The Beast Across The Lake

Chapter 27

                                                                                 

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Isabella
It was against the will of whatever human logic I still homed that I headed closer to their scent that eventually led to their sound. My paws crunched against free branches and I winced in fear of alerting the rogues of my presence. The conversation continued and so when I was convinced that they hadn't heard nor smelled me, I continued to strut closer until I could hear them clearly.
They were surrounded in a circle around an open fire that sizzled bright orange and blue, around a dozen of them, all in human form, all men apart from one female. All that I could see of her was long burgundy hair.
It must be why they hadn't sensed me, I thought, perhaps their senses weren't as strong when they weren't shifted. Most of them had their backs to me and the ones that didn't were hidden in the blurry of the flames. We were on the other side of Lost Reserve, the woods bordering Beach Haven around forty minutes away from Eastsound.

"We've let this go on for too long, we're running out of time," a man was saying," hundreds of our people need land and the Waru territory is large enough to accommodate more than twice the number of members we have."

"I don't understand why we haven't killed him yet," another man was saying," we know all about Caleb's shack in Lost Reserve, right Aurora?, what's stopping us from going over there right now and getting this over with?"

At the mention of Caleb, my heart both sank and skipped a beat. The angry animal in me wanted to launch forward and tear them all.

"I told you idiots, we need to make sure that the sheriff's pack doesn't try to fight with him first," this time it was a female voice. This must be Aurora, the alpha for the rogues as Caleb had mentioned. Her voice was simultaneously smooth and luring but stern and commanding," we can't afford to lose anymore of our men in battle after Vermont."

"If the sheriff knows what's good for his pack, he'll step down."

"Yeah, don't want to have to kill off yet another tribe."

"Yes you do," one of the men lifted his fist and jokingly punched the man that had just said that. They all laughed as if the matter was comedic. 

"We'll know for sure by tomorrow, alright?" The voice sounded as if it belonged to a young man, maybe one in his early twenties," the sheriff doesn't want to keep protecting Caleb, he knows the risks."

"If everything is settled by tomorrow, then I don't see a reason as to why Caleb Waru wouldn't be dead by this time tomorrow," it was the female again. This time, I could not hold back the low growl that released from the back of my throat without my will. I felt as if my blood was boiling inside of me, I knew I needed to get out of here and warn the others before I did something that could end up with me in limbs on the soil. I took a step back to retrieve but it was too late, they must have heard me because I could not help but notice their sudden silence.

"Did you hear that?"

"Someone's out there."

I did not wait a second longer. I turned to run as fast as I could and back towards Eastsound. It must have been half a second later that I heard the thuds of their shifted paws hit the soil. More than a dozen rogue werewolves were chasing after me in the pitch black of the trees. My heart thudded painfully against my chest. I pushed to run as fast as I could, through the thick of the trunks, and dodging branches and rocks. One of them had caught up to me, his snout was aiming for my tail, teeth biting down whenever he'd thought that he was close enough. He had to be the quickest one of his pack because it was impossible to lose him.
I turned to peek at the rogue, just as his fangs were attempting another bite at my tail. He was a reddish shade, almost resembling the color of dried blood. Behind him, another rogue was catching up to us, the female alpha, Aurora.
She let out a growl that shook the trees and chased me faster than the male. It was just her and I now only a few feet apart, and I knew that I was nearing Lost Reserve Lake but I could not remember which path to take. One led to a pond that ran back to Beach Haven and the other led to Caleb's home. I took a sharp left towards a body of water and she followed closely. I just need to get close enough to the water to know if it's the right one, I thought.
The pond was finally within sight and I immediately knew that it wasn't the right one. The other rogues were far behind now and it was just Aurora and I nearing the water. I didn't hesitate to leap into the pond, knowing that she would follow. I sank into the harsh brisk  waters breaking through a thin layer of ice and immediately began to swim towards the other side. I heard the sound of the waves crashing into one another when Aurora followed. When I resurfaced, I was hopeful that she was still looking for me underneath. The cold winds hit me like brick while I dragged my soaked fur across the other side of the forest and eventually dived back into the waters of Lost Reserve Lake.