The Shadows of Erisdar: Whispers of the Past

Chapter 9

"What do you mean she's gone?" Harold shouted at Thedis outside the manor."She fell into the river and went over the waterfall," Thedis said, holding his injured ribs.Harold sneered at him in anger, "Well, why aren't you looking for her. You're giving up an opportunity to be a hero."Thedis scowled, "The river isn't calm like when we arrived. It's been raining, and it's in full flood. Those falls are over 50 metres tall. No one is surviving that," he said sadly, "The beta's sons are breaking the news to her parents now.""Well then, find her body; we might still get in their good graces." Harold spat before storming towards the manor.Thedis bristled at the insensitivity. An innocent kind girl's life was lost, and it's all because of them. One by one, mournful howls erupted throughout the territory into a haunting song.The next day, Thedis stood where the river flowed into the lake. Anything in that inferno would have ended up here, where the water slowed down suddenly.Jason and Chris had given equipment to help with the search. He waded slowly through water, dragging weighted lines. For hours, they only hooked rocks and logs.Somewhere around midday, shouting drew his attention. A boronduin member came running from the treeline on the southern side of the lake, where one of many streams flowed towards a millwheel. The man ran towards Chris and Jason, gesturing wildly.Whatever this man said had Jason and Chris both dropping their draglines and running into the trees."Keep working here," Thedis told his men and quickly followed after them.At the mill, Jason knelt down across the stream from the mill as he listened to the man speak."This blood doesn't belong to any of ours. I smelt it this morning as I came in," the man spoke. "Took me a while to find it. And these tracks are larger than anything I've ever seen. I know everyone's more concerned with finding Alexandra for a proper burial, but I thought it's important to let you know of an intruder."Jason stood, anger burning through his chest. It shouldn't have survived. "You were right to tell me. The pack's safety is a priority, regardless of our loss," he said, dismissing the man back to his duties.The entire pack didn't yet know of the shadow from the night before; they only heard that Alex had fallen in the river. This beast caused this, he thought.Thedis jogged up to him. "What's going on?" he asked."You don't belong here," Jason growled at him.Thedis was taken aback by the hostility, "I know, I didn't want any part of this, and I hate that someone paid the price.""Yet you still went after her in the past. If you'd left her, she would have gotten away and still be alive. You killed her." Jason said coldly, "I'll make you pay for that.""Jason!" Chris called urgently from a distance away, interrupting them. Jason gave one last cold glare before turning towards his brother."Look at this," Chris said, pointing to the muddy banks of the river and the flattened grass. "These are more tracks, but it was dragging something."Jason's eyes widened as he studied the surroundings. The grass was flattened from the flood waters, but there was a section that was disturbed. Something big was dragged through it."Do you think that monster held onto her?" Chris questioned, "What if she's still alive?"A spark of hope blossomed. "Get a tracking party together as fast as you can. This might be very recent. Even if she isn't alive, he might have her." Jason ordered before following the tracks. Chris ran off quickly."I'll bring some of my men too," Thedis said before leaving as well. Jason scowled, but he couldn't stop him, not as long as Markus and his father were still under enchantments.***The roar was deafening and the cold overwhelming. Darkness shrouded everything. It was suffocating. There were blinks of light and glimpses of the moon, and a gaping maw of sharp teeth.Alex bolted upright, panting heavily. Sunlight and greenery surrounded her, and she was dry. Her body ached fiercely, and exhaustion pressed down on her, but she was alive. She remembered falling and desperately fighting to orient herself before darkness enveloped her.Looking up, she recognised the tall mountains peeking through the foliage in front of her. She spied the sun's position glinting through the clouds. The mountain was north of her. She wondered how she ended up so far north of Boronduin. The streams didn't flow this far. Did she not remember walking here?A breath sounded behind her, and she spun around to see the Shadow wolf curled up behind her. It was surrounding her, keeping her warm.Dried blood coated its ribcage and hind legs, and her pack was resting beside its head. Its eyes suddenly opened, and she scurried backwards in caution.She shadow watched her calmly for a while before slowly pushing itself to its feet. It made no move to hurt her, but rather calmly picked up her pack with her bow and quiver tied to it and began walking south. She noticed the large wolf had stopped and was looking at her expectantly. She dragged herself to her feet and followed him. Memories flashed in bits and pieces. She vaguely