Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The Hunt Begins

Before the message even reaches me, the atmosphere changes.

I awake with my pulse pounding like war drums and my claws already outstretched. Under my skin, something ancient stirs. Not the Shadow of Whispering. Not totally. This is a personal matter.

A second later, it hits my chest hard.

She is still alive.

I don't have to listen to it anymore. Not wanting to. The words are like splinters stuck in my bones. She is still alive. Moving, not just breathing. Hiding. Observing.

No. Not observing. Sprinting.

Now I sense it. The pack bond's tremor. I originally thought that the shredded thread was broken. When I thought she was dead, I decided to cut that thread. It's humming.

Alive.

And terrified of me.

Before I move, the woodland responds to my call. Trees wobble. Flickering shadows. Her perfume is now faintly, wildly, and rebelliously whispered by the wind, which was once neutral. Still here, but incorrect. Not Lily.

Not totally.

Little Flame, who did you become?

I don't change. Not quite yet. My wolf has too much anger in it. Too much crazy. He's pacing under my skin, prepared to break bones and fracture ribs to reach her. But we'll lose her if I let him go now. The beast refuses to pursue. He will ruin.

So I take off running.

Quicker than previously. More quickly than I've done in years.

I cross boundaries. Disregard cautions. Alpha commands scream like thunder from packs close by, yet I continue. Give it a shot. Give them a chance.

The quest is underway.

I'm not alone, either.

Another route meanders through hers. A ghostly step that is always one step behind. Delicate. Clever. Male.

He is also pursuing her.

It dawns on me then.

She's not merely trying to avoid me.

They are pursuing her.

Metal is what I taste. Don't be afraid. Rage.

I'll look for her first. And whoever gets in my way, God help them.

The day gives way to night.

My boots struck the damp ground. The air is hazy from my breath. She dances just out of reach even now.

She has mastered the art of hiding her identity. Altered her cadence. She once staggered and bled silently. Right now? She is accurate.

Not invisible, though.

The bark was broken. Moss that has been shredded. A partially developed paw print that is deeply embedded in the mud.

Changed. Lately.

Behind her, the shadow grows smaller. He is also getting closer.

No matter who he is, he is talented.

However, he was mistaken.

He was bleeding.

Only a scrape. A reckless one. Perhaps she retaliated. Perhaps he was too near.

I get smacked by the copper tang like a bullet.

That blood is familiar to me.

No.

It isn't possible.

He passed away.

I took his life.

Did I not?

My hands shake.

Jake.

However, that isn't feasible.

Jake had burns on his body. I witnessed it.

Then again...

I also spotted hers.

Good night. Now I move with it. Light is not necessary for me. No need for hope. Just intuition.

She is retaliating.

Astute girl.

She doesn't realize how desperate I am, though.

My fixation.

Running away from a partner doesn't come without repercussions.

Particularly not if you're meant to be deceased.

The moon rises. My wolf lets forth a low, guttural, almost melancholy howl.

I don't accompany him.

I continue to move.

Quicker.

Until the silence is broken by a scream.

Elevated. Fierce. Known.

She.

Mid-leap, I transform.

Skin is separated by fur. Bones break. The world gets sharper.

I can also see him.

A black coat. Gold eyes. That sneer of mockery. Jake.

Looming over her lifeless body.

He gently spins around, his eyes unfrightened. Simply insane.

"Kieran," he says in a venomous, rusty voice. "You were always too late."

I lunge like a wolf.

He disappears.

Deception.

She is real, though.

There is blood, crushed leaves, and claw marks all around.

I touch her shoulder with my nose.

Still warm.

Breathing still.

Seldom.

She moves.

Whispers.

Not my name.

"Kade."

I go cold.

The jungle becomes silent.

Then I hear it.

Behind me.

A chuckle.

Low and cold. Known.

The voice teasingly asks, "You really believed it was you she loved?" "She is now my property."

My muscles coil as I turn.

Nothing.

Only trees.

But the smell is still there.

Blackwell, Kade.

Alpha Rogue.

Intoxicated. Whispering marked by shadows. And now her guardian, apparently?

Or worse.

Her partner?

No.

I pull her into my embrace. Ice burns through her skin. Once more, she murmurs his name.

And another thing.

"They told lies... I never did.

Never what?

Never cared about me?

Never passed away?

Or never desired to be discovered?

Her entire body trembles.

Then a low, deadly snarl.

Not me.

From her.

Her eyes open.

Moreover, they are not hers.

Dark. Never-ending. The girl I knew was nowhere to be seen.

Just the monster she turned into.

She grins.

"You ought not to have attended."

Then everything blows up.

I awake under the debris.

Around me, tree limbs crackle.

From above, ash falls.

My lungs are clouded by smoke.

She is no longer there.

Once more.

She didn't run, though, this time.

She took to the skies.

Where she lay, the ground is charred.

As if shadow and fire had fused.

And it hums in the air.

This was her choice.

