Chapter 76: The Fog


    "COLTON! COLTON! ....." I yell in the hopes of him hearing me and being close enough to respond, but


    there''s nothing but deathly silence in the eeriness of this green mist. It seems like even the wind


    around us is captured on the other side of the boundary and we are left standing in an airless stillness


    that isn''t natural. My body shudders involuntarily and I cover my arms with my own palms tofort


    the sudden pang of vulnerable that courses through my body. My heart screeching that this is all kinds


    of wrong.


    "What''s that, look, there." Meadow points thorough to a slightly less dense patch to our right and we


    catch sight of a huge dark figure moving across our horizon, getting close to the rune border and yet


    noting further. It''s almost like they hesitate as they reach the line from fog to clearing.


    "Who''s there.... who is it?" I call out boldly, feeling nothing of vampires and sensing only wolves nearby.


    I can feel the presence of my love, somewhere beyond that line, yet he can''t seem to interact with me


    at all.


    "Why aren''t they answering us?" Meadow steps forward to gaze intently into the wall of emerald smog


    but she can''t see through as it still billows and bombards our magical resistance with an effort to get at


    us. It''s like watching the clouds roll in a thunderstorm and if it wasn''t so terrifying, it would be almost


    mesmerizing.


    "Maybe it''s dampening sound out there and we can''t hear them..... I can feel them, so surely they can


    feel us too. They''re right here and yet not a single one has breached the boundary." I query in


    confusion.


    We both flinch and instinctively step back as a pair of wed handse at us through the mist and


    meet an invisible almost ss like wall. It makes the barrier shudder with a magical spark that travels


    outwards like a ripple of disturbed water. Enough to startle my heart into pumping like I''ve been running


    and we both leap further back and stare in open eyed shock as theye at us a second time to try


    with more force. The ws bang against it with a violent reverberation, making us both recoil slightly


    into our own bodies this time and a face appears through the mist pressing to the separation, baring


    teeth and fueled with rage.


    "Cesar?" Meadow frowns at the familiar face of her mate in wolf form, rxing slightly, even if she


    seems confused at his behavior and moves to him, but his eyes catch my attention and I grab her by


    the upper arm and haul her back in panic. Fear gripping my soul and I shake my head dramatically to


    drive home she should stay back.


    "Don''t! Look at his eyes..." I nod towards the angry snarling re of our pack brother and Meadow


    gasps as her own soft eyesnd on the emptiness of his. Where normally his amber eyes would glow,


    is deep almost endless ck, covering every part, including the whites andpletely changing his


    entire appearance. Sheathed in darkness, sending tremors of mistrust through me and I step further


    back as another wolf makes a break at the wall to my left. The same ripple shuddering between us as


    they fail to get through and the slight dampening of fog reveals more wolf turned angry kining our


    way.


    "They can''t get in.... something is wrong with them." I point out as more appear along our invisible line


    and growls and snarls aimed our way pierce the air, proving sound is not a barrier issue as they spy us


    standing here. I shudder with a wave of apprehension and back away, hauling Meds with me so we


    leave a good ten feet gap from the rune line.


    "Chica... It''s Cole." Meadow drags my attention back to the center with a pointed finger, as the mist


    begins to thin out enough that those within the first few feet begin to bepletely visible. I spot


    Colton standing only feet from me, tucked behind them, directly facing us, only he''s not wolf, he''s still


    human but his ws are extended, and his eyes are the same terrifying abyss of ck as Cesar. He''s


    focused straight at me, with a blood curling re that isn''t the Colton I know and love at all. He''s a


    hunter in kill mode, rage pulsating around him, his snarl in ce and his teeth beginning to peek. It''s


    obvious that I am his prey. Trembling under his unbreakable and prating gaze I shiver and curl my


    arms around Meadow''s arm, feeling instantly vulnerable and unsure what to do. The way he''s looking


    at me makes my blood run cold in my veins.


    "Colton, what are you doing?" my words tremble weakly, shaking with emotions as they pass my lips


    and for the first time since I have known him, I''m truly afraid of him in this moment. He looks like him,


    only he''s not. I can feel the aura of sinister ebbing from them all and I sink down against her as he


    bares his teeth fully, elongating as he growls at me and scoops forward into pounce mode.


    "It''s a spell, it has to be. Only that could keep our own out. Look at them. They''re almost feral and if


    they could get over here, I think you and I would be brindis" Meadow shudders and reaches out


    impulsively towards Caesar as he punches a wed fist at the barrier and roars in rage when he can''t


    get through. There''s no denying the anger and aggression seeping from them, that we''re what they


    want, and it''s not for sweet reunions. Our pack mates are looking at us the way they look at vamps just


    before a kill. Somehow, we are now the enemy and who they want to tear limb from limb.


    "Maybe when the fog clears, they''ll be okay." My voice breaks as the words tumble out like a child, and


    Meadow grabs my hand and starts pulling me away as she notes Colton readying himself to leap at us.


    He''s poised, moving low and setting his sights higher than where the others keep trying to get through.


    "Wait. I can try something." I gasp in desperation and yank free, turning my attention back to Colton.