remembered how he had grabbed the back of her cloak as they went over the falls, and she wondered if he held on the entire time, keeping her afloat. Her family must believe her dead. Guilt tugged at her, but she pushed it down. It was better that way.When they emerged from the thick trees, the wolf suddenly stopped in a small clearing and turned his gaze to the sun, as if to orient himself. Alex followed his eyes, and her heart nearly jumped when she looked up. There were no mountains south of her. She spun around. The only mountains were north, and they were definitely the Erisdar mountain. But she couldn't fathom how she was outside the valley. How long was she unconscious for?Her mind swirled with questions. But for now, she had to focus on the road ahead, and she wondered what the story was with this creature. She originally planned to stay in Erisdar until things died down a bit before going to Eldara. She should be able to get help for her pack there.She tried getting her pack back from the shadow wolf, but it kept pulling away or baring its teeth at her, so she resigned herself to following him.They'd been walking for hours when the shadow nudged her, dropping low beside her while sweeping his head towards his rump.Alex frowned in confusion. "You want me to get on?" she asked, slightly shocked.The wolf nodded, surprising her at its language comprehension. Alex grimaced at the idea. It would be like riding a spiny horse that did not have back muscles, maybe worse. Slowly and carefully, she got on and was surprised to find that she was, in fact, wrong as the wolf took off at a leisurely trot, away from the mountain.By the time dusk had arrived, it had been drizzling for a few hours, and Alex had been taken far southeast. They reached a small, slightly overgrown dirt road where a grey wooden wagon was located.She could see a tall, brown-haired man with tanned skin tying several straps to a pair of mules. He was very well built and clearly very strong and athletic, but Alex was too exhausted to notice how handsome he was."About bloody time." He said, "Jeez, you look absolutely terrible."The wolf only growled at him. She swung her right leg over the wolf's shoulders and slid down, but her legs, cold and stiff and still battered from the river, buckled and gave way, causing her to fall back against the shadow's ribcage and onto the ground. He merely scooted away before taking a backpack from the young man's outstretched hand. The man moved to help her up.Unfortunately for him, she was in a foul mood. The moment he grabbed her under the arms, she squirmed and pushed him away. "Get your hands off me," she said angrily."Alright," He said as he put his hands up and picked up her belongings, before moving away from her. "Feisty, aren't we?"Alex glared at him as she hauled herself to her feet. "Maybe if I weren't being held hostage by that beast of yours, I might have been a little more friendly."He reached for her back to direct her to the wagon, but she once again violently slapped his hands away. She knew it was futile to try to run now, with how weak she felt, so she climbed into the wagon voluntarily while he put her belongings in a trunk in the back. She welcomed the warmth that the wagon's covered top provided; it soothed her chilled body."I can assure you, I had nothing to do with Darryl dragging you all the way here," He said as he climbed in the front and handed her a blanket."You expect me to believe that whatever that beast is, wasn't following your orders?" she asked snidely.Percy snickered. "It is, in fact, the other way around. I take orders from him. Him being Alpha and all," He said, his tone laced with sarcasm. "He's the one who's been coming here regularly, trying to get you out of that valley. I just brought the wagon when he was ready.""What?" she asked in surprise, "Why? What's so unique about me?" Alex feared they had similar intentions as the Gasham pack, and if that were the case, she had to make sure she escaped them.Percy sighed. "You'll have to ask him that. He has this calling sometimes, which drives him to help people who need it. I don't know why he wanted to help you," he said, nodding his head towards the forest.Between the trees, she noticed another tall young man who was built just as strong and lean as Percy, approaching them. His hood covered most of his face, and the backpack from earlier was slung over his shoulder.Their eyes met briefly, and Alex's breath caught in her throat. Sapphire eyes. It was then that Alex realised that the shadow wolf, or Darryl as she now knew, was a werewolf, a massive werewolf. He threw the bag, which was still full, into the back before climbing up beside Percy.Alex kept her gaze out towards the shrinking mountains as she tried to organise her thoughts. He helped her. She wasn't being kidnapped. She was too tired to even look at the man who had taken her from her home, the home she could likely never return to. She neither felt like questioning the situation now, at least she was out of reach of the Gasham and their plotting. Soon, the steady shake of the wagon on the dirt road lulled her to sleep for a while.