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ChapterThirty-Two
The metallic scentof blood tickled my nose, and I followed the trail drifting in the wind, my boots sinking into the cushy forest floor. I stepped over fallen logs covered in moss and lichen and avoided patches of crunchy leaves to keep as quiet as possible.
After Fane left, ensuring Barric was right behind him, Camus pointed out my patrol spot on a map of their territory. This area wasn’t that far from the Anders’ home, so I hoped I didn’t discover anything out of the ordinary. But the blood in the air didn’t bode well for my hopes.
Maybe an animal was feasting on another, or a wolf left remnants of a kill.
When the female shifter Camus assigned to work with me showed up, she didn’t hide her disgust at being paired with me. Mina glowered the whole thirty seconds we walked through the forest until I suggested we split up.
For most of my life, I’d been an outcast one way or another, so her aversion wasn’t that hard of a pill to swallow. The only time I felt like I belonged was with the ravens, but that had all been a lie.
A bitter laugh slipped out. The moment I became different, they kicked me out no matter how many people I could have saved. They only saw that I wasn’t one of them anymore.
My chest tightened as Hawk’s image bombarded my mind. Had he thought of me one bit since I was kicked out? Did he care even in the slightest?
As the scent of blood intensified, I shook off the distracting thoughts and focused on the trail. The silver moonlight dappling the forest shined on a deer carcass in a pile of leaves a few yards away.
I scanned the area for creatures and then hurried over, squatting beside it. My stomach roiled at the mess of an animal. Several wounds tore into his flesh, spilling tissue, muscle, and pieces of organs all over the ground and nearby vegetation. A shifter didn’t do this, not one in his or her right mind.
My scalp prickled as another scent mingled with the blood. I lifted my nose and detected two wolves headed my way. Dorian appeared first with Jake close on his heels, the same friend he was with the other night in the woods when I found the charus.
“What the hell did you do to that deer?” The beta grimaced as he studied the shredded corpse. “Is that how you and Fane like to eat? You play with your food?”
I flipped him off. “You really want to throw insults around after I watched Camus rake you over the coals in front of Barric?”
Jake’s eyebrows lifted, disappearing into his shaggy hair. “What’s she talking about?”
“Nothing.” Dorian carefully dodged a pile of gory tissue and sneered as the tiniest droplet of blood stained one of his pristine boots. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Tate.”
This was the same guy who took out a bunch of vamps? He seemed like such a priss.
Jake moved closer, stopping in front of an unrecognizable organ. “If you didn’t do this, then what did?”
I held my hand over the dead deer, my blood freezing. “It’s still warm.” Which meant the thing that did this was probably still nearby. I shot to my feet and yanked out the transformative fae hilt from my pocket, peering through the trees.
“I don’t see or smell anything besides you and that dead deer.” Dorian arched a dark blond eyebrow. “Are you sure you didn’t do this?”
“She’s probably some vicious little monster.” Jake’s gaze raked over me as a cruel smile twisted his mouth. “Fanedidturn her after all, and he’s a psycho.”
My mouth curved into a scowl. “You don’t know anything about him. Do you just make up shit to fit your narrative?”
“Fane Maverick doesn’t belong here, and neither do you.” Mina, the female wolf who was supposed to be patrolling with me, strolled up with a guy that resembled her way too much not to be a close relative. Both had strawberry blonde hair, light eyes, and a sturdy build. They could be twins.
“Yeah, well, the alpha wants us here, so if you have a problem, bring it up with him.” I gave a saccharine smile. “I’m sure he’d love for you to tell him how to run his pack.”
Dorian rolled his shoulders, his muscles stretching beneath his long-sleeve blue knit shirt. “As the beta, it’s my job to help advise the alpha and oversee pack issues. And I say you don’t belong, so you should leave.”
“I’ll get right on that.” I jerked my chin to the dead deer. “As soon as I find out what did this.”
The guy version of Mina leaned against a tree, his expression more curious and less hostile than the others. “Do you really plan on mating with Fane, or is that just a rumor?”
I scoffed. “That’s none of your business.”
“His scent is all over you.” He shrugged. “But Fane’s always been more of a lone wolf. I can’t picture him with a mate.”
Mina snarled at him. “Why are you so interested in whether they’re going to be mates, Will? Who cares? It’s Fane.”
Will casually tucked his hands into his jeans. “Because beneath Fane’s possessive scent, she smells like sweet cherries and paradise. I’d like to taste that.”
