Chapitre 28

Had he noticed that I had disappeared?

No matter how much I thought about it, the pain of the memories corroded my heart like acid. With every minute that passed I was drawn back to Eros.

As promised, Sonni had returned with some cooked meat and water. My voice had returned to the realm of the dead while my thoughts dangled in the past. I lay silently in bed and chewed on the meat.

I had to admit one thing: Karen might be a traitor, but at least a traitor who could cook well. This was bone dry. I could hardly swallow the tough strands.

Dusk had passed and made way for the sun. There was nothing to suggest the stormy clouds of last night. Or the monster.

The screeching legs of a chair scraped the wooden floor and Sonni collapsed in front of my bed. Her crossbow lay forgotten by the fire.

"Do you want to talk about what Iceclaw did to you?" the Slayer asked cautiously.

I frowned. We had to be the same age, but apparently we lived in completely different worlds. I wanted to yell at her that it wasn't Iceclaw, or Eros, or some other normal werewolf.

It was an ancient monster from days long forgotten that had eaten its way into the heart of a good pack. Just the thought of my camouflage shut my mouth.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she finally said, giving me a sharp look. "I can see the sadness in your eyes. Everyone you'll meet here knows that kind of pain."

All my cells bridled at Sonni's words. Her black leather pants creaked as she leaned forward.

"Come on, you should get up. There are many here who really want to meet you," Sonni said, pulling the warm fur off my legs.

I would have liked to bury myself in a hole so that she would finally leave me alone. I didn't want to see anyone. No one here would understand me, quite the opposite. They would judge me for what I was:

An ally of their enemies.

I sighed. The only thought that got me out of bed was Eros. The faster I knew my way around here, the faster I could find a loophole and escape; the one thing i was good at

"By the way, how do you know my name?" I asked, actually curious about Sonni's answer.

Her dark eyes lit up.

"Is that a joke? You're a legend!" she exclaimed excitedly.

I stared at her helplessly. A legend? I've been called many things, but legend had never been there.

"I don't understand anything," I admitted frankly. Sonni's gaze slid to my three treasures that were still lying on the table. They could hardly recognize my mother's bracelet, let alone the holy water.

"The cookbook?" I asked. Sonni laughed heartily, her black hair falling back like a waterfall.

“No, the silver of course. My father was part of the mountain shadow pack himself. He saw it with his own eyes," she said. "But seriously, I wouldn't have dared to wear it in public. That was so brave of you," Sonni enthused while my facial expression lost all composure.

I could hardly believe her words.

Was she really that naive? Did the hunters really think I wore it to protest the wolves back then? Did you really think I didn't have anything better to do?

"The story goes a little differently," I tried cautiously. Sonni looked at me in amazement.

"But my dad said they dragged them onto the stage and Beta Leo almost broke your wrist."

"Yeah, it was, but-"

"And then they took you to the dungeon and tortured you cruelly to scare everyone away."

Sonni's voice jumped with excitement as if she were about to meet her greatest role model. My breath caught in my chest. I couldn't say anything, couldn't react. I was stunned by the blind naivety with which she understood the whole situation.

And I knew exactly: she still treated me with respect, but it would only take a little bit of truth for respect to turn to hate.

"I think I need to talk to your dad," I said, jumping up off the bed. How could a grown man delight his daughter with such a false story? How could said daughter think my actions were good?

The hunters were even stranger than the werewolves.

"He's been waiting for you the whole time. Everyone here."

This joy was extremely strange. I stretched my whole body toward the ceiling and tried not to think about the pack or Eros for a few minutes. Maybe that would ease the dull ache in my heart that shot through my body with every beat.

Sonni grabbed her crossbow while I stayed behind with my treasures. The primeval wolf had torn up the bag.

I slipped the bracelet over my wrist, but the bottle and the book weren't so easy to carry. I wouldn't leave her behind. Who knew how long I was here.

"Don't worry, put it in the bag over there. Let me introduce you to the last stand."

I followed her words to a brown leather bag and stowed my treasures inside while Sonni opened the door and let in the icy morning air. Her black hair glistened in the sun. I took a deep breath and hugged my coat tighter.

The pale smell of Eros clung to it and I wanted to bury my face in it. The longing for him made my knees weak.

"Are you coming?" Sonni asked. She had thrown on a thick, black fur coat.

I nodded and followed the rebel out into the cold. I looked around at the house we had just come from.

It was built into a hill and completely covered with snow. The hunters knew how to camouflage and hide. I had never seen anything like it, not even in Demetrius' notes.

I turned my gaze back to the path ahead. Although the sky was bright blue, the storm had left its mark on nature.

Broken branches and stones lay scattered on the snow, which completely covered bushes and bushes. Decapitated tree stumps adorned our path, as well as earth that the storm had churned up in some places.

At least it was quiet.

"Right this way. My father is probably at the limit."

My ears perked up at the words. Was this my chance? I glanced inconspicuously at the crossbow that Sonni was carrying carefully on her shoulder. Would she shoot me with it if she tried to escape?

There was no bolt in the gun, but she had to carry some. Would she meet me in the open clearing before I reached the pack?

My heart pumped fresh adrenaline through my body. Should I try? I swallowed the lump in my throat. Would Eros want me to try?

