Chapter 236 The dead wolf

Chapter 236: Chapter 236 The dead wolf

Talia’s POV

We rode deeper into the forest after crossing the river, and the trees grew thicker around us. The light filtered through the leaves, pale and thin, casting long shadows across the path. I kept glancing back, with my eyes searching the trees for any sign of movement.

I could not shake the feeling that someone was still watching us.

Kaelen noticed my unease, and he slowed his horse to ride beside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I keep feeling it," I admitted. "I keep feeling the eyes, and I know that they are still on us."

He looked back, scanning the trees. "I do not see anything."

"I know," I said. "But I feel it."

Piper rode up beside me. "Talia, you look pale. Are you sure you are okay?"

"I am fine," I said. But my voice came out weaker than I intended.

Jax rode ahead, with his horse stepping over a fallen log. "Maybe it is just your imagination," he said. "You have been through a lot lately, so your mind might be playing tricks on you."

I shook my head. "It is not my imagination."

Silas glanced back at me. "She is right. I have felt it too. Something has been following us since we crossed the river."

Jax’s smile faded. "You are serious, Silas?"

"I am always serious," Silas said.

Jax threw his hands up in the air. "So let me get this straight. We crossed a freezing river, we are being followed by something we cannot see, and now we are all going to die in this creepy forest?"

Piper glared at him. "No one is going to die, Jax."

"You do not know that," Jax said.

Kaelen turned in his saddle. "Jax, if you do not stop talking, I will make sure you are the one who gets taken first."

Jax’s mouth dropped open. "Kaelen, that is not funny."

"I am not joking," Kaelen said.

Silas shook his head. "He is not joking, Jax."

Jax looked at Piper. "Are you going to let him talk to me like that?"

Piper shrugged. "He is the Alpha, and you are being dramatic."

"I am not being dramatic," Jax said. "I am being realistic."

"You are being dramatic," Piper repeated.

Jax looked around, and I saw his hand move to his sword. "Great. Just great. First the cold water, now this."

Piper shook her head. "Jax, you are impossible."

"I am just saying," Jax said. "I did not sign up for a mystery stalker."

Cain, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke. "We are not alone."

I looked at him, and I saw his eyes fixed on the trees ahead. "What do you see?"

"Nothing yet," he said. "But something is out there."

Kaelen’s jaw tightened. "Stay alert everyone."

We rode in silence for a while, and the only sound was the soft clop of hooves from the horses on the dirt path. I kept my hand on my pendant, feeling the warmth of it against my skin.

Then Silas raised his hand, signaling the group to stop.

"There is something ahead," he said.

I looked forward, and I felt my stomach drop. There was something in the middle of the path. It was a dark shape, lying still on the ground.

Kaelen dismounted and walked forward. I followed, with my heart pounding in my chest.

As I got closer, I saw what it was.

It was a dead wolf, and its body was ripped apart, and torn open in a way that was not natural. The wounds were deep and jagged, and the blood had soaked into the ground around it.

I felt my blood run cold.

"Moon Goddess," Piper whispered, her hand flying to her mouth.

Jax let out a low curse. "What could have done that?"

Kaelen knelt beside the body, his eyes scanning the wounds. He was quiet for a long moment.

I watched Kaelen’s face as he studied the body, and I could see the tension in his jaw. He had seen death before, but this was different. I could see it in the way his hands hovered over the wounds, not quite touching them.

"Kaelen," I said again. "What is it?"

He did not look up. "The wounds are not from claws. They are too clean, and too sharp."

I felt my stomach turn. "What kind of weapon does that?"

"I do not know," he said. "But whatever it is, it is not natural."

Silas dismounted and walked closer, his eyes fixed on the wounds. "I have never seen wounds like this. They are too precise, and too deliberate."

Piper’s voice shook. "What could have done this?"

Kaelen stood up. "I do not know, but we need to move, Now!"

Cain was already on guard, with his eyes scanning the trees. "Something is out there. Something close."

Jax looked around, with his hand gripping his sword. "Are you saying whatever did this is still here?"

"I am saying we should not stay to find out," Kaelen said.

I looked at the dead wolf, and I felt the cold settle into my bones. I thought about my mother, and I wondered if she was still alive. I wondered if she may have met the same fate.

Kaelen walked to me and took my hand. His fingers were warm and steady.

"Talia," he said. "Look at me."

I tore my eyes away from the body and looked at him.

"We are not going to end up like that," he said. "I will not let it happen."

I nodded, but I could not shake the image from my mind.

Piper rode up beside me. "Talia, are you okay?"

I forced myself to nod. "I am fine. But let us keep moving."

Kaelen helped me back onto my horse, and he mounted his own. Then he looked at the group. “I just thought of an idea.” He said.

Kaelen looked at the group. "We make camp here, while you, Silas, examines the body, to see if you can find anything."

Silas nodded and knelt beside the wolf again. His hands moved carefully over the wounds, and his face was grim.

I walked to stand beside Silas. "What do you think?"

He did not look up. "I need more time, Luna. But whatever did this... it was not just hunting for food."

I felt a chill run down my spine. "What do you mean?"

He looked at me, and his eyes were grim. "This was deliberate. Whoever did this wanted us to find it.”

Jax dismounted and walked closer. "So, we are camping next to a dead body?"

"We are staying where we can see what is coming," Kaelen said. "And we are not leaving until we know what we are dealing with."

I dismounted and walked to the edge of the clearing. I looked back at the trees, and I saw it again. I saw the shadow of a figure, moving between the trunks, and watching us.

I leaned closer to Kaelen. "It is still following us," I whispered.

He did not look back. "I believe you."

"Should we confront it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not yet. We do not know what we are dealing with."

I gripped my pendant, and I felt the cold in my chest knowing that we were not alone. Someone was out there, and someone was watching us.

And I did not know what they were, or what they wanted.