CHAPTER 17

Bruce ran through the forest fiercely and in his powerful form of a wolf he seemed more like a machine, unaffected by the thickets around of trees and shrubs, and the world around him was just green and brown. The man’s nostrils widened in an attempt to pick the scent of the intruder he would have seen at the outskirts of the pack territory.

The odor was completely unknown to him; it was even more pungent than semen, being earthy, mossy, like the forest that had grown around the cabin, and something, which seemed to enrage the beast within and cause the hair on the back of the neck to stand up. It was sly and appeared to be joking with him by the wind, could be powerful one minute and weak the next.

Bruce tried as hard as he could and urges himself to run deep into the forest where there was no feeling of the ground beneath his paws. This young man was left in the pack house, only being told to remain constantly in Amelia’s company and to ensure her safety. His motivation was that his mate could be in trouble and hence he mobilised all the power, strength and the speed that an Alpha could not ordinarily demonstrate.

Beside him something stirred and I saw him turn his head to the right. Bruce took a sudden turn to the right and scraping the soles of his shoes on the ground causing a cloud of dust and leaves to rise. There, a shade, blacker than it should have been, slicing into the forest’s natural contours.

Bruce sprang off the ground and headed towards the identified shadow as a fierce predator prepared to strike any intruder to the death. But it was as if the very same second the shadow vanished, receding as if from the presence of light, as a thin mist does from the interstices of the trees.

Bruce hit the ground hardly, anger rising deep in his throat making a growling sound. He turned around immediately, opened his eyes to golden and scanned the room and then the door. The smell was still there, almost daring him to notice it.


The hours-long chase continued. To repeat what was said earlier, the apparatus exposed Bruce to the shadow very quickly; thus, he would lose sight of it immediately he thought he saw it or perceived a closer whiff of it. Often it was as if he were in the process of looking for some ghost.

Getting to the point when the sun started to set behind trees and long shadows began to come into view, Bruce surrendered. He could not, for the moment at least, grasp, get hold of, apprehend this thing. With one, final, vicious growl, he faced the opposite direction and started off in a run, to carry out the order given to him by the Master of the pack house.

Often, he was strolling deep into his thoughts wandering around the corridors of his premises. This new threat was contained in the new journal which appeared in the market. How it relate to the revelations about true nature of Amelia? Most of all, how was he going to shield his mate and pack from something that even he failed to ‘catch’?

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Back at the pack house however, Amelia was going through a usual though somewhat surreal day at work. She continued ‘business as usual’ being Luna - resolving a conflict between two juvenile wolves, discussing the preparation for the next one full moon, and checking on human friends who provided with goods and services for the pack’s and their mates’ wellbeing.

Yet, in spite of all of this she never felt that there was not something that could be done. .. different. She could not quite pinpoint individual or specific cause, just feeling that something was not quite right and it was present at the pack house.

Last but not the least, there was Elijah.

They both had had a good relationship with each other specially Amelia who was on good terms with Bruce’s Beta. He was nice, efficient, and had been one of the first people to embrace her in the pack. However, today he was a whole different person when it came to her and rushed to make up for lost time.

It started at breakfast. Elijah had vehemently have to ensure that he took her a plate of her favourite foods including the blackberry jam that she so much enjoyed but did not take often. When she thanked him, surprise she could not fully hide in her voice, he come close enough to smile that looked almost. .. sad.

During the day, he stared at her more than he has ever done before and she found the change rather peculiar. It became apparent many times that he would glance at her with an amusing kind of an uncomprehending, and mildly anxious, a tender gaze which sometimes resembled sorrow and faint disgrace.

‘Elijah,’ said she following him into the hallway after they had spent considerable time gazing at each other. “Well, how are you? Are you okay? You are somehow different today, it seems like you are preoccupied.”

This statement seemed to take Elijah by surprise as he looked somewhat taken aback. “Oh, Amelia ,” he said in a warm but tensed up voice that could not betray the worry I felt he had regarding my going back home. “Oh you know, everything is okay, I am just?” This reaction is simply a result of the fatigue that is brought about due to a hectic week.

Amelia’s face screwed up in dissatisfaction at the assertion’s validity, although she did not wholly disagree. “Are you sure?” You know I am always here for you if something is wrong, we are family now you know.

At the word ‘family’, the intensity of something in Elijah’s eyes was brief but it was enough to sow a seed of a emotion that momentarily left Amelia shocked. Yet before she could argue it out, he let out an amiable grin that did not even light up his pupils.

“Of course Amelia you really don’t have to there is so much we need to do and I just… I wish you to know how much you matter to this pack and to all of us” You’ve brought a beacon of light to us and we are… I am grateful for you.”

Amelia briefly closed her eyes, feeling the didn’s sweet consideration but more and more sure that there was something wrong. “Thank you Elijah,” the girl interrupts him.”That means a lot to me.” “But are you sure there isn’t anything you want me to help you with?”

Thus, she was interrupted by the sound of howling in the distance – the signal that Bruce and the patrol were approaching. His body stiffened right up and I could see a wave of tension rippling through his muscles


Yes, of course, Amelia. You are such a sweet one. I… I just wanted you to know, that you mean so much to this pack. To us. You bring so much light with you, in here. We’re all grateful for you.

If only Elijah had said that before! Amelia blinked, touched, but more and more sure that something was not right. ‘Thank you, Elijah,’ she said. ‘That’s very sweet of you. But are you sure there is nothing-’

She was silenced by the sound of faraway howls – the patrol returning, Bruce in tow. His body instantly tensed up. The muscles at every juncture, every limb pulled tight.

‘I should check in on him,’ Elijah said. ‘Alpha company. I’m so sorry, Amelia.

He was already gone, heading off at a pace that was hardly seemly. Amelia stood in the hall, trying to make sense of the awkward exchange, her brow furrowed.

By the end of the day, Amelia could almost taste the tension in the pack. Sideways glances between senior pack members, hushed conversations that stopped when she approached, more patrols along the territory perimeter, boys and girls doing double drills — there was obviously something big brewing.

Yet she was told not to worry about it, and given sideways glances whenever she dared to ask about it. Young wolves usually love to tell anyone who’d listen any little thing they knew, but they’d clam up the same way if a domesticated dog came along.