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GRIFFIN
“It was a feral wolf?” Cassian asked the girls after they explained what happened at the cabin. Emily called a meeting with the wolves that met with her before. If I wasn’t feeling so ill, I would’ve laughed and teased Cassian for how Emily took control and left him standing there with his jaw in the dirt from shock.
“Yes,” Ember answered for the 15th time. “That thing popped up like a damn daisy. No idea where it came from. I don’t know of any packs that close to the cabin, but it could have wandered off, far from its original pack. It saw us and dove after us. Though, I don’t think it was specifically targeting us. It was like it was hungry and we were food or something. Like a regular animal, but enormous and with rabies.”
Cassian stroked the stubble that grew when he was out. “You don’t think someone sent the wolf after you?” he asked like he couldn’t believe that it was by chance.
“I don’t think it was evil,” Emily said. “When it died, it let out this cry that sounded… I don’t know, normal? I could hear the pain and the hurt like it knew its life was ending. It just didn’t feel evil. It felt wild, but not evil.”
“Okay?” Cassian said, lilting at the end like a question. Pretty sure he didn’t know how to react to that, or what to do with that information. Not that I could blame him. I wasn’t totally sure what a typical cry sounded like for a feral wolf. But the girls were shaken up, as if it happened right before they got here and not the night before. It must’ve really frightened them.
Sam stepped forward, a surprising look of hope on his face. “You said it was a cry? Like, human cry or wolf?”
Emily stepped closer to him and said, “Definitely wolf, but I got the feeling that their human form was still trapped inside. Like, even though they were feral, a part of their humanity remained. I don’t know…” She dipped her head, shaking in, obviously affected by that cry. I’m not sure why it bothered her so much, but I had to fight the urge to wrap my arms around her and pull her into my chest, keeping all of her troubles at bay.
From what I’d pieced together here and there around the pack, one of the wolves that went feral was his brother or something. I wasn’t totally sure, but it would explain his interest in the cry.
“What I want to know,” said a woman with dark skin and long braids that were pulled into a ponytail, “is what that black stuff was that oozed out of it. And why it turned to dust.” She faced Ember, avoiding Emily’s gaze, and I wondered why she was ignoring Emily.
“I’m not sure,” Ember replied, furrowing her eyebrows. “I’ve never heard of a wolf turning to dust after it dies. After the attack on your pack, I don’t remember any of your members doing that.”
Everyone shifted uncomfortably at the memory but shook their heads because, as far as any of us knew, wolves didn’t turn to dust.
“Based on the black miasma that seeped out, I think there was some form of dark magic that was used on the wolf.”
“Black what?” Sam asked.
“Miasma. It’s like an essence, only in this case, it was tangible. Though it was absorbed into the air, we had to get inside to avoid the negative energy it left behind. I’d never felt such negativity, aside from the night with the wraith.”
Half of the room looked around in confusion and astonishment. No one had heard of a wraith being used in forever, and they weren’t present when she told Grace about the shadowy being that she and Emily saw. Of course it was a surprise to them.
“So, what does this mean?” asked one of the other wolves. “Are the feral wolves mutating?”
No one answered. Probably because no one was really sure.
Amidst the silence, Emily stepped forward, taking her place at the desk in the center of our little circle. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and began writing notes.
“We need to think of this logically. Let’s make a list of all the questions relating to this wolf incident.” She scribbled down questions as she asked them aloud. “Why was it there? What was the miasma? Why did it turn to dust?”
“Was this related to Samara?” the female wolf asked. Emily pointed to her, snapping a finger and writing it down.
“Do feral wolves still have their human form?” Sam asked, and Emily wrote.
After a few more in the group shouted out questions, Emily taking note of each one, she flipped to another page and began writing down solutions. She had everyone offer ideas about how to find information regarding each question and devised a plan of who would investigate what. It was pretty impressive the way she took control and led the group.
Just like a true luna.
When we finished, Cassian announced that he wanted to have a small bonfire—just this group and our mates. Though when he said mates, I couldn’t help but notice him glance uneasily in my direction.
We still hadn’t figured out how to navigate this mate thing, and though I debated getting rid of the bond, I was pulled to Emily with such a force that, if push came to shove, I don’t think I could go through with it.
Cassian insisted I party with them, claiming we’d all had a rough couple of weeks, so I agreed, telling him I’d be stopping by the apartment first to take a nap.
“Oh, right. Because you’re sick,” Cassian said, concern sweeping his face once more.
Emily’s head jerked up at the mention, and she pushed her way closer to us. “What’s wrong? Why are you sick?” Her hand instantly landed on my forehead, checking for a fever.
“Thanks for that,” I muttered to Cassian before turning to Emily. “I’m fine; just a little flu.” I know the fortune teller said it wasn’t the flu, but until I had proof of something else, I was going with flu. It was less threatening to those around me. And I knew that Cassian wouldn’t say anything because he didn’t even want to mention the Black Hole to Emily.
