No Wolf’s Land

Bambi

“This is it. No Wolf’s Land.”

We looked at the vastness before us… lush rainforests pocked with gentle hills that gathered clouds at their peaks. It was breathtakingly beautiful… yet in that beauty was a hidden danger that scared me to my core.

It had taken us almost another week to push through Mexico and the rest of Central America. Maximus had traveled extensively when he was younger and so he knew how to prepare… plenty of water to supplement the food we could scavenge on our own.

We hired the help of a few guides who were able to skirt the authorities, helping find the quickest and safest paths to our destination.

Where was our destination, exactly?

I looked at the last little bit of mountainous range we just crossed and took a long breath of fresh air. We would need to transcend many more hills and valleys before we could truly rest easy. And resting easy, in all honesty, might never happen.

Holly’s school was somewhere just over the border from Columbia into Brazil. There was no guarantee we would find it, but the guides had told us folktales of a magical place where no one dared enter. What else could it be?

I had faith that we could find our way. Hunter and Ela had sent out faint messages… mind-links that cut in and out like a bad radio signal— warning about something in the Alta Rio Negro.

Ekon cautioned that they were only trying to trick us. But ever since Tyler’s disappearance I held out hope that he was wrong. Ela wouldn’t just follow Hunter blindly if he were working for Devina. Would she? I hoped to hell not!

Quick research on my phone told me it was an indigenous territory of the Amazon environment, blanketed in the forest. It would be hard to pass through, but our heightened healing abilities and immunity to most sicknesses gave me hope.

If we could find a boat, we could even bypass some of the harsher territories.

Ekon plopped down on the ground and swallowed a bit more of our rationed water. He was looking worse for the wear, but I was proud of him. He never let his withdrawal slow us down. It never became his excuse to become angry.

I sat down beside him and placed my hand in his.

“Can you believe it,” I said, looking out at the otherworldly terrain.

“It’s beautiful.” He smiled.

I laughed at his stupid joke, knowing full well he wasn’t able to see. But maybe that was for the best… I didn’t want him to be so drenched in hopelessness that it would halt our mission.

I could tell he was putting on his best façade, but I loved him even more because of it. Ekon was powerful, but that power led him to experience things that he could never truly process on his own.

Alcohol was a double-edged sword for anyone to try and tame… it could push back the memories you most hated, but in doing so, it also pushed you away from the people who truly cared.

“Forget about Hunter and Ela for now,” I said. “Holly must be close. Once we find her, I know she’ll help.”

Maximus huffed at the thought. “And you think witches in a place called No Wolf’s Land will welcome us with open arms?”

“Holly will welcome us,” I reminded him. “She’s part of our family now.”

“And the other part of our family is being held under lock and key,” Ekon groaned.

He stood to his feet with a little help from me and began moving down the hillside.

I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He turned to me and I kissed him hard.

He was taken aback but let my lips sink into his. I could hear Maximus grunt his annoyance, but it didn’t matter to me.

Ekon needed support and I would show him that I would always be there. No matter what the future held, we would both need to be crutches one another could lean on.

“I love you,” I said, touching the scars on his face.

“And I love you.”

“We can do this together. There is nothing we won’t be able to overcome.”

Ekon’s eyes grew black— he was shifting so he could see my face. It turned him into a monster, but I needed him to see me like this. I needed him to know what I looked like at this moment as we fought for the lives of our entire species.

“Guys, something’s wrong,” Maximus warned.

A whistling sound filled my ears, and before I could pull away from Ekon, we were both tumbling to the ground.

I looked around and saw that a smoking crater now occupied the spot where Ekon and I had just stood. Max had knocked the two of us out of harm’s way.

Ekon partially shifted into his wolf and leaped to his feet. Max had yet to shift, but I could see the fingers on his hands growing into claws and thick fur covering his skin.

“Fuck!” Max shouted. “We’ve got company!”

Ekon

A trio of witches sprinted from the forest to the clearing at the foot of the hill.

The bitches had caught us off guard, nearly crippling me with a spell. Fortunately, Max saved us.

My wolf body pulsed with adrenaline, filling any need to drink. This new challenge filled me with purpose. I would make sure I ended this stubborn assault.

“Wolves! Your entrance to this territory breaks long-held customs between our kinds!” a witch yelled at the top of her lungs. She had shocking red hair and was nearly as large as me in wolf-form.

“We’ve come to seek help!” Bambi yelled.

