Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
Her ears flick, but she gives no other response. It’s clear she did it just to exercise her power over Aurum. “You should enjoy this while you can, because I don’t think this is always going to be how it is between you two.”
Selene rests her head against her tail, blatantly ignoring my words.
Grimoire’s voice enters my head. I have an idea. He’s resting in book form on the table.
“Hold that thought.” I tell him, heading to the kitchen to fetch Lisa a cup of water. When I return, Grimoire has transformed into his childsized form, perched on the edge of the table.
“Get down from there,” I say absently, handing Lisa the water.
Lisa takes a sip, watching Grimoire hop off the table to float an inch off the ground instead.
“You take all this magic so easily,” she marvels. “Like it’s natural.”
A random person floating randomly in midair is definitely an odd sight, but I can only shrug as I ettle into a nearby chair. “I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think I ever will.”
Grimoire interrupts, his small face alight with excitement. If it wasn’t for his bizarre coloring and overall ethereal attributesplus the tiny bits of flame flickering along his skinhe’d truly look like a happy kid. “I have a great idea, both for your magical practice and for the pack. We should create a magical security perimeter.”
I lean forward, intrigued. “Go on.”
“While researching, I found-” he begins, but Lisa cuts him off.
“How does a book research?” she asks, genuine curiosity in her voice.
Grimoire’s eyebrows snap together. “Many things have been written in my pages that I haven’t paid attention to when I was locked away,” he explains impatiently.
I nod, remembering our first encounter. He was there for a while, locked away with the magic of that strange forest, in the world that isn’t here. That weird place in my head, where magic seems to live.
Grimoire continues, shooting a scowl in Lisa’s direction. “As I was saying, while researching, I learned that most pack lands were not chosen by wolves. They took advantage of already existing security wards, created hundreds of years ago by witches.”
As he speaks, Kellan walks in, settling beside Lisa on the couch. He wraps an arm around her, and she leans into him naturally. They’re comfortable together, despite the earlier tension in their relationship.
I wonder if Lisa’s noticed how she’s reacting to his presence lately.
Grimoire’s voice pulls me back to the conversation. “These wards can keep us safe, acting as a natural repellant against those who wish harm upon the pack.”
Kellan perks up at this. “Are we talking about security wards?”
I turn to him, curious about his knowledge on the subject. “How much do you know about them?”
Kellan’s brow furrows as he considers the question. “Not much, to be honest. I know how to maintain the ones on pack lands, but that’s about it.” His expression darkens. “And even those weren’t enough to keep the vampires out.”
The reminder of the vampire attack sends a chill down my spine. I glance at Lisa, remembering how close we came to losing her. The idea of strengthening our defenses is certainly appealing, but I don’t Insur hour to do it
“Grimoire. I say, turning back to the small figure, “how would these wards be different from what we already had? What makes them more effective?”
Grimoineyes light up at my question. “The wards I’m proposing are far more complex and powerful in the basic protections most packs use. They’re rooted in ancient magic, drawing power from the land itself. And they won’t be halfbroken. Without a witch to maintain its adaries, it’s unlikely to have worked at proper strength. I’d have to inspect them to know for sure where its weaknesses lie, of course, but-“
“Okay, okay” I lean forward, brushing off his tangent. “And you think I could create something like that, with my current skills?”
“With my guidance, absolutely,” Grimoire asserts. “It would be an excellent opportunity for you to expand your magical abilities while providing a tangible benefit to the pack”
I chew my lip, considering the implications. The idea of strengthening our defenses is tempting, especially after recent events. But what if I mess up? What if the wards fail when we need them most?
Well, I guess we won’t be in any worse of a situation than we are now.
It’s all potential benefits with no downsides.
“Okay. How do I do it?”
“I’m still in the process of planning the wards. We’ll need to establish what our perimeter is and see how much magic you’ll be able to use at a time. The bigger the area, the more draining it will be, and the more work it will be.”
“I can help with that,” Kellan offers. “At least if you let me know what our possible coverage area is, I can help define our boundaries.”
