Pain rushed through my hands the instant I turned the knob to step outside, and I winced, biting my lower lip not to whimper before successfully exiting the house. My wolf had finally receded, taking her fur, sharp canines, and claws with her, but even though my fingertips had stopped bleeding, the nails were still somewhat loose—the salve taking longer to heal the wounds without the aid of the potion.
Sucking up the pain, I held my breath and stealthily moved through the sleeping village, using the few shifter skills I could access without having fully shifted into my wolf. My steps pushed against the fallen leaves without uttering a single sound thanks to my innate agility.
As I passed the sacred path carved for the fire ceremony, my heart tore with the sight of the once gold, now grey, shattered, and “lifeless” stones thrown all over the clearing. The radiant light and magical energy that had surged from them before were long gone, and magic flames no longer danced from their depths. They were dead, devoid of the special power they’d carried.
What did that mean for me and my wolf?
No. I couldn’t dwell on that right now. I just couldn’t.
Steeling myself, I trailed forward, heading straight for the site where I’d seen Ivara, Zain, Levon, and Bergen exit toward the forest. With my first sniff of the air, I immediately caught Zein’s scent and began to follow the invisible trail he’d left me. Tracking was by far my best ability.
The village disappeared behind me the deeper I went through the hills, the chill of night this high off the mountain capturing my body while I wondered if Isis had realized I wasn’t there, but I was on a mission, and nothing was going to derail me. Ivara’s footprints might as well have glowed in the night with how clear my eyes perceived them, leading me straight to their hideaway.
My steps halted when the smell of a campfire reached my nostrils several feet ahead, it wasn’t yet visible, but my acute hearing caught the voices of two people. Kellan and Barret. I changed directions, winding around their encampment, and approaching from behind until I was close enough to see them, then pressed against the thick trunk of a nearby blue spruce, taking cover.
The both of them sat on a couple of boulders in front of the fire, behind them, stood a run-down cabin that seemed built in the 1800s. The dark logs of its walls were warped and cracked in several places, but it was still sturdy enough to hold the monster they caught. Their Vampire prisoner.
Something touched my ankle then, and I glanced down to find a squirrel trying to smell me. I gently pushed it away with my toe, but it came right back, climbing onto my foot.
“This is not the time, little guy. I’m busy!” I whisper-hissed, shaking him off me, only for it to come running back.
Kellan’s head immediately lifted, sensing a new presence, but because I hadn’t yet transformed into my wolf, my scent was still a confusing mix of something similar to human and wolf, not to mention, the smell of blood I’d recently spilled would make it confusing for them to place me… hopefully. Oh, and the squirrel. He could probably smell the little guy too.
“What is it?” Barret asked, noticing his partner’s attention roaming the darkness.
“I don’t know, I think there’s a hurt animal around somewhere. I can scent the blood, but it also smells like a wolf.”
“Is it a deer? Maybe the wolf was trying to eat it and it escaped.” They chuckled, returning to whatever they had been doing. “Hey, you want to go see where it is? Maybe we can finish the job and have a snack while we are stuck here.”
“That’s the best idea you’ve had all night.” Grinning, Kellan stood, sniffing the air to pinpoint the location of the hurt animal.
Crap. It was time to use the environment to my advantage.
Picking up the curious squirrel now playing with the hem of my pants, I tossed him high into the air, sending him right across the way to the other side of the campsite.
Sorry!
I mean, he was a flying squirrel after all, it was literally what he was born to do.
Kellan’s head snapped straight to where the little guy landed, and he sniffed the air again, the mixing of my blood on the squirrel’s coat and its scent doing exactly what I expected. Standing, he walked into the other side of the forest with Barret trailing him in his excitement about the supposed deer they’d be having as a snack.
Silently gagging at the image of them eating it raw, I swiftly walked around the tree and slipped into the dilapidated cabin they were somehow trusted to guard, silently closing the door behind me. Heart slamming against my ribs, I slowly moved toward the large iron cage in the corner of the room, a single beam of moonlight partially illuminating its interior through the broken roof.
While I trekked through the forest on my way here, I imagined the many horrors I might find, so the instant I entered the makeshift prison, I hardened myself for what I was sure to feel when I confronted the monsters that took my parents from me. And yet, nothing could have prepared me for this…
The bloodied form rolled toward me, ending directly under the shining light.
“Dear Goddess,” I gasped. “You are human!”
5
Amillion questions went through my mind at once, but before any could be answered, I was already moving. I rushed to the poor man’s side, kneeling before the cage that imprisoned him.
“Are you okay?” I whispered so low, not wanting to alert the two idiots outside of my presence, never mind that it was probably the stupidest question I could have ever uttered.
His face was covered in trails of blood gushing from a gash on his forehead, his body sliced ten different ways by wolf claws, while huge, paw-shaped bruises were already forming along his bare chest and arms—the intensity of their colors saying he was bleeding internally.
The human had been beaten by the Hunters within an inch of his life, and every instinct I possessed screamed at me to help him. Every bone in my body said this wasn’t right.