    Pulling my hands together to cage my own palms with my fingers until I feel my energy build into a


    loose ball, I throw it out wide, like a veil, to part and push the fog into the background of where our


    mates stand. Trying to clear the air around them in a bid to remove its effects.


    Meadow watches with silent anticipation as a clearing in the shape of a half dome is thrust back like a


    ''poof'' of someone blowing at it. It''s gentler than I expected given the force I threw but I guess that''s the


    nature and power of the fog. There''s instant rity as I clear around thempletely, and they stand in


    perfect focus breathing in newly fresh air as I hold my breath and wait. With the immediate ten feet


    lifted and clear in the morning light we can see just how many of the sub pack are standing close by


    and staring murderously our way. How many of the other packs are hanging behind, crowding around,


    and surrounding their alpha as though waiting for something. All of them. Every wolf that was caught


    out there in that green smoke is huddled here and not a single one has amber eyes.


    They all seem to be waiting on Colton to make a move, still in pack hierarchy, even if they''re


    enchanted. Colton looks up and around at the fog clearing, pulling back like the tide, the air around


    them returning to normal. He tilts his chin back down and stares me dead in the eye. Eyes still ck,


    gaze still venomous and he makes a run for me through the clearing. A vicious and high leap that


    sends his full body shuddering into the invisible veil. The entire wall of air in front of us vibrates and


    ripples horrendously, as though he almost pushed it to its limit. The cascading effects sent out along


    left and right, like it was hit by a sonic boom, yet he still remains on the other side as he tumbles back


    down tond on his hind paws.


    I fall back in startled shock as he smashes the barrier for a second attempt, level with my height and


    the subs follow, all aggressively pounding into the magical safety and wing, trying to rip through.


    It''s like they are hopingbined force will be enough and my breathing bes ragged as I freeze


    in real terror. Afraid they may actually get through, and then what? Teeth gnashing as they all fully turn


    to wolf form and begin a frenzied attack, intent oning over. Piling up together in a wave of furred


    bodies and the light is blocked out by the mountain of them mbering together.


    "Come on, we''re going to Sierra! NOW!!!..... She can tell us what the hell is going on, Chica. This is


    fucking terrifying. They don''t know us!" Meadow takes onest desperate look at Cesar, her eyes


    welling up with tears and I nce at Colton, afraid to make eye contact when it hurts this much to see


    him like this. My heart ripping in two that he''s a stranger to me and it''s as though all his love and


    humanity is gone. Someone I don''t know; he''s never been like this in all the time I have known him, and


    I recoil as he lurches again and again at the barrier in an attempt to take me down repeatedly, throwing


    his body into unbreakable ss and insane with the need to do it. They are consumed by bloodlust,


    much like vampires going after a feed.


    "Fuck you!" I snap impulsively at him, at all of them, emotion getting the better of me as a fire rages


    deep in my belly. Tears pricking my eyes, at this whole situation; my heart breaking while I throw my


    hand at the wall in one impulsivest anger ridden reaction to make them stop.


    The wall of wolves and fog is ripped apart straight down the center, like I blew a harsh gust of powerful


    wind to rip through them, going for miles into the distance that causes a path like a huge tunnel. Colton


    and Cesar, some of the others, are thrown back away from it with my precise eruption and sent


    scattered into the forest brush with yelps of shock before they tumble to their feet and snap their heads


    back to me. My gifts are clearly not bound by the border so it''s definitely them that can''te in; the


    fog has done something that means they are no longer recognized as our pack, as our blood, or our


    mates.


    I turn and follow meadow at speed, no more hesitation at getting away from what my heart cannot bare


    to see anymore, as wee up against some of our patrolling sentinels who are walking the path.


    looking as confused as us.


    "The fog has done something to the pack, they can''t get in. Make sure no one crosses the rune line or


    gets too close to the boundary until I say otherwise. Pass it on via the link. Everyone is to stay home,


    stay safe until we figure this out. That''s an order. The alpha is not to be trusted even if he stands at the


    border...Understand?" I snap aggressively, tears starting to blind my vision, but I have to swallow it


    down and pull myself together and seem like I am in control. Meadow has turned broody and quiet yet


    her emotion filters through and I taste her equal heartache to mine.


    The guards nod, ncing from her to me as though expecting her to say something, looking equally


    afraid given they are some of the males from the vige and not from our usual sentinel packs. All our


    fighters, our warriors, our strongest – they are all out there in the fog with our alpha. We couldn''t be in a


    worse position if we tried. We lost them all in one fell swoop. One tragedy has literally taken all of our


    protectors out from us in the blink of an eye.


    We hit the main doorway at speed and zoom straight for Sierra''s room, scaling the stairs without a


    pause but meet her halfway up the finalnding as shees bounding to find us.


    "You see it?" I ask briskly as we close the gap and I grab her hands in panic. Her small hands and cool


    skin enveloped in mine and the worry and confusion is written all over her delicate face. Right now she


    doesn''t seem like my mother figure, but that she''s looking to me for answers as a young and scared


    femme.


    "I did. It climbed up the walls of the boundary and can be seen from every direction of the homestead.


