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| Jackson—Aegisguard, Ascela, Greykin Valley |

Something shifted through the snow. Jackson slowed, staring ahead, trying to locate whatever he'd just seen, but the storm was picking up. Even in the thick woods, the ice managed to fall through the gaps in the treetops, obscuring every direction. But Jackson was determined. His instincts continued urging him forward, so he kept going as the pack followed behind him.

Wesley followed closely on his left, and Julian and Ethan on his right. Leading them still felt strange, but he was getting used to it...kind of. Escorting them through the forest was one thing; what would happen if cadejo or hostiles turned up? Would he have to lead the battle? Would he have to make the choice whether to even start a fight? He wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

"Anything?" Wesley muttered, keeping his voice hushed.

"I'm not sure," Jackson answered. "I think I saw something move up ahead."

His packmates sniffed the air, and so did he. To his relief, there was no rotten stench, nor could he hear savage snarls. But he could hear something.

Someone.

"No Alphas or Zetas," came a woman's voice.

"All right. Just stay hidden. They'll pass us," a man said.

Neither of them sounded much older than Jackson. But where were they? Who were they...and why were his instincts telling him to be very careful?

Jackson glanced back at his packmates. "I can hear voices."

"I don't hear anything," Wesley replied.

"Me neither," Brando added.

Could the voices be wolf walkers? Jackson hadn't long discovered that he could hear other wolves because of True Speech, but he could also hear cadejo. Could it be undead wolves? Could they not smell their putrid odour because of the ice?

No. If it were cadejo, his instincts would be urging him to run...not tread cautiously.

"They're getting closer," a deep male voice said, and he was close—practically right in front of Jackson.

So Jackson halted.

"What is it?" Wesley asked.

"Why'd they stop?" a woman questioned worriedly.

"They shouldn't be able to detect us," another panicked.

Jackson looked around slowly. He couldn't see or sense anyone, but their voices were mere feet away. Whoever they were, they were here...and if they were the lycans Jackson was looking for, then he had to convince them that he and his packmates weren't a threat.

"We're not here to hurt you," Jackson said calmly.

"Does he know?"

"How does he know?"

"He's not an Alpha or Zeta!"

The panicked voices echoed around Jackson and his packmates, who were staring at him confusedly, awaiting answers.

"I'm not an Alpha or a Zeta," he told them. "My name is Jackson, and...if you're who I think you are, then...I'm like you."

"Who are you talking to?" Ethan asked.

The voices didn't reply. They went silent.

Jackson frowned and looked around, trying to find even the slightest hint of a lycan hiding beneath the snow. "I'm a hybrid," he continued. "But I wasn't made like you—well...not by Lyca Corp. I was bitten by a cadejo, and because I was already an asmodi demon, it turned me into a hybrid," he explained, hoping that he was getting somewhere. "That's also why I can hear you. Asmodi demons can sometimes use this thing called True Speech."

"Are they here?" Wesley asked.

"Why can we understand him?" one of the voices finally echoed.

"True Speech," a man answered. "I've heard of it. It's like being an Alpha; it lets you communicate with any lycan, even ones like us...."

"You can come out," Jackson insisted calmly. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk."

"Don't!" a woman snapped.

"He could have answers," another argued.

"I-I can answer whatever you want...if I know, that is," Jackson assured them.

"Maybe he knows where Lusine is," a woman muttered.

"Do you see her with them?"

"No, but—"

"They could be with Cyrus."

Jackson was confident at this point that the lycans he could hear were in fact Luan's pack. But how was he going to convince them to reveal themselves? And if he managed to do that, how the hell would he convince them to go with them to the Caederian Temple? He wasn't sure, but he had to try.

"We can help you find your friend," he said, glancing around. "It's just really dangerous out here, okay? I think we should just...talk...and head somewhere safer."

Quiet whispers then echoed around the forest, so hushed that Jackson couldn't make out what they were saying.

And then they fell silent.

The snow ten feet ahead of Jackson shifted, and from beneath the surface, a white tiger with black legs and dark stripes rose; a waxing gibbous moon birthmark shaped with black fur clung to his forehead, and his piercing yellow eyes glared at Jackson.

Jackson stared at him, waiting for him to speak, but the tiger just eyed him closely. "Uh...hi," he said unsurely. "I'm Jackson, and this is Wesley," he said, nodding at the Gamma. "Ethan, Julian, Dustu, Brando, Ezhno, Lance, Leon, and Lalo," he said, pointing to each of his packmates.

The tiger stared at Ethan for a moment, and then he asked, "Are you all hybrids?"

"No, just me," Jackson answered.

The yellow-eyed tiger glanced at everyone before fixing his gaze on Jackson again. "Why are you looking for us?"

