Fang

Beta Eren

It'd already been several days on the road, having to travel between territory lines. NightBlood being on the opposite side of MistFang only increased my anger. I'd decided to go underneath LostDream's territory, MistFang's western neighbor, to get through the mountains.

It was unavoidable, I'd caught the eye of nearly every pack I passed by. I could see them in the trees, threatening eyes watching as I drove by. Hostile. The north was far from welcoming, even if I was one of them.

My attention snagged on something as I passed by SteelPaw's territory. Bordering near LostDream's territory line sat the crumbled remains of the first empire. Large stone blocks sat toppled over each other on the ground, moss growing through the cracks.

Cobbled pathways wrapped around the remains, disappearing past my eyesight. Completely untouched. It was tainted ground, no one dared to clean up the grave of the empire. A shudder forced its way through my body at the sight of it, forcing myself to tear my eyes away.

My mouth suddenly felt dry. An uneasy feeling settled over me, making me uncomfortable. It felt like the closer I got to NightBlood, the closer I was to death. It was too late for me to turn back. My uncle wouldn't take me back in without NightBlood's secrets.

A large column of smoke reaching to the sky was the only indication I was closer. Usually, a group of scouts would meet me at the edge, but no one was to be seen, unlike the rest of the north.

The trees slowly became denser, closing in on the simple road. Beautiful oak and pine trees, their trunks swallowed by the moss that grew on them.

I knew the moment I crossed into their land. A feeling I couldn't identify washed over me, equally welcoming and hostile at the same time. Danger.

Having no other choice, I continued forward, eyes glued to the road. I knew where their pack house would be; not far past one of their lesser packs, almost in the center of their entire territory.

NightBlood's first lesser pack quickly came into sight, not far into their land. My heart picked up its pace in my chest when I noticed no one was around. It was like a ghost land, not a soul to be found.

A cry left my lips when I looked up, something waving in the wind. A body hung by its neck from a tree branch, swaying with the breeze. All of his fingers were missing, along with his eyes. Not far down from him, more bodies hung from trees, right over the road.

It was a warning.

I forced myself to look away, attempting to gather up my determination. There was no other choice for me, I had to go to NightBlood before I could go home.

The last body I passed was hung differently. Instead of hanging by his neck, his palms had been nailed to the tree branch, his jaw crooked and hanging open like it'd been broken. It was Goyo.

A lump formed in my throat. Goyo had been caught, and I likely would be too.

Not much farther past the missing pack was a massive crowd of wolves, thousands more than I could have ever imagined for NightBlood. They were packed in close together, hardly any space between them, a mix of all of NightBlood's lesser packs and the main.

They were crowded around something, the sheer number of them overwhelming. None of them turned to acknowledge me as I parked off to the side, their attention solely on what they were crowded around; a massive house on fire.

Banners were drawn, a mix of NightBlood's and SteelPaw's. I opened my door in time to hear a resounding answer from the NightBlood wolves, a sound so loud it rumbled my chest. Their faces were full of determination, mixed with fear and somberness.