The werewolves turned back into their human forms, one by one. They were all male – large, broad, imposing. Golden Dawn patrol, Ryleigh figured. She also figured she was a dead woman.

She smiled. "Hiya there! How's it going? Bad weather, huh?"

"Shut up," one of the men said. They moved around her, one on every side of her. She stood still, keeping her eyes fixed on the one in front of her – the one that had spoken. The man stepped forward and grabbed her neck, right where her throat and shoulder met. He turned her, taking stock of her injuries. "Rough night?"

"I've had worse. I was on my way to Golden Dawn when I ran into a feral wolf. Are you guys patrol?"

"On your way to Golden Dawn?" the man said, letting his eyes slowly inch up and down her body.

"Yes. I'm seeking refuge."

"Seeking refuge at Golden Dawn?"

"Yes – I'm sorry, do I not speak clearly? You keep repeating everything I say like I'm not making sense."

"You're not," one of the other men said, chuckling. "Why would you seek refuge at Golden Dawn?"

"Well, I'm originally from the Royal Wolves. They're awfully – how should I put it? – self-righteous. I'm sick and tired of it. I've always favoured the grey area, if you know what I mean. I've gotten in a spat of trouble there, got kicked out. I'm a rogue, if you will."

"That so," the leader said.

Ryleigh nodded. "I've heard great things about Golden Dawn. Well, not great, necessarily, but great for my purposes. You guys hold a grudge against Alder, and it so happens I do too. I'm a pretty decent fighter. I can be of use to your pack. Will you take me to your alpha?"

"You said you ran into a feral wolf?"

"Yes. I certainly didn't scratch myself open like this. I beat it, though. Like I said: pretty decent fighter."

"So where is it?" the man asked.

"Pardon?"

"The corpse. Where is it?"

"Some way back." She made a vague gesture in the direction she thought she'd come from. "You can go look for it, if you want. Not sure why you should want to – it was a really ugly fellow. So, does your pack take refugees or not? Otherwise I had better move on to the Crimson Claws. They're not my first choice, but they'll do."

"Here's the thing," the man said. He was easily a head taller than Ryleigh, so she had to crane her neck to look at him. "I don't believe you."

"Is that so?" She shrugged, ignoring the whining ache in her shoulder. "Well, I don't know what to say to make you believe me. Why would I –"

"You talk too much," he said, tightening his hold on her neck. She gasped for air and wanted to step away from him, but he jerked her back. "You know what I think? I think you're a Midnight Mutt."

"A Midnight – you think I'm from Midnight Moon? Honestly, if I had been born into that tedious pack, I would have drowned myself in the river a long time ago. They're Alder's lap dogs. Do I look like a lap dog?"

"I wouldn't mind having her in my lap," a third man said, and they all chuckled at that.

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, I set myself up for that one. Look, I'm cold and hurt. If you're not going to take me to Golden Dawn, I'll be on my merry way. Would you let go of me already?"

"O, we'll take you to Golden Dawn," the man said, grinning. He moved his hand higher up her throat, forcefully cupping her face. His thumb roughly traced her cheekbone. "I think our alpha wouldn't mind taking a look at you."

*****

Meanwhile Sky, Conall and Julie had crossed into Golden Dawn territory. They had been out there for hours, looking for any trace of Ryleigh. The rain didn't help. With her trail washed away, all they could do was keep their eyes and ears open. They were ready to call it a day, when they heard voices.

"Patrol?" Sky linked them.

"Proceed with caution," Julie said.

They traipsed onwards. Their footsteps made no noise on the mossy underground, and any sound that did originate from them was quickly drowned by the pouring rain.

"Do you guys hear that? A female voice. Is that Ryleigh?" Conall asked. They all listened intently, but were too far away to be certain. What they were able to discern, was that there were several males, and at least one female. The forest was dense, and the night was dark, so they could move closer with reasonable invisibility.

"There." A little way ahead they could discern silhouettes.

"Four men, one woman," Conall said. "Looks suspiciously like Ryleigh."

"Agreed," Julie said. "Should we move in? It'll be four against four. We'll probably win."

"Not so fast," Conall said. "Sneaking into Golden Dawn territory is one thing, killing four Dawners is something else. You know they'll retaliate and we really can't afford that."