Another witch, smaller with punk-spiked hair, stepped forward. Her hands were ablaze with fire and her face had a sinister smile. “We have no help for your kind,” she warned. “All you’ll find here is pain.”

The punk witch cocked her arm to throw the fireball as I took off toward the trio. She released the spell, but I leaped over it and landed only feet away from the witches.

They were stunned by my feat of strength. I swiped with my claws, finding cloth but not skin. An electric bolt hit my legs and spun me through the air. Thick grass broke my fall.

Maximus was next to attack. He knocked two of the witches back. The last one to attack, a miserable hag with a shaved head and a scar down her forehead, used the earth as her defense.

Pillars of rock erupted from the ground and surrounded Maximus, holding him in place. He smashed at the rocks, knocking some down, but his confines weren’t giving in so easily.

I twitched on the ground, trying to stand as the witches surrounded me. I wouldn’t back down from this fight...

“Ekon, no!” Bambi yelled.

The frightening witches turned suddenly to Bambi.

“Ekon? Of the Northern packs?” the blue-haired witch asked, intrigued.

Bambi rushed over to me and lifted my head. I could see tears filling the corners of her eyes.

“Well, well,” added the one with the shaved head in a mysterious tone. “This is quite a surprise...”

Bambi

“We thought you were more of the Rogues following Matthias.”

I looked at the trio of witches who were gathered around the small campfire.

Our luck seemed to have run out. My worst fears were starting to be realized… but the witches had heard of the chaos in the wolf packs in North America and recognized Ekon’s name.

“You’re lucky,” Everly said.

Her hair was electric blue and she was no doubt the leader of the trio. The others were Tenessa, a short punky witch, and Brielle, with a shaved head and scar.

It was hard to deny they made a good trio of witches and had nearly ended our journey without breaking a sweat.

“Usually we have no time for werewolves,” spat Brielle. “But if you’re on our side, we can’t afford to lose any more allies.”

“Allies?” I asked, confused.

“We’re part of the only South American coven that hasn’t joined Devina,” Everly clarified.

Max, Ekon and I shared a worried look. This was not good news to hear!

“Our duty is to keep the border between No Wolf’s Land and your territory separate, making sure no one trespasses unwanted,” Tenessa said with an air of satisfaction.

“We were not always such a small group,” Brielle added sadly.

They looked at one another and I understood their looks of sadness—something had happened to diminish them to this trio.

“We’ve also lost many of our own,” I responded.

“You said you’ve seen Rogues?” Maximus asked.

The trio looked to Maximus and then to me. I nodded my head and assured them they could speak with him. It was odd being the one looked to as the leader, but they clearly did not trust the men.

“We encountered them several days ago. They killed two of our sisters before losing us in the forest.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“If we hadn’t insisted on a proper burial for the fallen, we would have caught them!” Brielle insisted, the scar on her head becoming more pronounced, the angrier she grew.

“I hope that we can help avenge the lost,” Ekon said, his voice weak. “But first, we're searching for a friend.”

“She’s attending university somewhere in the Amazon,” I added.

The witches looked at one another and then back to me.

“You’re not far. We graduated from the Mojica Universidade de Feitiçaria years ago.” Tenessa smiled.

Everly pointed to the sky. I followed her finger to a spot where the stars seemed to create a path of light shining down to the forest below.

“Follow the Stars of Mendola. They’ll lead you to where you need to go.”

Ekon coughed hard and turned over onto his side. Max offered him water, but Ekon pushed it away.

“Your friend,” said Tenessa, “looks as though he’s caught something.”

I nodded. “He hasn’t had a drink in many days. It’s been taking its toll.”

Everly walked around the fire and placed her hands on Ekon’s forehead. He tried to resist, but she was too strong for him to push away.

“Rest easily tonight, Alpha Ekon. Your journey has only just begun.”

Ekon closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

“She’s really very good at restoration spells,” Brielle said with a smile.

“Maybe so,” Everly added, “but this will not last long. Your best bet is to head straight for the university.”

“They won’t be happy you’re coming,” responded Tenessa. “But don’t take no for an answer. If your friend is there, I hope she helps you.”

I smiled but could not deny that it was only to hold back more tears. Maximus and I were the only ones who could continue this journey. If Ekon didn’t get help soon, I was worried that we might not be able to make it.

The shadows of the forest grew and morphed in the flickering light of the campfire. Somewhere deep in the trees lay our hope… and possibly our doom.

It was up to the Moon Goddess which one we would find first…