In Search of Peace

Chapter 3: The Hunter

He sucked in a deep breath and held it a few moments. There were the usual scents of the woods but something else hung in the air. The tang of sweat, blood and a fading pungent smell he was becoming familiar with. Taking in his surroundings, several tree branches were broken and plants had been trampled. The ground looked gouged out, with rocks stomped into the earth, the grass limp and flat. Even without his skills the path could be clearly made out. "It's like they weren't even trying to cover their tracks." Travis muttered as he continued tracking the bastard.

Earlier that morning Alpha Connor had called him. Tom Lawrence the Beta of our pack was found dead. His body was dragged through the woods and dropped unceremoniously on Connor's door step. The air was sprayed with some pungent smell to hide their scents. "They must have done it while I was in the shower this morning. I can't smell shit when I'm in there" Connor seethed as he went over what had happened. When we investigated the Lawrence's home Hanna was found with her throat riped out. She was still in her fur laying in the bedroom. The place was a mess and the only sign of their son Jamie were his tiny foot prints mingling with a set of larger ones that lead out to the living room. His stopped there while the other set continued out the house. The same pungent smell from Connor's lingered in the air.

"I think they took him Connor." I could see the muscle in his jaw working as I'd said it. "How do we know he isn't dead already?" Connor's voice vibrated off the walls as he growled out the words. I take a step back from him to be safe. Connor wasn't the type to snap at people for no reason but violence against the pups drove him over the edge. "I don't think they did. We would have found his body or smelled his blood and his scent is faint but still fresh." Connor absorbed my words a moment before answering "You're my best tracker. I want you to find whoever is behind this. Gather whatever information you can and report back to me. If you find Jamie do what you think is necessary to get him back. I don't want to risk them killing him before you can get back to me." I give a curt nod and answer "Yes Alpha." His dark eyes hold mine a moment before he says "Some one's challenging the pack Travis. Some one's trying to drive us out. I'm counting on you to find out who." Holding myself straighter I say "I understand sir" and head out the door.

It took about an hour before Travis came up to a large lake. A man made walking trail lined the perimeter and lead to a cabin just a few yards away. Following the tree line he made his way closer to it taking his time and stopping every so often to smell the air. The pungent smell was everywhere here. In some areas it was faint others it was so strong it made it nearly impossible to pick out specific scents. Closer to the cabin he could see a set of little foot prints that lead to the back deck. Please God I hope those are Jamie's. As Travis made his way around the perimeter he noticed another set of prints wolf tracks coming from the woods. It looked like they lead to a storage entrance or something beneath the cabin. He crept closer to the door and sniffed, only one maybe two wolves had been down there. It was a faint smell so they weren't in there now. Although with that weird pungent scent in the air it was hard to tell. Turning back toward the deck he made his way up the steps. Keeping low Travis crawls under the back windows only lifting his head enough to peer in quickly then moving on to the next. It wasn't long till he found what he was looking for. Jamie was sitting on a stool at a kitchen island eating a bowl of cereal. A girl had her back to the window. She was short maybe only five foot two or three inches at the most. Her light brown hair was fine and hung just past her shoulder blades. She had thin limbs each covered with a smattering of freckles.

He watched them for a few minutes trying not to catch Jamie's attention in case he gave him away. The cabin wasn't very large it had an open floor plan that included a kitchen and living room. The island was the only dinning area. He saw a ladder leading above the living room to a loft. There were two doors off to the right that might be a couple of bedrooms or a bathroom. From what he could make out there didn't seem to be anyone else home. I'd have to make a move soon while I have a good chance of getting Jamie out safely. He'd check the rest of the windows to be sure they were alone but Travis knew exactly what his next move would be.