“We can go walk together-“
“No,” I cut in immediately. “Grimoire, we aren’t ready for others to learn of your existence. Kellan can bring a map, or we can bring you along as a book. We still don’t know if there are traitors here. It hurts to even admit it, now that I’ve been here for a little while.
I don’t like looking at faces and wondering if any of them are willing to betray us. Willing to murder us, even if it isn’t at their own hands.
Grimoire grumbles a little, but he obediently pops back into his book form, saying he needs to run some calculations before we can get started.
I grab Grimoire’s book form and place it on the dining table, my fingers lingering on its worn leather cover. A pang of worry shoots through me as I glance at Aurum, his massive form unmoving despite the commotion. Is he okay? He didn’t even greet me when I returned. He must be in a deep sleep.
He is, Selene confirms. He needs this rest. Don’t worry too much.
Kellan drags my attention back to him as he recounts the harrowing events of the mission that should have been easy.
Hunters. The word alone is chilling.
“Are these hunters an already existing faction, or did you name them that yourself?”
“No, there’s no existing faction of hunters. But they’re obviously hunting.”
Vanessa and Vester nod along with his words.
“We need to limit our contact with the outside world,” Vanessa says, absently twirling a strand of hair around her finger. I’ve never seen that nervous gesture from her before. “My biggest concern is over supplies. This mission was also to help stock up on supplies, and now we don’t have them. We need safe drinking water. Shelf-stable food.
Meat. More blankets and clothes for the upcoming winter. We don’t have long before we’re freezing at night. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened already.”
“And snow,” Lisa pipes up thoughtfully. “What are we going to do when it snows?”
Running water is a problem for most of the houses here. There are a few giant tanks that supply a few buildings, and some—like mine—run off a well, so it isn’t absolutely detrimental to be without bottles of water. But it is a massive inconvenience for many.
Some of the buildings even lack electricity and basic plumbing, and will be reliant on wood stoves for the winter.
“Who lived here before us?” I ask, drumming my fingers against my forearm as I think.
“There are a number of families here from a rogue pack. They have no alpha, and have been under the protection of Westwood for generations. This is the land given to them a long time ago, and they’ve been building it up in case it was ever needed,” explains Vester.
“And the hospital here? That isn’t for a few families of wolves, and it’s been here a while.”
“Yes, they founded a hospital that treated rogue wolves in the area, with the permission of an Alpha long ago. There were transient families who came and went, all rogues. And from what Dr. Blackwell has said, they have learned to treat other supernaturals while keeping it quiet. I believe now that some of their human staff were not always humans.”
“I see.” It makes sense that more people in the world would know of the Fae and gnomes than just me. My eyes have been opened to the vast world beyond pack borders; while I once thought humans were sheltered because they didn’t understand life inside a pack, I’m now realizing wolves are just as sheltered as humans, living within our own realities.
Shaking off such thoughts, I ask, “They are still here, right? The founders of this place.”
“Of course.”
“How have they kept themselves supplied in the past?”
Vester shakes his head. “It’s never been a problem for them to go to local cities in the past.”
Right. Of course it wasn’t. Silly question.
“We’ll have to use scent blockers for a real supply run. We don’t have enough to do this often, so we’ll need to make a big one as soon as we can, before supplies run out. Without the ability to contact their suppliers, they’ll be running out of stock soon, if they haven’t already.” I blow out a long breath. “I know we’re waiting for our missing people to return, but we need to plan this now.
Every day we wait is more things we won’t be able to buy anymore.”
“I’ll put together a list,” Vanessa offers immediately.
“And I’ll get a mission team together. Kellan, I’m going to need your help vetting who we should bring on. We have too many people out right now.”
“Got it.” Kellan brushes a kiss against the top of Lisa’s head before pushing himself off the couch. “Anything else, Luna?”
I shake my head, feeling both out of my depth and proud of myself for taking control without thinking about it. “I can’t think of anything.”
“We’ll be back soon a plan for the supply run.” Kellan glances at Lisa. “Do you mind staying here until we’re done?”
“Of course not.” She makes a shooing gesture. “Go.”