“I’m saying this is most likely a trap,” I said firmly. “No good will come of you going with Gunner. This could just be a big lie to lureyouin.”
“Oh, it’s not a lie.” Gunner’s voice made us all turn towards him in shock. He reached into a leather pouch tied to his leg and pulled out a piece of fabric. Slowly, with his hands raised in a non-threatening gesture, he strode towards David and laid it on the ground before backing awayagain.
David lowered his snout to smell the fabric, then he gasped. He paused, then shifted to human form. “Where is he?” he asked in a low, serious voice. “Take metohim.”
“David, you can’t be serious!”Flintsaid.
Jericho’s voice was full of concern as he rushed towards his friend. “David, he’s lying to you! Don’tdothis!”
“Get out of my way, Jericho,” he growled, shoving himaside.
Jericho stumbled, too shocked to reply or resist. His eyes shonesorrowfully.
None of us knew what to say. David did not look back. We could only watch helplessly as our friend, our trusted packmate, turned his back on us and followed the man who had just murdered ourfriend.
“Ken…”
I turned to find Wesley behind me, exhausted and depressed. He weakly grasped my hand. “I want togohome.”
I could only let out a sigh. “Me too.Let’sgo.”
* * *
Before we left,we dug a grave for Tyson. None of us spoke while we worked. There was a patch of tiny blue wildflowers surroundingthesite.
“Forget-me-nots,” Wesley murmured, choking up as hespoke.
We lowered our friend’s broken body into the earth. Nobody said anything. It wasn’t the time. We all knew how much Tyson meant to us - to each other. Losing him was like losing a family member. It hurt too much to talkaboutit.
Jericho, who was one of the most sensitive out of all of us, insisted we dig graves for the fallen Scarlet Ridgewolves.
“They were just following Gunner’s orders,” he said quietly. “They were probably justafraid,too.”
After that was finished, we were all exhausted. Without even a goodbye, we all went our separate ways. Flint and Charlie, Jericho and Mason, and now WesleyandI…
Missing two members of our close-knit hunting party, wewenthome.
