Page 6 of The Alpha Wolf’s Secret Baby Boy

I frown as I notice the clear difference between the two sides of the ground. The imaginary line adjacent to the trees is bright green and rich with blooming flowers, while the tree line itself is charred and withered, dark and void of the colors of spring.

It’s almost as if the earth has been burnt, except there’s no ash to indicate the aftermath of a fire. Bushes are barren, tree trunks are blackened, and the flower petals have withered and died as if they’d been hit by the coldest winter frost.

Alpha Theodore Volkov of the Blackmaw Pack is the first to crouch near the blackened grass, and he reaches for a withered flower.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he frowns, glancing over his shoulder as the Misty Creek alpha joins him.

“What could have done this?” Alpha Simon mutters, his voice as horrified as we’re all feeling.

“This makes no sense,” Alpha Flynn says, turning to Dorian. “Have you found any tracks?”

Dorian’s beta, Connor, shrugs. “Not a track in sight. We swept the area, thinking it was some kind of animal or creature that could be traced if there were any tracks. But there was nothing.”

“It’s definitely not an animal, or anything with physical form,” Dorian grunts. “We took care of Jackson and the rogues. I don’t want to believe that we’re being hunted by something else.”

Flynn nods, crossing his arms. “Judging by the way the ground out here reacted to whatever this is, it’s dark.”

“Magic?” Simon offers, narrowing his eyes.

A shiver courses down my spine when he says the word, that unsettling feeling returning to the pit of my stomach. “It’s unlikely,” I say thoughtfully. “Witches are not known to be in our state. Magic does not exist in these parts. And they sure as hell have no business out here.”

Dorian nods. “Damita… Amelia… They are human.”

“Exactly,” Flynn says. “It could be coincidental.”

“We’re not taking any chances,” I growl, stepping forward with fists curled tightly. “We should get a sample of the ground, try to run some tests on it. Figure out what we’re dealing with before dismissing it as a personal threat.”

Dorian agrees with a nod, turning to the alpha of Misty Creek. “Simon?”

“Already have it,” Simon replies, lifting a plastic bag filled with blackened sand and a wilted flower. “I’ll get the research department on it. At least we’ll know what we’re dealing with.”

Dorian nods, then hangs his head with a sigh. “I just hope whatever it is isn’t coming for my family. Amelia is about to give birth. This is added stress she doesn’t need.”

Connor places a hand on Dorian’s shoulder. “After everything that’s happened, I don’t think that anyone in the pack needs the stress. We just got you back. We just got Damita back…”

“Fuck…” Dorian grumbles. “Tonight is supposed to be a special one for Nightclaw. It’s Uncle Elias’s annual memorial celebration. We can’t go ahead if we’re putting the pack in danger.”

“If you cancel the celebration, you’re going to cause distress,” Flynn offers.

“Flynn’s right. You shouldn’t cancel, Dorian,” Theodore agrees. “Tighten your patrols, and we’ll leave some of the Blackmaw soldiers around to keep watch.”

“The same goes for Misty Creek. Since this has surfaced in your territory, we can’t just leave you alone to deal with it. We don’t even know what we’re dealing with yet.”

I nod and turn to my brother, noting how supportive everyone has become ever since Dorian was cleared of suspicion that he had anything to do with Finch Lycoan’s death. Before he’d been kidnapped, and before Jackson emerged as the real threat and mastermind behind the rogue attacks, some of the council members were hostile.

“I’ll stay as well,” I add. “I’ll help you tighten security and ensure that the festivities continue as scheduled. Elias was my uncle, too.”

Dorian offers me a tense smile. “Thanks, brother. That means a lot to me.”

I nod at him, and the other council members begin rounding up their soldiers to return to their hometowns before lunch.

Sticking around in Fort Smit, I launch myself headfirst into plotting safety measures with my brother, instructing the group of Valley Walker soldiers who had accompanied me to the meeting to sweep the Nightclaw territory and look out for any new signs of threats.

By the time lunch rolls around, Dorian invites me to his house.

“Damita will be elated to see her favorite uncle again,” he winks, and I smirk.

“I am her only uncle,” I chuckle lightly, though I’m suddenly excited to see my niece.