Mated To An Enemy

"Any word?"

Axel looked up from the report he had been reading to see his mother stepping into the office, he glanced down at his phone, but there were no calls, no messages.

Alice had told him they would enter Spring this afternoon, and once inside the border, they were on complete radio silence. Their phones were shut off. Until they accomplished their mission, there would be no more messages or calls.

Axel clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. He shook his head as his mother continued to approach.

"They'll be all right," she said. "Both Ashleigh and Alice are strong women who are more than capable of taking care of themselves."

Axel nodded but gave no vocal response.

Corrine watched him closely and then sat down to face him.

"Are you angry with me?" she asked. "For the oath?"

Axel sighed and leaned back in his chair, holding his mother's gaze.

"No," he said quietly. "I understand and still agree with your reasoning."

"But… you wish you were not bound, so you could run after them?" Corrine suggested.

"Maybe," he replied. "Though I couldn't now, even without the bond."

"The border attacks?" she asked.

He nodded.

"They are increasing in frequency," Axel said. "Different places, varying size force. It's not predictable, and it's not a coincidence. They are testing our strength, looking for the weak points."

Corrine clenched her jaw.

Axel leaned forward and looked his mother in the eye.

"I don't know when or where it will come from, but you were right," he said. "War is coming to Winter."

***

Weeks ago, the onslaught had been overwhelming. For a few short days, Jonas had found himself unsure if his men would even be able to hold their territory.

But in the past week, things had changed. Entire sections of their lands were being won, and no enemy reinforcements came to extend the battle. Instead, the areas that were secured sent their troops to the combat zones, and slowly but surely, the wolves of Broken Crag were ridding their land of its invaders.

Jonas should have been happy. He should have celebrated with his men as they toasted around the campfire. But he just couldn't. Something was off.

"My Alpha," one of his men called to him. "I raise my mug to you. You have never led us astray. With you at our front, Broken Crag will never fall!"

The other wolves raised their mugs, each looking at their Alpha. Then, finally, Jonas raised his mug and gave them his best smile.

"Through blood and dirt, we will stand again and again," he offered.

"Through weakness, we find strength!" his men shouted back at him and drank from their mugs.

Jonas nodded and smiled along but took not a sip. He set down his mug and left the large tent, stepping out into the night air.

The men posted up on guard duty all greeted him and again congratulated him on the victories they had. He was polite and acknowledged each one, but it was beginning to wear on him.

Why couldn't he simply enjoy their victories? If the trend continued, he and his men might be able to return to their families within the week. It was a good thing, so why couldn't he accept it.

Jonas found a large rock to sit and contemplate on.

But it wasn't long before he was no longer alone.

"My Alpha," the man called.

Jonas didn't need to look back to know who it was. His name was Landon. His family had roots that burrowed deep into the mountain. One of the founding families of Broken Crag.

He was a good boy; Jonas had spent much time with him over the years. Landon and Nessa had been great friends as children, and as adults, they had maintained the friendship. However, Jonas knew that in his heart, Landon had always hoped Nessa would see him as something more.

In truth, before they got their wolves, that had also been Jonas's hope. And even though they were not mates, he had once approached his daughter with the idea of a chosen marriage. But he would never force Nessa into something she didn't want.

After meeting Clara, Jonas could see the way that Nessa smiled. He never wanted anything more for her. If it weren't for the damn war, Jonas would have already insisted on throwing them a lavish wedding.

Landon had been a good sport about losing the one he loved. He got on well with Clara, and he, too, could see the joy she brought to Nessa.

"Since when you been so formal, Landon?" Jonas replied.

Landon chuckled.

"I wanted to offer my congratulations. It seemed only right to do so formally rather than casually."

Jonas waved his hand and grunted.

"Stuff your congratulations," he grumbled. "I been hearing it all night. I'm tired of those words."

"We all just want you to know how proud we are to be your wolves."

Jonas sighed and looked up at the moon.

"You ain't find nothing funny about the way these battles been goin'?" Jonas asked.

"What do you mean?" Landon asked.

Jonas clenched his jaw. What did he mean?

"I dunno," he sighed. "It just… feels wrong, somehow."

"Jonas, living in the mountain has made us strong, but maybe it has also dulled us to the idea that sometimes, things can be easy," Landon replied.

Jonas took a deep breath.

"I guess… it would be nice if we could return home by week's end. I miss my Liara," he said.

"The way things are going, it seems likely," Landon smiled. "We were already able to send the Summer wolves back home. We still have the team from Winter with us, but once we've secured the gorge, there will be no reason to keep them any longer either."

"The gorge…?" Jonas questioned, feeling like there was something he had forgotten. "Why did we send them to the gorge…? Wasn't that place one of the first attack sites?"

"It was," Landon confirmed. "It was where we first saw the mutated wolves. Unfortunately, we lost two men in the attack and three more to the infection. When the Winter team brought the inoculation, they also volunteered to search the gorge. It was safest for them since they had already received their shots."

"The mutated wolves…." Jonas whispered to himself.

And then something began to click in his mind. He jumped up from the rock and turned to face Landon.

"The mutated wolves!" he shouted. "Where are they?"

"What?" Landon asked, "Like I said, the Winter team is searching the gorge–"

"No, no," Jonas interrupted. "In the rest of the dang battle, where are the damn mutated wolves?"

Landon furrowed his brows.

"I… don't know…"

"In the first couple weeks of this shit, report after report came in about those bastards. Aggressive, violent, ruthless. Even without the infection, these things are killers, and they ain't bad fighters."

Landon nodded in agreement.

"But in the past week, as we been winning ground and getting confident… where are they?" Jonas asked again.

Landon swallowed. He didn't have an answer.

"I don't know…" he said. "I don't think I've seen any reports on them lately other than from the Winter group that was chasing one yesterday."

"Reinforcements from the enemy have been slowing for days, but more than that, they are only sending fae," Jonas said. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe this particular group just didn't have many with them, to begin with?" Landon asked.

"I might believe that if we had killed more of them," Jonas replied. "But the last count I got, I think we only had four confirmed kills of mutants. But sightings, we saw northward of twenty in those first few days. So, where the hell did they go? Where are they hiding?"

Landon swallowed.

"You think there will be a surge attack? One last shot at defeating us? Should we fall back on the mountain, defend it above all else?" Landon asked, preparing to run and give the order the second Jonas said so.

"I think…" Jonas began, then paused to take a deep breath and let out an annoyed sigh. "We need to wait."

"But if we wait, and they attack, there won't be time to call in the others," Landon argued.

"I know, but I just gotta go with my gut here, boy. Something is telling me there is more to this than our mountain," Jonas replied. "I need you to send our best and sneakiest scouts to try and find them wolves. But, don't engage, and don't get caught."

"All right, but what are we looking for if not a last-ditch effort to take us down?" Landon asked.

"Look, Landon, do you trust me?"

"Of course!" Landon replied immediately and with pride. "You are my Alpha, and more than that, I consider you family. So, of course, I trust you."

"Good, then trust in me now. We need to know where these creatures are and what they're doing. Because I got a feeling there is something real important that we're missing, and I intend to find out what it is."