Blackshadow (Kingdom of Wolves #2)

Noah, Caleb, and Flint stand beside me, all fully dressed and alert. Caleb pushes past and slowly enters the cabin. I step forward to follow, but Noah steps in front of me, giving me a head shake.

Now this always annoys me because I’m a stronger, faster, and smarter fighter than Noah and Caleb. For them to put themselves in danger, when I can look after myself, always has my teeth on edge.

“Remain calm, this is your pack doing what they know is right. I know it rankles, but you are the Alpha. They will protect, whether you like it or not. Now, be calm and listen, stay alert, we’ll move fast if Caleb needs us.” Flint had placed his hand on my shoulder when he started to speak. Giving my shoulder a squeeze, he lets go and stands at the ready.

A few minutes later, Caleb walks out of the cabin and shrugs his shoulders. “The place has been used, as there are dirty dishes in the sink and the bed hasn’t been made. But it doesn’t smell like one of our pack members. The smell is female, but I don’t recognize it.”

Walking into the cabin, we look around, all the furniture is intact, and nothing is broken. Merry had taken everything she wanted, so there are no ornaments, trinkets, or personal items to have been stolen.

Stepping from the living area into the kitchen, I see a few dishes sitting in the sink, and they don’t look like they have been there long. No mold has appeared as yet.

Flint steps into the kitchen, looks around and shrugs. “Nothing seems to have been disturbed apart from the dishes. It shows someone stopped here, ate, then moved on.”

“Why didn’t the patrol warriors pick up that someone was in our territory? The cabin is an hour from the border to Wolfsfoot. That is a long way inside the territory to risk staying overnight, unless they were being hunted, or something else,” I say, but more thinking aloud.

Noah speaks out, making me jump slightly as I was so deep in thought. “The bed has been slept in, but nothing has been broken or destroyed. The bathroom is fine, nothing wrong showing there.”

“Caleb, speak to Oscar and make sure he informs all the patrol warriors of the situation. They need to be on higher alert if people are coming into the territory without our knowledge.”

“Will do Alpha Connell,” and I watch as his eyes glaze while he mind-links Oscar to fill my orders.

“Noah, lock up the cabin, and let’s move over to Dorridge Lodge. Check out if anything is amiss there.” Growling somewhat as I speak.

Moving on to Dorridge Lodge, which is on the edge of our pack land, we find nothing out of place. The Lodge has been empty and unused for years. Now and again, the patrol warriors will stay if the weather turns cruel, but otherwise it’s a derelict building which we maintain to the minimum.

The Lodge is a nice place, but it’s been left unattended for a long time. Having no furniture or anything to make it habitable. My father punished pack members by sending them here to live with nothing. I’m sure he would come and punish them in other ways also, but I never had proof of that.

Walking inside it’s a two-story building, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, living area, dining room. It has been left to waste but has weathered damn well. It needs a good clean, probably decorating and then it would be fully able to be lived in once more.

I remember hearing it was built as a retreat for pack members that went into heat, or were having a romantic break. It was a place they had to book to use, but over the years, with my father’s ineptitude, people stopped using it.

Taking a deep breath, I calm myself as I blow it out slowly, but can’t help think it’s good my father’s dead and I just wish I’d done it myself.

Walking through the lodge it would be ideal as another stop for the patrol warriors. It is on the edge of the north and west borders, so would give two patrols the option to use it.

I’ll speak to the pack regarding the place, and if they are happy for me to do that, then we’ll renovate the place for the warriors’ use. Otherwise, I’m going to be forced to demolish it as I don’t want it to be used by anyone as a hideout from patrol.

Later in the afternoon, once I’ve had a shower and changed into jeans and a button up, I head out to the orchard to see how much progress has been made.

Watching pack members laugh as they work warms my soul. It’s a long time since I’ve seen the pack this easy around each other, and they give me a small show of their neck in respect as I speak to each of them as they work.

The orchard has had all the grass mown. Ivy that was strangling some of the fruit trees has been removed, and the dead leaves have been placed in a pile. Silas walks over to me and grins. “The pack has worked hard to get the orchard cleared. It’s looking good and now I can think about pruning the trees. That will bring a better crop next year.”

Grabbing the handles of the wheelbarrow, I wait for Rune who is one of the warriors to fill it with dead leaves before I wheel it over to the bonfire that Silas has burning. Grabbing a garden fork, I throw the dead leaves onto the fire and watch them burn before going back to fill the wheelbarrow once more.

It takes around an hour to take all the leaves and get them burned, but it would have been quicker if the pack didn’t keep stopping to throw down with each other in fun.

‘Alpha, something is happening on the eastern border.’ Weldon, one of our pack warrior’s mind-links.

‘All pack warriors not on patrol follow me to the eastern border.’ I mind-link the pack and hear all the responses to my call. Which isn’t as many as I would like and one of the reasons I’m trying to increase the pack size.

Ryan, Swan, Armon and Sterling are on patrol, along with Weldon and Brian, who asked to be included only yesterday. That only leaves me with Oscar, Declan, Rune, Hallec, and Iona. But Caleb, Noah, William, and Flint join the dash to the border.

Reaching the border, Weldon and Brian are standing on the borderline, watching a fight happening inside Spirit Walker Pack. It is around thirty rogues, with only eight warriors fighting them.

Mind linking Alpha Lyle. ‘Can we enter your land to help your warriors fight?’

‘Yes, thank you. We are on our way,’ Alpha Lyle responds.