Greykin Valley

| 15 | Debts

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

| Jackson |

There was something circling them. Jackson could hear its feet hitting the snow, and along with everyone else, he followed the sound with his eyes, turning his head, and then his body when the footsteps moved behind them. He had no idea what it was, but it sounded huge.

It was edging nearer. Jackson moved so close to Damon that their bodies met, and when he looked at the Alpha, he saw the same look on his face that he adorned whenever he was about to fight.

Damon snarled and grunted, and in response, the pack swiftly stood back-to-back in a circle with Jackson, Julian, Wilson, and Sebastien in the centre. They were protecting them...and getting ready for a battle.

A battle with what? What was out there?

Jackson searched the fog, desperately looking for something that might give him an answer. But as each tense second passed, his heart beat harder, and his instincts urged him to run.

But then something lit up the murk. A shimmering gold light cut through the fog, and it started pulsing like it was sending a signal.

"What the hell is that?" Leon blurted.

Everyone stared at the light, and as it grew brighter, the smell of wisteria and honeysuckle filled the air, banishing the scent of the forest. Before anyone could say a word, a sudden gush of wind raced towards them, forcing the pack to brace and take a few steps back. The wind cleared the area around them of fog, and when the source of the light was revealed, each wolf reacted with their own gasp or breath of awe.

Jackson's eyes widened. His heart didn't stop racing, but his dread faded. The beast wasn't a beast at all—at least...not the kind that would tear someone's head off with its teeth. No...what he was staring at was the same horned horse he saw Wilson shoving into a cage the other night.

The unicorn.

It looked like an elegant white horse, but it was nearly twice the size of one. The shimmering, curving blue horn protruding from its head pulsed gold every few seconds, keeping the fog from ensnaring the area again, and in the breeze that the beast created, its long, ice-blue hair floated gently. Its tail was long—twice as long as its body—and the same hair as its mane grew underneath.

"Woah," Julian breathed.

"Yeah, woah," Wesley concurred, nodding slowly.

"Back off slowly," Damon ordered.

Jackson frowned. Why did they have to back off?

The twisting, blue marks on the unicorn's white coat began to pulse gold with its horn, and as its bright amber eyes jumped from wolf to wolf, the pack did as their Alpha ordered and backed off.

But the unicorn snorted and whinnied, patting the ground with its front right hoof. It shook its head, and then, it slowly leaned forward, lowering its face towards the ground.

"Is it...bowing?" Enola questioned.

"What do we do, Alpha?" Ezhno asked.

Damon's cautious frown started fading.

"Boss?" Wesley called from the far-right of the pack.

"Damon?" Jackson whispered, glancing at the bowing unicorn.

The Alpha stepped forward. Everyone watched him stand before the beast, and then, he gradually bowed in response, lowering his head, and leaning forward on his front left leg.