Chapter Four

Ezmeralda POV:

I was staring at Jordan wondering how on earth he got this far into our territory without someone seeing him. I mean, we are over three miles from the territory lines now that we adjusted them after the meeting. “What brought you all the way out here Jordan?” I asked. “Well, Uncle Ash said he used to play in these woods and I just wanted to see if it was as fun as he said it was.” he revealed and I smiled. “Did he now? Well how about we get you home.” I grinned. I turned around when I heard the sound of hooves coming towards us. “Whoa.. you have horses? They are so pretty!” Jordan exclaimed. His little face lit up as he stared at them. “They will be waiting for us at the territory line.” Talon whispered and I nodded my head. I placed one foot in the stirrup and lifted myself on the saddle. Talon and Malachi helped Jordan get situated in front of me. I looked over to see Mariah was seated on her white stallion as the others climbed up on their mares.

I patted the side of my horse's neck before gently kicking her sides to get her moving. “This horse is so big. Does it have a name?” Jordan beamed. “She is a big girl, her name is Delilah and she is a Friesian horse.” I replied. Delilah was solid black, her mane was braided down the side with a green ribbon woven into it along with her tail also being braided with green ribbons intertwined. With her mane, tail, and her coat being black as a dark night sky, Delilah felt and looked as if she was made of the finest silk. The day I got Delilah it was like something inside my soul connected with hers, almost as if we were always meant to be together. Because of our special bond, I never had to worry about a single thing when I rode her, in a way it was like we were always meant to be with each other. Since witches are so connected to nature, Horses are very calming for us. We use them to get around our lands faster instead of using vehicles. I still don't understand why anyone would destroy nature just to build roads when the Goddess gave us horses, It is not only cheaper but a lot more fun than being inside a vehicle away from nature. “So…how old are you Jordan?” I asked, trying my best to keep him distracted because the closer we got to the territory line the more he would fidget. “I’m seven ma’am.” Jordan declared. What a respectful young man, I thought to myself. “Do you live at the palace with your uncle?” I inquired. “We do now. My parents wanted me to attend schools here instead of out west, where we are from. But ever since I got here Uncle Ash has always talked about the woods with me, and I guess I just wanted to explore a little bit.” Jordan gulped as his eyes darted around. As we kept trotting along, heading towards the area I knew everyone would wait for us, I wondered why Ash spoke of the woods to Jordan. I mean it was fun for us both, when we were children, but he hasn't been here since. I didn’t think he would really remember it, let alone tell stories about it.

I looked down at Jordan, “I don’t mind you exploring, just have your Uncle tell me next time. That way we can show you all the fun things there are to do out here.” I smiled. “Oh yeah? Like what?” Jordan asked. “Well.. We have a swimming hole a few miles into the northern part of the woods. It is quite deep, but has crystal clear water, and there are some small cliffs we like to jump off of, along with a slide that looks like a waterfall. We also built an obstacle course, kid friendly of course, it is for anyone but we mostly built it for our children.” I gushed. I was so proud of our lands and deep down I was so happy to hear that Ash still talks about the childhood memories he made in these woods. As we started getting closer to the border Jordan tilted his head downwards and kept his eyes low as we came to a stop in front of everyone. “Alpha King Ash, I hope you are well.” I stated. I could feel Jordan trying to make himself look smaller while holding onto Delilah for dear life. “I am well, even more so now that my nephew has been found safe.” Ash greeted. “He has been a joy to speak with, a very respectful young man I must say.” I added. Surprise came to all their faces. I climbed down off of Delilah and helped Jordan get down. He wrapped his arms around my leg and I looked down at him. “I want to make one thing very clear. He has caused no issues, no harm to any of us. When I found him he was behind a tree trying to figure out where he was. He is a sweet child.” I enunciated while looking at all of them.

All of their shoulders relaxed a little bit more. “Thank you for returning him.” Ash replied. “Come on Jordan, your mom and dad are waiting.” Ash added. “I want your word that he won’t be in trouble.” I insisted, taking them by surprise. “Why does that matter? I’m not his parents.” Ash asked. There was no malice in his tone, more curious than anything else. “It matters greatly, I do not want Jordan thinking he is not allowed here when the reality is he may come visit and play with the other kids whenever he would like.” I voiced. “You’d allow him to do that?” Ash mused. “Of course, he has proven who he is to me. We have a bunch of new activities for children and the woods are a fun place to play.” I chuckled as I winked. Ashs’ eyes widened slightly before his cheeks turned a light shade of red. Did I honestly just make this man blush? “Well, I have to admit that I am truly surprised. He must have made a good impression.” Ash smirked.

