Cassandra hissed like a snake in the grass. She pulled her claws together and toward herself, but to no avail.

Vince resisted. He continued to do so even as his body was stretched taut, offered like a tribute to the moon.

Theodore had yet to understand everything that was happening before his very eyes. But the revelation that Vince was a guardian couldn’t be ignored. Cassandra would waste her powers trying to destroy him, and Theodore would only have to bide his time.

The corrupted land beneath them was feeding on his power. He couldn’t release it, not yet. His eyes followed Cassandra, and he reveled in her growing frustration. A witch like she was should have been able to destroy a guardian, especially since he was only human.

It looked like there were limits to her powers. Theodore observed her in silence. From the corner of one eye he was keeping Vince under observation as well. If the guardian gave up, he had to be ready and throw himself between the witch and him.

It wasn’t because of some misunderstood generosity or bravery he planned to do that. The witch could not see the runes and ferret out their meaning. It must have been her plan all along to draw the guardian here, but how could she have known that he existed?

No, that couldn’t have been her plan, after all. If anything, Vince had meddled with it, making a tangle she couldn’t repair. Theodore’s mind was working hard, even as his wolf demanded that he be let free. If he shifted, here and now, would he be fast enough to reach Cassandra before she sank her claws in Vince?

It was all a matter of timing.

“You’re resisting,” Cassandra said, as if she couldn’t believe what she was witnessing.

“I am an alpha. Do you think I’d fold before you?”

“You are a weak alpha. You have no pack,” she said with unhidden disdain. “I still recall my great pleasure as your pack succumbed. Their cries, their whimpers. An entire pack reduced to nothing but ashes. Fire burns most beautifully against snow. Did you know that?”

Theodore growled like a wounded animal. They had all perished in a vicious fire that had engulfed everything. The throne of ice on which Theodore’s father had always presided had been reduced to a puddle.

But he had remained untouched. He had been the only survivor. Although he had no recollection of that time beyond the screams of pain and then the quiet, he knew that he had survived.

And he had lived with that horrible guilt for far too long now. He had made a life for himself in the realm of humans to bide his time until he could find a way back and get his revenge.

His pack had accepted the clairvoyant in their midst as Theodore’s father had strong faith in the power of prophecies. And Cassandra had sung a pretty tune, pouring poison into the ear of the alpha of Whiteflame.

“But you didn’t kill me,” he said, putting his chin up and provoking the witch. “Your powers failed.”

“They will not fail again,” she warned him. She pulled and pulled at the silver threads, but Vince still resisted. For a human, such strength was beyond merely commendable. It was unheard of.

“You weren’t expecting me here,” Theodore said, even as he sank another inch into the moving soil below. “You sent Ryder Asherman to finish me off. Your plan failed.”

“That wasn’t my plan,” Cassandra said. “I thought you’d be strong enough to take out that self-righteous wolf. But you weren’t even good enough to do that,” she spat angrily.

“What gain could you have gotten from me killing the alpha of Luna’s Sentinels?” Theodore asked, frowning. Cassandra’s plans were vicious and went beyond her wish to see wolves dead, left and right. If only he could begin to understand what they truly were.

“You’re nothing but a dumb beast, after all. Wolves need their lands to thrive and multiply. How is the city treating you, Theodore?” she hissed.

The foul smells, the decay constant and inevitable. The humans with their petty jealousies and greed. How had the city been treating him?

It didn’t matter. He had survived and turned it into his domain. Oh, how he longed for the crisp air of the cliffs, the pinching cold that made the warmth of a fire feel even more like home.

He had known all his life that Cassandra would try to kill him one day. And now, he was finding out that he hadn’t even mattered much to her. She had only hoped to use him as a tool to kill the alpha of Luna’s Sentinels.

A growl began to rumble, deep inside his chest. Soon, he would have to consider his choices. Vince had to survive. He was a guardian, and even if Theodore died, he would continue on his path. He would be alone in his quest to keep the world safe from evil.

No, not alone. Ryder Asherman would help him as soon as he discovered the truth. He was a noble wolf, who always did what was right without asking why or having doubts.

Which meant that Theodore was here by the grace of faith. He began gathering his power. He could feel it expanding inside him. His wolf would reach Cassandra in a heartbeat and rip her throat wide open.

Any moment now. Vince had to survive.

“That witch!” A loud exclamation broke his focus. “How dare she do that to Vince?”

No. The field mouse. Why did he have to ruin everything?

TBC