Wolf Bound

Chapter 15: Trail of Shadows

I'd tried everything I could to reach Amaury but to no avail. The last few days had been tough without his guidance and I didn't dare piss anyone off. We'd only just entered the first stretch of November. I should've expected these times to come though. Not having to worry was fun while it lasted, however, Amaury's murder had always been the main priority at the back of our minds.

It was time that I focused. I'd been letting too many other things distract me here.

My menstrual started just as I expected. It was a good thing I bought those pads when I did. Dylan and Dimitri had been breathing down my neck with training. Bennett and Claudia had been taking Vincent's place in watching over me. Vincent and Mariah had been in and out, dealing with stuff in secrecy. I assumed it had to do with the unknown threat running rampant.

The death toll was now up to three. Three lives lost, but not forgotten within the pack.

One of them had been a teenage girl, only twelve-years-old. She was found slung in the bushes with teeth marks along the right side of her body. Mauled to death. I could hardly stomach the news when I overheard Mariah telling Vincent. She'd suggested that an Erebus wolf had been responsible for the girl's death. That meant they were on Calamitous grounds.

And if there was one, there was probably more crossing into Calamitous when they weren't supposed to be. The mountains were going to need a thorough sweep through. Vincent had already requested one be done tonight. Supposedly, he'd be tagging along. The wound on his side was mostly healed so he wouldn't have been putting himself in too much danger.

I couldn't wipe the strain in my chest from my emotions. It was the first time I had ever heard so many people grieve in sync with the same powerful cries. The whimpers lit up all of Calamitous, so loud, they were unbearably sad. It made me incredibly anxious. I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of all this. Sheesh, I had almost cried too and I didn't even know her.

The people of Calamitous were stressed and confused on what to do. As of now, the territory was on heavy lockdown. No one was to go in or out of the forest without someone at their side—the buddy system implemented—and everyone was on a curfew if they did walk off Calamitous grounds. It was a temporary solution for what felt like a permanent problem.

I had a bad feeling about all of this. The shadows were hiding somewhere around the forest. And while we dealt with one major problem, the shadows were probably still multiplying into groups. And I still had no fucking idea where they were coming from nor what they were. That on top of the Erebus wolves was enough to wipe us all out.

"Genesis." Two soft taps caught my attention. I noticed the door to my room was wide-open. Claudia's body was leant half-way inside with her head propped at a tilted angle. She crooked her index finger and turned. I furrowed my eyebrows, frowning.

"What's going on?" I asked, following her.

"Don't you want to eat?" Claudia walked down the steps.

"Oh?" I halted. "No bringing my plate to me? No locking me back in the room?"

"I'm sure you can be trusted to roam the house on your own, by now."

"Seriously? I can just walk around on my own now?" I asked, my voice almost rising into a high-pitched shout. "With permission?"

She yelled back, "Hurry up or you'll get left behind!" Her body disappeared beyond the stairs.

"No more locked doors! I'm free from that dreadful room!" I could almost cry. But instead, I pushed my glasses up and rushed down the stairs. The bottom of my converse thumped along the wood until I jumped off the last step. Mixed with the familiar pine smell the downstairs area carried, was the smell of meat. I couldn't quite put my finger on what kind.