A sullen, frigid breeze blew through the dark forest.

"What did you say?" Accalia snarled, sending Saul scurrying away with a single kick. Winston's mother moved towards me.

My body tensed. Accalia came to a stop, within breathing range.

"What did you say!?" Accalia asked again, towering over me.

"He is dead."

Accalia's claws lowered onto me.

I held firm.

The giant sentinels stood the same size as the old trees. They bore down upon her. Their growls shook the ground like a small tremor.

"It is true, Accalia!" Saul shouted. "He died on our mission to avenge Tom. Accalia, you know you can't hurt the overlord alpha's daughter. The sentinels wouldn't allow it."

Accalia turned to him. Her claws lowered. "How did he die?"

"We had gotten word where the Bull Prosecutors were held up, and they ambushed us. In the shootout — Winston was killed protecting me. We buried him as best as we could and —"

Her teeth lay bare. "My son, my son, this was your fault! If it hadn't been for you leaving in the first place and playing deputy. He would have still been alive."

My head lowered to the ground.

"Saul encouraged you into this nonsense. He is not fit to even hold his own rank. Nothing more than a failure."

"If we don't exist on the outside, how would we be able to provide for ourselves?" Saul asked.

"We can provide for ourselves quite well, like we always had," Accalia said.

"You don't know what you're talking about. You underestimate them," Saul said.

"And you overestimate them. We sit here living on small cows. How many centuries had I lived before these blighted days came? Back then, nothing of this sort would have even happened. It wouldn't have even been dreamed of. My father and your father's father Karen lived like true alphas. The lucky ones are those who are completely feral than to know this shame."

She stepped back, and the sentinels rose in response.

"Things in life have changed. In my time of being outside, the humans from my various jobs have evolved even here in these lands. Humans come in numbers with new technology," Saul said.

"Tell me where my son is, which village under which tree?" Accalia asked.

"Accalia, I can show you tomorrow," Saul said.

"Shut up Saul! What do you really know, huh? You can't keep a small line of humans in check. Do you understand why you would never be alpha? It is not something that is chosen your born with it."

Saul's head lowered, and his teeth bared.

"It's by the village of Stawford. Not too far from the church on the left, beside the largest willow tree. The markings are there, carved on the side. We buried him," I said.

"And you, Karen, how are you ever supposed to be alpha, and you can't protect those close to you? You couldn't protect my son!"

"I never asked to be alpha. Sorry for your loss. Winston was always good to me —"

"And what did that get him? Karen, you should have never been allowed to leave this place."

"I didn't ask to be protected, and I was merely avenging my brother's death. Winston died, yes and I hold a part in that. However, it was nothing that he, Saul, or I could foresee. It was never intentional."

"A pampered little pupis what you are. At least your brother had a purpose."

"Where is my father?"

"The overlord alpha is not here, but his orders were to ensure that you remained," Accalia said.

"Remain? No way! The Bull Prosecutors, the threat is done. Tom's been avenged."

Accalia grunted. "The threat is still here. Both of you have failed in everything."

"Accalia, I will ask again. Where is my father?"

"The overlord alpha is gone to oversee the battle over the war of the land to ensure that it continues."

"Why would he do that?"

"If the humans keep fighting themselves and the battle continues, then our kind and the forest will remain safe."

"What exactly is this land?"

"To some, it is called El Delrado to most Blood Rivers End. Because of the number of soldiers that died fighting just to cross the river, never getting to see the fabled paradise." Accalia chuckled. "All we had to do was give them some gold and have the Indians tell them that laying in the center was wealth beyond measure."

"And that's why they have conscripted many people over it. It was my father's doing?"

"You're a wolf, not a human." Accalia sighed. "If it were up to me, I would beat you and Saul to a pulp. See that tree over yonder? I would keep you and Saul tied to it, just like those horses you ride."

Saul moved across towards me.

"But alas, I can't do that because of the sentinels at my back. So you may go, be free."

"Then I will." I turned to leave, and Saul followed.

"Oh, one last thing. Winston had told me you really like to be a deputy and the idea of justice for humans. Then I will tell you this. If you leave Black Water before your father comes back, I will massacre everyone there."

I gave Accalia one last glare and then the other wolves of her pack before I left. She wouldn't dare.

"Enjoy your freedom. In the end, Karen, we all have to return home."

Saul and I ran back through the forest. We were silent as we neared our horses and transformed. We dressed and got on our horses. Saul's face was bruised, and he limped as he saddled up.

"You're okay Saul?" I asked.

"Yeah, I am fine."

I got on Sally, and we rode out of the forest, side by side.

