Chapter 28
DREW’S POV
It was close to midnight, and we were deep, deep into the Willow Wetlands.
The sky above us was pitch black, but the moon was bright and beautiful.
I didn’t like the feeling I had, so I listened to my surroundings using my wolf’s ears.
“I don’t hear a thing,” I announced.
“Me either,” Cody agreed, his eyes narrowed as his body crouched low.
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Even though we were all in our human forms, our werewolf senses were on point. Every breath we took, every vibration of the earth, every shift in the wind could be felt with our skin.
“I don’t smell anything either!” my father let out, his nose twitching.
It was like something had drained the soul right out of this part of the land. Not even the damn bugs dared buzz.
We moved cautiously between the trees.
“I feel it in my bones. Something is off. The air is too still, and the silence is too loud,” James whispered.
“Alright, everybody, prepare for the unexpected,” my father warned us.
We continued until we stepped into a clearing. It was wide open and surrounded by marsh reeds and thick bramble. A perfect place… for a trap.
The wind picked up, and our noses began to pick up the scents of dried blood and fecal matter.
My father stopped, his head snapping toward the brush. His posture went rigid.
He barked, “Who goes there?! We are armed with teeth and claws, and we aren’t afraid to use them!”
For a second, nothing happened. Then, slowly, glowing eyes began to appear in the shadows.
At first, it seemed like there were dozens of them, but soon I realized it could be hundreds.
They emerged from the darkness one by one. First wolves, then humans. All of them naked, standing tall and still, their claws and teeth sharpened to points like they were ready to rip us to shreds.
Then one man stepped forward,
He wasn’t big. But he carried himself like he ruled this wasteland.
My father squared his shoulders, snapping and gnashing.
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The man paused. “Alpha Devon? Is that you?”
My father straightened. “Do I know you?”
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“Yes, we’ve met before,” he chuckled, irritation evident in his tone. “I shouldn’t feel offended that you don’t remember me. The last time you saw me, I was a ten–year–old boy. Now I’m a thirty–three–year–old man.”
The man came closer to our group, stopping a few feet away from us. His eyes were gold, his face lean, and his body painted with crude markings like tribal war paint.
“Take a good look at me, Alpha Devon,” he said coldly. “Some say I look exactly like my father, a man you killed during the Alpha Wars, then deeming the rest of his pack rogues.”
My father took a good look at the man.
“Marcus Paws was your father?” my father finally said. “You do look like him.”
“It’s like you’re staring at a ghost, isn’t it?” He chuckled. “Anyway – why are you here?”
My father didn’t flinch. “Because rogues have been terrorizing our packs, and we had to kill a few. We came here looking for the rogue leader to ask why his wolves are coming onto our territories. So if you could point me to your leader, that would be great.”
“You’re looking at him. I’m Marcus Jr., but people just call me Marcus around here.”
“So Marcus, tell me…why are your rogues attacking pack wolves?” my father asked.
“Shit!” he sighed. “Did these rogues look malnourished?” Marcus asked. “Wilder than usual?”
“Yes,” I answered, stepping forward. “I’m Drew, Alpha Devon’s son. I killed one a few nights ago. He was underweight, and he smelled like decay. He came into our territory and attacked me without warning. I had no choice but to put him down. Two others appeared but fled after they saw his body.”
Marcus lowered his head. “He wasn’t himself.”
“What do you mean he wasn’t himself?” James growled, his arms crossed.
“Something’s been taking my people,” Marcus replied, “turning them into mindless, killing machines. A few of us ran into some of our missing, and they attacked us too. It was like their souls were sucked out through their mouths. They looked at us like they didn’t recognize us.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Felix said.
“That’s not the worst part,” Marcus added. “They seem to be stuck in their wolf forms.”
“Then this is bigger than us. If they are running around in wolf forms 24/7, then sooner or later, a human might see them and risk finding out about our existence.”
“You don’t think we know that?” Marcus hissed. “We tried to put some of them down, but they have gotten too strong, and I ended up losing a few good men.”