I smiled down at Jordan, “He made a wonderful impression. I still want your word.” I said facing him. “You have my word Queen Ezmeralda, I will speak to his parents and let them know what you said.” Alpha Ash agreed. I looked down at Jordan and smiled. “I hope to see you again, little one. It’s time to go now though..” I whispered, my words trailed off when a horrible stench hit my nose. My horse, Delilah started stomping the ground under her hooves and pacing around. I grabbed the reins to hold her still when I heard a low growl coming from directly in front of us. “Ezie..” Jordan whispered and I pulled him closer to me. “You need to get on Delilah.” I said quickly lifting him up before holding her face between my hands. “Take him to the palace, when I let go run. Run as fast as you can, I’ll find you there.” I whispered. She flared her nostrils at me and I knew she understood what I was saying.

I turned back around when the stench was becoming too much to see two very large rogues staring at us. “Ezmeralda, get over here!” Talon yelled. “Give us access queen.” Alpha Ash yelled. I backed Delilah up, getting her closer to the territory line. I needed both of them to be safe. “Jordan, you hold on tightly you understand me? You hold on and let her run.” I said not looking over my shoulder. Not even a second after the words left my mouth both the rogues growled furiously. “They can’t step on the grounds, they are protected.” Mariah reminded me. No wonder they haven’t made a step forward yet. “Their lands are not protected.” I replied. I looked over at Ash, anger displayed on his face, he was the only one that did not shift. Another growl from behind the first two rogues emerged and I finally saw four more of them. Shit.. This is not good. “New plan, Jordan move back.” I said climbing up and positioning myself in the saddle. “Hold them off, yeah?” I said looking at Ash.

His icy blue eyes met mine before he nodded. “Mariah to my right, Talon to my left. Malachi, Rowena behind us. We are taking him home. Safely.” I voiced. “They will be waiting.” Alpha Ash commented. I kept backing Delilah up while everyone else got into place. I took in the size of the rogues, they are massive, nearly six feet tall, huge body builds. Their fur was mangled, muddy and falling out in some places. Eyes darker than blood itself, foam gathering around their teeth. “Alright Delilah, my beauty. Even if I fall off, keep running and don’t stop. Mariah if I fall you stay with her and Jordan. Make sure he gets back safe.” I asserted, taking a deep breath. I felt Jordan tremble. I angled my body to block his view of the rogues while I wrapped my arms around him. We were still a decent ways away from the palace but I was hopeful. Alpha Ash had six other wolves with him, they would be able to hold them back long enough for us to pass, I hoped.

I took a deep breath and looked down at Alpha Ash, “Go now.” He said before his body started to shake, he was shifting and it was time to move. I dug my heels into Delilah's sides, which sent her into a full run. I held tightly to her reins as I heard roars erupt behind us. “Don’t look back, Jordan!” I yelled over the wind. I could feel his heart racing in his little chest and that was all the motivation I needed to move faster. Their hooves kicked up the ground beneath us as they ran as fast as they could. The sounds of their fight was starting to fade away as the palace started to come into view. I could barely make out the figures standing outside but I was assuming it was Jordans’ parents and the palace guards. Just as I felt as if I could relax a little I heard Malachi yell something out. I looked over to the side to see a rogue running straight for us.

Where the hell did this one come from?! Talon pushed further up to my side just as the rogue turned to run beside him. I watched in horror as the rogue bit the leg of his horse, sending them to the ground rolling. “Talon! Rowena stay with him!” I screamed. When the rogue started to get closer to me I heard Mariah call my name. “Take him!” I yelled. Mariah understood immediately and wasted no time yanking Jordan to her and her horse. “Ezie!” Jordan screamed out. I didn’t have a moment to look at him, I kicked my foot out, kicking the rogue in the nose. It backed him off momentarily but really it just made him angrier. He started snapping at Delilah's legs, and when she was able, she kicked her back legs out, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him into the ground. I pulled her reins to the left to circle back around. I was not about to let this mangy mutt get any further. We were close to the palace, I could hear people shouting.