"Saul, would Accalia really do that murder innocent people?"

"Yes, she would."

I bit my lip.

"Don't leave at least till your father gets back."

"And how long will that be a hundred years from now, or two hundred? That war has been brewing for ages."

"Karen, he is your father and eventually you will have to go back and take your place."

"I am not going back Saul, I am never going back."

"So what do you plan to do, leave? And endanger us all, the people, me, Richard, Mark, and Tanner?"

"I —"

"Stay, at least for now, until tempers cool down and don't leave the town. Stay with the child and pass the time and — the man."

My body stiffened. My jaw dropped. How did Saul know?

I stumbled over my words.

"I knew for a while about the man. Think about it, Karen. This is a small town. Everyone will talk and you stick out a lot. If you wanted to hide him, you should have done better."

"Wha — what do you plan on doing?"

"Nothing. You know, I was young too. I had my share of human women."

I exhaled. "I didn't know you were interested in women."

"Really?"

"I thought it was just the clan with you."

"Well, I had my days when I loved many women."

"And what was that like?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Saul chuckled. "Before I was a sheriff, I worked as a carpenter. I was one of the first people here actually at Black Water. Back then, it was nothing more than dirt with pockets of water from the rain. That's how it got its name. Most of the locals think it was because of the oil, but that happened fifteen years later."

"So you helped build the town, Saul. I never would have imagined that."

"What, you thought I was just a sheriff from the beginning? The overlord alpha wanted easier access to a food source and humans, well—."

"The cows?"

"Yeah, they — bring a constant food source with them."

"Don't people miss those many cows?"

"It happens in many areas, and the sheriff has to deal with it. That's how I met the woman I fell in love with the most."

"You fell in love with a cow?"

"No, don't be silly, Karen. Maria was the one that helped build Black Water with me. Back then, it was nothing more than a few shacks put together. Maria was lovely, a fully shaped woman to make a man stare but with the language of a pirate."

"This lady sounds the complete opposite to you."

"You are right. Maria was. I couldn't stand her in the beginning, not at all. Maria was the first person who was missing a cow. At that time, I wasn't a sheriff. More like a concerned citizen. And when I came, she blamed me for stealing it. The gall of that woman, and that's what started it. It was love from us airing the lungs. Those were — those were good times."

Saul wiped his face as we came onto the patch of a road. He slowed his pace, and I followed. The moon shone overhead, revealing the scant trees now around us. I straightened myself up on the horse.

"What became of her, Saul?"

"Maria passed away when she was fifty years old. When our age became apparent, I wasn't able to see her. I got frightened. I left saying I had to leave for work, a job outside, but that wasn't the case. Maria kept writing to me until she died. That woman sent me so many letters, but I never sent one back."

"Why?"

"Guess I was afraid."

"Afraid, of what?"

Saul exhaled. "Human's don't live long. When they stopped coming, I knew something was wrong, and I went back to Black Water. We built this town together, and she was the first to be in the new graveyard. In the last letter, Maria told me how much she loved and missed those days she spent with me."

We rode in silence for a while. Saul's hand shifted to the side of his saddle, where he kept his bag. He tapped it and smiled.

"A lifetime of regret. She will always be a part of me. Try to hold on to what you have now, this life our times are different, so treasure every moment that you have with that person you love."

"Thanks for sharing that."

"What do you love about that boy, anyway?"

"Ron might not be the smartest guy, but he tries hard and is committed to what he is doing. He has a good heart, and he listens to me, sure we might butt heads like everyone else. With Ron, however, I always feel like a different person. I can be safe around him."

The sheriff nodded.

Black Water appeared on the horizon. We rode into town, coming to a dead halt.

"I guess I will see you tomorrow, Karen."

"What did she mean about having to return home?"

"You never wondered, Karen, why many of your kin have been living in that forest? Why do so many of the younger ones outside have to provide food?"

"No, I always thought that it was by choice that they got accustomed to living there, and that's where they remained. The Sentinels can't leave, but isn't that because they fell to their other side?"

"No one stays by choice, Karen, in time. We all go feral and have to go back to the forest. That's what Winston was there to do. He was watching over you the entire time."

"Then he didn't get sent to find me?"

"No, he wouldn't be able to tell you that."

"What does going feral mean, exactly?"

"You might as well say it means death. The first stage of feral is bloodlust. You lose control and can attack anything you consider prey. There is no telling when it could happen, but most say it's when you drift too far away from our home."

"Can you live forever without turning?"

"No, eventually everyone does, even those at home. It just takes extremely long for some than others. It all feels random at best."

My head dipped as Saul left. I sighed, watching people come out of their hovels to the sunrise.