Enoch raced through the forest to the battlefield. He momentarily paused observing the entire battlefield. His gaze fell on Karis’ dusty wolf charging another guard in the bloody meadow. Then, he saw Jalen and the female dwarf back to back fighting some wolf and bear shifters. The female dwarf swung her ax with precision and ease, slowly disabling her enemies. Jalen dodges and leaped into the air waiting for an opening to strike with his spear. He would aim for crucial spots like joints and other weak areas to force the shifters to break off the attack. Enoch was surprised the pair wasn’t slaughtering the shifters around them when it snapped into his mind. They didn’t want to kill all the shifters. They were trying to only disable them… But… why? Enoch wondered. He knew this battle against his kind was difficult. He didn’t want to kill them either, but this was a life-or-death battle. His personal opinions should not apply here.

  Enoch kept his eyes on Karis as he walked onto the battlefield. She was ripping apart a royal guard. The second revelation hit him cold in the face. Karis was here and unresponsive to anything he tried to get her attention earlier. It was as if he didn’t exist to her. If Karis was like this then something had to be wrong with these shifters attacking this little village. Someone was controlling her, and all the other shifters on the battlefield. Enoch was sure of it. No wonder Jalen and the dwarf warrior woman were being so careful not to kill the shifters. These shifters were victims just like the knights and the royal guards were of someone else’s game.

  Enoch scanned the meadow for Ivy and Aura, but they had disappeared from the meadow like dust in the wind. Ivy had been the one to reach Aura in her fit of madness from what Enoch had seen, so maybe she knew more about what was going on. He needed to find Ivy, so he wasn’t fighting blind in this battle. Maybe she knew where Aura was too.

  “You! Orc soldier!” A royal guard called out to Enoch.

  “Me?” Enoch questioned in surprise. What would a royal guard want from him?

  “Yes, you, fool. Your king beckons!” The royal guard shouted to him.

  Enoch raised his brow in question to this ignorant royal guard. What king would call upon a rogue orc soldier?

  “Come on, you fool! All available fighters must find Queen Galadriel! It’s King Hexion’s order.” The royal guard explained as if Enoch were a child.

  Enoch considered punching the royal guard for his ignorance, but he knew the elf queen was one of the main keys to this battle. He shrugged and followed after the guard. Perhaps, Ivy was hidden somewhere with the queen. As Enoch approached King Hexion, he noticed that the human delegation had not reached the village yet. The royal guards were elves, orcs, and ogres with a stunning lack of humans, except one. Captain Dax Shalltear was fighting off a few monkey shifters trying to break through what was left of the royal defenses. He growled quietly at the sight of him.

  “Orc soldier!” A deep voice called to Enoch. He turned to see what was presumed to be King Hexion dressed in his formal fur attire for what was supposed to be a diplomatic mission. “Quit lollygagging around. Find Queen Galadriel.” He stood there in a huff, but not quite in the way a worried king should be with battling raging next to them. The king seemed worried about the queen’s absence instead of about his dying soldiers. It was odd to Enoch.

  “Yes, sir,” Enoch gave a slight bow of respect, which King Hexion just waved off. The royal guards pointed in the direction of the village where the queen was last seen, and Enoch nodded, heading off into the village with other spare soldiers from the battlefield.

  The smell of blood, burnt grass, and sweat wafted through the village. Enoch began to hear the screams of villagers being pulled from their homes, and children crying in terror at the rough behavior of royal guards. He had an urge to rip apart the guards and protect the innocent villagers around him, but he needed to find Ivy. He could faintly smell her in the area as he approached the first store in the village. Keeping his steps light, Enoch walked up to the store’s wooden door. Ivy’s scent got a little stronger as he turned the doorknob to enter. The room was dark and filled with clothing and goods with large shelves to hold it all. Enoch followed his nose toward Ivy’s scent. She was in here somewhere with a few other scents that he didn’t recognize. He hated being in this orc form because it muted his senses and abilities.

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  “Ivy?” He whispered into the darkness heading down an aisle of tall shelves. “Ivy, can you hear me?”

  “Enoch?” A quiet voice responded in the darkness.

  Enoch moved slowly through the dark. “Yeah, Ivy. I am here to help-” Enoch stumbled forward, barrel rolling onto the floor. “Curses!” Enoch groaned, clutching his stubbed toe. “Why doesn’t this store have any damn windows to let light in?”

  “Oh, simple orc, all you did was stub a toe, not break a bone. Quit whining.” Another regal voice chimed in, which Enoch did not appreciate.

  “Come on, Gala, cut him a break. He said he’s here to help. I have a good feeling about him.” An energetic voice cut in.

