Page 49 of Fat Forced Mate

Around the bodies, the forest floor is marked with strange symbols burned into the earth. Strange magic. Bad magic.

"Get them wrapped and back to the pack house," I order, standing abruptly. "Full pack meeting in one hour. And James—"

He looks up, his face grim.

"Double the patrols. No one goes out alone."

James nods, already calling orders to the recovery team. I walk a few paces away, needing distance from the carnage, from the suffocating weight of responsibility.

My wolf paces beneath my skin, growling with rage and frustration. It wants to hunt, to tear into those responsible with the same savage force they used on our packmates. But blind fury won't keep the rest of my pack alive.

I scan the tree line, nostrils flaring as I search for any lingering scent of the attackers. Nothing but the stench ofcorrupted magic and death. They wanted us to find these bodies. Wanted us to know they could reach us whenever they chose.

Message received.

The great hall buzzes with fearful whispers by the time I arrive. News travels fast, especially the bad kind. Council members and pack leadership fill the front rows, with other pack members crowding in behind. I scan the room automatically, locating Luna near the back with Ruby, their heads bent together in urgent conversation.

Thomas approaches as I stride toward the front.

"The families have been notified," he murmurs. "Ethan's mother collapsed. Pack doctor's with her now."

Another weight to carry. I nod grimly and take my position at the speaker's dais.

"The bodies of Ethan Hayes and David Kelsey were found at our eastern border this morning," I begin without preamble. The room falls silent instantly. "They were killed while on patrol duty. Evidence suggests the Cheslem Pack is responsible. We’ve known of the threat of their infringements near our borders for months, but this is a step farther than ever before—a direct attack. Murder."

A ripple of fear moves through the crowd. Elder Roberts stands immediately.

"We destroyed that pack decades ago," he protests, though his voice lacks conviction. “Any who remain would be too weak to have done something like this—”

"Tell that to the Matthews Pack," counters James from his position by the wall. "Tell that to Ethan and David's families."

Roberts' face reddens. "We can't jump to conclusions—"

"These weren't ordinary kills," I cut in. "The bodies showed signs of the same corrupted magic found at the Matthews Pack attack. The same magic our patrols encountered at the border last week."

"What do they want?" someone calls out from the crowd.

A fair question without a good answer. I hesitate, and in the stead of any words I could produce, my grandmother rises slowly from her seat, her aged face grave.

"They want what they've always wanted," she says, her voice carrying surprising strength. "They want to destroy our pack, to take our land. To destroy any pack in their way. They’ll kill and kill until their hunger is sated. If they aren’t stopped, it’ll never be.”

"How do you know that?" challenges Melissa from her seat near the front. "If they were supposedly wiped out decades ago?"

Victoria's gaze sweeps the room. "Because I've seen this before. Years ago, when the Cheslem Pack last tested our defenses. When Michael and Elara Morgan died protecting us all."

The name drops like a stone into still water. My eyes find Luna automatically. She's gone rigid, her face pale but composed.

"James’ parents?" Elder Thompson clarifies, surprise evident in his voice, forgetting Luna entirely. "I thought they died in a territorial dispute."

"That was the simplest explanation at the time," Victoria says. "The truth is more complicated."

The crowd stirs restlessly, but no one interrupts as Victoria moves to the center of the room. I catch a glimpse ofJames nearby—my old friend, looking grim, lips in a tight line. I can’t bring myself to look at Luna.

"The Morgans were working on a defense system in the face of the initial threat, years ago," she continues. "A way to integrate shifter blood magic with witch protection spells. They succeeded—briefly—in creating the foundations for boundary wards stronger than anything we'd had before. A shifter and a witch, they sought to combine their powers for the sake of the greater good.”

I remember hearing mentions of this from my father, years ago, when he was alive, vague and brief, as if recalling a bad memory. I remember, too, seeing James’ face the morning he returned to school after the deaths of his parents—we were just kids then, but I remember the emptiness in my friend’s eyes. Nothing could erase that memory.

"When the Cheslem Pack attacked our eastern boundary, Michael and Elara reinforced the wards with their combined magic. They drove the Cheslem forces back, but at the cost of their lives."

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