Canaan Club (Progenies of Ironward #1)

Chapter 3

A mouth-watering waft of cinnamon invaded the room as Jan marched in with a plate of rolls, disapproving eyes laid on Andre. Said omé’s eyes flitted between his caretaker and the plate of delicious cinnamon rolls, tapping his foot with a whimper. Rafe had the sudden need to soothe his friend and shoo Jan out but ignored it this time. He hoped the old woman had a better chance at convincing Andre’s stubborn ass than him.

“Yup. You gotta go. No questions asked,” Jan said matter-of-factly as she grabbed a storage cabinet from the corner of the room with one hand and carried it over to them, setting the plate of cinnamon rolls on top of it.

Rafe’s eyes widened a bit before remembering the fact that she was a wolf.

“But Jan-” Andre began to whine, but Jan cut him off with another glare.

She crossed her arms sternly. “Nope. You’re going, Coeur pur, and that’s final. I won’t let you waste you your life away like th’ rest of us here.”

“I’m helping out taking care of my brothers and sisters! I don’t think that’s wasting my life away!”

“Yes, and that’s very compassionate. It’s a you thing, pup, so it’s not surprisin’, but I’ve lived longer than you and have known many wolves like you who start out so considerate. Then, Graybite happens.”

Andre blinked. “Graybite happens?”

“Or Radon. Helio. Any tribe, really,” Jan took a roll and ate it as she talked, chewing bitterly. “They’re all th’ same when it comes t’ politics. Being stuck here will eventually bog you down, child. It’ll turn you bitter and wishing you’d escaped when you had the chance. Take it from me.”

“You? No way! You’re the nicest, kindest person, and you seem happy watching over us.”

“Oh, I’m not complainin’ ‘bout you crazy lot,” a warm smile lit up her face as she gazed down at the young omega. “You guys are th’ only reason why I haven’t slipped down the ol’ dark hole of resentment. I was a lot like you, Coeur pur. Never lettin’ the world steal away my shine. But as you can see…”

Her eyes were full of such love and gratitude that Rafe felt his chest tighten. He reached over to grab a roll and ate it to stave off whatever emotions welled up.

Jan stepped over to Andre and caressed his brown hair like a mother would her child. “I don’t want that happenin’ to you, too, pup. Your friend here has the right idea. You need t’ learn to look after yourself before it’s too late. Which means you gotta go.”

Rafe watched his friend purse his lips in deliberation while munching on his food, silently sending him mental waves to say the one word he wanted to hear.

“You guys will be okay?” Andre asked, looking up at Jan worryingly.

At that moment, the door slowly opened to reveal one of the others, a black-haired, freckled boy who looked to be the closest to Andre and Rafe in age. He leaned in and gave Andre a small smile.

“If it helps, Andre, I’ll take over for you. I’m old enough to help out now. I’ll pick up the slack.”

“Slack?” Jan balked, offended. “Whaddya mean ‘slack,’ Bylo? You tryin’ to say somethin’?”

Bylo just grinned. “Nothing at all, Grandma.”

“You youngins these days trashin’ on us old folks. Don’t complain when you start havin’ back problems for yourself,” she shook her head as she finished off her roll.

Andre smiled appreciatively at Bylo. “Thanks, By.”

“No problem. After everything, you deserve this, big bro.”

A sudden thought occurred to Andre and cast a concerned eye at Rafe. “But Renkin will think you helped me escape, and if he finds out-”

Rafe shook his head and smirked. “Don’t worry about that, dude. Beau’s on it. He’s talking to your alpha about taking you to Spain. Said that he wouldn’t be able to resist that for some reason.”

“Ooh,” Jan nodded in approval, “that’s good. Graybite originated from the Paco Almanzor in the Kingdom of Spain over two hundred years ago. Renkin’s real prideful ‘bout all things this tribe. He’ll probably let you go for educational purposes.”

“See?” Rafe lifted his brows at his friend. “Technically, we’re not lying to him.”

Minutes later, the four were out walking across the limited expanse of their tree branch, watching the rest of the kids frolic up ahead. Andre pointed out each kid to Rafe, revealing their names and a fun fact about them. Then, they discussed what they would do during the time leading up to the first day at Ironward.

“For two whole months, though?” Andre kicked at a patch of clovers.

“I mean, we can actually go to Spain or whatever if you want,” Rafe, eating two rolls at a time, shrugged. “If they decide to check up on you, you’ll be good.”

Back at the Coat, Wolframites traveled everywhere, from the human side of the world to where the magi lay claim. He’s been all around the world, but he could never enjoy it, for it almost always involved a mission that ended in bloodshed.

Shaking his head of the memories, Rafe brought up another subject. “By the way, what’s a Kappa? The Renkin guy called Beau that before they headed off. I didn’t know he was in cahoots with this tribe.”

