Page 45 of The Silent Mountain
“I will show you around, Ty,” I say, grabbing my friend’s arm and tugging him along. I gesture for Ludwig to follow us. “Stop being so dramatic,” I whisper to Tynan.
“I am not-“
“You just made a scene because of a dog.”
He frowns. “Okay. I am a bit dramatic, it’s part of my charm!”
Behind me, Ludwig laughs, and I use this moment to introduce the two men to each other.
“Hey, maybe I can make Shayan jealous with his help,” Tynan beams.
“Are you really the Gamma of the royal pack?” I mutter.
“I’m probably of no help,” Ludwig says. “My preference lies with women.”
“You don’t need to be into men, you just need to pretend.”
“You know, games like that always backfire,” I point out.
Tynan just grumbles something inaudible. Unfortunately, I don’t think he will drop the plan. Since there is no reasoning with him right now, I lead him through the royal clan, showing him around and also introducing him to some of my new friends. Elio and Theodor are outside, training, and Elio is happy to see us. During the war, he spent some weeks with us werewolves and grew quite fond of my family.
I’m about to show Tynan the more secluded areas of the clan, the cliffs and the mountain paths, when the sun above us suddenly darkens, and a different flock of birds disrupts us. Their screeching is loud, almost like they are screaming. Ty, Ludwig and I raise our eyes to the sky, shock and dread filling me at what I’m seeing. It’s like the sky is covered with thick black clouds, but it’s birds. Possibly thousands of them.
“What the fuck…” Tynan mutters.
“Ludwig, go and alert the king,” I blurt out.
Ludwig nods and dashes off while Tynan and I keep our eyes glued to the birds. This time, they don’t pass by the clan and fly off towards the ocean. They seem to have accumulated above us, angry and chaotic.
“What are they doing?” I ask.
“I have no idea. I have never seen anything like this,” Tynan says.
The flock of birds seems to move downwards, closer to us, making us take a couple of steps back. “Alana,” Tynan grabs my arm.
“Yes,” I agree. I know what he is about to say.
We look at each other. “Now!” he yells.
At his command, we both start running. Like they were just waiting for that, the birds flock together, following us. Soon, we are surrounded by them, their claws awfully close. “Shift!” I yell, while I allow Ros to take over, turning into her beautiful, dark brown wolf form. Tynan follows suit and shifts to his wolf form, both of us picking up our pace.
Voices and yells are around us, and I can see Theodor dragging Elio inside while Favian, Ludwig and Stefan run toward me.
I see the beautiful gold glittering even before Favian has fully shifted. The golden Dragon King is truly a sight to behold.
A loud screech can be heard as Stefan and Ludwig follow their king, shifting as well and dashing in our direction. Favian lets out a breath of fire, successfully distracting the birds. I try to remember what he taught me about being agile and about my strong points. I am in my wolf form, but Ros can use the advice too.
Got you,she tells me, successfully rolling over so that the birds dash head forward into the snow. Then, she jumps onto Tynan’s back, tugging one big, black bird off before it can claw into his fur. Another breath of fire finds its way through the birds, the smell of burnt flesh crawls into my nostrils, while dead birds drop down all around us.
The birds seem to recollect, moving back slightly. It almost seems like they are communicating with each other, before regrouping again, but this time, they don’t target Tynan and me. Instead, they fly past us and toward the direction of…
That’s the camp!I link Favian.Where Barbara and Cassie are keeping the mare!
I can feel Favian’s anger through our bond, both alluring and terrifying at the same time. He takes off after the birds, Ludwig and Stefan following him. While Tynan and I also pick up our pace to follow them. I’m relieved to see that Shayan and Theodor have barricaded the windows of the castle, at least those on the front side.
Cù Sìth, however, joins us to my surprise. I still don’t know what exactly he is. It’s like he is a mixture of many animals, both fascinating and a bit scary. Now, however, I am glad to have him at our side as he leads the way towards the camp. Once there, I can see the three dragons fending off the birds, more and more guards following and shifting to their dragon form.
Cassie is dashing into a tent and hiding there. To my shock, a whole bunch of birds follow her.
