His Rogue Luna

Seventy

Busticate
(v.) To break into pieces.

Artemis POV

Going to the pack lands of my deceased family was quite an experience. The whole journey there was solemn, my uncle just as lost in thought as I was. It was also eerily quiet, which only made us all more tense and alert.

While I couldn't hear any minds or sense anyone nearby, I felt something was off and couldn't ignore my gut feeling.

I was soon distracted from my nagging thoughts by a sudden shift in the atmosphere. I startled, looking around and wondering what had suddenly changed until I realised: we were on the pack lands.

The air was thick and heavy, still filled with the anguish of that treacherous day. What should have been warm and fertile land was dry and barren, forever poisoned by the blood of the innocent.

I looked to my uncle, feeling his emotional turmoil grow the more we walked into the lands.

The land looked completely empty, with sparse trees. The wind rustling leaves was the only sound asides from our footsteps. My skin was crawling with unease as I felt we were being watched, but I couldn't catch a single scent or mental signature.

I wasn't sure where to start looking, since there didn't seem to be any obvious signs or clues so far, so I stuck to silently following my uncle. His face was impassive, his eyes distant as he walked purposefully in one direction.

The guards flanked us, not lingering too far from us. I could tell they were all as uneasy as I was, from the way their fur bristled and their ears remained perked, noses in the air.

As we continued walking, I count help but find it strange how I hadn't ever stumbled across this one before, even by mistake.

As a nomad, I had frequented the southern parts of America, and the new Silverclaw Guardians' pack lands was not too far off from here. This land was currently no man's land, and if the pack ever did expand, they would surely reach this old territory soon enough.

My uncle suddenly stopping had me halting too.

He shifted, slipping on the clothes in the bag he carried. I did the same and we soon continued walking in our human forms.

The guards remained shifted.

"Do you hear that Mija?" He whispered hoarsely.

I stayed silent, listening to for what he could have possibly heard. The only sound was the wind whistling through the trees, the sound almost wispy and mystical.

I was about to respond that no, I found t hear what he was talking about, until I hear it.

Cynthia, you're here.

Save us.

Free us.

At first I couldn't make out the words, but the whispering voices eventually grew clearer as they kept repeating those words.

The Alpha's daughter.

You must avenge us.

I shivered as my skin broke out in goosebumps, the wind suddenly blowing much stronger than before. The voices grew from their almost inaudible whisper into a demanding cacophony of wails and cries.

Evil has poisoned the land.

Lift the curse.

Free us!

I winced and looked towards my uncle, who had his eyes closed. His face looked almost serene as the violent wind began whipping his hair around him, carrying the anguished screams of the dead.