    What''s going on. There are so many awful feelings in the air and noises of wolves howling in the forest"


    Sierra is pale and trembling and her words catch in her throat almost choking thest ones out as I


    frown at her. We didn''t hear them howl from our side but that means more are behind the stead and


    around the vige border now, where the wind would have kept their calls from us. They must be


    surrounding the border looking for a way in.


    "We don''t know. The fog has more than a third of our pack, that''s more than half the adult wolves, and


    Colton, he''s with them; they seem different. I think it''s some sort of curse or spell or something." I


    bber it out almost incoherently as the tears finally scratch my voice and turn my throat hoarse.


    Meadow is pale and staring out past Sierra''s head at the window along the corridor, watching the fog


    settle halfway up our view from up here. My gut tightens and I pray it doesn''t get higher than our magic


    does. I don''t know how else we would stop it if we didn''t have the Runes.


    "Different how?" Sierra queries and Meadow doesn''t hesitate to ce her fingers on Sierra''s temple to


    show her. I think meadow is in mild shock and doesn''t know what to do or say. Seeing Cesar that way,


    it''s shaken her to the core because I know that despite her fiery and strong nature, he is literally her


    world and she would crumble without him. Cesar has been her mate since her young teens, and they


    have be sopletely as one over the years that she doesn''t seem to know how to function right


    now. I''m only six months into a mate bond and despite how much I love him, I still know that I can be


    strong on my own two feet, have proven so in the past. I am not too used to falling back onto him in


    every way just yet to be as lost as Meadow seems.


    Sierra''s eyes widen in horror as she sees exactly what we did as the memory filters through, and she


    covers Meadow''s hand with her shaking fingers as she inhales sharply. Her already pale skin seems to


    white out further and her body instantly seems to frail and sway so that I reach out to steady her.


    "It can''t be. That kind of dark magic is almost impossible to put in action on such a scale, with multiple


    hosts. This is no normal witch or simple spell. This is so beyond my knowledge, or skill." Sierra grabs


    onto my outstretched arms to steady herself as she falters on her own feet and I blink at her, my mouth


    drying with the realization that this is something major. Heart racing, nerves already taut, and I struggle


    to breathe as the weight of this disaster seems toe down even harder over me.


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    "So this IS a spell. How do we break it, how do we get them home and okay?" My mouth is firing out


    words as part of my brain tries to take control, even if my insides are trembling and my biggest urge is


    to curl up on the floor and sob.


    "We don''t. I don''t know how to deal with this.... I don''t ....I ...don''t know.... We have to check the library


    downstairs, read the grimoires, get the Shaman, and figure this out. I''m primarily a healer and a seer,


    although I can conjure protection spells and an asional bond, but this is way over my gift limit. I


    have heard of this kind of magic, but I have never seen it. I didn''t think one witch alone could do this."


    Her voice fully breaks and tears stream from the corner of her eyes delicately. Shaking with the sheer


    knowledge that she doesn''t know how to fix this. One thing I know is, the Shaman was out there too


    and no longer here with us but I can''t find the words to say it.


    "Maybe that means it won''tst. Maybe it will fade out as the fog does?" Meadow asks hopefully,


    suddenly finding her voice and sounding nothing like her usual sassy self. Sierra lifts her palms


    helplessly, almost in response of saying ''I don''t know.'' Eyes full of fat unshed tears and her own


    breathing has bebored. Here we stand, three femmes in various states of emotional distress,


    faced with a huge problem, and the only ones left in the pack with the ability to do something about it, is


    us. We''re so screwed.


    "It didn''t work when I cleared the air around them" I point out, close to manic, my emotions rising in my


    throat to choke me, but I hold it all in and breathe slowly to ease my heart rate and try and think clearly.


    I need to remember I am the Luna and my people will look to me to fix this.


    "That was only seconds, maybe it takes more time." Meadow is grasping at straws of hope, and yet


    something in my gut tells me she''s wrong. An inkling that it''s not that easy to undo whatever it is that''s


    out there. I don''t think clearing them from the smog alone will work.


    "The Shaman he''s out there isn''t he? I can''t link him...... we need him...Oh my god, Okay, so..... We go


    downstairs and start looking without him. We look and we find something, anything. We can''t just sit


    here and freak out, right? We''ve lived through worse. We can do this." Sierra hastens us with a nod,


    visibly shivering, afraid, and yet like me she is trying to reel it all back and return to a state of


    composed. She knows I need her to be with me and figure this out. The shock has hit, we reacted, and


    now we need to be the Luna and Rema and do something about this. For our pack, for our people, for


    our men. "Radar?" Sierra adds in a hushed tone, her eyes misting over again as she locks a gaze on


    me, a begging question and held breath, and I can only nod sadly, telling her that he too is out there in


    the fog and lost to us. She gasps in a semi sob, a shocked inhale and clutches her chest, emitting a


    woeful stab of pain in the air around me and confirming how deeply she feels for him, before pulling


    herself back together and lifts her chin defiantly. An even stronger will to figure this out.


    "Let''s go. They need us to save them." I turn and gesture for them toe and don''t wait in heading


    where we need to be.