Wolf & Witch III: Oracle's Path

Ch. 1

"Great shortcut."

The disembodied words echoed from the same space as the orange cat nestled on the center console, between the driver and front passenger seats. Any human who would have heard him, would hear nothing more than a series of meows, but thanks to a charmed collar, provided by Tobias, Sean and Anna could understand him. Any witch could, now.

"It said it was thirty minutes faster!" Sean defended as he glanced down at his feline companion.

"Bro, you never listen to the GPS. This is why you should have let me drive. That's all I'm saying."

"If you make another comment about women drivers, you're walking, fuzz-ball," Anna warned.

Anna's little hatchback wasn't anyone's first choice for a road trip vehicle. The small SUV was fine for trails, but her bags alone had filled the trunk. The boys' bags, the cooler, the snacks, extra jackets, and everything else they held important enough to bring, were piled to the ceiling in the back seat. A tiny sliver was left for the review mirror.

At least it wasn't summer. The cold November winds rocked the car from time to time as it raced across the yellow and brown landscape and whipped down the highway. Anna's heater worked great, and with them all packed in like they were, it was actually pretty cozy.

"Our turn's coming up," Sean informed a second before the GPS said the same thing, albeit in a more mechanical fashion. Anna smiled and tossed her blinker on before turning down a dirt road.

A big sign soon greeted them. "Welcome to Gibson Ranch."

The Maps app wouldn't help them from here, but neither Sean nor Trevor needed it after that point. "Take a left," Sean instructed, when they came to a two way split.

They passed the community center that was still being remodeled after the fire, but Trevor noticed that they'd made a lot of progress.

Anna turned down a road that slid between the tall pines. It was incredibly quiet with the trees blocking the wind... Nothing but the crunching of gravel beneath their tires until finally, at the end of the drive, Dakota's Charger came into view, parked in front of his modest house.

The windows, which made up most of the front-facing wall of the cabin-style home, sported a collection of fall-themed artwork. There were big paper leaves in a variety of crayon and paint colors, turkeys made by tracing the artists' paws or hands, and a few others that were a little difficult to make sense of. They were all clearly done by the pack's pups, proudly hung for display with scotch tape.

"Cute," Anna commented once they'd gotten out of the car and she'd grabbed her handbag.

"Very," Sean agreed. "We'll stop in and let him know we're here. Then, I figured we'll head to Kaid's."

The nerves that had anxiously coiled in Sean's stomach dissipated the moment Dakota answered the door. Stepping inside felt every bit like a welcome home. It was as familiar as letting himself into his aunt and uncles's place, to visit with them or Anna, which came as a huge relief.

He'd exchanged a few texts with Dakota since he and Trevor had last seen the wolf at Tobias's manor, but neither of them had brought up the Halloween party. Dakota didn't seem to be in a rush to either. He'd effortlessly returned Sean's hug with a genuine half smile. Nothing awkward about it.

Their arrival had also warranted a full-blown case of the zoomies from Karla, who zipped around in her wolf form for a good two and a half minutes straight before finally settling on the floor, huffing to catch her breath.

"How were your folks, Trevor?" Dakota asked from behind the tiny kitchen island as he went about making Anna some coffee. He knew it was a pretty emotional subject to ask about so soon, but not asking didn't feel right either.