Chereads / The Wolf Goddess / Chapter 10 - Traces that were Sniffed

Chapter 10 - Traces that were Sniffed

Fenella complained all the way. "Why are there so many trees blocking the road? We can't move faster like a wolf should. You know, Lowell, the forest is not a suitable place for werewolves."

"Shut up, Fenella," Lowell said. "You can turn around and head back to the highway if you want."

Fenella raised her eyebrows high. "You think I won't be able to keep up with you? Don't give me offense."

"Then stop complaining."

Lowell and his pack went further into the forest through the dense undergrowth and trees for hours following the trail left by Boris.

Every quarter mile or so, they would come across another tree with an X carved into it. Boris must be chasing their quarry. Lowell was confident that with Boris's tracking skills, they would soon find Luke and Willow.

The rain still hadn't stopped. Although the tall pine trees around them kept the water from falling directly down, they were still soaked. But Lowell was not discouraged. He was very confident that with the addition of his current pack members, Luke and Willow would be caught soon.

Smelling a familiar scent, he raised his fist to signal the others to stop. Over his shoulder he saw Fenella and four other werewolves standing at attention. The pack used to be much larger when Willow's father was in charge, but those days were gone. The pack split into many smaller groups when the old wolf decided to disappear without a trace.

"What's wrong?" asked Fenella. "Why did we stop?"

He ignored her. Taking a deep breath to let the scent fill her nostrils. It was blood, and not just any blood. But bear blood. "Follow me." He told the others before he ran through the trees again.

Along with his pack, Lowell came out of the trees. They emerged in a clearing where they found the carcass of a large black bear lying on its side. A moment later, a large wolf emerged from behind the bear, its muzzle bloody and a piece of meat hanging from its jaws.

Lowell limped in front of the wolf. "Is this a good time to eat?"

The wolf swallowed its meat before transforming back into the big man who had served Lowell faithfully. Bare-chested and bloody, Boris wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand then grinned.

"I'm sorry," he grinned. "Would you guys like a taste? There's enough for everyone."

Lowell didn't smile. His eyes narrowed sharply and he took a few steps closer to the much taller man. Instantly his fist flew, knocking Boris down with a split lip. "You're wasting your time feeding yourself. Have you forgotten what you're here for?"

Boris spat blood onto the ground. "I remember."

"Good. Then tell me, did you manage to find Luke and the girl?"

"I already know what happened to Luke. We can easily go after him."

"Oh yeah?" Lowell looked uninterested. "What?"

"Sniff the bear's paw."

"What for?"

"Just sniff it, Lowell."

Lowell stared at the big man curiously for a moment before he walked over to the bear, knelt down, and then lifted one of the bear's front paws to his nose so he could sniff the blood-soaked claw.

"Luke..." Lowell could smell his scent on the paw, and dropped the lifeless paw back to the ground. "I can't believe he got injure by a bear." He stood up and turned to face the herd. "They're not far from here. Spread out in three groups. Find them and bring them back to me. And remember, I want them alive."

The herd formed a group and began to disperse leaving the place. Meanwhile, Lowell and Fenella still stood waiting. However, just as Lowell was about to ask her to leave, Fenella stepped closer to the bear carcass. She knelt down and put her hand into the crushed belly where Boris had feasted.

"Fenella, did you not hear? I gave you an order," Lowell reprimanded her impatiently.

Fenella casually withdrew her hand, carrying a piece of the bear's liver she had pulled out. She put the liver into her mouth and tore with her teeth piece by piece. "Why do we have to rush?" Fenella licked the blood from her lips. "They can't hide from us, especially since you said Luke was injured."

Lowell approached. He bent down and grabbed Fenella's wrist, squeezing it until she dropped the bear's liver. His eyes looked at Fenella coldly. "Look, I never underestimate the enemy," he said. "Luke's injured, but he's not stupid. He knows we're hunting him, and he'll take every precaution to avoid us. If he's injured and vulnerable, there's no better time to redouble our efforts."

Fenella squirmed, removing her hand from Lowell's grip. Now she understood and listened. "What will you do with Luke when you find him?" she asked. "Are you going to kill him?"

Lowell smiled. "Leave that to me."

