Greykin Valley

| 7 | Decisions

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

| Jackson |

Jackson nervously twiddled his fingers together as he followed the guard through the halls, down in an elevator, and then towards the end of an empty, door-lined corridor.

"I'll be out here," the guard said, pushing the door open.

When Jackson stepped inside, the pack—who were all sitting around on several leather couches—jumped to their feet and hurried over to him.

"Jackson!" Julian called.

"Is Alpha Damon okay?" Tokala questioned.

"What happened with Caedis?" Alastor asked.

Jackson held out his hands as everyone threw a flurry of questions at him. They were all making him feel overwhelmed already, and the mere mention of Damon ensnared his heart in pain and worry.

"Give the man some space," Wesley insisted, pulling some of his packmates back.

After taking a deep breath, Jackson moved through the crowd and headed over to one of the couches. He slumped down and watched the pack sit around him, and then he dragged his fingers through his hair. "I haven't seen Damon yet," he told them, glancing at their anxious faces. "I did see Wilson, though, and there's something we need to talk about before we can go and see how Damon and Lalo are doing."

"What is it?" Tokala asked.

"Well...it's a lot, actually," he drawled, trying to work out where to start. "Do you all know what a muto is?"

Some of them looked confused while others appeared disgruntled.

"Tiger shifters," Lance muttered.

"Annoying fuckers," Brando added.

Jackson sighed quietly. This wasn't going to be easy, was it? "It turns out that Wilson is one of them—"

"A muto?" Bly questioned with a frown.

"Seriously?" Julian asked. "I thought they were extinct."

"Muto and wolf walkers were...are natural enemies," Rachel explained, looking around at everyone. "Years ago—back when Fenrisúlfr walked this world—the muto royals decided to wage war against our kind. Something happened, but I can't recall what."

Tokala patted the couch arm. "It was about...three hundred and seventy years ago," he said as everyone looked at him. "Some of my ancestors knew the story of Marquess Adrian. The Zenith and his kingdom of demons settled in Uzlia, which was known as The New World in wartime. However, there was an uncharted island in Uzlia; of course, the Zenith had people scout the island out, but...muto are near impossible to detect."

Jackson nodded slowly; he was trying his best to absorb the information, but he couldn't stop thinking about Damon. He glanced back at his room, hoping to see some movement. But the Alpha was still comatose. It made Jackson want to cry, but sinking into his dismay was the last thing he wanted to do right now. So, he stared at Tokala, attempting to listen.

The orange-haired man continued, "Eventually, the wolf walkers working for the Zenith needed their own space. You know how it is. We need trees and places to hunt. So, Fenrisúlfr was given permission to take his wolves over to this uncharted island. When they got there, though, they discovered they weren't alone. Muto lived on that island. They left their usual home in Samjang because they were hunted for their fur."

"Why?" Dustu asked.

"Because it has powerful ethos properties. It's a muto's fur which allows them to go undetected," Tokala answered. "Anyway, just like wolf walkers, muto are very territorial. Fenrisúlfr's wolves and the muto got into a fight, where some on both sides were killed. Fenrisúlfr wasn't just going to sit around and let their deaths be in vain, so he hunted down Marquess Adrian—Alpha if you will. But ultimately, the choice of what to do with these muto was the Zenith's. He didn't want back-to-back territory disputes or fights breaking out in his kingdom, so he proposed a truce. Adrian refused. Instead, he challenged Fenrisúlfr to a winner-takes-all battle."