Destined for Greatness ✔️

Chapter 5

"Where are we?" Ryleigh asked, looking around her. Parker had teleported them to the middle of a bustling street. It was a human city, that was clear from a single glance – though, obviously, the sheer fact that they were in a city at all indicated the presence of humans, since wolves usually preferred a more natural, wide-spread setting.

"Hightower," Corbin said. "Andior's human capital." He looked at the people hurrying past them, the slightest crease of his nose the only thing giving away his deep-rooted disgust for all things human.

"This is where we've been hauled up since Jade moved into the castle," Parker said, leaning in to make himself understandable over the sound of a carriage rattling past.

Ryleigh pursed her lips. It was as good a choice as any. They had property all over the country – it was one of the reasons their people had always been able to operate so secretly and efficiently. Hightower was the biggest – and busiest – city in the country, so it would be easy to blend in.

Houses lined both sides of the street. It wasn't a great neighbourhood. Quite the opposite, actually, and that was a good thing. The wealthy tended to be more vigilant of the people living on their street, and the last thing the Shadow Walkers needed was to attract attention.

The houses had been built in a hurry. The entire street was a mess of rough, worn stones, harsh edges, holes in roofs, tattered front doors. It was a working class neighbourhood. This meant civilians, meaning no mages (who would never do the cheap labour), both men and women working late hours, children roaming the streets, vagabonds and drunks passed out in corners and allies. It meant thieves, beggars, all the outcasts. It was the home of the unwanted.

They'd fit right in.

"I didn't know we owned property in this part of the city," Ryleigh said, following Parker and Corbin to the front door of a house that was slightly bigger than most of the others on the street, though in no better condition. It was the corner house, which gave them a little more privacy, though insignificantly so.

There was no light in the hallway, but their werewolf vision got by just fine without.

"I know we're a small pack, but this is rather close quarters for twenty-four wolves," Ryleigh said. The hallway was narrow and led to a winding staircase on one side and a living room on the other. Parker and Corbin led her into the latter. The curtains were drawn, the room shrouded in twilight alternated by beams of sunlight filtering in through moth-made holes in the fabric. Apart from over a decade of neglect, the house was in good shape.

There were a few sofas dispersed throughout the room, as well as sturdy, wooden chairs. In the middle of the room stood a centre table filled with dishes and cups. Around it, filling the furniture, was her pack, or at least a large part of it.

"Ryleigh!" Paige jumped up from her place on one of the sofas and stormed through the room in a whirlwind of motherly excitement, wrapping her arms tightly around Ryleigh. For a few seconds, Ryleigh's ability to breathe was cut off. She struggled against Paige's hold, both to suck in air and because she couldn't deal with so much affection. Paige pulled back, holding her at an arm's length.

"Look at the sight of you! The moment you're settled in, I need to look at those wounds. And take more silver from you. You look a mess."

Ryleigh cracked a grin. "Thanks for that." The floorboards creaked gently behind her. "I might have been gone a while, but I still know what it sounds like when my wretched half-siblings try to scare me." She twirled around, quirking a brow at the empty air in front of her. Nothing happened at first, then Royce and Ivy – her two thirteen-year-old siblings – appeared from out of nowhere.