Call of Shadows - Book 1

Chapter 3

*Edited*

Phoenix

Passing their table was like walking through fire. It took most of my restraint not to growl at the girls next to her. While they looked at me with reproach my mate looked at me with wonder. I could hear her heartbeat quicken as I walked up. Would it be weird if I just took her in my arms and carried her away? Yes dumbass that would be weird. I thought back to myself. Her scent engulfed my being carrying me to the clouds.

Phoenix, keep it together! Apollo thought.

I was going to talk to her, but I couldn't. I walked past trying to remain impassive as I got so close to my mate. I wondered if she could feel the fire I did when we were so close together. My wolf howled to get out, and it took all my willpower to get to my car without shifting. By the time I was on the edge of the woods my claws were out, and my teeth had come down. It took two seconds before I had shifted into my other form, my muscles rippling to life.

It wasn't painful, transforming, like some of the movies say.

Alpha, are you okay?

The mindlink came to life as the rest of my pack felt something was different.

I'm fine, let me be. I thought back, running as fast as I could. Pushing my muscles to the limit, I sprang against the side of the trees till I had gained at least twenty feet off the ground. It felt amazing. My muscles were being exerted to the fullest they could, running made me feel free. There was no pressure of anything anymore. I was invincible when I was a wolf. My tongue lolled out the side of my mouth as I loped through the forest.

Then the smell of death overwhelmed my nose and I halted, ears swiveling trying to pinpoint any danger. The scent was overwhelming as I followed the stench. Finally I found the cause.

Blaze, Evelyn, on me, NOW. I said through the mind link. I sent pictures of the body through and there were collective gasps that came from the pack as they took in what they saw. Two bodies hung from the lower branch of a tree upside down, their stomachs were ripped open and blood was everywhere.

At the same time, two wolves flanked my sides.

What could've done this? Blaze asked

I don't know, I've never seen this before. Evelyn shook her head as if that would clear the image out of our minds. I raised my head trying to find another scent underneath the blood, but there was none. I looked at the sun, and realized it was almost evening.

Take them down off the branch, and drag them to the house, we will need to consult with the rest of the pack before I make a decision. Both nodded and shifted into human form taking down the bodies and lifting them to bring them back. I ran ahead, worries flashed through my mind before anything else could. My pack was in danger from something none of us had seen in centuries. Something we had never seen, period.

Everyone needs to be at the house in five minutes. I heard acknowledgement from the pack and knew everyone had heard the urgency and had seen the bodies through the link. I had shifted back into human form as I walked through the house Quincy, my Beta, greeting me.

Most of them were already in the big living room milling around, but once I entered it fell silent. I looked to my pack, we had fifteen wolves in all, all of them were special. More than Werewolf special. As I mentioned before, we were the "pack of packs", the most powerful pack in the world. Each of the wolves had a special ability that was made to be more than the average wolf. Some of them were elementals, mind readers (outside the link), telepathic, healers, chronopower (time), and anything else.

"As you saw, we have a threat within our borders. Two humans were found gutted and tied to a tree on our territory which makes it our responsibility to find out why this has happened. Quincy, I need you to take Apollo, Jax, Axel, and Blaze to search our perimeter and see if you can find where this person went.

Evelyn you need to take Danyon, Rochella, Carson, and Derek to investigate where both bodies were found and see if you can find any more evidence that we may have missed. Artemis, Arielle, Blake and Quinilan you're gonna run with me and we're going to go into town to alert the sheriff." As the pack began to split off and leave, my mind flashed to my mate once more. My wolf was telling me to protect her, but common sense reminded me we had never talked or met. It also reminded me that my kind were not supposed to exist which would take explaining and time I didn't have at the moment.

As soon as we walked into the station, the Chief Landon Bert came to talk to us. He was mated to Carson and helped us cover a lot of supernatural happenings to look human. Carson went to hug him, and he kept his arm around him.

"Alpha." He said respectfully nodding in my direction. He gestured to his office, and all five of us followed.

"If you're here, Alpha, something must be very wrong."

There's no scent. This isn't right, Phoenix, there's no trail of anything else but us. Quincy sounded anxious, the mind link was stressed.

Same here, we can't find anything else on this site but the blood spattered. There's not even a leaf out of place. Evelyn shared the same concerns as Quincy.

Go back to the house, I want patrols running every hour, at least four wolves need to be in each. Tonight is the full moon, we need to make sure the mates and the pups are protected. I'll be back soon.

"We found two bodies today in the woods, tied upside down and gutted. There's no scent to follow. There is absolutely nothing but our scent in those woods. There's something wrong going on, and we need you to be alerted. The people didn't seem to be locals, I'd never seen them before, but we must find out what did this." He nodded and turned to his mate.

"Carson, can you go get the deputy?" As soon as she left, he turned to me.

"Alpha, how bad is this."

"I don't know, Landon, in all of my centuries being alive, I've never encountered an enemy I could not identify. Even those that were stronger than us, we've always known that they were. I fear this is not something that comes from the living if we cannot trace it."

I heard Carson bringing the deputy back and fell silent.

"Sir."

"Yes, Brandon will you please research for two missing people..." He trailed off, I hadn't told him anything else about them.

"One is a female, one is a male, they look around the ages of 20." I continued. The officer nodded and headed out of the room.

"Please keep my mate and the pack safe, Alpha." I nodded my head in respect and we left the police station shifting as we did.