Profound Devotion

Chapter 44

August 15th
Cassius

My paws ached from the continuous, unrelenting traveling as I trailed behind Reese at an average pace. After all, I did not want to lose him while in my beast form as he was still on two legs.

The sun had long since set and rose, only for the sky to once again become painted with deep hues of burgundy and crimson peeking through the ceiling of tree branches and leaves that were threatening bits of autumn color of their own. The ones that fluttered to the ground crumbled under my rushed steps, kicking up in the cloud of dirt and fluttering in the breeze.

Of course, we really spent large stretches of time much slower; most of the mountain range was far too dangerous for running, even for the most coordinated.

"There is not much further we have to go, Alpha." Reese stopped for a breath, plopping down onto a fallen tree that was missing chunks of bark and hollowing out on the inside.

'Good.' I thought, using this time to take in our surroundings. The thick, mature trees were beginning to grow sparse as the land flattened out and dressed in an untamed sheet of dandelion weeds.

We were, indeed, getting close to Ulkira. It was once a lively village filled with community gardens, neighborhoods of old stone houses built from the very rock that was extracted from the nearby mountainside, and a proud statue carved with the likeness of the Moon Goddess at the center of it all. As the very goddess to create our beings centuries ago, it was only natural for our kind to dedicate our way of life to her.

The air was thinner now that we were at higher ground, but I was used to it by now. Reese sucked in rapid breaths to catch up after the long trip, brushing his mid-length dusty blond hair out of his face.

"I will go ahead alone. Alert the others of my arrival and have them meet by the statue." I commanded, shifting from my Lycan and abandoning the young warrior without awaiting a response.

He survived this long, what was a few measly minutes? Besides, I was drawn further into the village, so I could not find myself to care about much else.

The land sang a melodious hymn as the sky opened up to a brilliant shade of blue. The trees whistled in the breeze behind me, welcoming me home to our village that appeared nearly untouched by the naked eye.

To an outsider, it would seem our people had just simply abandoned our homes, but I knew better.

The heavy wooden door that sealed off our armor shed creaked as I shouldered through, dust kicking up through the air and into my lungs. The light that hung from the ceiling flickered as the bulb threatened to give way, the wire holding it in place swaying from the sudden draft of the open entryway.

It had been so long since anyone moved anything around. Down to the organized shelves that Raian set up himself, it was exactly as it had been the last time I had to access the contents inside.

Each wooden shelf housed the hand-crafted metal armor that was designed to fit most of our warriors. Though, as I ran my finger along the dusty surface, I noted the many sets that were missing. At least half had been damaged or destroyed in the fight against the wolves. Others had been unaccounted for--most likely still on those fighters who went missing.

The chains that adapted to a shift were heavy on the shoulders, but they did well to block the teeth and fangs of an attacker. It was why we required that all our warriors trained with them on to adjust for the extra weight.

My own armor, one I had yet to wear, stayed perched on the stand at the end of the narrow hall. It was ethereal to stand before it, the metal reflecting the little light that was available. As the Alpha, I was required to have extra protection on my shoulders with thick plates that acted as a ram in my beast form, which in turn made it too heavy for the singular wooden shelf. Instead, it was retrofitted to a stand that held the metal upright without collapsing.