Finding Luna

blind

adjective ~ unable to see or lacking perception or awareness

PHOENIX

We landed ninety minutes later, and as soon as they gave me the clear to leave the plane, I ran out first. We landed somewhere south of the mountain, but my Beta had given me the directions and it was only a fifteen-minute run from this landing strip to where he lived. He claimed he was in a burnt down building and to follow his scent. I rallied the warriors.

Once all of us had our bags secure, I commanded them to shift before following me. Ares bristled, nose twitching with the unfamiliar air. We rarely came this far north, leaving the mountains for the Lycan and rogue wolves. It was too harsh a winter for most of us to stomach. Despite running hotter, we preferred to stay away.

Most of our enemies lie within the boundaries of human territory and it is within our treaty with the human rulers to protect them if it ever comes to that. Thankfully, in our three-hundred-year existence of that treaty, it had not been needed.

I snapped out of my daydream as my senses alerted me to my Beta's presence. I shifted mid-stride at the sight of him, coming to a stop in front of him and adjusting the bag on my back. He looked withered, his clothes bloodied and hanging off of him loosely. His hair was a mess and his eyes rimmed red. I growled at the thought of the torment he must be feeling, but Ares was only looking for someone to blame, so tried to keep it to myself.

"Alpha, glad you got here alright." He sighed.

I looked around the part of the forest he had called me to, taking in the quietness. I picked up the faint scent of my mate in the wind and found myself drawn to it. The warriors stayed in their wolf forms, my Beta's lips falling silent as I walked away.

Ares was tugging on my mind, taking me to a place where her scent was the strongest. I found half a deer carcass decaying on the floor, blood soaking the ground. I bent down, my fingers pressing to the earth as I inhaled her scent. My chest ached, tears burning in my eyes as I breathed it in after so long. It wasn't the same, having only her room and her things back home.

My jaw clicked with how hard I was fighting to keep it closed, and I shakily got to my feet, eyes flickering to where her scent disappeared. The crunching of fallen leaves caught my attention, and I turned to see my Beta and the brother approach me.

My Beta's eyes were wary as he bravely stared into my eyes. I watched him take me in, just as I had studied him, and he exhaled loudly.

"Alpha... I cannot smell her, but if we follow her trail, I can show you where she disappeared. Hopefully, you can pick up something." He murmured, dropping his gaze.

I nodded firmly and shifted back to my wolf. Her scent was much more potent, and Ares kept his nose to the ground as we followed it. Her paws had left a decent trail, the mud still soft from the lack of sun. I heard the many paws of my pack behind me and it only fuelled Ares on further with their support. As we broke the magic border, I growled at the shivering feeling that came with stepping inside the unguarded territory.

I was thankful the witch holding it had allowed us in. Apparently, she was an old one that my mate spoke of well. When we approached the stream of my mate's disappearance, I warned my wolves away with a sharp bark. She had travelled far from her hunt, a good mile distance. Her path had been direct, as though she knew where she was going... Or lead there by someone.

I growled as the thought penetrated my mind and shook out my fur as I jumped over the stream. My Beta was close behind me, the brother shadowing him. With my nose pressed into the earth, I followed until her scent came to an overwhelming stop by the fallen tree. With my sharper vision, I took in the four paw prints, distanced far apart as though she had been stretching forwards to scent.