we need to cater to. These potential matings are very important if we are to have any way of getting rid of the Rogures. We don’t just sit in our offices and do nothing, you know this.”
I do know this, but surely if this woman is important enough that he asked for us, it would take importance over anything else. Charles is the most powerful Higher out of all seven. With his wolf strong and magic powerful, it is why he is Lord Higher over Vrohkaria. The crest that hangs from his neck proves it. So why do the Elites have to go if he’s not willing to? I don’t give a fuck about this woman. She is of no interest to me.
“So let me get this straight,” I start, leaning forward in my chair. “You want some of my Elites to search for this missing woman while also searching for rogure dens in The Deadlands?” I shake my head. “It’s a suicide mission.”
“Not just any Elites, I want you to go. You can of course take whoever you want, and I will supply people to take over whatever Elite business you have while you are away,” he offers.
“Even with me, it’s still potential suicide. You know most of the creatures that are in there, but not all of them. No one does. Never mind if we do cross any Rogures. The woman is probably already dead as well as the person who took her, and I’m not losing any of my Elites, trainees or otherwise, for a dead-end mission,” I growl.
He leans back in his chair, smirking at me. If he wasn’t my father’s best friend and unrelated uncle to me for all my life, his face would have a few broken bones by now.
“You are strong enough to handle it. The Higher’s authority over Vrohkaria is currently being questioned, especially here in Fenrikar. We are accused of not doing enough against the Rogures or having caused the problem, which is preposterous. The more time passes, the more they think we are unfit to rule. The people will come banging on our doors as they assume they are a better fit to rule the lands. I have made great progress, and peace has settled in the lands since I became Lord Higher many years ago. This plague of creatures is destroying whatever is in its path and disrupting the peace I have worked so hard to maintain. Alliances need to be made, and the Rogures need to be killed. I won’t take no for an answer, Darius. Or are you ready to be a Higher and show your worth like your father wanted?” he asks, sliding a sketch of a woman toward me on his desk, and I give him a dirty look. “Or do you need more…persuading.”
I hold back a growl. It is a low blow mentioning my father, and his persuasive methods.
He could force me to become a Higher, and there is nothing I can do about it, regardless of being Elite. Before my father died, he nominated me to become one. That nomination remains and can be called upon at any time. If I refuse, the Highers will call upon the oath my father made on my behalf, and force me to take a seat amongst them while using my men to make me bend. I have too much to do before he calls upon that nomination. He’s backed me into a corner, and he fucking knows it. So, what choice do I have? Become a Higher or do as he’s ordered.
“Fine,” I state reluctantly, grabbing the sketch off his desk. “I will go, and you can keep the word Higher and my name out of your mouth.” Getting up in one smooth motion and pocketing the sketch, I walk to the office door with Leo following behind me.
Charles’ voice makes me pause as I reach for the door handle. “Keep me updated on your progress, son. You have four months. This alliance is extremely important. It will help us all and put the people’s minds at ease.”
I say nothing, opening the door and walking out, Leo following at my back.
I grit my teeth in frustration, walking with measured steps down the winding hallways toward the entrance hall before reaching the castle doors. Hemsworth, the castle attendant, opens the doors when he sees me, nodding his head respectfully. I pass without saying a word.
“Why did you agree?” Leo asks, catching up to walk beside me when we are further into the castle courtyard, passing sellers and their goods. “You could have said no.”
“No, Leo, I couldn’t. You know I promised my father I would help Charles in whatever he needed when I became Alpha of the Elites, and he would also use you to get what he wants. It’s either helping him or becoming a Higher myself. He has the power to make it happen. The laws state that he can induct me whenever he wants, and there is nothing I can do about it. I need to get rid of the Rogures before they destroy us all and avenge my family for what they did to them. If I have to find this fucking woman to achieve that, I will,” I grunt, walking quickly through the courtyard, ignoring everyone staring around us.
It isn’t hard to move easily through the people considering they give the Elites a wide berth. They know what we could do, what we are capable of, even though all we do is protect them. But they still fear us.
There’s a crowd forming around some men that are shouting about the Highers’ not protecting them against the Rogures, and how it’s strange that these creatures never attack the castle. The Highers’ guards soon appear and push through the listening crowd, most likely to arrest them and take them to the cells beneath the castle to await sentencing for their slander.
“I know, brother,” Leo replies, his tone low as he watches a guard tackle a male to the ground. “But to send you there for a girl who is probably already dead is fucked. We did our rite of passage in The Deadlands, and we barely made it out alive. That was what, nearly twenty five years ago? Imagine how bad it is now.”
“I know, but we had to go deep in The Deadlands for that. I doubt we will go deep enough for the more deadly creatures to give us much trouble. We will find her body, somehow, and get back home.”
“Let’s hope so. We could take some trainees as an exercise, if they volunteer,” Leo muses, cocking his head in thought.
“I’ll think about it, it might be a good lesson for them if we aren’t going to go that deep. I’ll talk to everyone when we get back,” I tell him, making way toward the castle gates to head back to Vokheim keep.
My men aren’t going to be happy with the news, but ultimately, Charles is the leader of Vrohkaria and what he says goes. To refuse him would cause more problems that we don’t need right now.