***

There was a creaking sound that meant someone opened the door to her bedroom. Willow's tired eyes slowly opened as she rolled over in bed, hoping to see her grandmother's smiling face, but she saw no one. So she closed her eyes again, snuggled into her blanket, and then hugged one of her stuffed animals tightly. She would have gladly slept a little longer.

It was such a relief to be home in her own bed. The horrible nightmare was finally over. No more werewolves, no more forest, and no more cold. She was warm and safe in her soft blanket.

Soon she would leave for college and see her friends again. Kelly wanted to take them to the mall after class. Right now her grandfather was most likely in the barn with his carpentry tools, finishing the shoe rack her grandmother wanted. Meanwhile her grandmother was probably in the backyard picking some vegetables and herbs to make smoothies. Maybe it was time to wake up now. She missed them all after that nightmare.

"Willow..." A male voice whispered her name. She stirred, but didn't open her eyes. "Who are you?"

"Willow..." repeated the voice.

"Grandpa? Is that you?"

"Willow...."

Finally, she did open her eyes, then rolled onto her back before finally sitting up. She didn't see her grandpa or anyone else.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

But even this time, no one answered.

Willow frowned. Her eyes scanned the bedroom. Had she gone mad from hearing the voices in her head?

Something in the back of her mind told her to leave the bed, but exhaustion still plagued her. She lay back down, pulled her blanket around her and closed her eyes. But her head hadn't had time to touch the pillow when she heard something moving in the room. She sat up again, but still saw no one. A tingling sensation crawled up her spine. Something didn't feel right.

She glanced at her tightly closed bedroom door. It was strange. She was sure she heard it open. Could she have just imagined it? Willow was about to lie back down when she noticed a pair of dark spots on the edge of the bed. She slowly got out of the covers and crawled towards the edge of the bed for a closer look.The spots were not spots at all. They were actually footprints left by a dog.

But suddenly a wolf appeared out of nowhere. It jumped up from the floor and pushed Willow back onto the bed before she could even scream. She struggled against the beast. Hands grasped at her thick gray fur as she tried to hold it back. But it didn't work. She was powerless against it. In no time at all, the wolf's powerful jaws bit into her neck, piercing her tender flesh and suffocating her at the same time.

No air could reach her lungs and no sound escaped her lips. She was in the clutches of a wolf's snout until her strength ran out. I'm going to die. Willow had given up when she suddenly found herself no longer in her bedroom.

She stared up at the overcast sky as small drops of rain splashed her face. All the warmth she had experienced while wrapped in the blankets was gone. Replaced with a bone-chilling cold. But she still couldn't breathe. It was as if she was still being strangled by the wolf. Yet when she opened her mouth to scream, murky water poured out. Then two strong hands helped her sit up and the remaining water was emptied from her lungs while she coughed and choked.

"Calm down." She heard Luke's voice. "You're okay now."

"What happened?" she asked after finally stopping coughing.

"You fell into the river. Don't you remember?"

Now that Luke mentioned it, the memory of crossing the fallen log slowly came back.

"How did I get out of the water?"

"You were lucky. I barely managed to grab you before you were swept away further into an even swifter part of the river."

Willow had no memory of herself being swept away. She only remembered falling into the river, feeling almost freezing to death, and then nothing. "I think I must have fainted."

She tried to stand up but her legs felt unsteady. She would have fallen back if Luke hadn't been there to catch her-one of his strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Don't rush," he said. "Your body is still weak."

Despite the cold, her cheeks suddenly felt warm. In fact, every inch of her body felt warm.

It was just because of her body heat, she told herself, but even she didn't really believe it. But other possibilities were not something she wanted to consider at the moment.

"At least we're on the other side of the river now," Luke said. "But we really need to shelter from the rain and find a place to camp. No one knows exactly when the rain will stop."

He nodded, starting to feel a little more steady on the ground. When he looked down, he realized that Luke's arms were still around his waist. "Uhm, Luke? You can let me go now."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Luke looked a little embarrassed and let go, then took a step back. It was only then that Willow got a good look at Luke. His face was pale and his injured leg was bleeding again - a thin trail of dark red blood ran down his ankle.

She pointed it out. "Oh, your leg."

But Luke just shook his head calmly. "It's okay. Don't worry about it." He didn't even look at the wound, either knowing or just not caring. "It's just a small problem we need to worry about. There's a bigger problem. We need to find a dry place soon or we'll both die of hypothermia."

***