Jan turned to the superhuman with a stunned expression. “Kappa Beau? As in ‘Beau Watson?’”

“Yeah. I’ve been living with him and his mate for a while now. You know him?”

“Everyone does!” she waved to the rest of the forest. “Kappas are like nomad wolves, travelin’ from tribe to tribe to do special work for them. And Beau’s one of th’ most notorious of ‘em all.”

Which meant that Beau and Toby hadn’t lived in Outville Piers for all their lives like Rafe assumed. It’s been four years since he met them. He wondered when they’ll go back on the road again.

“What special jobs do they do?” Andre questioned.

“I’ve heard him mention things like ‘cargo’ or ‘underbelly’, whatever that meant,” mentioned Rafe.

“Hm,” Jan scratched her chin. “I figured as much. It’s not suprisin’ Graybite is into some shady stuff. We put on this front of being untouchable and powerful off of our own merit, but we’re really just as addicted to the darkness as th’ rest of the world.”

“Preaching to the choir on that one,” the superhuman muttered.

The thought that Graybite could be the arcanian version of the Coat of Wolframite sent a cold chill down his spine. It was all the more reason to get Andre out of this place for a while.

“Well, hopefully, it’s nothing too bad,” his omé friend said, proving how innocent and naïve he was. “Jarekid’s gonna have a lot to clean up when he becomes alpha.”

“Jarekid? Oh, yeah. Is that jerk still around? I’d like to kick his a- butt one last time before we leave.”

“I don’t think so. He graduated from that alpha wolf boot camp I told you about a couple of months ago. Crescent Warriorship for Young Alphas. He and another group of alphas have been on an extended vacation. Kind of like what we’re going on.”

The thought of the alphason being much stronger than he was then should have worried Rafe, but he could only feel the anticipation and an eagerness to fight well up in his chest. The blond had been doing rigorous training of his own as well, so, even though it was highly unlikely, he hoped the two crossed paths one last time before he set off for Ironward.

Bylo whistled, impressed. “I’ve heard that place is brutal. Like, some of the guys that go there don’t survive.”

The boy who appeared distrusting of Rafe, his name being Caster, happened to be close enough to hear that as he walked back to the house in dirt and tree bark. “Nah. I bet they say that to scare us.”

Following behind him was Gena, the girl who thought Rafe and Andre were mated. She gave him a disbelieving frown and called him out. “Scare you? You can’t even go.”

“Watch me!” Caster pointed his thumb at his chest as he exclaimed in determination. “I’mma be the strongest omé the tribe’s ever seen. They’ll have no choice but to make me go!”

His courage was met with amused but proud eyes. Even Rafe felt a surge of it in his stomach. He and the little squirt weren’t so different in their ambitions.

Andre whooped and clapped in support. “As long as you have confidence in yourself, you can do anything. You know, Cas, you sound a lot like another kid I know.”

“Is he cool?”

“Totally! And crazy strong, too. He’s all strong and a bit of a braggart.”

The wolf teen gave Rafe an obvious side-eye, making the latter roll his. Though, when he looked back at Caster, the little kid was gazing at the superhuman with a whole new light in his eyes. Awe. Hope. Rafe grinned at Caster, nodding in approval for showing such fortitude, and he felt accomplished when the kid beamed back at him.

Sometime later, the moment finally came for Andre to leave his life in the backwoods behind. Beau had allotted several hours for them to spend before they had to depart. Rafe helped his omega friend pack up, taking only a few clothes, toiletries, and a pillow, which he claimed was his favorite. He said his goodbyes to each of the orphans and even dubbed Bylo as the new second-in-command like a medieval knight. Rafe even got a few farewell embraces despite only knowing the kids for a few seconds.

“Make somethin’ of yourself,” Jan kissed Andre’s forehead before they headed on out the door. “You hear me, Coeur pur?”

“You got it, Jan,” Andre hugged her tightly. “I’ll see you soon!”

And then they were off, heading out of the backwoods and toward an indeterminant future.

“So, we’re supposed to meet Beau at the Alpha House. And you know where that is, right?” Rafe turned to him expectantly as they sauntered through a stone arch bridge.

The omega laughed. “Of course, buddy! We’re on… Cordio Grove, so the Alpha House should be… north from here.”

The blond suddenly took the time to look around at his environment. They were in the middle of a forest but with normal-sized trees. This place had woods within the woods.

“How many… trees are there? Like, the big trees with towns?” he had to ask.

Andre thought for a second. “Well, I’m not too sure, but each tree with a town is named after one of the early alphas in the 1800s, so I think about twenty or twenty-five.”

Wow.

“That’s just-”

“Where do you think you’re going, scum!?”

Groaning in frustration, Rafe gave a confused Andre an exasperated look. “Inbred trio incoming.”