The rogue stood back to his feet and shook his head before he got into position. Malachi was running to us from the side, his long blade in his hand. Delilah stood on her back legs kicking her front ones furiously. Was I really about to charge at this rogue? Absolutely. When she landed I dug my heels into her sides sending her forward. The rogue barely jumped out of the way before hitting her back legs knocking us both to the ground. I rolled right back to my feet just to be knocked down again. I held my hands up, trying my best to keep his teeth from getting to me. Only then was it I realized that my hands were at the back of his gums, drool was falling all over me. I thrashed under him but he was massive. “MALACHI!” I screamed when I felt his claws dig into my side. I could feel my own blood pouring out and it felt like my side was on fire.

I briefly saw Malachi's horse fly by. A yelp came from the rogue and suddenly he was off of me. I stood to my feet, my hands covering my wound. I felt dizzy, and my eyes hazy, but I readied myself anyway. I blinked a couple times, forcing myself to focus, I could not lose consciousness now. My eyes focused in time to see the rogue stumbling around with Malachi's sword sticking out of his side. This damn rogue wasn’t going to give up easily, and decided to charge me once more. I raised my hands, releasing my shield, willing it to form into a makeshift sword of my own. When the rogue was close enough I threw my 'shield-sword' as hard as I could, stabbing him in the middle of his chest. I wasn’t sure what sound was coming out of him, but I knew it was one of pain, before he shifted back into a man and turned to ashes. My breathing was heavy as I looked down to see the massive, deep nail marks that started at the top of my rib cage down to my upper thigh. Oh this is going to take forever to heal..

I looked up to see Talon running towards me, I fell against him holding my side the best that I could. “Let me see. Ezmeralda let me see.” Talon said quickly. He was bruised and bloodied from his fall. He removed my shaky hand and his face paled. “Queen Ezermalda!” I heard Ash yell running towards us. “How the hell did that one get by?!” Talon screamed. “More came out after you guys took off. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Alpha Ash apologized as he got to us. He removed his shirt and placed it over my wounds. I hissed in pain, “Now is not the time. I need a doctor please.” I said breathlessly. Alpha Ash scooped me up and ran towards the palace. When we got to the stairs I heard my name being called but my vision started to go in and out. “Ezmeralda! Somebody get a damn doctor!” Mariah yelled running next to us. “Eyes open, stay awake please...” Mariah whispered, pushing my hair back. “I’ll be alright, someone needs to get Delilah and the other horses. Then send word back that I am well. Get the others and stay close.” I panted, looking at her. I could tell she didn’t want to leave my side but I needed to make sure the horses as well as the others were somewhere safe. “I will go, stay with her.” Talon said before he turned back and ran off. Alpha Ash kicked open a set of doors. I wasn’t sure where we were in the palace but this place was white. It must be where the doctors are.

“Put her here.” A man commanded. Mariah held tightly to my hand as I was laid out on a bed. “I need everyone out.” The man said in a gentle tone. “I’m not leaving.” Mariah replied sternly. “She will be okay, I promise.” The man quietly spoke. “She can stay. I’ll be right outside. I want updates as soon as possible.” Alpha Ash ordered. The lights were really bright in here or maybe it was my lack of blood. Alpha Ash looked down at me, a swirl of emotions in his eyes. He touched my head gently, “I’ll be right outside if you need anything. I’ll let the others know exactly where you are as well.” He whispered before walking out of the room. My body started to feel cold and numb, but I stayed quiet while the doctor removed Ashs’ shirt from my side and an explosion of cuss words left Mariahs’ mouth. “How bad is it?” I asked. “Well, it’s not good but I need to clean it before I reply to that.” The doctor stated. “What is your name? I’d feel better knowing.” I asked. The last thing I wanted to do was look down, so I stared at the ceiling instead. “Shawn, I am the head doctor for this pack.” he replied. “Well Shawn, I guess we are about to get to know each other fairly well.” I joked, making him chuckle. “Nice to see you are in good spirits. Relax the best you can. You’ll be alright I promise.” Shawn advised. It’s not like I really had a choice, I had to trust him to somehow fix me enough so I could go home and get treatment there…