Scarlett: (GxG)

Chapter 47

Scarlett

My body sunk low while I crawled through the mud, stomach practically dragging along the ground. The closer I came, the more the subtle glow threatened to fall on my moving body. Determination alone was what helped me maneuver around the pools of campfire light until it was time to crawl upwards, closer to this makeshift camp. My paws sunk in deep, barely gaining traction. And while I fought my way up, I listened to the voices and bodies above me that began to grow from simple silhouettes to men and women with detail.

"This territory is shit. Fucking swamp land..." a woman grumbled, emphasizing her words with a slap against bare skin, killing a bug.

"It's supposed to be shit. It's meant for shifters that can't cut it out here. Moonstone gets the prime hunting grounds," another answered.

They were all naked, legs caked with mud. At first glance, as my muzzle poked its way up just enough to see across the bank, I counted about ten. More than enough to hunt me down and kill me before I made it back to Moonstone territory. And even then. I wasn't a fool. More of them had to be out there somewhere in the dark.

"Ugh I'm tired of waiting in this god forsaken place. If we don't catch his scent tonight I'm going to go crazy."

"Tough shit. We lost the catacombs, Maddie."

I saw a man sitting at the center, closest to the fire. His naked body was thick, muscled and covered with a spattering of mud and bits of dead leaves. Although the woman stirring between his legs, pulling away from a softening cock fought for my attention, it was the hole where his ear should have been that grabbed me. It was festering instead of healing. Sure signs of an injury made with silver.

Feeling a streak of bravery, I went to lift my muzzle a bit more to breathe in their scents but a man stumbling onto their makeshift camp, winded, forced me to hunker back down in the mud.

"Well?! Is he out there?"

The man gasping for breath shook his head.

"No, there isn't any sign of him. Not even a scent."

"Jesus Christ. Marcus cannot have gotten this far. Or if he did he can't be outsmarting us like this. I mean, Jackie nearly ripped off one of his arms before he got away."

My chest went tight at the mention of our Alpha's name. He was alive, perhaps barely. White hot anger threatened to make me act irrationally. Muscles tensed, wanting to pounce at the closest set of legs. But somehow I managed to stay put and seethe in silence.

"The old man's probably just bleeding out somewhere. Isn't that what old wolves do when it's their time? Return to the woods to die," someone scoffed while grinning by the fire.

"Shut up."

They were only two words but I felt as if I knew the source. I fought to lift my head enough to get a better look at the man with the hole in his head.

"Old wolves are meant to be feared, not pitied. But none of you would know anything about that, would you?"

I felt my nails trying desperately to retain their grip on the soft earth while I did everything I could to keep my eyes on the man while the golden glow of the flames lapped at his naked flesh.

I knew him. I knew him and found myself not wanting to believe it.

"Like strays you all die out before you can reach your potential... No one to show you the way."

He stood and the woman who was between his legs fell back playfully, hair fanning out along the dirt.

"Are you going to show us the way, my king?" She raised a dainty leg, letting her toes traill down the man's thigh.