“This doesn’t seem hunger motivated, and it clearly happened during the day, so it wasn’t wraiths,” I thought out loud. “Territorial kill, maybe?”
“No beast I know of would waste food like this, even if it was just to defend its territory,” Bastian echoed my thoughts as he rose to his feet. “I can’t pick up any other scents because of all this.” He frowned before glancing at Ryker, who hadn’t moved from my side. “You ever come across something like this, Ryk?”
Silence.
I turned to face Ryker and found him staring at the remains with a distant expression.
“Hey.” I rested my hand on his forearm. “You good?”
He blinked before slowly turning to look at me. “I’ve encountered something like this before. Only once.”
Seeing Ryker so unsettled disturbed me far more than the decimated howler pack. A dull ache thudded inside my chest. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand slipped into Ryker’s and I pulled him away from the clearing.
“Tell me about it?” I asked lightly.
Ryker stopped walking, turning to face me so the clearing was in his peripheral vision but his eyes were locked on mine. He didn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t pull away.
“In the mountains with my family,” he said quietly. “There was another lycan clan that lived nearby. They mostly kept to themselves, but I remember occasionally playing with some of the pups my age. It was summertime and there was a swimming hole located between us. I decided to go and see if they were there . . . and found them in pieces. Exactly like . . .”
“This,” I finished for him. “What did your family do?”
“We moved.” His gaze dropped to where my fingers intertwined with his. “Never did find out what did it. Not long after that was the wraith attack, and then Warrick found me. You know the rest.”
I did. Warrick had brought him home. Ryker had become the fourth member of the Alpha pack, and a decade later, was one of the most feared Velesians, second only to Warrick himself.
Yet here he was, holding my hand like I was something precious to him. He’s Alpha pack, you’re not, a lone voice of reason reminded me. He will never choose you over them.
I slipped my hand free from his and took a step back, turning slightly to face the carnage again. Bastian stared at the two of us, his brows furrowed together and a strained look on his face before he wiped it away. “Rynn, weren’t you and Cade looking into reports of new monster attacks?”
“Cade was.” I cleared my throat. “He only told me about it recently, so I don’t have all the details, but I know the reports came from the west coast. Not a lot of details about the beasts themselves and he didn’t mention anything like this, but there are documented cases of entire hunting parties going missing.”
“We need to alert Silverdale and all the nearby outposts.” Bastian moved around the carnage, looking at the ground. “There are footprints, difficult to make out because of how hard the ground is and the mayhem of the killing. But I think it was just one large creature.”
Thank the moon for small mercies.
“A hunting party will have to be organized before whatever this thing is turns its attention on us.” I rubbed at my nose.
“We’ll need more people,” Ryker finally said, glancing at Bastian before carefully adding, “and we might need to call Warrick back.”
Bastian grimaced but didn’t disagree. Once again, my curiosity about the deal between Bastian and Warrick rose. I kicked myself for not asking Kieran about it, but I’d had more pressing things on my mind. Maybe next time.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, not wanting to smell the blood and gore anymore. “Whatever did this is probably still around here, and I’d prefer not to meet it when it’s just the three of us.”
“Don’t lie, beautiful.” Bastian grinned at me. “You’re just looking forward to the cuddle session tonight.”
“We’re getting two rooms,” I said flatly, even as I was thankful for him lightening the mood a bit. Ryker smiled faintly, and that eased the tension inside my chest. “Or at least a room with two beds. You two can cuddle with each other.”
Bastian chuckled and opened his mouth to no doubt tease me again when a scream sounded in the forest.
“Shit.” Ryker looked to the northwest as more terrified shouting echoed through the trees.
“Get to the outpost. Ryker and I will handle this,” Bastian ordered before drawing two daggers and racing off towards the screaming.
Ryker looked at me. “You’re not going to listen to him, are you?”
“What do you think?” I asked sharply before darting after Bastian.
“Damn it, Rynn,” Bastian hissed when I pulled up next to him. “Ryker and I have nearly a decade of experience fighting beside each other. You’re the odd one out.”
