An invisible forcefield went around the entire province of Groken, something they found themselves doing whenever Apex attempted an attack, but as Zor stepped into his chambers, he was more cautious.
Usually when Apex attacked, they had hundreds even thousands of warriors stake their assault. This time it was five Alphas and an Omega. That was new to him. He had never seen an Omega before on the battle field. Yet, Apex made an exception for that man. He wondered why.
Squeak!
His bed shifted as he sat on the edge of it. He faced the window, now night time, he could see the buzzing lights and orbs out in the scenery. Zor absolutely loved how tranquil his home was and he as well as the other pixies will continue to protect it with their might and will, most importantly, their magae.
Tap, tap!
"Come in," Zor yelled out. The door opened to reveal a young pixie with pink hair. He smiled at Armel.
They hugged, greeting one another. "You didn't come to dinner so the king thought something was wrong," she said to her friend.
He shook his head as he continued to hold her hand. "Just thinking is all."
"There's no reason to think about that. It was Apex, we do to them what we always do to them," she laughed, playfully slapping him on the shoulder.
But his face never faulter and she looked at him concern. "This time was different," hr exclaimed. "I think...I think they were scoping out the borders and will change up the way they attack," he said. He paused, giving time for Armel to adjust to the news. "I plan to tell the King at our next meeting."
Armel nodded her head and left his room, going back to whatever duty she had to attend to.
The luminous sky-orbs drifted through the darkening air, casting shifting patterns of light onto the polished obsidian floor. The texture of the sky left him grounded in his own mind.
Apex never wasted resources, sending an Omega meant something monumental was brewing. He rose abruptly, pacing the length of his chamber, the only sound the soft whisper of his boots on stone.
Each step echoed the drumbeat of unease tightening in his chest. He paused before the window again, eyes scanning the distant forcefield's faint shimmer, a barrier that suddenly felt fragile as spun glass.
The wolves weren't capable of much but what he fear would be Apex creating an alliance with another species and since most species in Canas were held in ghettos, that meants Apex would only ally themselves with humans or witches. Humans with their technology and witches with their power.
He exhaled feeling his lips become dry. "Please, Groken, don't let them ally with a witch."
The three sisters, Tany, and an unknown figure walked the markets of thr Witching Salon with black cloaks, shielding who they are, but had they known wolves were going to appoarched them, they had of done more to mask thei scent.
All four women looked up to see a wolf crouching on top of a building, peering down at them. Refusing to take part of combat here in a populated area, they made their way out of the city into a vacant area surrounded by trees and such.
Xeno landed before the witches, standing tall above the women.
"And how did you get our scent?" Gortrius asked the young Omega.
Xeno shrugged, circling around the witches, his ears twitching making sure no one followed them or that no one was waiting in the bushes somewhere.
"You think we're stupid," Tany remarked. "Anytime a wolf approaches a witch, a transaction is always involved. I won't ally with you, not against the sire of my child."
Xeno was taken aback. "You mated with Sous?"
"I have a beautiful daughter with her who is now creating a family of her own, yes," the witch. "Sous and I have begun to butt heads but I won't betray to a pack who has claimed her as a traitor."
Xeno blinked his eyes. She thought he was here because of Sous. He shook his head. "No, I'm not here because of Sous. I seek your ally to get a hold of the province of Groken."
"Groken..." whispered the unknown figure.
Tany was aware of Groken and she was...intrigued. The Groken tree was rumored to hold a significant amount of magae that the pixies used to their benefit. Many others wondered if other species could tap into that.
She turned to discuss the situation with her covenant. Xeno looked on, his ears twitched and ordinarily, he should be able to hear them but it seemed the witches blocked him from doing so.
Another funny thing was, it was the unknown figure whose mouth was moving. He wondered who that woman was.
"We will think about it," Glinda said. That was all Xeno could ask for, hope they think about it and settle in on it.
The air thickened as the witches exchanged glances, a silent conversation passing between them that Xeno couldn't decipher. Their cloaks rustled softly against the damp earth.
The unknown figure stepped forward, her hood casting deeper shadows across features still hidden. She stood with confidence and she didn't utter a word to the wolf. She left and the other four witches followed after her.
Xeno transformed into his wolf self to locate hi dragon. He got upon the dragon and took flight back to Red Woods to report to Zhiliary the witches answers.
Zhiliary was not pleased that the witches didn't accept their offer right away. She snarled in her office, hands on her hips beginning to pace.
Her hands tightened into fists as she paced the length of her study, boots sinking into the thick fur rug with muffled thuds.
Zhiliary's gaze fixed on the map sprawled across her oak desk, a crude charcoal sketch of Groken's borders, its shimmering forcefield marked in careful ink strokes. Witches were unpredictable catalysts; their hesitation scraped against her nerves like flint on stone.
The magae tree pulsed in her mind's eye, a phantom glow promising power enough to shatter continents. Failure here meant stagnation, decay. She told herself that every time they went to Groken. And each time they failed.