Page 26 of Those That Are Lost
Ty stands, locking eyes with the white wolf —the one clearly in charge of this gang. He bows his head, surprising me further with the submissive move.
“Theodora, I’m glad to see you well,” he says before gesturing to us in turn as he adds, “This is Henry Knox and this is Aurora Capenor. They’re with me and won’t bring any harm to your pack.”
The surrealism of the last few minutes pales in comparison as the white wolf disappears. Standing in its place is a beautiful woman with the palest hair I’ve ever seen. It's not quite white, but it’s so close the tiny tinge of grey makes it almost iridescent in the fading light. She’s older, maybe middle aged by human standards, probably a few centuries into her two millennia lifespan.
She’s wearing a grey dress shirt and leather trousers. Knee high dark grey boots finish her outfit. She’s not wearing a coat, nor any winter gear, bar the boots. She must be impervious to the freezing temperatures.
“They’re not from your pack in Froan,” Theodora states. It clicks somewhere in my brain that the wolf shifter must have an incredible sense of smell if she can tell that none of us are bonded in any way.
“No, but you can trust them,” Ty reassures her.
“I do. You as well, now that you’re no longer bonded to that cunt.” She’s as graceful in her human form as her wolf one, so her choice of cuss sounds wrong. But I’m glad to know where she sides when it comes to Adicious.Maybe that’s Ty’s plan, to get the wolves to protect us should the Froan pack come looking this far north.
“Oh.” Ty shifts like he’s feeling sheepish, like he’s a kid being caught doing something he knows he shouldn’t. “You know about that?”
“You didn’t think I wouldn’t keep an eye on my best friend's son after the war was over?”
My eyes dart between the two, how many more surprises can come from this interaction? I move a little to the side, slowly, because I want to see Ty’s face, to see his reactions during this conversation. One of the wolves mirrors my movement but doesn’t get closer.
“I thought you’d been completely cut off up here, wasn’t that part of your treaty?” Ty responds.
“I have my ways.” Theodora gives a rueful smile. “Sadly, I couldn’t come and drag you away from that tyrant no more than I could rescue you from yourself with the bender you indulged in. Trust me, I tried.” She purses her lips once more, clasping her hands in front of herself. Even though she’s shorter than Ty by several inches, she emits such a parental aura that makes her appear taller. I see the pain that flashes across her face, however, as she admits her limitations. I see it reflected in Ty’s posture as if he’s remembering why he lost himself for those years, because his parents were killed. I want to reach out and comfort him but keep myself rooted to the spot.
“I couldn’t…” His voice sounds thick in his throat. “I didn’t want to face anyone that knew them. Anyone that would know how I’d failed.”
“Oh, Ty.” Theodora unclasps her hands, moving forwards to put them on Ty’s shoulders. The wolves surrounding us shuffle closer, ready to protect their pack member in case we attack. I feel myself tense in case any of them try to harm him. “You know none of that was in your control, don’t you?”
Ty doesn’t answer and doesn’t meet her gaze.
“Sweetie, if there was anything you could’ve done, I know you’d have done it.”
“I could’ve found out sooner, put together the information I was being fed sooner,” he rebuffs with the line he told me.
“You think you were the only one gathering intel? Theyknew the attack was coming. Ty, we mustn’t forget them but they’d not want you eaten by guilt like this.”
One of the grey wolves closest to Ty whines.
“Anyway, we can talk more later. You all look exhausted. Do you want to come back to our village? We can feed you too.”
Did she mean we could feed on them? Or did they live with humans?
“I insist,” Theodora says sternly at Ty’s hesitance. “And, anyway, our village isn’t far, it's within those trees.”
Before Ty can protest any further, the woman shifts back into her wolf form. She shakes out her beautiful coat before jogging round us and into the trees. The others streak off in formation except the black one who yips at us as if telling us to hurry up.
We quickly gather our packs and set off after the wolves. This is not how I envisioned the day ending at all.
CHAPTER 14
TY
Ihear Aurora and Henry whispering to each other as we head after the wolves. I know I’m going to have some explaining to do but I stay quiet for now. I knew coming face to face with the woman I’d called aunt my whole childhood would be difficult. But I knew coming here would provide some level of protection. A place we can stay, hopefully for the winter, where Adicious won’t be able to reach us.
Ash trots along just ahead of me. He was a pup last time I saw him. Theodora’s youngest—at least when I last had contact—looks fully grown now, and powerful in his wolf form. Even with the thick dark coat, I can see the muscles underneath flexing as he glides across the snow. An alpha for sure. If it wasn’t from his scent, I wouldn’t have recognised him.
“Care to share how you know the wolf pack?” Henry breaks through my jumbled thoughts.
“Theodora was friends with my parents, she would often visit as I was growing up. They used to live on the coast in West Scotia.”
