Esma’s POV
I quickly transformed into my wolf as soon as Reed left me alone in the house. My wolf was bugging me the whole day to let loose and let her run. It has been ages since I changed into my wolf.
The last time I transformed into my wolf was when I showed it to Reed when he took me out for our date. I quickly pulled off my clothes, put them in a carry bag, and soon let my wolf take over my senses.
The bones twisted, turned, and snapped, and in the next second, I was standing on all fours. Elsa let an ear-piercing howl, and with that, we ran in the direction of the forest. My paws rugged through the ground as I pushed myself more and more to run faster.
Other wolves bowed in front of me as soon as they sensed me. I didn’t stop and continued running deeper into the forest till I reached the borders. Suddenly Elsa stopped in her tracks and started sniffing around. Her ears straightened, and she growled lowly as if sensing something.
I started running in the opposite direction and soon found myself standing in front of the great oak tree at the farthest corner of my pack, from where my pack’s boundary started. The tree’s branches were stained in blood, and so was the ground.
Eight warriors, they were not from my pack; they were of Reed’s pack. Dark green vines were perfectly wrapped around their bodies like they were some sick gift for me.
I swallowed the bile in my throat and stared at them. They looked similar. I had seen them; it was just like the attack on Casper, the beta of Dumeny, in the meeting by the Oracle. The vines were protruding from their eyes, nose, and ears.
Suddenly, I heard the chafing of the footsteps, and it was getting louder and louder. I quickly ran behind one bush and transformed back into human form. I quickly wore my clothes and straightened my senses.
“When were they killed?” It was Reed’s voice. Asher turned back into his human form not before looking straight in my direction.
Asher turned into human form and wore jeans before finally looking back to Reed.
“I don’t know, maybe midnight.” Reed turned from them and looked in my direction, and for a second, I thought he felt my presence. He stared in my direction before shaking his head. I released the breath I didn’t know for how long I was holding as he finally looked away.
“How did they get in without us knowing?” he asked, and I could feel the frustration and anger in his voice.
“They were told to check and patrol on the borders.”
“And?” Reed turned back to the lifeless bodies. Their faces were the only things that were still intact. No scratches or sense of struggle could be seen on them.
“We still need to identify them. We are short of two,” Asher said lowly, and just before he could complete his sentence, I quickly emerged from the bushes and started walking toward them. Short of two, were there more dead bodies on my land?
Reed looked surprised, if not shocked, at finding me here.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, and this time anger was evident in his voice. This only fueled my anger. First, countless warriors of his pack were slaughtered like this, and two of them were still missing on my land, and instead of telling me, he was asking me what was I doing here?
I narrowed my eyes at him and turned back to the dead bodies hanging on the branches of the tree. Lifeless.
Reed said something incoherently but followed me and stood in front of them. I glared at him.
“Someone get me a knife,” I ordered, kneeling in front of a warrior.
Reed placed the knife in my hand. I cut through the vines, one by one. My lips trembled as I stared down at the horrific scene in front of me. The warriors of Reed’s pack were fucking mutilated. Their guts were removed from their bodies, leaving nothing but a hollow shell.
I did the same with the others, freeing them from the branches and vines, and dropped them on the ground safely. Each body was worse than the last, and by the end, I felt like throwing up everything I had eaten this morning.
August had already called some of the warriors, and with their help, he quickly took them to the hospital. I didn’t say anything as I walked in the other direction.
I walked and walked and walked until I was assured it was only Reed who was behind me.
“Death, death, and deaths. It doesn’t stop,” I spoke lowly. My voice was breaking, and I knew I was on the verge of crying. Hot and angry tears threatened to fall from my eyes.
“When exactly did you know about it?” I asked, turning in his direction. He looked lost for words, and I could feel he felt really guilty for hiding it from me.
“It has been happening since last week. The other day you asked me why I left so early in the morning. Asher told me about it,” he said, and his eyes were sincere this time.
“Please say something,” he insisted and closed the distance between us. I didn’t move to look at his side. Witches had done so much harm for their petty revenge? I quickly wiped the tears before Reed could see them.
“Hey.” He touched my shoulder, and I closed my eyes, trying to calm myself.
“I promise I will make it back to normal,” he said; his voice was soothing and soft like melting chocolate. I finally turned to look into my favorite ocean blue orbs.
“Will you do something I ask without any questions?” I asked and a knot formed in his brows. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously before finally nodding.
“Yes.” He put both of his hands on my shoulders and made me look again at his face. He smiled, and it made it much harder than I had thought.
“Take your warriors back to your pack. With you.” I added the last line with a heavy heart and swallowed the bile rising again in my throat.
He looked shocked and…angry. Before he could say something, I interrupted him again.
“Your warriors don’t deserve to die and especially not such a horrible death, especially not for me,” I said and looked away from his face.
“Please order them. If something happens again to any of them, I won’t forgive myself.” A single tear now threatened to escape my eye. Reed put his fingers below my chin and made me look again into his eyes. He knew they were my weak point.
“You are their Luna. Every warrior, every member of my pack wants to save their Luna’s life even if they knew it could cost them their lives,” he said again, and I shook my head vigorously.
“Why can’t you get it through your thick skull of yours that I don’t want bloodshed. Neither your people nor mine.” He pursed his lips. I took deep breaths before continuing again. This time I gathered all my courage and strength left in my body before speaking again.
“Either you take your pack with you out of my boundaries now or…” My voice breaks again.
“Or?” he asked challengingly.
“Or I will never come with you to your pack,” I said, and for a second, my heart stopped beating; it was like complete pin drop silence. His jaw ticked, and his hands from my shoulders suddenly dropped.
He didn’t say anything, and I didn’t know for how long he stared at me. I didn’t look away this time, making sure he would know I was serious. I was hell-bent on it.
He sighed finally, and I could feel the storm brewing behind his eyes. There was a turmoil of emotions inside him, and even though I could feel so little of it, it was still enough to consume me.
“Okay, alpha.” He spat the last word with so much anger it sounded like a curse. He quickly turned on his heels and left me standing in the middle of nowhere.
He didn’t look back, not once.