An Exiled Wolf Huntress

Questions Without Answers

Aura's eyes fluttered open to a bright, warm light in front of her. She blinked at the light, realizing she was no longer on the forest floor. The light came from a fireplace in front of her. Her senses started to process the world around her. Her head was laying on a soft pillow and a blanket underneath her. Someone had taken care to bring her here, but why?

Aura's perked up to the noises behind her. The rest of her body stilled because she could feel eyes watching her. She heard a shift from the figure behind her. As much as she wants to see who brought her here, it would put her at a disadvantage. She just let herself relax where she was to wait for the figure to make a move.

Every minute felt like an hour as Aura was forced to just pretend to sleep. Neither Aura nor the stranger behind made a sound. Aura was patient, but this whole situation irked her to no end. If only she had shifted earlier then she wouldn't be here.

A door creaks open behind Aura, but the person behind hasn't moved. Aura was on high alert because she had just become outnumbered.

"Did she wake up yet?" A female voice asked.

The male figure behind Aura burst out laughing, leaving Aura perplexed. What did these people want with her?

"Aura's been giving me the silent treatment for almost an hour." The male figure chuckled. "She is reluctant to break character."

Aura's muzzle hung open as she listened to the male's voice. He knew her somehow. Aura thought hard about the voice that she had heard, trying to place the familiarity of it. She was sure it was someone that she hadn't seen in a while. Since the voice knew her wolf form, he must be another beast shifter. What male wolf hunters were in the area?

"Aura! How could you forget your mentor's voice and scent?" The male pretended to sound wounded. "That hurts."

"Jalen!" Aura said through the mindlink. She jumped up and tackled her old friend and mentor.

Crash! Jalen fell to the floor with a big silver wolf licking his face. "It's great to see you in Aura, but can you stop mindlinking me? I can't answer in this form."

Aura climbed off of Jalen, realizing that her mentor was still disguised as an elf. He was tall with long blonde hair and a short beard. Jalen was still handsome in any form that he took. Aura decided then to shift into her beast form because her body wasn't rested enough for a shift into her human form. In seconds, Aura is standing in her beast form with the blanket she had wrapped around her.

"Aura," The female elf that Aura heard before pulls her into a hug. Aura takes a second to recognize the woman as Ivy, Jalen's sister. "It's been a few years. How are you, kiddo?"

"Ivy, Jalen, I didn't think I would find you so quickly." Aura grinned.

"You were looking for us? What crazy mission does our young Alpha have you on now?" Jalen asked as he gestured for everyone to sit in the cabin's little living room. The cabin was sparsely decorated with only functional furniture. It is one of many properties that wolf hunters have acquired and built. These properties were generally used as a place to rest or a safe house in the worst-case scenario.

Aura sat comfortably in a chair as she decided what exactly to include in her tale. She didn't want to explain her complicated relationship with the Alpha or her handsome human knight. "It started with a caravan of knights crossing the valley to help the villages in this area. The villages are being hit by a plague according to the captain of the knights."

"Are you sure they are knights and not hunters?" Ivy asked with a concerned look.

"They do hunt us, but I have seen the knights working in the Village of Lilies. I am currently undercover working with them under the guise of helping the victims with my herbalist skills. Alpha sent me here to validate the story and check on our warriors in the area since none of you have checked in almost a month." Aura explained she could feel herself tiring again.

Jalen stayed quiet for a moment. He seemed very serious, unlike the normal, goofy demeanor he has. "We haven't had a chance to report in. The area is populated with hunters. They kill almost any animal that they know could be a shifter. You would think the plague would lessen the number, but it hasn't helped…" Jalen's face looked grim.  "Ivy and I have been hiding here for the last two weeks."

"Our mission was to help establish connections with this new guild that is welcoming any and every race to join. The Alpha thought it would be a good way to help other beast shifters. The guild master is supposed to be here helping the villages as well." Ivy said. Her hand rested on her brother, Jalen's, shoulder.  Her eyes saddened as she opened her mouth to speak. "Unfortunately, a family of shifters we were helping get to the Northern Mountains was slaughtered by hunters. I worry these knights that you mentioned may be working with the hunters."

"Why are the hunters here? Wouldn't they want to stay away from the plagued area?" Aura asked with a sharp bitterness. She hated hearing about the hunted beast shifters. Hunters kill them out of fear based on legends, not truth. Aura wanted nothing more than to change the narrative, so beast shifters were no longer slaughtered like vicious vermin in the street.

"Those are questions without answers," Jalen murmured. He exhaled a large breath, trying to control his rage. "We need to focus. Aura, how did you end up in the forest and will any of those knights notice your absence?"

Aura felt a pain in her chest as Dax's image came to her mind. "Yes, they will. The captain has been keeping a close eye on me. I imagine he might try to look for me. I wound up on the forest floor because I couldn't get away to shift until the last second."

"So, the captain doesn't trust you?" Ivy asked, raising her eyebrow. "You usually have better results."

"In all fairness, he met me in the supposedly haunted and dangerous Valley of the Lost. However, he might also be watching me spend more time with me. I think he likes my human persona." Aura admitted, attempting to keep from blushing.

A smile appeared on Ivy's face. "Oh. The human likes you, does he? You don't seem unhappy about that."

Jalen chuckled. "Well, this makes your mission more fun. I can't remember the last time a potential mate didn't make you cringe."

"He's not a potential mate!" Aura squeaked, causing her friends to laugh. "A fun person to flirt with, but we all know that will be it." Aura claimed, crossing her arms.

"I don't know. You are the most unconventional wolf huntress that I have ever met or trained. If anyone would entertain such an outlandish option for a mate, it would be you." Jalen confessed.

Aura's cheeks were now bright red from his confession. What kind of woman did Jalen think she was? Her body started to feel heavy again from her shift into her beast form. She would need more rest before she could maintain a human appearance again.  Her eyes started to want to close.

"Aura, shift back to a wolf. You will be easier to guard in a common form. Once you are rested, we will come up with a plan to get you back to the village without suspicion. For now, shift and sleep." Ivy commanded.

Aura happily agreed and shifted back to her silver wolf form. She trotted around, getting comfortable on the chair that she was in. Only a few minutes passed before she fell asleep with her friends caring for her. Jalen covered her with a blanket and started planning with Ivy what they could do to get Aura back in the village.

In the village…

"Sir, the woman disappeared into the forest while she was collecting more ingredients." The knight watching Aura reported.

"You lost her?" Dax said with an astonished look on his face.

"Yes, sir. I combed the area for hours, and I found wolf prints in the area." The knight explained.

"A wolf? What does that woman attract them or something?" Dax said with a sarcastic laugh. He couldn't believe Aura was gone. They had talked just this morning. How could she manage to get herself in trouble again? Dax wanted to go after her, but he had a responsibility to this village and his team. What could he do? "Are you sure it was a wolf?"

"Yes, I am." The knight responded.

The sun was setting on the horizon, and Dax knew better than to let anyone leave the village at night after the mauling of the villagers three weeks ago. "I will search for our missing herbalist in the morning. For now, have the night patrol keep the guard up. We don't need to lose anyone else."

"Yes, Captain. Do you want me to alert the beast hunters?" The knight asked.

"Not yet." Dax sent the knight away as his mind started thinking of theories of what could have happened to Aura. Where could the woman have gone? Were there wolves involved?