Jackson sighed heavily. "Please don't freak out or take this the wrong way," he started, watching as the tiger's cautious stare thickened. "That smoke," he said, nodding up at the smoke coming from the burning lab in the distance. "That was us. We were there, and we found critical information about the cadejo virus—we...we found patient zero."

Whispers echoed around them again.

"Patient zero?" the tiger asked. "That antlered thing?"

"You saw it?" Jackson asked.

He nodded.

"He...well, we thought he was our friend, but it turned out that this phantom thing stole our Zeta's body a long time ago," Jackson explained. "Anyway, we found information, and...there might be a way to find a cure or find ways to help us fight the cadejo more effectively. Only...we need your help."

The tiger's stare became hostile. "Need us how? Why?"

"I don't...know the specifics, all I know is what I've been told and what I've done. My pack and I set out to help find a cure not long ago—that's all we wanna do. So we went to the Venaticus—"

Panicked whispers echoed loudly.

"Them?" the tiger growled.

Jackson shook his head. "Please, just listen to me. I was skeptical at first, too, okay? I thought that they were going to experiment on me and stuff, but they didn't. All they needed was a sample of my blood, and I'm pretty sure that's all they need from you, too."

The tiger backed off. "We don't trust them, and neither should you. They take, they kill, they lie, and we're all pretty sure that they have a hand in all this cadejo shit."

"They don't," Jackson insisted. "They've been trying to stop it since it started, and we can help. Don't you want it all to be over? Don't you want to see the cadejo destroyed? Because we're the only ones who can do that. We're the only ones who can help save however many wolf walkers and lycans are left out there—and all Caeleste. Surely you've seen the variants out here? The virus is evolving, and if we don't do something, it's going to spread across the entire world sooner than we think," he explained firmly. "Do you honestly want to see that happen?"

Although he looked conflicted and like he wanted to snap, the tiger didn't reply right away. Whispers echoed around him, his eyes darted from left to right, and finally, he asked, "Are you with Cyrus?"

Jackson shook his head. "No. We were sent by Lord Caedis."

The whispers returned.

"The Demon God?" the tiger asked.

He nodded.

Whispers.

"Why all of us?" he questioned.

Jackson frowned. "I don't know, and to be honest I don't think he needs all of you. But wouldn't it be safer for you all to get out of this forest?"

Whispers and murmurs.

"Where do you plan on taking us?"

"The Caederian Temple," Jackson answered. "It's where we just came from."

More whispers.

"Is Cyrus involved in any way?" the tiger questioned cautiously.

Jackson shook his head. "No." Cyrus was out there somewhere hunting the phantom.

"We'll only speak with Lord Caedis," the tiger said firmly. "No guards, no Nosferatu, nothing like that. Just him."

That was good enough, right? "Okay," he said with a nod.

"Wait, how do get back?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah...we left Raphael," Julian added.

"I guess...we'd have to go and find him," Jackson muttered.

"Find who?" the tiger asked, clearly only able to understand him.

But why? Couldn't muto tigris understand all other lycans? Jackson remembered one of the voices suggesting that these lycans were different, though.

Jackson unsurely said, "Uh...the guy who can take us back to the temple." He wasn't sure how these lycans felt about Raphael. "We kinda went different ways." He then shook his head. "Sorry, uh...what should I call you?"

"Deimos," the tiger said and looked behind him.

Moments later, five more lycans rose from the snow, all with moon-type birthmarks on their foreheads, all black and white-furred with different patterns.

Jackson immediately recognized Luan, the wolf with orange eyes, a waxing gibbous moon mark, and more white than black fur.

"Raith, Judith, Feray, Mani, and Luan," Deimos said, pointing to each lycan.

Luan stepped forward. "Why are you helping Caedis?" he demanded.

"Because we have to stop the cadejo," Jackson said, his voice steady. "We can't let it evolve any further, and we can't let it spread beyond Ascela. We have a chance to do something about it." He glanced at everyone around him. "I didn't even know the Caeleste world existed until a few weeks ago because of a perception filter. I was scared, anxious, and alone...but that didn't stop me from wanting to help." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I've seen too many wolves die—too many people. I don't want to see it happen again." His frustration flickered through as he continued, "And that phantom? Lyca Corp? All this cadejo-zombie-undead shit? We need to put a stop to it because for the first time, there's some hope. Don't you want to take the chance to end this once and for all?"

With conflicted expressions, Luan's pack glanced at one another.

After a few moments, Luan huffed. "Take us to him, then."

Jackson nodded and turned to face his pack. "Let's just head back the way we came."

His pack turned, too, and began walking back.

Jackson stuck close to the back, keeping an eye on Luan and his pack. The last thing he wanted was to risk them changing their minds or attempting to flee. He just hoped that once they got them back to the temple, Lord Caedis would be able to come to an agreement with him.

And he hoped that there might be some progress with Daimon. He wasn't going to lose him, but he'd much rather see the doctors able to save him than leave it up to another deal with a Numen.

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