Chapter 324
Chapter 324
“I went to bed last night and just slept. That’s all there was to it,” I said simply.
Jax and Dev exchanged skeptical glances. “Well, you’re definitely not in your own room-we checked. And after following a trail that led straight to the beta’s door, we figured maybe you’d finally pulled your head out of your ass and gone to be with your mate p>
“Nope, not at all,” I replied firmly. “But I did stay in his room for a while. Honestly, it felt like my own room had been violated. I can’t understand why anyone would want to listen in on me there. I get why they might bug my office or Dad’s study, but my bedroom? That makes no sense. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t bring anyone in there who isn’t family or one of you two, and we rarely discuss pack business in private. Meet me out front in ten minutes, and we can hash this out. If you’re not there, I’m leaving without you p>
They grumbled, but I could tell they were moving. They knew I meant it-I would not wait forever. I needed to find out if Jeremiah’s theory was correct, to see if rogue wolves were really crossing the western border, and whether Austin’s attack had been a fluke or just a distraction. I didn’t want Jeremiah to be right, but every instinct screamed that this was the strongest lead we’d had on these so-called random assaults.
We sprinted south toward the waterfront. Until now, I’d never considered that anyone might be coming or going through this area. The water here didn’t connect to a larger body, but maybe someone was using it as a secret passage.
The run to the lake was uneventful. The weather had been remarkably calm all week, almost as if nature itself was holding its breath, allowing us to investigate without interference. A thin layer of snow still blanketed the ground, but with so many shifters moving through our small pack, much of it had melted into muddy trails that we could follow. The lake’s surface was dark, yet it shimmered faintly under the soft, filtered sunlight on the horizon. We walked along the shoreline, starting from the neutral forests to the east and moving toward Red Fang’s border on the west.
Suddenly, I caught the scent of about five rogues-fresh, no older than a week. It seemed they were merely passing through, traveling from the neutral forest to the neutral lands beyond Red Fang. What struck me as strange was the perfect straight line their scents formed. It was as if five wolves had walked side by side from one end to the other, without deviating even once. Every wolf I knew wandered, sniffing and weaving through the terrain, leaving behind scent trails that looked like the grooves made by a rake in the dirt.
“I think the Crescent Moon pack needs to see this,” I said, linking Jax and Dev through the bond.
“Agreed,” they responded in unison.
As we turned to head back, the wind shifted suddenly. I caught another scent— rogues, at least four of them, maybe five.
“Rogues! Heads up! At least four, maybe five!” I shouted to my pack.
We turned toward the source of the scent, making it clear they wouldn’t be crossing into our territory without a fight. I growled low and sprang toward the intruders. Two of them lunged at me immediately. Had they been watching us? I couldn’t tell much more than that they smelled mangy and putrid. Teeth and claws flew wildly as they snarled, swiping at every exposed part of me. One headbutted me hard, while the other sank its teeth into my shoulder. My wolf growled in pain but retaliated fiercely, tearing a chunk of flesh from one attacker and slashing across the other’s muzzle.
I took a quick moment to locate my warriors. I could hear the sounds of battle all around, but couldn’t see them. I reached out through the bond to Dad, Richard, Jeff, and Sebastian, calling for backup. I had no idea if any of them were close enough to arrive in time, but they needed to know something was wrong.
Suddenly SLAM!
My wolf was hurled head over heels down a small cliff at the top of the embankment. I felt bones crack as we tumbled over jagged boulders, unable to stop the fall. She whimpered in pain. A surge of anger unlike my own or any of my pack’s filled me. It was Ben’s fury-I could feel it, raw and fierce, barreling toward us at full speed.
When we finally hit the bottom, I quickly assessed my injuries. A couple of broken bones, but nothing that would stop me from fighting if I had to. Still, I was useless to my pack in this state. I hoped Ben knew better than to come to me first—he needed to help the others.
Then I heard it: a deafening roar, the pounding of feet, the sounds of ripping and tearing, whimpering… and then silence. Complete, utter silence. Even the lake and the wind seemed to hold their breath.
“Elara! Where are you?!” Ben’s voice cut through the quiet, filled with anger and desperation. The way he shouted my name made me almost want to hide, but I knew I couldn’t.
Against my will, my wolf let out a soft whimper before forcing a shift. Now, I lay there, broken and vulnerable-naked, with a shattered leg, and smelling like feral rogue wolves. Just perfect.