Chapter 96

Zeena's POV

Truth was I was already awake before the first cock crow.

That's if sleep even happened at all. My nerves had been chewing at me all night, and every time I tried to close my eyes, my mind went straight back to everything that had happened.

So I stopped trying.

I stayed with Ryder instead.

I sat beside him most of the night, talking to him about anything that came to mind. Stupid things mostly. Things that didn’t matter. What Laura said earlier. How the council was probably already suspicious. How I still didn’t understand half the rules of this world but apparently I was now making decisions that could break it.

At some point even, I started telling him about the first time I arrived at Stormfang. About how I had no idea what I was walking into.

I don't know if I was expecting a yes or a nod from him at some point but I kept talking anyway, and before I knew it I was seeing streaks of dawn slowly breaking in.

And just as I was about heading out, Andre came for me. A soft knock and then his voice telling me it was time.

And now we were here.

Moving through the forest in the half-light before dawn broke totally carrying the body of a dead wolf toward a stream like this was something people did every day.

I wasn’t surprised to see Lucius with Andre when we met up earlier. Andre had just shrugged and said something about needing extra hands and extra eyes.

Lucius had only nodded once.

That was about as much as he ever said.

I didn’t really know much about him. He was one of the quieter ones in the pack. Always alert too. Even inside Stormfang he moved like someone could jump him at any second.

I used to think it was just because he was a tracker, but then Laura was a tracker too and she wasn’t like that.

I don’t know. Maybe everyone carried their own ghosts differently.

I pushed the thought away and focused on where we were going.

We didn’t take the straight path out. Andre made sure of that. We took the way round, according to Andre who knew these things, rocky paths plus the wind in the opposite direction helped with the scents. I discovered that even with my in and out of the pack, there were still places I didn't know. Too many turns. Too many overlaps. At some point I stopped trying to remember where we’d even come from.

Laura and Lucius were ahead and slightly to the sides, scanning, listening.

Andre and I had the body. We were taking turns carrying the body and by gods, Elliot was heavier than he looked, or was it just the dead weight?

I adjusted my grip slightly, trying not to let the strain show. My arms were starting to burn, but I kept walking.

Never in my wildest imagination had I pictured myself doing something like this.

If someone had told me months ago that I’d be carrying a dead council wolf through the woods at dawn trying to cover up a fight that nearly killed my mate, I probably would’ve slapped them into thin air.

Yet here I was.

Honestly, the past few months of my life had been one long series of things I never saw coming.

“Wait.”

Lucius’s voice cut through the quiet.

Andre and I stopped immediately, my mind snapping to the present.

My head jerked up, senses sharpening as my eyes swept the trees around us. Where was Celeste? Why was she still mute? I could really use her help right now.

Andre shifted slightly beside me.

“What is it?”

Lucius didn’t look back.

“Movement,” he said quietly. “Right side.”

My gaze darted in that direction instantly.

Everything went still.

The forest had that strange early-morning quiet where even small sounds felt loud. Leaves barely moving. Branches hanging low and heavy.

I listened harder.

Nothing.

But Lucius hadn’t sounded uncertain.

We stayed like that for what felt longer than it probably was. Just standing there, holding dead weight between us while the forest watched.

And it didn't help that I was now painfully aware of how heavy Elliot actually was.

My fingers tightened slightly around my grip as my arms protested.

I shifted a little, trying to ease the strain without making noise. I was just about to say something–

“Move.”

Lucius again.

Short. Quiet. Certain.

I swallowed whatever I was about to say and started walking again with Andre, hoping it was actually nothing.

Not long after that, I started hearing it.

Water.

The soft rushing sound up ahead, loosened the tension in my chest slightly.

Good.

That meant we were close. Hopefully nothing goes south from here.

The trees began to thin a little as the ground dipped, and the path opened up toward the stream.

Laura held up a hand.

“Wait.”

Andre and I stopped again. Can we just get this over with already?!

She glanced at Lucius.

“Run a sweep.” Oh gods.

Lucius didn’t argue. Didn’t even nod this time. He just moved, slipping off into the trees like he belonged there more than anywhere else.

We stood there in silence while he checked the area.

I flexed my fingers slightly, trying to ignore the ache in my arms.

A minute later he was back.

Laura studied his face for a second, then nodded.

“Clear.”

She turned to us.

“Go.”

Andre stepped into the water first.

I followed.

The cold hit immediately, biting into my legs as we waded deeper into the stream. The current wasn’t really strong, but it pushed enough to make every step feel heavier.

We kept moving like that for a bit, letting the water run around us, carrying away whatever scent it could.

Then Laura gave a small signal from the bank.

Andre looked at me briefly and then we both lowered the body.

The moment the weight left my arms felt strange and relieving at the same time.

For a second Elliot just floated there between the pull of the current and the stillness of the water.

Then slowly he started drifting.

The stream caught him and carried him away.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

I crouched slightly and dipped my hands into the water, rubbing them together, letting the cold wash over my skin.

“Is this alright?” I asked quietly, glancing at Andre.

He nodded.

“The deed’s done,” he said. “Might as well wait.”

We climbed out of the stream a moment later, water dripping from our clothes as we stepped back onto the bank.

I had just gotten both feet on solid ground when–

Crunch.

Oh crap.