"Then what do you suggest? Asking them nicely?" Sky said.

"Just wait a moment. Do you see Ryleigh? She doesn't look afraid. She has it under control."

"I don't like this," Julie said. "We came here to help her, not to have a front row seat to her demise."

"Just wait. That's an order."

She glared at him, but didn't move. Truth was, Conall was the strongest out of the four of them, and if he didn't participate, they were doomed. The four males surrounding Ryleigh where all large and fast. They would be a real threat. And Conall was right – they couldn't afford to start a war.

A cry ripped through the air, then two, three, four. The males crashed to the forest floor, cradling their heads and groaning. Ryleigh was the only one to remain standing. She had dipped her head down, her hair falling in front of her face.

"What are you doing!" one of the men said, his demand distorting halfway through as his voice mangled into a scream.

She raised a hand – just one. The other three men started screaming now too. Some nightbirds fled from the trees.

"What by the Goddess is going on?" Sky asked. The three of them were staring at the whole thing unfold. None of them even considered interfering anymore. Whatever was happening, it was nothing they had ever seen before.

A long pause followed, while no one wanted to draw the only possible conclusion.

"Magic," Conall said at last.

The men were curled into tight balls, their legs pulled up to their chests. They writhed in agony. They attempted to shift, but the pain prevented them from it. All they could do was cry out and regret their actions.

Ryleigh tipped her head back up and glanced around her. She kept one hand aimed at the four men while she walked to the nearest tree. With a small grunt, she grabbed hold of the lowest branch and climbed into the tree, ignoring the pleading cries of the males. She lifted herself up, her exerted gasp audible even to the three Midnight Mooners. Once she had climbed onto the branch, she grabbed hold of another one and climbed higher, doing it again and again until she was completely shrouded in the foliage. All the while, the men continued wriggling on the ground, outright sobbing.

And just like that, it stopped.

The nightly silence returned with such sudden intensity it hurt.

"I'm so confused," Sky said.

"She's a Shadow Walker," Julie said. "She has to be."

"All the Shadow Walkers are dead," Conall said. "It's impossible."

"Well, you're seeing the same thing I am."

The men sat up. They looked at each other, then around them.

"What just happened?" one of them asked.

"Where did she go?" another asked. Their voices had regained their previous calmness. Nothing gave the illusion that only moments before, they had been crying in a pathetic heap on the forest floor. They all jumped to their feet, turning around.

"There!" one of them said, pointing in the distance. "I see her! Hey, you! Stop!"

"I see her too!" another said.

Without a second's hesitation, they all shifted and raced deeper into the forest. Their howls reverberated through the air, louder even than the rain.

Ryleigh clambered back down from the tree, dropping herself the last few feet. She landed clumsily on her knees, chuckling. "Idiots." She got up and turned on her heels, staring straight at where Julie, Sky and Conall where still hiding. "Did you enjoy the show?"

Julie was the first to shift back. "What was that?" She pushed through the undergrowth, making her way to Ryleigh. The other two followed suit quickly.

"That was magic," Conall said. "Are you a Shadow Walker?"

Ryleigh looked over her shoulder. "I don't know if they already linked for back-up. Either way, these woods are going to be infested with wolves soon. We better hurry."

"Answer us," Conall said, a dangerous quality to his voice.

"You've seen what you've seen. Draw any conclusion you wish," Ryleigh said. "We must go."

"Not until you tell us who you are." He crossed his arms over his chest, muscles flexing. He was larger even than the males that had assaulted her. For a second, her eyes flitted over him, a pout of appreciation tugging at her lips.

"You've seen what I've just done to those four men. Do you really want to start an argument with me?" she asked.

Julie stepped closer. She placed a hand on Ryleigh's arm and took her in. She drew in a sharp breath when she saw the claw marks running down Ryleigh's shoulder. "That doesn't look good."

"It's fine. Now, would you please shift back and run? Save your questions for the off-chance we make it out alive."

"No, tell us," Conall said. "We risked our lives to save you, we deserve an explanation."

"Save me? All you did was sit in the bushes."

"But you don't know how to get back, do you? Otherwise you would have returned already. You're lost."