  Enoch sat there stupefied at the side conversation the voices were having. Ivy’s voice had gone quiet, but he could still smell her around him. A hand gently grabbed his arm out of the darkness. By the scent, he knew it was Ivy. Thank God that he had found her. He kept quiet and followed the pull of her hand through the darkness. They approached a small light where Enoch could make out three other people, likely women from their curvy forms. His mind drifted back to Raika for a minute, missing her presence near him.

  “Don’t call me Gala,” The angry, regal voice commanded.

  “I can call you whatever I want, Gala. I am far older than you,” The energetic voice replied.

  “I am still a warrior queen. I deserve a little more respect than this, Ms. Stell,” The regal voice spit out, which Enoch had recognized the voice as Queen Galadriel.

  Ivy came into the faint light and flicked both of the ladies heads. “Now is not the time for squabbling. There is a meadow full of blood because the king and Grim Guild want you dead, Queen Galadriel. Stell, I need you to finish your glamour charm, so the queen is protected. Also, this is my friend and brother in arms, Enoch.”

  The queen eyed Enoch assessing him as a potential ally or threat. “You have a wide variety of friends, Ivy MorJor. First, you introduce me to Stell, the siren, then explain the human changing she in the meadow was also your friend, and here, you bring an orc named Enoch as your brother in arms. You are the most well-traveled elf that I have ever met.”

  Ivy laughed as Enoch tensed at the queen’s words. “I suppose I have seen most of the continent of Lunaris and the coast of the Melodian Sea.”

  “Indeed. Tell me about the human shifting wolf again.” Queen Galadriel said.

  “Her name is Aura. She is the herbalist who helped the village, but she is plagued by a family curse. The legend of the human that was bitten by the wolf beast shifter centuries ago is true. Long before the great war, Aura’s ancestor angered a powerful wolf beast. As a punishment, Aura’s ancestor was bitten and cursed. Her family is the werewolf of legend.” Ivy explained with confidence.

  Enoch was in disbelief at Ivy’s explanation although his face remained neutral. This was Ivy’s plan to hide their clan’s now exposed secret? Make Aura the legendary werewolf? Queen Galadriel and Stell seemed mystified by Ivy’s tale through the royal guard beside the queen looked amused. Was this story actually believable? Would this story save their clan’s secrets? If it did, then Enoch would have one less worry as Alpha of his clan. Enoch tried to wrap his mind around the idea as Ivy continued with her story.

  “Her curse requires her to shift into a beast or a wolf every few days, which is how she ended up in Grim Guild’s hands. Their guild master used her just like he is using all those shifters in the meadow to kill you and scare everyone.” Ivy said.

  “How can he control your friend and those shifters? I don’t know of any spell that could do that.” Queen Galadriel questioned.

  “He’s a siren hybrid from Exilium,” Stell answered. “Which is why I am here. He has abused his unique ability and given our kind a bad name. He was banished to Exilium decades ago, but he escaped about twenty years ago. I have been looking for him ever since.”

  “A hybrid!” Everyone yelled.

  “Yes,” Stell said as a cloud of orange smoke floated into the air. “Here, wear these charms. They will keep the queen’s true identity a secret.” She handed the queen and the guard necklaces.

  “I still don’t like this plan,” the queen grumbled. “You shouldn’t be risking your life for me, Rosalie.”

  “My queen, we have to. I must protect you or everything you have worked for will fall apart.” The royal guard, Rosalie, replied. “Your brother isn’t ready for the throne, and the Dryadalis needs you. Lunaris needs you. Please, let me do this.”

  “I hate it when you’re right. Fine. At least, I get to get into battle without King Hexion lecturing me.” The queen said reluctantly.

  The queen and the guard donned their necklaces, and instantly their bodies changed as if they swapped places. Enoch was momentarily stunned by this development, but he had a polymorphic ring that made him an orc, so who was he to be judged or surprised? Ivy whispered to Enoch while the others gabbed about the magic. She explained how Grim Guild and King Hexion were in league with each other to destroy the queen and remaining shifters. Aura and Karis had fallen into the guild master’s clutches and were commanded to do horrible things. Ivy and Stell planned to capture the guild master using the queen as a distraction with him as the queen’s guard. With the king and guild master in their hands, they would reveal the plot and save the shifters. Enoch understood. He would also try to keep an eye on Karis to be sure she was alive to see her mate again.

  “You always think of everything, don’t you?” Enoch asked.

  “Of course, Alpha,” Ivy winked at him.

  “Alpha? That's an odd name for an orc. Let’s go. I want to get into the battle!” The queen tugged on Enoch’s arm to leave. Enoch wondered if this would become his new nightmare. A growl erupted out of Enoch. The queen stared back at him, judging his action. “You’re a strange orc, aren’t you?” Enoch shrugged, giving no clear answer. “I like you, strange orc.” She said before dragging him and Rosalie out of the store toward the bloody meadow.