I could already hear his stern words in my head about how I could do something so stupid. A longing pain settled in my heart. How much I would give to hear his voice...

The trees thinned out, but my gaze had long been fixed on the other side, on my home. But instead of snow-covered fir trees, something else awaited me.

Not a single tree.

An open, snow-covered area.

"Shh. From here we have to be quiet. They mustn't notice us," whispered Sonni.

Hundreds of canvas tents had been pitched on the other side of the clearing. A flag hung from the largest of them, flickering in the morning breeze.

A camp.

We were on the other side of the other side of the forest. There was nowhere to run to if I didn't want to die.

"Is that..."

Silverblood.

"That's right," a male voice suddenly sounded behind us. I jerked around and faced a black-bearded man whose eyes were the same color as Sonni's. Thick rings ran like waves beneath them.

Like his daughter, he carried a crossbow strapped to his back.

"It's an honor to make your acquaintance, Ephilia of the Mountain Shadow Pack."

He bowed his head in respect.

"The pleasure is all mine," I replied, although I wasn't quite sure yet.

"You can call me Rex. I'm the leader of the last stand," he added, before stepping up to the treeline alongside Sonni.

His eyes fixed back on the tents that stood completely deserted on the other side.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking worried.

"It was this morning. All warriors have set out. It's a miracle you didn't hear it. An army that shook the earth. They headed south."

My strained heart slipped into my pants. Heading south. An army.

"Alpha Udyr wants to launch a second attack on Mountain Shade," I said, Ero's words echoing in my head.

Rex and Sonni looked at me, puzzled.

"I was in your pack when you last attacked," said Rex. "But these troops, here from the north, didn't mobilize them at the time."

"That means Silverblood held back some of his strength!" I cried, horrified. I looked at the hundreds of tents that lay before us like a small town. Hundreds of tents, hundreds of warriors.

An army.

They would just roll over Mountainshade if we didn't help them. The faces of Uncle Theo, Lizzy and Tommy flashed before my eyes. Should Alpha Fenrir fall from power, all humans would spend the rest of their lives as slaves under the rule of Alpha Udyr.

All freedom would be gone. Tommy would go to the labor camp, just like Uncle Theo. None of them would survive there long.

I clenched my fists. The small scratches burned in protest, but I didn't care. A part of me just wanted to crawl into the corner and cry: everything went wrong. The Primordial Wolf, Karen, the Rebels and now Silverblood.

Were there no normal living creatures left on the planet?

Even if I made it back to Eros, nothing would ever be the same again. I missed his calm demeanor and his silent hugs. Did he think about me as often as I did about him? A rock settled on my heart and made it difficult to breathe.

"Anyway," said Rex, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Everyone here wants to meet you. You're a hero to them."

I almost laughed, but his eyes showed anything but humor.

"I think there must be some mix-up," I replied.

"Don't be modest," Sonni said, pointing to my bracelet. "The silver is proof enough that it's you. Let's go to the meeting."

The girl put her arm around my shoulders and pulled me back, away from the border, away from my thoughts and away from any means of escape.

Either they really were that excited, or they didn't want to hear the real story. In both cases I had a huge problem...

...

The old man's heart pounding, pumping blood through his unconscious body, was the only thing keeping Eros from going insane.

He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, he couldn't think straight.

He had meticulously interviewed hundreds of wolves, warriors, healers, parents, even the children. Nobody knew anything. Nobody had lied. Many had offered their help. It was no use.

There was no sign of her at the border and the one who had seen her last was lying in bed in front of him, fighting unconsciousness. Demetrius was a strong man. He would make it, just how long would it take him to heal?

Eros quietly left the room. There was one more hope. He followed the pounding heart that led him into the great hall. The tables were cleared to the side and one person was standing in the middle.

Pollux.

Deep shadows formed black semicircles under his eyes. It had taken hours for his wolf to calm down and for him to return to human form.

Eros walked up to him and put a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Whoever did it will pay with their lives," he said, his words echoing around the room. "Tell me everything that happened."

Pollux's scar quirked for a second. Then he gushed out more words than he had spoken in a month.

"We obeyed our command. to protect Luna. It was stormy. Karen came with us and brought food for Luna and Demetrius. Then she left. It came out of nowhere. A dark shadow. A monster. We couldn't smell it. We couldn't hear it. We could hardly see it. It was already too late."

His voice trailed off while his eyes repeated the night's horrid events. Eros squeezed Pollux's shoulder tighter as if to give him strength.

"It jumped at me from behind and lacerated my back. Castor wanted to help me. It bit his chest..."

The inner storm rang in his words.

"No smell. It was like death. Red eyes. Silver Claws. It killed him."

The harsh pain in his tone made Eros Wolf rebel. He had to search the whole territory. Only in this way could he find the creature that had brought nothing but chaos and devastation.

"I'm sorry, Pollux," he said. "Castor will have his final honor and justice. I swear to you by the moon goddess."

The lonely twin nodded.

Eros turned and left the room. As soon as he was back in his room, anger took over. He threw the wooden table over his head and the splintering wood satisfied his inner monster.

His heart was racing like a savage. It craved the other part of its soul and it would not rest until it got what it wanted. He pushed his strands of hair out of his face and closed his eyes.

Ephilia.

The first day without her...