Chapter 55
Elara's POV
I forced myself to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.
My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking.
But I made myself look. Made myself observe.
The wolves were massive. Bigger than any normal wolf. Their eyes caught the moonlight and threw it back in shades of gold and amber.
I counted. Five. No. Six. More coming from the trees.
My first thought was Wild Hunt. Ice flooded my veins. They found me. They really found me.
But then I saw it.
Every single wolf had the same mark on their right shoulder. A red claw mark. Fresh. Like a brand.
I stared at that mark. My brain was screaming at me to run but I forced myself to stay still. To think.
Wild Hunt's mark was different. A black hunting horn. Twisted. Ugly. I'd seen it enough times in my past life to know it by heart.
This wasn't them.
Relief hit me so hard I almost fell over. Then confusion replaced it.
Who the hell were these people?
The gray wolf was still fighting with Sophia. Teeth snapping. Claws tearing. Blood everywhere.
But the other wolves. They weren't going for Sophia. They weren't even looking at us.
They ran past. Heading straight for camp.
More screaming erupted. Human voices. Panicked. Terrified.
I looked at Chloe. Still unconscious against the tree. Blood on her shoulder. On her face.
I had to move. Had to hide her.
I grabbed her under the arms and dragged her toward the bushes. She was heavier than she looked. My muscles screamed. My lungs burned.
But I got her there. Got her hidden behind thick branches and leaves.
I checked her shoulder. Dislocated. Not broken. The bleeding had slowed.
I ripped off part of my sleeve. Tied it around her shoulder as tight as I could. It wasn't great but it would hold.
I covered her with more leaves. More branches. Made sure she was completely hidden.
"Don't wake up," I whispered. "This is the safest thing for you right now."
Then I moved back to the edge of the bushes. Looked out at the clearing.
The gray wolf had Sophia pinned. But he wasn't killing her. Just holding her down.
That was wrong. That was all wrong.
I shifted my focus to the camp direction. Through the trees I could see movement. Shadows. Fighting.
But something felt off.
I watched closer.
A wolf tackled one of the students. Brought him down hard. But then the wolf just. Stopped. Knocked the kid out with one hit to the head. Then dragged him away.
Not killed. Knocked out.
Another wolf was doing the same thing. Chase. Tackle. Knock out. Drag.
They were avoiding vital spots. Avoiding anything that would cause serious injury.
This wasn't a massacre.
This was a capture operation.
"What the hell?" I breathed.
Why would they want to capture students? What was the point?
My mind raced through possibilities. Ransom? Unlikely. Most of these kids weren't from wealthy families.
Leverage? Against who?
Recruitment? That made even less sense.
I needed more information. Needed to see what they were doing with the students they'd captured.
I started to move forward. Slowly. Carefully.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
I spun around. Dropped into a defensive stance without thinking.
Adrian stepped out from behind a tree.
He had a longbow in his hands. His clothes were torn. Ripped in places like he'd been in a fight.
"It's me. Elara," he said quietly. "Adrian. From the archery club."
Right. The club president. The one who'd been watching me during training.
I didn't relax. "What are you doing here?"
"Same thing you are. Trying to figure out what's happening." He moved closer.
"If we go back now. Get help. Call the authorities. By the time anyone gets here, all the students will be gone," he said.
I knew he was right. I'd been thinking the same thing.
"So what are you suggesting?"
"I'm going after them. Going to get the students back."
I studied his face. "You have a plan?"
"A basic one."
"And you think you can pull it off alone?"
He was quiet for a moment. "No. Probably not."
At least he was honest.
I looked back toward camp. The screaming had died down. That was either very good or very bad.
I thought about Chloe. Unconscious and hidden. Safe for now.
I thought about the other students. Being dragged away by wolves with red claw marks.
I thought about how this whole thing felt wrong. Organized. Planned.
Someone had set this up. Someone was behind it.
And I needed to know who.
"I'm coming with you," I heard myself say.
Adrian's eyebrows went up. "You sure about that?"
No. I wasn't sure. This was stupid. Reckless. Exactly the kind of thing that would get me killed.
But I thought about Chloe's face when she'd stepped in front of me. When she'd tried to protect me from Sophia.
I thought about all the students who'd never done anything to deserve this.
"I'm sure," I said.
Adrian studied me for a long moment. Then he reached behind his back and pulled out another bow. And a quiver full of arrows.
He held them out to me.
I took them. The weight felt good in my hands. Familiar.
I checked the bowstring. Ran my fingers along it. Testing the tension. The flexibility.
It was good quality. Well-maintained.