Feral Bonds

Chapter 48

"You...weren't kidding about the cows," Alex said as the barn came into view. "That is uh, certainly a smell."

Natania laughed. "No, I wasn't. You get used to it, sort of."

Gretchen slid off her back and Natania shifted. "So, what happened?" Gretchen asked.

"Let me explain for everyone," Natania murmured, then sent out a summon to the pack. The rest of the wolves didn't take long to arrive. Still in their human forms, they eyed the newcomers warily.

"Is that-" Bran started to ask.

"Yes."

Hayley, Avery and Alex took their human forms, clutching their arms nervously.

"Gretchen, this is Avery, Alex and Hayley, members of my original pack. This is Gretchen."

"Wait, are they joining us?" Damien demanded. "Nat, you need to explain. What did Alistair want?"

Natania felt her temper flare and pushed it aside. "To kill Gretchen. For me to kill her, actually." Natania rolled her eyes.

"Me?" Gretchen's voice was surprised.

"I warned you my kind hates witches."

"Yet you came back with...recruits?"

"More like spies," Damien growled.

"What is there to spy on?" Alex snapped back. "You trekking in cow shit? The smell alone makes that apparent."

"It wasn't an ideal choice," Natania said, with a snort, "but we didn't have a lot of options at the time."

"It's not that bad," Sara argued. "It's good to see you guys again," she added.

"Is anyone going to tell us what happened?" Bran asked.

Natania shrugged. "Alistair threatened us, Gretchen pulled a Thor move and incinerated a bunch of the pack, and he retreated."

"You did a what?" Bran turned to Gretchen at the same time Sara said, "Alistair retreated?"

The witch grimaced. "Yes, he ran. I didn't expect it to be so strong, Nat was losing control and I took more from her than I meant to, and then there was lightning."

"I'm sorry, what? You used Nat's power for that?" Hayley swallowed thickly. "Don't witches get power from torture?"

"Yes, it hurt," Natania growled. "But what choice did we have? She did it with my consent. She doesn't go around torturing us for fun." She glanced at Gretchen. "Just a shame you missed my father."

Gretchen flinched. "I wasn't in a position to aim it, I'm sorry. Plants don't give the same kind of power that you do."

Natania waved away her apologies. They should have practiced. "What's done is done." They wouldn't make that mistake again. They couldn't afford for Gretchen to be ignorant of her own capabilities, not anymore.

"When you say a bunch..." Damien trailed off.

"Forty six," Hayley whispered. "My father was one of them." She glanced at her feet.

"I'm not sorry he's dead," Natania muttered, reaching out to brush her cheek. "But I am sorry for your pain."

Avery put an arm around Hayley's shoulder. "He got worse, when we decided to stay. I'm not sorry he's gone either, but he was our father."

"Anyone else we care about?" Damien asked, his father was still in Alistair's pack, as far as Natania knew.

"Mason's father, that's why he wouldn't come with us," Avery answered. "Camilla, Audrey, Quinn, Owen." High ranking wolves in her father's pack, but none they were particularly close to. Avery took a deep breath before giving the names that actually hurt. "Laura, Sage, Greyson and Emma."