One of Runts

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One:  Faint Scent

        I immediately run after Azrael and towards the holding facility. I have the urge to shift to get there faster, though I know that I can't shift in the middle of the pack house. "Do you know how they escaped?" I ask Azrael, knowing that he may have a clue.

        He glances at me out the corner of his eyes as he pulls the door open for me. I rush through it with him behind me. "Some of the guards were injured." My steps falter for a moment and I feel my face begin to pale.

        "Are any of them...?" I ask him softly, unable to say the last word. My chest tightens as Azrael doesn't look at me. "Who?" Even my mental voice sounds weak and cracks, which should be impossible.

        Azrael doesn't answer me and I have to ignore the urge to pull him to a stop. "Azrael..." my tone is flat and a warning as I look at him out of the corner of my eyes, ignoring the eyes on us as we run through the center of the pack.

        "Benedict." My breath gets caught in my throat and I stop for a second to cough. Azrael places his hand on my back, but I push him away slightly. I can feel his hurt at the movement and his hand grips my shoulder.

        He uses his other hand to lift my chin and I don't fight him. "He's not dead. You didn't feel the bond snap, did you?" he tells me earnestly. I frown softly, having forgotten that fact about the pack bond in my panic.

        "No..." I say softly, taking his words into consideration. "But that doesn't mean he won't, Ace." He raises his eyebrow at the nickname, though ignores it for now. I look at him with wide eyes and he pulls me against his chest. We stand there like that in the middle of the side-walk, wolves giving us weird looks.

        Azrael sighs and slowly lets me go. "We have to get over there, Ever," he tells me, his voice soft. I nod my head and take a deep breath, squaring my shoulders in determination. He gives me an unconvinced look and I brush it off.

        "Let's go." We run the rest of the way to the holding facility. I swallow as we run into the main room. There are a few healers patching up one of the rookies and some of the Enforcer team taking samples of the blood on the ground.

        Enforcers double as human scene investigators.

        My face begins to pale at the scent of blood, specifically Benedict's blood, but I shove it away from me. I see the squadron conversing in the corner of the room and Azrael and I head over to them.

        "What have you found out so far?" Azrael asks, his tone immediately turning authoritative. I don't let the change in tone shake me as I stand beside Azrael, waiting for them to tell us what they've found.

        "There's blood in their cell," Raven says, her voice stern and flat. "They may have ended up fighting one another, though I'm unsure. There are claw marks all over the cell, though we don't know if it was from them or another wolf intervening."

        "So, we have nothing," Conner says. I give him a sharp glare and he adverts his eyes to the ground. He always tends to point out the obvious, and sometimes I can tolerate it. Now is not one of those times.

        Azrael sighs in frustration and runs his hand through his hair. "I'm going to check it out," I say, walking through the open door and down the hall.

        "Hey!" a voice shouts, halting me in my movement. "You can't go down there. Only the Enforcers are allowed down there for investigation. Unless you're qualified, you can't go down there."

        I tense and feel my eyes begin to burn. I take a deep breath and slowly turn to the male wolf who's stopping me from searching for clues. "I am a tracker," I tell the wolf, my voice cold and sharp. He's young and I have a feeling he's just a rookie. "Your whole team will cover the scents in the room that'll stop me from tracking down the wolves who not only hurt and hospitalized some of the pack but also let our lead to a dangerous rogue get away."

        I take a step forward and glare into the wolf's eyes. Despite being a foot shorter than the male, he takes a step backward and his head falls slightly. "So, if you want to be the reason that I can't do my job, go ahead. I'm going down there one way or another. How would you like it to be?"

        I glare into his eyes and he looks away from me and to the side, looking to my squadron for help. It only causes the anger in me to rise as a sharp growl leaves my throat. "Do not look away from me," I command him in a calm, but curt tone. His eyes widen and his eyes snap to mine. "Will you allow me to do my job or not?"

        I narrow my eyes at him as I see him begin to think over my words. He gulps and looks over to his group, whose eyes are on us, and his face pales. "You're clear ma'am," he says in a shaky voice. "Go ahead and do your job. I'm sorry for halting you."

        My face softens and I give him a soft smile. "Thank you." I turn on my heels and walk away from the stunned male. I know that I shouldn't have been that hard on him, though I'm agitated that the rogues got away.

        We were so close! I hiss into my mind. I take a deep, steadying breath and stop outside the cell. I look into it and a soft growl rumbles in my chest. I sense Conner, Raven, and Tryn step behind me.

        They're waiting for my orders as I've taken command as head Tracker for the Squadron, while Azrael's head Warrior for the group. "Make sure to not disrupt any of the evidence, I tell them, stepping into the cell.

        There's blood everywhere and the scent of it is covering any of the faint scents in here. "Try to get a scent that we can track. There has to be another wolf involved. Those two shouldn't have been able to escape without outside help."

        They immediately follow my orders without a word, closing their eyes to better sift through the scents. I allow my eyes to close and I open my mouth slightly to catch the scents better.

        I swallow at the tantalizing scent of the blood and push myself past it. I can easily smell the two rogues, though there's another scent as I expected. I scrunch up my eyebrows at the faintness of the scent.

        "I've picked up a scent," Raven says softly as to not disrupt our conversation.

        "Me too," Tryn mutters. Conner makes a noise and I can tell he's picked it up, too. "It's faint, though. It seems familiar, though I can't make it out."

        I open my eyes and frown at the scent. I know I've smelled it somewhere, but I don't know where. "It doesn't matter," I say, looking at the team. "We've got a scent. Now, all we have to do is grab our bags and head out as quickly as possible."

        They all nod at me and we all turn to Azrael. "Meet me back here in fifteen. I've got to inform Alpha Quill before we go." We all nod our heads. "Let's go."

        I move as fast as possible as I head back to my room, wracking my brain for where I've smelled the scent before. "What is it?" I mutter under my breath. "Who is it?"

Author's Note:  Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you liked the chapter.  I'd love to hear your speculations on whose scent it is.