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115 | A SPLINTERED ARMY
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Alpha Ares 116 | SNOWFALL
I winced as the medic tapped on my freshly bound leg. Medic Olia was a middle-aged woman with hair just starting to grey at her temples, which made her look distinguished and wise rather than old. I’d expected to be treated by the same medic that had seen me before, but Cendres had told me that Winterpaw trained up a lot more of their wolves as medics, due to the harsh nature of their territory’s climate, as he’d guided my family and I to the medical centre. I’d been glad of the change as she’d looked me over, the fire warming one side of my face, snow falling outside and piling up on the windowsill.But, even though she’d been nothing but nice to me – shockingly, considering how I’d been treated by Winterpaw Warrior wolves in the past – I’d remained stiff as a log the whole time she’d been looking at my cuts. Her visage had blurred every time she’d bent over me, her face becoming youthful and enthusiastic – her face becoming Flora’s.“The poultice should draw out the infection,” she
Alpha Ares 117 | THAT FIRST RUMBLE OF THUNDER
I settled myself in my usual seat around the large table. It felt wrong to be in a meeting in Winterpaw without Ares, but I tightened my core and held myself tall. The heat of the fire warmed my body, but until he awoke my heart and soul would remain frozen over within.A candle had almost burned down to its stub, slightly off the centre of the dented table. The white sky outside was as yet unchanging, casting the grey room in an eerie shade of pale winter’s light.Cendres cleared his throat. “I guess I should begin.” He shifted uncomfortably; I’d never seen him looking so ill at ease. He tucked a lock of long, light brown hair behind his ear – only to slide it back out again straight away and repeat the cycle. His bold, blunt features were creased with doubt as he said, “We should start with introductions. This is something of an unusual gathering, but I would like to thank you all for coming at such short notice.”I nodded. Everything in my life felt like a whirlwind now. “Indeed,”
Alpha Ares 118 | HANS AND HANNA
The days dragged on. If my life had been a whirlwind before, now it became the stagnant water of a green pond. The more time I spent back in Winterpaw, the more bizarre the normality of it all began to feel. There was an undercurrent of unease that cut through every too-normal conversation, that was present every time a wolf called me Luna or ducked their head in respect when I passed.I fell into a routine of malaise: I woke to the knock of the medic, who checked on Ares, who was still yet to wake, and then checked my leg, which was healing well. I trained as best I could, sitting on an upturned bucket and exercising my arms with a sword, wishing Ares would wake all the while. I watched my dad integrate with the Winterpaw Warrior Wolves, and watched my mum keep her distance from them, a scowl permanently fixed on her mouth. I dug the tip of my sword into the snow with a sigh. Across from me, Nana Baspy folded her arms.“We’re training for a battle,” I muttered, my gaze sliding over
Alpha Ares 119 | WE NEED TO TALK
“Yes,” I snarled, turning on him, “we do need to talk, Cendres.” My mouth flapped uselessly as my anger overwhelmed me. The flickering torchlight became dancing flames shooting from my palms, aimed at him and ready to burn. “I – I – I can’t believe you,” I spat, after a too-long pause. “You were there. And Nazte is missing! Stars, I–”He smiled ruefully at me as he interrupted. “I know. Everything you’re about to say, I’m pretty sure I can guess. Look – let’s go upstairs, yeah? We can talk there.” He held my gaze, his pale blue eyes unusually serious, unnaturally sombre, and something in his expression gave me pause. Slowly, I nodded.“Fine.” “Follow me.”We walked in terse silence. I listened to the steady thrum of my heartbeat and the slap of our boot soles against the stone floor and the ever-present pulse of water in my right ear. It calmed me; even if I had nothing and nobody else to trust, I had myself. I was no longer torn between loyalties. I knew where I stood and what was r
Alpha Ares 120 | THE SWORD IN THE SNOW
I tripped over my own feet I moved so fast. I surged ahead of both Cendres and Medic Olia, my heart pounding so loudly in my chest that I couldn’t hear myself think. Not that it mattered – there was only one thought drumming through me, a name beating out a rhythm in perfect time with my heart.The ice was finally starting to thaw around my soul. Ares was awake.“I’ve been looking all over for the two of you,” said Medic Olia breathlessly, her arms pumping furiously at her sides. “I’ve had Omegas and the other medics rushing from the training grounds to the dining hall to the meeting rooms. Trying your room was a last ditch attempt, Beta Cendres – and one I wish I’d resorted to earlier. But you are so rarely there nowadays, and as for Luna Haile, well – her being with you was a stroke of luck, I suppose.”He waved a hand. “You’ve found us now. That’s all that matters.”I nodded along, only half listening. My head and heart were pounding; anticipation swelled in my belly, making my mo
Alpha Ares 121 | AVALANCHE
I ran to the window. My palms stuck to the icy sill.Wolves marched into Winterpaw’s central territory. They surrounded the mountains and filled the valleys. I squinted down at them; my breath felt too thin in my lungs, my head too light on my shoulders.It couldn’t be – no, not already – it was too soon…The armies couldn’t be here. Could they?But the pit in my stomach told me that I knew they could. Every day I’d spent here I’d been waiting: waiting for Ares, waiting for them. And in the space of half an hour I’d finally been granted both.I chewed on the inside of my cheek, leaning closer to the window. Outside, the wolves lined up in neat rows. There were less of them than I’d expected – definitely in the tens, not the hundreds – and some of them looked familiar. No, not just some – all of them did. I could pick out patterns in fur and the curl of a lip from years of living and training and fighting alongside them.“Haile?” Ares rasped. The bed groaned beneath his weight as he sh
Alpha Ares 122 | HOLLOW ME OUT
Our packs converged uneasily. It was strange to walk the halls and see so many familiar faces amongst the torchlight and stone. A residual quietness followed people wherever they walked; the chasm between us seemed to grow larger as we came together physically, the Blue Moon wolves staying on one side and the Winterpaw Warrior Pack on the other.There was one thing we shared, though: impatience. Waiting for the allied packs to strike was more painful than seeing them cresting the horizon; I felt on edge at all times, terrified to go to sleep and wake to find them here. It was a particular kind of emptiness that captured me, one that made me think being shattered would be preferable. Tension made my bones feel brittle, and I felt certain fights would begin breaking out if the battle did not come to us soon.But the surety with which I knew we would lose made me cherish this time, strange and disjointed as it was. Ares and I stole moments of solitude, alone together in o
Alpha Ares 123 | DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER
Aliana pushed wispy, curling strands of white-blonde hair behind her ears with her single hand. The other had been lost to the cold, along with one foot and a couple of her remaining toes. It felt like such a long time ago, now, though her unsteady limp and the precarious way with which she leant on her walking stick made it apparent just how recent her brush with death had been.A shiver flayed the flesh from my back, and a prickle of unease lit up my scalp. Every breath I took felt thin and tinny, making my tongue taste oddly metallic; I decided anew that I despised waiting, with my fingers clutching the thick fabric of my cloak so hard that the bones of my knuckles showed through my skin.“You shouldn’t have followed us,” grunted Ares, when it became apparent that Aliana needed some encouragement to speak. She looked up at him then, her wide pale eyes revealing nothing. “I didn’t mean to. I was coming to speak to you anyway when you disappeared down that corridor.” She shrugged, t
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