Chapter Seven: Darius

“Talk about what, exactly?" Amara said.

Darius eyed the cat girl. This was the first time he ever met a shifter from another clan, and yet the encounter didn't feel as strange as he thought it would. After he crossed the river, Darius was sure he would run into a member from the Pride; Darius had come up with a plan for when that situation came to pass. He would try to talk to whoever he met, explain the situation. Surely they would understand, right? The war between the clans was like ancient history. The hate couldn't be that strong, could it?

Yet Darius didn't expect to find a cougar pouncing on him without even asking why he was in foreign lands...nor did he expect the first cat shifter he met to be so beautiful.

The young woman before him was undeniably the prettiest creature he'd ever lay eyes upon. Light blonde with fair skin and striking hazel eyes, physically she was perfection; he couldn't stop staring. But the more he watched her, the more she recoiled into a fetal-like position, and Darius needed her to open up to him.

"Talk about why I'm here, and why you attacked me."

Amara scoffed. "You're on Pride land without the permission of the clan or the Alpha, of course I would attack you! You're clearly here with the intent of harming my people."

Darius cocked his head whimsically, a small grin forming on his face. "Clearly, huh? What's so clear about my intentions?"

Amara began to spit her words at him, but faltered, stuttering when she realized there was no evidence. Her cheeks blushed, and Darius chuckled at the sight. She growled at him, opening her body slightly. "What's so funny, mutt?"

"This whole situation really. This morning I had no idea I would be on the other side of the border, and yet here I am not only on the other side of the border but also talking to a cougar! This is the most fun I've had in a long time."

Amara's expression softened, but she shook her head quickly as if she just couldn't believe what she was seeing. "So it's fun to you to invade another's territory without reason?"

"I think it's fun to watch a cat shifter stumble over her words and make an adorable fool of herself as she tries to paint a wolf shifter a criminal without even trying to talk things out first."

Amara snorted. "Please, I'm doing what any good member of the Pride would do."

"Are you?"

Amara flinched at his quick question, and Darius knew she didn't know the answer to that. "I'm the first wolf shifter you've ever met, right? What's makes you so sure all those stories about evil wolves are true?"

"How do you know we tell evil stories about your people?"

"Because my people do the same."

Finally, Amara turned her body to face Darius, pulling her legs to her chest and attentively hiding her private parts. She peered out at him from behind her the tops of her knees. "You still haven't said why you're here."

"Oh, so now you're interested to hear my story?"

"Spit it out already! I can't just sit here naked talking with a naked wolf forever."

Darius chuckled. "Fine." He settled himself, and wiped away his smile, to let Amara know he was serious. "The reason I'm here is so that I can search for two missing wolf shifters."

Amara frowned. "Why the hell would you search here? It'd be better to go back to your side, wouldn't it?"

"We found tracks that led to Pride territory."

"We?"

Darius waved the detail off. "I was with a pack, but I'm the only one who crossed. You have my word."

Amara grunted. "Impossible. No wolves would be stupid enough to cross territories." It was Darius' turn to frown. "No offense, mutt."

"None taken, kitten. But they didn't just wander over here because they were curious. Something chased them this way." Amara scowled but cocked her head, waiting for Darius to continue. "There was a strange scent by the tracks, one that smelled familiar, yet somehow very different. Almost...corrupted, I guess."

Amara finally let a laugh go. Her laugh was so pretty a pair of butterflies began to dance in his stomach. "Please, stop this farce right there. You're going to tell me there's some sort of monster here in the Oldwood, stalking your little pups?"

Darius leveled a look at her. "A Changeling, maybe. We're not sure."

"Changelings are Vampire pets, they wouldn't randomly come north from the Blackwood like that," Amara said.

"Unless they were ordered to."

"Do you have any other proof besides a scent?"

"Not yet."

"Hah, not yet, he says…"

"It's either that, or the Pride took our people. Which would you rather have?"

Amara shivered. Clearly, the idea that her people could be blamed irked her. "You forget the possibility that it could be your people."

Darius sighed. "The scent was like nothing I've smelled before, and, not to brag here, but I'm one of the best trackers in my clan. It couldn't have been one of ours."

Amara brooded over what Darius was saying. While she did, he continued to watch her, wiping a drop of drool that rolled down his cheek.

"It couldn't be my people. We're not stupid enough to start a war by capturing your shifters," Amara announced.

Darius nodded. "I don't think so either. So unless the late Bear Clan is still around and kidnapping my people, it must be an outside force."

"A Changeling…"

Darius rose to his feet, stretching. "Well, now that we have that all figured out…"

Amara's gaze drifted over his body subconsciously, when she got far enough her eyes widened, and she swiveled to face away from him. "Where are you going?"

Darius cracked his neck. "To continue my search, obviously. My people are in your land, and the longer they're here, the longer they'll be in danger from both whatever is hunting them and from your people, who apparently attack-to-kill strangers on sight."

Amara rose uncertainly to her feet, still trying to cover herself. "You can't leave! I still don't trust you to walk around here."

"Then come with me." Darius motioned for her to follow. "Unless you don't like the idea of traveling with a dirty mutt like me."

Grinding her teeth, the debate in her head was written all over her face. "Alright, fine. We can go together, but if you try anything, I'll gut you immediately, you got that?"

"That's fine." Darius turned and began to walk away, he didn't bother to look if Amara was following. "Anyway, how's your arm?"

Amara clicked her tongue. "It's not bad, I can still use it-"

They both stopped instinctively, listening to the silent forest around them. Darius sniffed the air, the same strange scent from before filling his nostrils. Immediately his adrenaline began to pump, and his whole demeanor changed. "You smell that?"

"Yeah…" Amara said from behind him. "Is that the smell you were referring to?"

"It is."

To their right, a scream cut the air, and the hair on Darius' arms stood up straight as if electricity coursed through his body. Without hesitation, Darius shifted into his wolf form and bounded away. He heard Amara shift and follow.

The pair raced towards the scream.