It wasn't a forced change to who she is now.

She maintained her composure.

She relaxed.

Of myself.

Of the past.

Of all things.

Aside from him.

Kade.

Jake.

A pair of ghosts.

Just one chick.

And up until now, I was the only one who didn't see the reality.

She was never in need of rescue.

She had to forget.

Breathless, broken, and bleeding, I stumble to my feet.

Not defeated, though.

The hunt is still ongoing.

It has only just begun.

And the following time?

I will not pursue her.

She'll come get me.

Since I now know her secret.

In her eyes, I saw it.

She isn't merely hiding.

She is also hunting.

And who will she attack next?

Is me.

Every part of me screams as I stumble. Beyond only bruising, the blast left questions.

She treated me as if I were a complete stranger.

No, it's not a stranger.

A danger.

It wasn't self-defense the way her power struck out, icy and fierce. It was planned. And her eyes oh, those eyes, my gods. Darker than the darkness that engulfed her. They were devoid of Lily. Don't be afraid. There is no hope.

Just a heads up.

It's an obvious message.

Don't follow me.

However, she ought to be more aware.

Since I will.

I walk on top of the charred remains of a forest floor. The path she blazed is now purposeful, too neat, too contrived.

She wants me to do as she says.

Why?

I let instinct take control and slow my breathing. Then, under the false track, another path, I catch it. Concealed. Delicate.

And elderly.

From a few hours ago.

Away from Kade. Not with Jake.

But not near either of them.

She took off running. Then retreated twice.

Staged the interaction.

The battle. The blast. Me.

It wasn't advantageous to me.

It was for them.

They're watching her.

She was aware of my arrival. She was counting on it. And she diverted her attention by using me.

A ruse.

The forest's whispers tangle like strands. Invisible eyes make the shadows writhe. In the leaves, I hear the Whispering Shadow hiss.

I should be angry.

I'm amazed.

I was played by her.

I was outplayed by her.

The worst part was that she exploited what she knew I couldn't avoid.

She.

I close my eyes and force myself to endure the pain, the shame, and the sharp edge of treachery.

She has changed since I left her.

Now she is the storm.

And I'm in the midst of it all.

I move once more. Not because I'd like to. since I must.

Hesitancy is no longer an option.

I must know what she is hunting if she is.

I must know if she is hurting someone.

And above all?

Why I had to watch it for her.

Because Lily never did anything irrational.

Particularly not right now.

I go the untrod route.

It is older. Smarter. Marked not by smell but by stillness. No new kills. No blood. Just echoes of instinct.

I reach a clearing as a result.

Here, the air is different. Still. Observing.

In the middle is an altar. Stone. Old. Not a werewolf.

Witch.

It has also been in use lately.

The symbols are profound. Black blood dried. Not human. Not a beast. Something halfway.

A sacrifice.

Not for a period, though.

For a binding.

This is where her aroma is most noticeable. Her actual fragrance. The one I committed to memory long ago before fate broke it and power corrupted it.

Here she stood.

By themselves.

Willing.

I see it at that moment.

The mark.

Not inscribed on stone. Not charred into the bark.

Hovering in midair.

A rune. Alive.

Like fog, it floats over the altar. Softly violet in glow.

I grab it.

It is burning.

Behind my eyes, images burst into being.

Her face.

Not damaged. Not in tears.

Grinning.

Not for me.

For him.

Kade.

He plants a kiss on her forehead. Her hands are bound in shadow. Not as a prisoner.

As a bride.

The ritual is not very old. It is prohibited.

It was not only the Whispering Shadow's gift that left a mark on her arm.

It was a connection.

Sealed in blood.

It was her choice.

He was her choice.

The picture breaks. I drop to my knees.

No air. Not a sound. Only suffering.

Until another picture appears.

Not her.

Of Jake.

Alive. Altered. His wolf is no longer his. It moves incorrectly. Not natural.

Attached.

To her?

No.

To another thing.

A darker one.

Now I am aware of what I am looking at.

No resurrection.

A possession.

They're controlling Jake.

The secret is Lily.

Whether or whether she is aware of it.

Kade may not be aware of it.

Underneath her skin is something ancient. Something that is baiting her. as a gateway.

I simply unlocked it.

Before I can move, the rune blazes white-hot.

A voice.

Not hers.

Not my.

Not Kade's.

"I'm grateful, Alpha."

I attempt to run.

But my body refuses to comply.

My legs are covered in roots. My arms are bound by shadow. I'm having trouble breathing. Unable to think.

Just pay attention.

"You helped me get to know her better. Just as she helped me get to know you better.

Like silk, like sin, or like smoke, the voice curls.

"I just need one more now."

The air breaks.

Something emerges from the stone after a heartbeat.

My face becomes tired from it.

My eyes.

Not my soul, though.

Then it smiles.

An ideal mirror.

Aside from the eyes.

They're black.

Similar to hers.

"Let the hunt really start."