Chapter 131
Elara's POV
"This is it." Kress stopped at the edge of a small clearing, his voice flat. "This is where the witnesses saw her."
I stepped forward slowly, keeping my expression neutral. Curious student. Nothing more.
The clearing was maybe thirty feet across. Trees pressed in from all sides, their branches creating a canopy that filtered the morning light into scattered patches on the ground.
Greg was the first to move. He crouched near the center, running his fingers over blackened earth. "Burn marks. Recent too."
Luke walked to the nearest tree trunk, examining deep gouges in the bark. His fingers traced the claw marks. "These go deep. Whatever made them was strong."
I circled the perimeter, head down like I was searching for something. My mind was working fast.
The scorch marks were deliberate. Someone had used fire. And those claw marks—too high for a normal wolf. An Alpha. Maybe two.
Lynette had fought here. Briefly.
But she'd moved on.
I scanned the ground, looking for the small things. Disturbed leaves. Broken twigs. The way the grass bent.
There.
Two possible paths. One northeast toward the valley. One southeast into denser forest.
I needed more time to figure out which one she'd taken.
"This is so cool!" Sass's voice cut through my concentration. He was crouched next to Greg, phone out, snapping pictures. "We're like actual investigators. This is going in my vlog for sure."
Zack joined him, grinning. "Dude, imagine if we find her. We'd be heroes."
Tina stood at the clearing's edge, arms crossed. "It's dirty out here. And there's nothing to see."
"I know, right?" Linda sighed dramatically. "I thought this would be more exciting. It's just... trees and dirt."
Sass and Zack eventually lost interest too. They moved to sit on a fallen log, still fiddling with their phones even though there was no signal.
Only Luke and Greg stayed focused. Luke was methodical, checking each tree trunk in a slow circle. Greg was sketching the burn pattern in a small notebook.
I kept moving. Casual. Random.
Northeast path—flattened grass, broken branch at knee height. Someone had moved through fast.
Southeast path—disturbed leaves, subtle but there. A different pattern. More careful.
I needed to check both. But I couldn't split off from the group without raising questions.
Movement in my peripheral vision made me pause.
Sass and Zack had moved away from the others. They were standing near the tree line, heads close together, voices low.
I couldn't make out words. Just the tone. Conspiratorial. Excited.
Then I caught fragments.
"...tonight..."
"...both of them..."
A name. Female. Then another.
I frowned. Were they talking about girls? Planning something?
It didn't feel right. The way they kept glancing back at the group. The way Zack's grin was just a little too wide.
But I didn't have time to figure it out.
Because Cole was walking toward me from the tree line.
He moved casually, like he'd just been exploring. But the angle he approached from—none of the others could see his face.
When he got close, he pulled out his map. To anyone watching, we were just two students comparing notes.
"I circled the area," he said quietly, voice barely above a whisper. "You were right. Two clear paths."
I kept my eyes on the map, tracing random lines with my finger. "Tell me."
"Southeast goes into dense forest. Rough terrain. Lots of cover. If she wanted to hide, that's the way."
"And northeast?"
"Toward the valley. More open. Faster travel if she was trying to put distance between herself and pursuit."
I processed this. Both made sense. Both were possible.
"We split up," I said.
Cole's expression didn't change, but I felt his approval. "You take the main group northeast. I'll check southeast."
"Wolf form?"
"Faster that way. I can cover more ground."
I nodded once. Cole reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. Black. Compact. He pressed it into my palm under the cover of the map.
"Encrypted radio. Range is ten miles. If I find anything, you'll know immediately."
"And if you run into trouble?"
His mouth twitched. Almost a smile. "Then I'll handle it, Alpha."
The old title. The one that still fit, even in this broken body.
I closed my fingers around the radio. "Be careful."
"Always."
Cole folded his map and walked back toward the group. I waited a beat, then followed.
Kress was standing in the center of the clearing, hands on his hips. "Alright, listen up. We've got two possible routes from here. Northeast toward the valley, or southeast into the deep forest."
Tina immediately spoke up. "Northeast. I'm not going into some creepy dense forest."
Linda nodded quickly. "Yeah. The valley sounds way less scary."
"The valley route it is then," Kress said. He did a quick headcount, pointing at each person. "Everyone's here. Let's move out."
The group started walking. Kress took point. Greg and Luke followed close behind. Tina and Linda stayed in the middle, still complaining quietly.
Sass and Zack brought up the rear with Cole.
I positioned myself near the middle. Close enough to hear Kress, far enough back to keep an eye on everyone.
We walked for maybe twenty minutes. The terrain started sloping downward. The trees thinned slightly.
I glanced back.
Cole was still there. But he'd dropped back. Maybe ten feet between him and Zack now.
I looked forward again. Counted to sixty. Looked back.
Fifteen feet.
Another minute.
Twenty feet.
The next time I looked, Cole was gone.
Just... gone.
Melted into the trees like he'd never been there.
I felt the weight of the radio in my pocket. Resisted the urge to check it.
He was in wolf form now. Moving fast through the southeast route. Searching.
Nobody else had noticed. Kress was focused on the path ahead. The others were too busy talking or watching their feet.
We kept walking.
The radio stayed silent.
I counted my steps. Listened to the forest sounds. Watched the others.
Sass was talking to Greg about something. Zack was—
"Wait." Sass stopped walking. His head swiveled left, then right. "Where's Zack?"
Everyone stopped.
I turned slowly, scanning the group.
Sass was right.
Zack was gone.