Chapter 32

Achilles turned to Shea, his expression grim. "We need to go back to the sports room," he said, his voice low and urgent. "I have to find the scent of whoever else was there when we..." He trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence.

Shea nodded, her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and concern. "I think I saw someone in the corner," she whispered, her eyes darting around to ensure no one else was listening.

"Good," Achilles replied, already moving towards the sports room. "That'll help narrow it down. As for Ryder, I'll deal with him later. Getting that video is important, but finding this other person is our top priority right now."

They hurried through the halls, dodging curious glances from their classmates. As they approached the sports room, Achilles held up a hand, signaling Shea to stop. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply, his nostrils flaring as he sought out any unfamiliar scents.

"There," he muttered, his eyes snapping open. "It's faint, but it's there. Someone else was definitely here."

Shea pointed to a corner near the window. "That's where I thought I saw movement," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Achilles moved to the spot, his heightened senses on full alert. He crouched down, examining the floor and windowsill for any trace evidence. "Whoever it was, they were careful," he growled in frustration. "But they can't hide everything."

He stood up, his eyes scanning the room once more. "We need to find this person quickly, Shea. If there's another copy of that video out there, we could be in even more trouble than we thought."

Achilles continued to scan the room, his senses on high alert. Suddenly, he froze, his eyes narrowing as he caught a whiff of something familiar.

"Wait a second," he muttered, moving towards a stack of gym mats in the corner. "This scent... I know it."

Shea watched anxiously as Achilles circled the area, his nostrils flaring. "What is it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It's not just one person," Achilles replied, his face darkening. "There were two of them here. And one of them..." He trailed off, his jaw clenching.

"One of them what?" Shea pressed, her heart racing.

Achilles turned to her, his eyes flashing with a mix of anger and concern. "One of them is from my faction. A Von Lunar."

Shea's eyes widened in shock. "But why would someone from your own faction be spying on us?"

Before Achilles could respond, the door to the sports room creaked open. They both whirled around, tensed for a confrontation. But instead of an enemy, they found themselves face to face with a nervous-looking freshman.

"S-sorry," the boy stammered, clearly intimidated by Achilles' imposing presence. "I forgot my gym bag."

Achilles relaxed slightly, but his mind was racing. As the freshman hurriedly grabbed his bag and left, Achilles turned back to Shea.

"We need to be careful," he said in a low voice. "If someone from my own faction is involved, this could be bigger than we thought. We can't trust anyone right now."

Shea nodded, her mind reeling from the implications. "What do we do now?"

Achilles ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. "We need to find out who these two are and why they're watching us. And we need to do it fast, before that video gets into the wrong hands."

"We need to split up," Achilles said, his voice low and urgent. "I'll track down the scent of the Von Lunar member. You try to find out more about the other person."

Shea nodded, her heart racing with a mix of fear and excitement. "Okay, but how am I supposed to do that?"

Achilles thought for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial. "This contains a concentrated form of werewolf pheromones. It'll enhance your senses temporarily. I'll explain about this later. Use it sparingly and be careful."

Shea took the vial, her fingers trembling slightly. "Are you sure about this?"

"No," Achilles admitted, his eyes meeting hers. "But we don't have much choice. Just... be careful, okay?"

With a quick nod, they parted ways. Achilles headed towards the main building, his senses on high alert for any trace of the familiar scent. Shea, meanwhile, uncorked the vial and took a small whiff.

The effect was immediate and overwhelming. Suddenly, the world around her exploded with sensory input. She could hear conversations from classrooms down the hall, smell the lingering scent of everyone who had passed through the corridor in the last hour.

Focusing on the task at hand, Shea tried to isolate the unfamiliar scent from the sports room. It was faint, but she managed to catch a trail leading towards the library.

As she followed the scent, Shea's enhanced hearing picked up snippets of hushed conversations. Most were mundane, but one caught her attention.

"...can't believe they actually did it," a male voice whispered. "The Von Lunars will flip when they find out."

Shea's heart skipped a beat. She edged closer to the source of the voice, trying to remain inconspicuous.

Shea crept closer to the source of the whispers, her enhanced senses guiding her through the bustling library. She spotted two students huddled in a secluded corner, their heads bent close together in hushed conversation.

"Are you sure it was them?" one of them asked, his voice barely audible.

The other nodded emphatically. "Positive. Achilles Von Lunar and the new girl, Shea. They were going at it like animals in the sports room."

Shea's cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she forced herself to focus. These two knew something, and she needed to find out what.

As she inched closer, trying to remain hidden behind a bookshelf, her elbow accidentally knocked a book to the floor. The sound, amplified by her heightened senses, seemed to echo through the library.

The two students' heads snapped up, their eyes scanning the area. Shea ducked down, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Did you hear that?" one of them whispered.

"Yeah," the other replied. "Let's get out of here. We've already said too much."

Shea heard the scraping of chairs and footsteps moving away. She peeked around the corner of the bookshelf, watching as the two students hurried out of the library.

Frustrated at losing her lead, Shea was about to follow when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She spun around, ready to defend herself, only to come face to face with Achilles.

"Easy," he said, his blue eyes intense. "It's just me. Did you find anything?"

Shea nodded, her pulse still racing from the close call. "Two students were talking about us. They knew about... what happened in the sports room. And they mentioned something about the Von Lunars 'flipping out' when they find out."

Achilles's jaw clenched. "This is worse than I thought. We need to figure out who's behind this and why they're targeting us."

"Did you find anything?" Shea asked.

Achilles shook his head. "The scent trail went cold near the parking lot. Whoever it was, they're good at covering their tracks."