"Ridge told me you're not from Golden Dawn," Julie said. "You're a Shadow Walker, aren't you? That was magic we saw? It has to be."

"Yes," Ryleigh said, throwing her hands up. "Yes! I'm a Shadow Walker. Yes, that was magic. Now, can we please go?"

"How did you do that?" Conall asked. "What did you do to them?"

More howls tore through the sky.

"We really do need to go," Sky said. She shifted back without awaiting an answer. Conall's mouth twitched, but he shifted into his wolf as well. 

"Finally! Now, if I slow you down, leave me behind. I appreciate you risking your lives, but don't fight me on this." To avoid arguing, she shifted immediately afterwards. A small whine escaped her. Using that much magic – on top of all her injuries and the silver still in her system – had drained her. She wasn't sure she would even make it back.

"We're not leaving you behind," Julie said, then shifted.

Sky took the lead, Julie right on her heels. Ryleigh was slower, hardly able to keep her vision clear enough to see where she was going. It was sheer determination that kept her going, not strength. Conall stayed by her side, glancing back continuously to see if they were being followed yet.

Howls rose up from behind them and they knew back-up had arrived. With some luck, they would all walk into Ryleigh's trap and go in the wrong direction, but even then it wouldn't be long before they upped security along the river.

The other three increased their pace, but Ryleigh didn't have the energy left to do the same. She tripped over a branch and nearly fell, but kept herself on all fours by divine intervention. Realising she wasn't keeping up, the others slowed down again. Ryleigh growled at them, but it was futile. They weren't going to abandon their cause so close to the finish line.

Sky led them through the woods masterfully, avoiding search parties and taking shortcuts where possible. Eventually she grumbled, indicating they were reaching their destination.

They left the relative safety of the forest and moved towards the precipice. Where Sky had led them, the edges of both cliffs moved closer together – close enough to jump across. Deep below, the water rushed loudly.

Sky leapt without hesitation, making it to the other side without an issue. Julie followed swiftly. Ryleigh's heart caught in her throat. The distance was doable, but she wasn't sure she had the strength to jump at all. It didn't help that there was so much water beneath. Fear tore through her. If she missed, she'd fall to her death.

She slowed to a halt, hesitating. She expected Conall to jump and leave her behind, but he didn't. Instead, he pushed against her, nodding towards the edge. In the end, it was her pride that made her jump. She wasn't going to let Conall – of all people, Conall – watch her die. She moved backwards a little and started running. Her legs hurt and she hardly knew how to keep herself standing, let alone moving. Reaching the edge, she pushed against the rocky ground with all her might and jumped.

She made it to the other side, but didn't land gracefully. She stumbled and fell to her side. Her wolf made it very clear she wasn't getting back up from the floor and so she shifted back, panting.

"I can't," she said, trying and failing to push herself up. Conall had followed right on her heels and shifted back too.

"We're safe," he said. "We made it."

Sky and Julie shifted back as well. Sky stretched and scanned the treeline. "We better keep moving. They might follow us across. You never know."

"Can you stand?" Julie crouched beside Ryleigh. Blood trickled out of the wound on her shoulder, getting instantly washed away by the rain. She was shaking, her lips blue. Painful coughs rattled her chest and she crumpled.

The howls on the other side of the ravine grew louder.

"We really have to go," Sky said.

"I'll carry her," Conall said, moving in.

"No," Ryleigh said, struggling to hands and knees. "I can do it."

"All due respect, you can't. Just let me carry you. We need to get out of here."

"I just need a second to breathe, then I'm good to go." Ryleigh extended a hand to Julie, who pulled her up.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking her over. "You look like death."

Ryleigh nodded. She bent forward, resting her hands on her knees. In truth, she had no clue how she was supposed to make it the rest of the way, but she'd rather die on the spot than have Conall carry her.

Her head shot up and she looked back, eyes trained on the tops of the trees. The others followed her gaze, not yet catching on to what was going on. When they realised it, it was already too late: an arrow was making its way straight for them.

It would have wedged itself deep into Conall's back if it weren't for Ryleigh shooting towards him and taking the hit. 

_______

A/N: The truth at last! Ryleigh is a Shadow Walker. And she took an arrow for Conall. Of all people. Drama ahead ;) 

As always, thank you for reading!