Wyatt pulled the knife out and applied pressure to the wound.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Cain!” Wyatt cried out. “I thought you were one of them!”

Cain reached up and gripped Wyatt’s arm hard. His eyes shook with determination.

“Take….me…” Cain struggled to speak. “Inside… now.”

Cain pointed to the mound.

“Inside?” Wyatt asked.

Cain nodded, coughing again.

Wyatt looked back at the mound and then to his friend. He nodded. He moved Cain’s hand.

“Hold it tight,” he instructed.

Cain nodded and put both hands on the wound.

Wyatt struggled but managed to lift Cain into his arms. He stumbled, and they fell more than once, but they made it to the mound. Wyatt set Cain down, looking for an entrance.

“…Ther..there..” Cain stuttered out. Coughing once again.

Wyatt found what he pointed at, a small opening that appeared to have been covered by rocks and debris. He lifted Cain back into his arms and hurried to get him inside..

There was a tunnel, it was dark, but Wyatt followed it down into the darkness. After a minute, he could see a soft glow up ahead. He pushed through a curtain of roots and was amazed by what he found on the other side.

It was a large open room. The ground and walls were made of dirt and rock inside the mound. But at the center of this room was a tree. A gnarled and twisted black tree, surrounded by what appeared to be crystals, like an open geode. With white flowers and mushrooms that grew along with the exposed roots.

Wyatt’s eye caught where the light had been coming from, a small lamp sitting beside a sleeping bag and supplies. He set Cain down on the sleeping bag and immediately looked through the supplies for gauze, a needle, something to treat the wound.

Cain grabbed his hand, gripping his wrist tightly. Wyatt looked up at him.

“Just give me a minute. I will find something to stop the bleeding.”

Cain shook his head.

“It’s too… late,” he whispered through labored breaths, “for me.”

“No,” Wyatt shook his head.
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“Wyatt..” Cain said, “please…help.”

“I’m trying!” Wyatt shouted. Pulling the bag apart desperately.

In his haste, he tore the bag open. But unfortunately, he did not find medical supplies at all. Instead, he found what he could only assume were explosive devices and scattered pages of notes.

His brows creased together in confusion. He looked back at Cain.

“Help…” Cain whispered.

“There’s nothing here, Cain. What can I do?” Wyatt whispered.

Cain shook his head; his eyelids were fluttering. His breathing was getting shorter.

“Help me… des…destroy it.”

“What?”

Cain looked past Wyatt, lifting his hand from the wound to point. Wyatt followed his direction; he was pointing at the tree.

“I…I don’t understand,” Wyatt said, looking back at Cain.

Cain licked his lips. He seemed to struggle to keep his eyes open now. He raised his hand to his throat, grabbing at something, scratching.

Wyatt looked at Cain’s throat. He saw a necklace. He pulled it out of his shirt, placing it in Cain’s hand.

Cain squeezed it.

“You… have to.. safe.. keep safe….” Cain said, his words getting quieter. “It’s the blood… the magic… it’s the blood..”

He gripped down on it and pulled, tearing the chain from his neck. He held it out for Wyatt.

“No, we can still find a way to help you. You keep it safe,” Wyatt said softly. Pushing Cain’s hand away.

“There’s no time… for this… Wyatt…” Cain shook his head. His chest heaved heavily. “I was dying… before you got here….”

Cain turned himself slightly, just enough so Wyatt could see a large, dark, wet stain on his back. He lay back down and looked up at his friend. He was losing color in his face.

“If you… didn’t do it… I would have… had… to…” Cain said, his breathing was slowing.

“Cain…”

“No… time… for goodbye,” Cain said. “Destroy it… don’t let them… find my… body….”

Cain took in one more shuddering breath before his body went limp.

“Cain?” Wyatt whispered. He leaned forward and grabbed his chin to look at him. “Cain!”

Cain’s lifeless grey eyes stared back at him.
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Wyatt sat back on his knees. He slumped forward and cried.

Wyatt only mourned for a short time. He didn’t know why Cain wanted this tree destroyed, but he knew Cain. There was a reason he had come all the way here in secret to do this, a reason that the dead wolves outside had tried to kill him.

Wyatt gathered the devices and walked to the tree. The closer he got, the clearer he saw it.

The tree looked like it was made of charred wood, the crystals surrounding it were a mix of deep and bright blue and purple hues. He recognized the flowers that grew along the roots from every mating ceremony he had ever attended.

Lilies of the valley, every werewolf bride carried these flowers with them.

Wyatt took a deep breath and then placed two of the devices down. One at the base of the tree, another within the crystals. There were six more. He put them at different points along the walls of the mound.

Once all but one was placed, Wyatt picked up Cain and set him at the tree’s base, putting the last device in his hand.

Wyatt looked down at his friend, giving him a silent prayer. He went back to the sleeping bag, picking up the necklace that had fallen from Cain’s hand. With a final glance back at his friend, he made his way back up the tunnel.

When he came out of the tunnel, he set the timer for sixty seconds and switched it on before throwing it back inside and moving the large rocks over the entrance.

Wyatt quickly moved away from the mound. The ground beneath him shook, and a violent vibration in the air sent him flying to the ground and stirred the snow from the treetops.

An hour later, Wyatt sat in his cave, eating the last bites of a rabbit as his small fire kept him warm.

He didn’t even bother to look up when he was suddenly surrounded by three wolves, all with dark markings.

“You don’t seem surprised by our company,” Tomas’ arrogant voice called out as he came into view.

Even with the limited light of the fire, Wyatt could see the tattoos on his neck and the shadowed growth of his facial hair.

Tomas was not an overly large man; he stood an average five foot eight inches. He was thin but strong.

“The first of your wolves was a surprise,” Wyatt answered. “The second was a threat. The rest were already dead.”

“Where is he?” Tomas growled.

“Gone.”

“Where did he go?”

“To the Goddess.”

“What?”

“Cain is dead,” Wyatt replied, a low growl rising in his throat.

The three wolves snarled and bared their teeth.

Wyatt stood up. He walked toward the wolves without hesitation.

“Careful, Wyatt, I might feel a little threatened, and I can’t guarantee my wolves will be friendly anymore.”

Wyatt tilted his head, his eyes already starting to glow. He looked down at the wolf closest to him. Their eyes met, the wolf snarled, and Wyatt narrowed his eyes. Then, the wolf lowered its head with a whimper after another moment.

“Fuckin hell…” Tomas cursed to himself. He sighed and made a whistling sound. The three wolves retreated from the cave. “We need to talk, Wyatt.”