Chapter 27 : A Deadly Pursuit

Maya

"Come on, we're wasting time. Let's go!" shouted a man in a leather jacket under a red shirt, his face flushed with anger.

"We have to go, and it's almost dawn, Rylan! We want to find Karen just as much as you do," a woman named Selene interjected, answering in a tone that was both stern and concerned at the same time.

"Well, you're certainly not acting like—" he started to shout back, eager to fight, if only with words to relieve the stress and worry he felt, when he felt something bite his right ear. "Ouch! Damn little animal! Go back to your owner!" He grabbed the animal and threw it back to its owner.

"You deserved it, asshole!" taunted Samuel, the owner of the small animal, which barked and narrowly avoided his outstretched hand. Running toward Mike, Samuel hid behind his shoulder and pleaded for help in a whining tone, "Save me from this cruel man.

With a sigh, he stepped closer to the raging Rylan, preparing to try and mediate the situation once again, when a woman's voice stopped them in their tracks with a cold and dismissive tone.

"It's a pathetic sight, but what can one expect from a wild werewolf like you and your useless friend?" asked Maya, her voice sharply cutting in. She was keeping an eye on the group from behind the trees, in disguise as Elena.

Samuel stammered in anger at the words that were clearly being directed at him.

"What did you say?" demanded Rylan. He had never liked this she-wolf, her cold demeanor reminded him of his brother.

"Your sense of hearing is still working just fine, is it not?" Maya said as she fixed Rylan with a sharp stare. She realized that condescension and arrogance was the best way to avoid suspicion. They were not as gullible as the girl of her dreams, she knew.

He stepped closer to her and snarled through clenched teeth, but before he could make any further reply, Maya turned away from him and sniffed the air with a deep sense of emotion.

"We need to go," she said, not telling anyone what she was planning before she walked past Rylan and his pack and into the battleground Xavier used to protect.

He looked at her for a moment, displeased with her behavior, then heard Selene call to her pet wolf, Felix, who transformed into a larger form and let the group climb onto his back, except for Rylan.

As he grumbled about the arrogant she-wolf, he ran after Maya with great determination.

When Maya realized that they were following her, she picked up speed and ran towards the place where she had last seen the girl of her dreams. She frowned when she realized she was going too fast for the others and adjusted her speed to match theirs, but she was still ahead. No one questioned her leadership, knowing that only she had a lead strong enough to find their friend.

Almost immediately, the scent of death and decay began to fill their noses as well.

"It smells like old blood," Samuel complained as he buried his nose in his own collar near his chest to shield his nose from the smell.

While Selene and Mike could smell the stench when they were near the corpse or when the wind blew in their faces, their sharp and highly sensitive noses made them uncomfortable.

Rylan's nose crinkled as he smelled the overpowering scent, but otherwise he tried to distinguish between the scent of the surrounding area and the scent of Karen. He was still upset that he needed the help of others to track down his pack-mates, so he tried to find Karen's scent first to prove his worth to his friends and, more importantly, to himself.

His mind was also filled with confusion. Why would Xavier take Karen with him? And how would she get past his brother's barrier? He knew that she could sometimes pass through barriers, usually without realizing it, but Xavier? Did he let her in? If so, why did he?

His teeth were chattering with increasing frustration. He desperately wanted to find her, to ensure that she was safe and sound. If Xavier had harmed her, then he swore he would take revenge, even if it was on his own brother.

Meanwhile, without thinking about anything else, Maya was too busy trying to find the place where she had last seen Karen and Alpha Xavier. Her thoughts were similar to Rylan's - though they were unaware of it. In her eagerness to reach the place she was going to, if only to catch the girl's scent, she had quickened her pace, once again distancing herself from the others who remained close by.

"Hey, wait!" came an angry male voice from the distance that he recognized as Rylan's. She growled silently. She wished she could kill him and put an end to this charade. He was an enemy of her leader and he stood in the way of her winning the heart of Karen. He didn't deserve her!

If she were sane, Maya would realize that her feelings for Karen had quickly turned into an obsession. But she was oblivious to that fact as she slowed her pace to allow the others to catch up, refusing to exchange words with them. She had to find her! No matter what.

Just then, she almost stumbled as she felt the presence of a powerful spiritual energy nearby, rapidly approaching.

An arrow?!

She had been so preoccupied with her desperate thoughts of reaching Karen that her reflexes were too slow as she stumbled in surprise - the arrow then lodged in her shoulder, nearly piercing her heart!

She screamed at the horrible burning sensation as the unknown spiritual force spread through her system, threatening to reveal its true form.

No! I cannot lose this form! She thought in despair and defiance. Gritting her teeth, her lips pulled back in a silent snarl, her wolf barely surfaced, fighting the spiritual force that threatened her.

"Elena!" she recognized the voice of the long-haired black woman in an all-black outfit that fit her body, which was then echoed by the voice of the man carrying a staff with a silver crescent symbol.

The woman stood in front of Maya and laid down her weapon while Mike knelt beside the she-wolf.

Maya reached for the arrow, intending to pull it out and end her suffering, but her hand was caught before she could touch the staff. She hissed.

"Elena, are you all right?" he asked her.

"Please pull the arrow out," she pleaded, not caring about his stupid remarks. Of course she wasn't okay! There was an arrow of a woman who had the same power as Karen stuck in her body.