Crescendo || A Wolf Tale

two

Kalen James was not impressed.

He'd been waiting on the outskirts of Sunrise Ridge for what felt like hours and still hadn't felt the presence of the three pack members that should have been back a day ago.

"Have you heard anything?"

Marcus' voice rumbled in his head unexpectedly, and he jumped, clinging to the branch he was perched on so he wouldn't fall.

"Not yet. I'm getting worried."

"We would have felt it if they were hurt," Marcus said, but Kalen wasn't so sure. The pack link wouldn't necessarily work from so far away.

Marcus had sent their pack Gamma, a scout and one of their warriors, out to the Raven pack for the bi-annual meeting - since they were the closest pack to Sunrise, they kept in closer touch than with other packs.

Twice a year the two packs would meet, sharing news and information, making sure the others were safe.

Raven pack wasn't exactly the easiest to get along with, but keeping their alliances strong was beneficial on both sides.

While there were dozens of packs, big and small, across North America, Raven was the closest to them. There were Grande Conventions every few years in Dakota, where the current Wolf King resided, but it was less than a half day's journey to meet with Raven, so it made sense to keep in regular contact.

Usually Kalen would go himself, but he'd been hurt in a scuffle with some rogues earlier in the summer and couldn't handle the long journey with his hurt leg.

He straightened, stretching out his legs, wincing when he stretched his calf the wrong way, before settling again against the tree.

From his perch in the lowest branches of the cedar tree, he had a perfect view of the early morning sunrise. It hadn't been easy to climb, even to the lowest branch, with his leg still mangled, but he'd pushed through it so he could see the sun.

For a moment, he put his worry aside, and watched the glorious view - it was a view he usually watched with Archer at his side.

They'd been best friends since they were pups, and even though they were both busy with their pack duties these days, they still would make time a few times a week to sit and watch the sunrise.

Sometimes they talked, sharing their thoughts, concerns, and dreams for the future - but usually it was just a time to be quiet.

Archer was as close to Kalen as a wolf could be, without being his mate.

He sighed, wondering what could be holding the trio up, just as he felt the tickle at the edge of his mind.

"Grace?"

"Here, Beta Kalen," the scout responded.

"Where are you? Why are you so late?"

There was a pause, then he heard Ares join Graces mental voice.

"Ran into some trouble in Oak Falls."

He frowned, "The human town?"

"Yup. Everyone is dead."

Kalens eyes widened in surprise, his heart suddenly pounding faster than it had in months - an entire human town, even one as small as Oak Falls, couldn't easily be wiped out. It could only spell trouble for Sunrise.

"Shit... I'll inform Marcus, get back here quickly."

He let lose a shuddering sigh before focusing on their Alphas connection.