I could feel the power of the stone circle long before we even entered it.
I could also still feel a whispering of pagans past, like they had left an imprint of themselves on the stones forever. Being near the circle made me start to wonder if time travel was somehow possible. It felt like it was a portal or something from a sci-fi movie.
The moon looked huge from our vantage point so high on the hill, and the stones cast eerie long shadows.
Fletch had to lead his “pack” and so he went on ahead of me. I trailed along at the back with Brian at my side in his new wolf form, and Bob perched on my shoulder lending me silent support.
“So are you glad you’re a werewolf, or do you still think it was a mistake?” I asked him.
“Oh, Emily, it’s just wonderful!” Brian bounced along beside me. “I feel younger, stronger and healthier than I have for years. I won’t age anymore; in fact most werewolves seem to level out at around twenty-five to thirty-five, so I might even get younger-looking, can you believe it? And though I’ll need to keep my farm now. I think I might start converting all the outbuildings for other wolves. Young men who perhaps don’t have a safe place to go, they can always find a home with me, or just somewhere to stay once a month for the full moon. I hope Fletch knows he is always welcome. Assuming he forgives me, of course. He might not…”
“That sounds like a good plan, and I’m sure Fletch will forgive you.” I was quiet for a moment, not wanting to ask a silly question but curious all the same. “Why do you say young men? There must be female werewolves too? There are on television.”
“How many have you seen tonight?” Brian asked me.
I frowned. “None actually. That can’t be right.”
“Female werewolves are very rare. Basically because women hardly ever survive the turn. In most packs the females are cherished and they tend to hold very high-ranking positions. But Hywel is strictly old school, he believes a woman’s place is by a man’s side, not in a position of power, so the few women who have managed the turn locally, have all left the area rather than submit to Hywel. If you go and visit somewhere like The Greater London Pack, or the Midlands Pack, you won’t just find plenty of female wolves but also plenty of ethnic diversity. That’s the trouble with having an Alpha who is over three hundred years old and who lives in a predominantly white rural area. He’s not exactly progressive or forward-thinking. I think we’ll see an awful lot of changes when Fletch takes over the pack.”
“Takes over the pack? What do you mean?” I almost stumbled as I shifted my attention from the ground in front of me.
Brian laughed, seeming utterly carefree despite our awful situation. “Oh, little witch, you have no idea what you have done by bonding with Fletch. I don’t think he has remotely comprehended how powerful he has become either. You are both so wonderfully naive. I just hope you’re ready for the responsibility. When Fletch defeats Hywel he will automatically become leader of his pack.”
“You seem very sure that he will defeat him.”
Brian nodded. “Oh, I’m sure. You wait and see. I wonder if Hywel suspects what he’s up against yet?”
“I don’t know what you mean. I thought I would feel different after we bonded, that I would be out of control. My magic did seem a little stronger, but only when I was actually touching Fletch. For a minute or two it seemed like I could do things just by willing them, but now he’s over there and I’m back here, I can’t seem to do anything again.” I strained in frustration at the ropes binding my hands.
“I know! It’s fascinating, isn’t it?” Brian was fairly skipping around me with how fascinating he clearly thought it was. Personally I had to admit to being a little bit disappointed. After Iris’ story I was expecting a little more fire and brimstone, or at least a continental shift. I certainly wasn’t expecting to feel no different at all!
"And how amazing that he went Alpha straight away. The fact he can partially shift means that he can control his wolf with his human half whenever he feels the need, so he will never bite you unless you actually want him to."
I nodded, I was certainly extremely grateful for that.
When I entered the stone circle I was almost blown over by the emotions contained in it. Witches had worshiped here, witches had performed big magic in this space, and I could also sense some death—witches had died here too.
“Powerful, isn’t it?” Brian said, reading my mind.
“Scary powerful,” I agreed.
“Undo,” I commanded the ropes around my wrists, wondering if I might be connected to all the power floating about. But nothing happened.