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Chapter 28
“What the hell could be so powerful to do this to them?” Scott muttered.
“A witch,” my father hissed, his tone venomous.
A wave of silence passed through the clearing.
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“You’re saying witches are kidnapping rogues and turning them into blood–hungry monsters?” I asked.
“Yes,” Marcus confirmed. “I wish it weren’t true.”
“But why?” my father asked. “We’ve never interfered with them. Not unless they messed with us first.”
“We don’t know,” Marcus said. “But they’ve been operating in secret.”
“Where are they?” Alpha Dante asked. “Do you have an idea where they could be hiding?”
Marcus looked up, his eyes haunted. “You think we would be here, buried in this swamp if I knew where they were?”
“We didn’t mean to upset you,” Dante let out.
“We don’t find them, they find us. Everywhere we go, they find us and attack our camp. But this has been the only place that hides us from them. We lost over half our people crossing the swamp. You saw the Drekahls. We use this hellhole to survive.”
“You’re using the monsters as your protective walls,” Felix muttered, his lip curling.
“We thought you were one of them when you came,” Marcus said, glancing at us all. “But now we know you’re
not.”
“So now that we know the rogues aren’t rising up against us,” Cody said, rubbing his arms, “can we go home? I swear something’s been crawling on my back for the last twenty minutes.”
“We will,” my father said. “But not now. We wait until morning.”
“We’re sleeping here?” Felix scoffed.
“Who said anything about sleeping?” James snapped. “My eyes will be peeled until sunrise.
“You can take the west river,” Marcus offered. “It leads upstream. It won’t be easy, but it’s safer than the
swamp
I didn’t speak. Because in that moment… I heard something.
A voice in the darkness. It was so faint… only I heard it.
Remus shot up inside me. ‘Did you hear that?‘
‘Yeah…
I looked beyond Marcus. There was a woman hiding behind the tree.
Chapter 28
The wind picked up, and I smelled her.
“A witch…” I charged, jumping over Marcus, but my father held me back.
“Wait!” my father shouted. “She’s not evil.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
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“Because her blood smells clean. She has never taken a life before,” my father explained. That power was apart of his alpha powers. Only my father had the ability to do that.
Marcus gulped and stretched his hand for the woman to take. “It’s okay, Tara. I won’t let them hurt you.”
The brown–haired beauty stepped forward. She couldn’t be older than twenty–five.
“Hello,” she greeted. Her voice was so soft. “I’m Tara, and I’m a seer.”
She floated forward, her feet didn’t seem to touch the earth. The rogues made way for her to come to us.
“You are King Drew Clawbelle, king of all Alphas,” she stated.
Cody was the first to burst into laughter. “She’s crazy.”
“No. She can see the future,” Marcus stated.
“So you’re telling me this prick will be our king one day?” Cody asked.
“It’s not surprising. He is unofficially engaged to the Alpha king’s daughter,” my father stated. “One day the throne will be his.”
“Don’t remind me,” I sighed.
Everyone was quiet now.
Tara touched my face. “To keep the one you love safe, you have to let her go and love her from afar.”
“What!” I asked.
My father stepped in front of me, blocking her gaze. He had a strong hate for things with powers. “That’s enough witchiness for tonight.”
Tara hugged Marcus tight.
“She’s how you guys managed to mask your scents earlier,” Dante stated. “Nice.”
“Yes, We are together,” Marcus kissed Tara’s lips. “Too bad the dark witches are so powerful that Tara can’t seem to sense when they are going to attack.”
“If only we knew why they are coming onto our territories,” James sighed. I looked over to Scott, who sighed
as well.
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Chapter 28
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“They are looking for a girl they claim has an ancient bloodline,” Scott finally told the group.
“What ancient bloodline?” Felix asked.
“We don’t know. Nor do we know which pack this girl is from,” I added.
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“I think when we all get home, we should have the she–wolves in our packs from high–ranked bloodlines tested somehow,” my father suggested.
“Who told you this girl is a werewolf?” Tara posed the question that I was thinking.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
