Greykin Valley

| 44 | The Great Lake

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

| Jackson |

As the pack approached the tree line, the smell of pine and lavender was accompanied by a strong floral scent. Jackson couldn't determine what it was, but it was sweet and earthy. He tried to focus on it; maybe attempting to work out what it was would distract him from his thoughts, but it was useless.

He couldn't stop thinking about what Sebastien told him. How long was he going to have to wait? How long was he going to have to suffer from the tormenting feeling of having a piece missing from him?

With a sullen frown, he stared ahead, but when he spotted the huge lake at the foot of a mountain range, his dismay withered, leaving him awe-struck. A huge, purple iceberg-like structure protruded from the centre of the lake, and it looked like golden wisps were slithering around inside. The whole area was smothered by a magenta glow, and the water around the structure which wasn't frozen was still and silent.

"Woah..." Julian drawled from behind Jackson.

"I never thought I'd see it," Brando said.

Tokala caught up to Damon. "Hey, chief. I think I should scout the perimeter with Dustu, just in case."

The Alpha nodded as he stopped at the tree line. "Go."

"What the hell is that thing?" Wilson questioned, lifting his huge striped paw to point at the purple structure.

"That's natural ethos," Brando said as everyone stared at it. "It's mostly found in Helvetes and in much smaller forms."

Jackson frowned. "So...natural power?"

"Pretty much," the Epsilon confirmed. "Though it can't be used by many. I've heard that some mages can harness it or even create a similar phenomenon, but if one of us was to try and draw the ethos from that thing, it'd probably make us lose our minds."

"Yeah...now it's not so pretty," Julian mumbled.

Remus adorned a worried frown as he looked at Damon. "Uh...Dad, are we gonna be safe here? I don't know it just...feels a little scary walking into the place that basically connects all of Greykin's paths."

"Don't worry, Remus," Damon assured him. "If Tokala and Dustu find anything, we'll deal with it."

His son nodded in response.

"Let's go," the Alpha said and then stepped out onto the ice.

"Buckle up," Lance said ominously. "Abandon all ill-intent ye who enter here."

"Oh, stop," Rachel mumbled as everyone started following Damon.

"What would happen if someone with bad intentions or secrets or something walked into this place?" Lalo asked.

Wesley glanced back at him. "Then the lake would expose them."

"Have you ever seen it happen?" Wilson questioned.

"I've heard stories," the Gamma replied.

Jackson frowned when he saw that Sebastien hadn't left the tree line. "Sebastien?" he called. "What's wrong?"

Everyone stopped and turned to face the hound.

"Are you okay?" Julian asked in concern.

Sebastien looked down at the ice and then at the pack. "Yeah...for the sake of everyone's and my own sanity, I'm just gonna wait here. There's a lot of shit I know, and I don't wanna risk blurting it out because of some magical lake."