Withering Fate

~|Chapter 9|~

10 months later

Ezra's PoV~

"No one can just get up and disappear without a trace for ten months straight!" I shout.

I was pacing in Luka's tent as he sat on his bed listening.

"I bet she's fine Ezra." Luka stood up and took my hands in his.

"She just left. Without saying a word." I choked up.

Luka wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug, "We'll find her. I promise."

The curtain swayed as someone entered the tent.

"Am I interrupting something?" I turn around and see Josiah standing in the entrance.

He looked much different since Blue had left. His hair was kept a little shorter and his spiked up bangs seemed to swoop to the right. The pack's guard allowed him to join their ranks and working with them sure gained him a lot more muscle. He always had bags under his eyes from restless sleep and he went out every day in search of Blue. I felt bad for him honestly, he looked worse than me.

The first couple months were tough. Luka had to force me to eat and kept me from leaving camp after the first search. Eventually Luka made me sleep with him in his tent, he didn't trust me to be alone for so long. He became quite protective of me. I'm starting to believe he blames himself for Blue's disappearance and he doesn't want the same thing to happen to me.

The whole camp has changed since Blue vanished. There were weekly searches but each search they came up empty handed, no signs whatsoever. Even Trystan started to go on a couple searches. I never really thought she liked my sister, but they did start getting along the week before Blue left.

"Not at all. Can you give us a minute please?" Luka looked at me.

"Of course." I planted a kiss on his cheek and walked out of his tent.

Luka had become quite popular after his father got sick. It wasn't looking so great honestly and I was amazed at how much time Trystan spent taking care of him. He collapsed two months ago and had a high fever, he hasn't showed any improvement since. Even that pack's healer tried all he could. Thantos had about a couple weeks left to live and Luka was taking it pretty harshly. Everything was stacking up on Luka and he was more stressed than ever, I could tell in his eyes every time he looked at me. Yet he still tried his best to smile and act like nothing bothered him.

"Trystan, any word?" I asked as she walked back from the recent search.

"Nothing. Still no clues. I'm sorry Ezra." She patted my shoulder and walked into her father's hut.

I looked around the camp and saw defeated looks on soldier's faces, crying children from lack of food, and father's trying to keep the family's spirits up when they looked tired themselves.

The woods around us were losing food by the rival pack. They hunted everyday, leaving us nothing.

The camp looked so different from the days we first arrived. From playing and happy kids to crying, starving children with no hope left in their eyes. With the Alpha's sickness taking a toll on the pack, some members have even left. I don't blame them, it's a complete tragedy.

"That's it, I can't take this anymore." I growled to myself and walked into the armory tent.

Picking up a machete and sliding it into a sheathe on my hip, I bounded off into the woods. Searching for something, anything.

*****

"Heda. We found her." A man walked into the dark hut holding a chain in his hands.