“I would like to believe that Alurian’s case is now closed. I plan to turn my attention back to the beasts. Something is happening in the mountains here, possibly tied to the Zara. I plan to find out what.”

~ Bek Trent, M.A.S.O

Words, human words…the wolf does not understand them well. Fear, she understands. Rage, perhaps, when it is the rage of a creature that has lost its pack. Loneliness, with undeniable certainty. The girl had displayed all of these, and the wolf had understood them. She had not expected to be understood in turn.

Her jaws tighten as her tail draws a straight, stiff line in the dull daylight. “The Zara was there,” she rumbles, “the shadows walked among the living.” Revealed against the snow, she had seen the beast, and even now the memory of it causes her to draw back her lips and loose a low, warning growl.

“This human is a beastspeaker,” the alpha asserts. Today, the two of them are not alone. There are two other tree wolves, Cea and Pelorin, one so dark as to be nearly black, the other with eyes like ice. They watch the exchange between the wolf and their alpha thoughtfully, ears drawn back to their broad skulls.

“She is,” the wolf snorts agreement.

“And the Zara hunts her.”

“The Zara did not kill her, though it could have. Easily,” Cea interjects, summarizing what they have already learned from the wolf. The wolf’s silence is agreement, and the alpha flicks an ear to show understanding.

“Itoru reminds us that this was the second of the shadow beast’s attacks against this human. In the first, she defended herself?”

The wolf averts her gaze. Her words are clear. “Yes.”

“Then it is time for us to act. Wolf, your human is safe within the MASO. I will arrange for us to meet when she is recovered. If this Zara had simply moved against mankind, I would be convinced it acted out its vengeance. But to leave a human child alive, not once but twice, the human must have some meaning. We know that this Zara seeks the eggs...and we know there is more than one. They walk the human cities and the depths of our forests, seeking something.”

“The stones,” the wolf rumbles.

“So I believe,” the alpha’s two tail tips twitch with agitation. “We knew the day would come. The humans have encroached too far on the domain of the beasts. Seven hundred years of waiting is too much for any world.”

“The Zara are not beasts,” Pelorin huffs, looking between them.

“They are vengeful demons,” Cea snarls, “if their actions are coordinated, it means something commands them.”

“What commands a demon?” the wolf’s flattened ears clearly ask.

“There are powers in this world, wolf, that have been all but forgotten. Beasts and men – many live short lives. They are not like the dragons of old, the vampires, even ourselves. The beasts will follow those powers. They will war with men.”

“They will be destroyed.”

“There will be great loss. Already, the mythical beasts are taking sides. But if the Zara seek the stones, there can be only a few reasons, some more terrifying than others. We must explain to the humans what is coming,” the alpha purrs, “but… I shy from this task.”

“As all beasts shy from their doom,” the wolf growls.

Cea stands sharply, looking between them. “If the humans are destroyed, it is not our concern!” There is anguish in her growl, the pain of old wounds. Her mate was lost once, long ago, to mankind.

“There is no end, Cea,” the alpha snaps patiently, “to war. Once the beasts reveal their power, the humans will turn to the hunt again. They forget magic. They forget us. We have lived over a hundred years in peace because we are forgotten. And without fear, there is the possibility of acceptance. The day draws near, and nearer now, if a beastspeaker is here among them. She will hear our words.”

“What if she will not?” Cea growls.

“You will teach her, Cea. Pelorin will teach her. The wolf and I as well. No human can teach a beastspeaker how to use their power. She will hear us.”

The alpha stands slowly, dismissively.

“The day grows long. Tonight, we move with the herds. It’s been days since we’ve had a full hunting party. Prepare, and I will speak with Itoru of our plans.”

The wolf watches the bat flutter to their alpha, settling in the thick fur of her forehead as they move deeper into the trees in the direction of the den. Pelorin stands then, darker fur rippling with the movement.

“You are sure about all of this, wolf?” he rumbles. She makes no answer, and that is answer enough. Cea merely huffs angrily from his other side, cat eyes narrowing.

“We shall see if this human is worth our trust,” she hisses after a moment. Again, the wolf gives no answer, and Pelorin brushes against the other tree wolf kindly. His words are clear.

“If we face the beasts of shadow, Cea, we must not do it alone.”