Chapter 137: Wolves In Sheep’s Territory

Xavi had been an older cub then. Too small to fight, too slow to help. He had watched her get taken, and by the time the adults had reached her, there was nothing left to save.

For those terrible hours when Tera had been missing, that memory had resurfaced with a painful realisation that he had once more failed to protect someone he cared about.

He had also been reminded of the last time a beast had nearly killed Tera.

At this point, Xavi was not sure he even wanted to take his eyes off his mate for a second at this point.

He had been very scared.

And he still was.

He was going to convince her not to go to that pack, or at the very least, he would have to go with her, make sure she was safe there and come back to tend to the cubs and the clan with Ermin.

Xavi lowered himself onto the furs beside Tera, facing her. His golden eyes traced her sleeping face as Nadia dozed peacefully against his chest.

Ermin’s thoughts had been no quieter.

When Tera had vanished, his first thought had been Feron. The jackal had left the clan months ago, but the thought of him coming to take revenge against Tera had been frustrating.

He knew Feron had been redeeming himself in the clan, but he hadn’t entirely trusted him again.

Xavi had put that thought to rest early. The scent at the lake had been wolf, not jackal. But even after Ermin’s theory was dismissed, the fear had not left. It had only changed shape.

His mind had gone to another corrupted beast. The image of Tera’s bloodied back, the sound of the cubs screaming, and the sheer size of the thing that had nearly killed her and their unborn children had rushed back with a vividness that made Ermin’s chest seize yesterday.

He remembered very little of the actual fight. Xavi and another male had done most of the damage. Ermin knew he had been there, knew his claws had torn into the creature’s hide, but the details were lost to a blur of adrenaline and terror.

It was only after the beast had fallen and Tera had been pulled from the rocks that the full weight of what had almost happened had crashed down on him.

The monster had terrified him, but he had also been scared of losing Tera.

And during the search, that same terror had walked beside him through every dark stretch of forest.

He was scared of the corrupted beasts.

It had never been a concern of his while he had been living in the secure tribe.

Ermin’s hand trembled against Althea’s small back. The tremor was slight, but he caught it immediately and stilled his fingers, steadying his breath so the cub wouldn’t feel it.

She was already drifting off, her tiny body warm and limp against his chest, and the last thing he wanted was for his fear to seep into her sleep.

He was glad Tera had been found safe and sound.

"I do not trust them," Xavi murmured.

Ermin glanced at him, a bit confused.

"The wolves?"

Xavi nodded, and Ermin was quiet for a moment. He had noticed something off about the wolf pack, but hadn’t been able to place it.

He had assumed they were just wary of outsiders. Back in Jackdaw, they were naturally suspicious of strangers entering or coming close to their territory.

But Xavi’s tone had carried something heavier.

"Well. They did seem strange, but maybe they were scared?"

Xavi looked at Ermin for a long moment, remembering that the panther had grown up sheltered in the Jackdaw tribe and hadn’t spent years as a wandering beast like Xavi.

Xavi had crossed paths with many tribes. Most had been mixed, a natural result of beasts from different territories coming together after the Collapse scattered their original groups.

But not all of them.

There had been tribes that refused to mix. Packs and clans that kept only their own kind, rejecting any beast who didn’t share their bloodline.

While beasts had always mixed before the Collapse, there were still special habitats that certain beasts stayed in for survival, and they didn’t mind beasts of different types visiting or coming to live in their midst.

However, for some reason after the Collapse, there had been certain beasts that had become the opposite of this.

They were rare, but Xavi had encountered enough of them to recognise the signs. The cold superiority in the way the elders had looked at Xavi and the Dow clan members, along with how they had strangely seemed relieved when Tera was leaving.

These groups usually had some reasons for why they were doing what they did, and Xavi understood some of them. Like some tribes not wanting their beast type to die out, and those tribes were still very welcoming to different beast types.

They were among the harmless ones, but some were also dangerous.

Xavi hoped these wolves were not that type of beast.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that they might be dealing with something familiar very soon.

And it frustrated him that the wolves had larger numbers.

What if they wanted to take this patch of land from them?

"You’re not saying anything," Ermin spoke up.

Xavi shared what he knew with the panther.

Ermin’s ears went flat, and he stiffened. The easy warmth that had been settling over him since holding Althea was replaced with a guarded unease.

Xavi shook his head. "I do not want to jump to conclusions. It is only a feeling, and I could be wrong."

Ermin did not look reassured.

"I will sound out their leader," Xavi continued. "He is young, and despite being strict, he does not appear to carry himself the same way as those elders."

For Tera to have freely helped the wolves access water, they had to have listened to her, especially the leader, for anything to have been done.

A different type of beast aside, Tera was shiftless.

So many, they were dealing with a reasonable wolf leader, at least.

Xavi paused.

"But I still do not like any of this."

The shelter fell silent again, and Xavi returned his gaze back to Tera’s face. She looked peaceful.

He hoped they would all live long enough to enjoy whatever little peace this life could give them.