The Vampire Queen

39

Cade

After the incident when the wolves attacked I went on the run, I knew that some of them were following me and I couldn't risk them learning where and how to get to our base. It just wasn't an option. I also knew that Ronan wouldn't concern himself with too much, although him and I had grown up together like the rest he knew that if he didn't see two piles of ashes at the hut that I would be safe and would contact him when I could. Yet, I didn't know I was going to be on the run for this long. Even though the wolves halted their pursuit a little over a week ago, I kept running, kept dodging for as long as I could just to make sure there was no way they could follow. I happened upon a clearing in the woods and stopped to take in its beauty when the begun to feel thick, something was amidst. I bolted back into the darkness of the shadows and watched carefully, I almost gasped when I spotted a small pack of wolves enter into the clearing. There was only three of them, and from what I could see, they were younger, not ones that was part of the attack, perhaps juveniles. I decided to follow them.

I stayed in the branches of the trees and kept my distance as I followed as close as I could behind them. From time to time they would stop and search the surrounding area, looking for something, anything. I was pretty sure they had the feeling they were being followed yet couldn't find me, and before long they stopped, just inside the reeling. The sounds of bones breaking and cracking filled my ears as one by one they each shifted back to their human forms and clothes themselves. The silence was filled with laughter and arm slaps as I watched on. A bunch of young men, just barely the age of eighteen from the looks of it, they headed out of the tree ling and I slowly followed reaching the tree line myself. That's when I noticed that I must of been in their territory. My eyes scanned my surroundings; I wanted to continue to follow the young group yet I knew the turmoil that it would cause, so I held back. A familiarity of the place confused me, like I had either been here before or heard about it, I would know more when I was able to return to base.

I ran the treetops until the sun was well beyond setting, I learned their borders and was even able to get sight of their pack house. I had to admit it was rather large but I found it odd that at night each and every window was covered by bars that rolled down, it was as if they were protecting themselves from something that was coming their way. I wondered just what they feared or what they assumed they were protecting themselves from, this was something that I should report to Ronan as soon as possible.

I didn't hang around too much longer after that, and as I started to head away from the wolves compound a familiar scent caught my attention. It was quite faint so I knew that it was at least a few days old. "Alex?" I muttered almost silently to myself as I turned and glared back at the pack house. Could it be, was she here, did they really get ahold of her, the pain that Ronan must be going through, I knew that I had to report in immediately.

Ronan

I didn't know what else to do, no one had been able to get that close to the pack borders without the threat of being discovered, and at that moment it was the last night that I wanted to happen. I paced my office floor when a knocking pulled me from my thoughts and before I could tell them to go the doors busted open. "My liege!" Jasper broke in and just as I was about to reprimand him he blurted out, "We have received word from Cade, he is on his way to base with information." Of course after that I couldn't scold him, it was important information that needed to be relayed.

I furrowed my brow and wondered why it had taken him so long to get in contact with me, when I didn't see a second set of ashes I knew that he had escaped the massacre at the cabin and that he definitely has a reason for disappearing like he did. I thrusted my hands threw my hair and hoped that whatever information Cade brought was well worth it.