The wolves began to form a circle, just inside the circle of stones. I wedged myself in among them, wishing I could get higher up, perhaps on top of one of the stones that rested sideways over the tall vertical stones. That would be a good vantage point to watch the fight, but with my hands bound there was no chance of my being able to climb up.
At least from my place in the circle I could see and make sure that it was a fair fight, not that anyone was likely to listen to me even if I didn’t think it was fair.
Straight away I noticed that at some point during the walk to the stones, the amount of wolves siding with Fletch had grown. It seemed like he had eleven or twelve on his side of the circle now.
“That seems a bit disloyal,” I said, nodding at them and whispering to Brian. “Hywel won’t be happy about it, and what will they do if he wins?”
“It isn’t really about loyalty. It’s true that some of them will have chosen Fletch on purpose to bring a change of leadership. After all, the Alpha’s pack lend him strength, and if they didn’t like Hywel then backing another Alpha is obvious. But actually for most of them they can’t help it, it is instinctual for the wolf to get behind the strongest and most dominant wolf near them. It’s how a pack works and stays safe. The weaker ones will be drawn to Fletch by their wolf even if their human selves wouldn’t make that decision.”
“Oh.” I thought about this. “He’s that strong then?”
“He is now. His dominance was always strong but his status has been strengthened by bonding with you. Why do you think Hywel was so keen to do it himself? He could have called some of the most powerful wolves in Britain to follow him and they wouldn’t have been able to resist, bringing their own packs with them and making Hywel even more powerful as he could then draw on the combined strength of a larger and larger pack. Thankfully for werewolves everywhere, Fletch isn’t the type to force his dominance over other pack leaders. He’ll just maintain the balance, although I think this pack will go from strength to strength anyway under his leadership. Like I said, he’ll encourage some excellent diversity, which can only help the pack as a whole.”
There were some words being exchanged between Fletch and Hywel that I couldn’t hear, though I suspected most of the wolves could, but before I could ask, Fletch turned his back on Hywel and walked over to us.
He addressed Brian first. “You owe your life to Emily, therefore I want your oath that you will protect her best interests if anything happens to me. I realise you will be forced to submit to Hywel, but you owe her this.”
Brian bowed his head. “You have my word, Fletch. I was wrong to allow any harm to come to her, and will trade the life she has given back to me in return for her safety.”
“Thank you.”
Then he turned to me and put one large paw on my leg. I instantly felt the connection surge between us and took full advantage of it to will the rope behind me to untie. It fell away neatly, but I kept my hands behind my back so as not to alert Hywel of it.
“Thank you, love, for the strength you give me tonight. For taking the risk of bonding with me and for coming to heal me. I know what it took out of you and I know that you didn’t want this yet. But I will love you until there is no breath left in my body, after which time you will be released from our bond anyway. I claim you as my mate and put my mark upon you that no other werewolf but me might have you, if you agree.”
I felt a bit overwhelmed by the grown-up voice he was using. He sounded like something out of King Arthur rather than an eighteen-year-old boy from Hampstead.
But I dropped to my knees and sneaked my hands into the thick fur around his neck.
“I agree,” I said.
His tongue rasped across my forehead and I felt something magical pass between us. I kissed his nose in return.
“Now make me another promise,” he said in his normal teasing voice, “that when this is over, me and you are going to get some quality alone time? I’m very keen to cement our mate bond with some, you know, actual mating.”
I shook my head with a smile. “I don’t think I should promise that—what if we caused an earth quake?”
“What if we defied gravity again and ended up on the moon?” he joked in return.
“What if we caused a flood and wiped the human race from the earth?” I was only half joking.
He touched his forehead to mine again in a gesture I was coming to recognise. “What if we were just happy? We’ll take things slowly, but in time I want us to be truly one.”
“I promise,” I whispered.
I put my hands behind my back again and stood up. “Now, go kick his arse, but be careful of your own hide!”
Fletch moved away and I instantly felt the loss of warmth and power. He affectionately butted heads with Deri, then re-entered the circle where Hywel was pacing back and forth looking extremely annoyed.
“Said your goodbyes, have you?” Hywel sneered. “Then let’s begin…”