Hideout

TWENTY NINE

i hate this lol 

remember, chapters are going to be quicker and shorter now bc of my schedule and also bc i'm losing steam with this book 

C H A P T E R 

T W E N T Y     N I N E 

A D E L A I D E 

As promised, our run together did actually go well. There was no cliche disaster when we least expected it. Not even when our wolves took a power nap at a riverbank. Leo was definitely right about one thing - I had a lot of nervous energy that needed to be worked out and our planned hour-long run turned into two and a half hours.

Even though I was more comfortable with Leo in my wolf form, I was still ashamed. It felt shameful that he had to run on my blindside at all times to keep me from bumping into bushes or sticks. Wolves shouldn't be babied like I have to be. Usually, it's the human form that has the deformities or issues, and our wolf forms are the healthy ones. And yet the three times that Leo got too far from me, I stumbled into thorny bushes, tripped over a root, and fell into the river.

He tried to hide his amusement, especially when he caught onto how upset and frustrated I was getting, but I knew him too well.

Even though I was partially blind, my ability to detect something off was strong. As soon as we approached the warm lights of the house, I froze. My hair stood on end as my tail tucked instinctively between my legs.

Leo had already shifted into his human form and gave me a curious look. "Addie? What?"

Blood. There was blood somewhere nearby. I could smell it and practically taste it. I looked fearfully at the man before surging forward, sprinting to the back porch where I sensed the scent was the strongest.

The sliding glass door had been shattered. In the shards left were tiny amounts of fur and blood. The scent was unfamiliar, dirty.

"Adelaide, get away from there. We have to call the trackers. So they can get the scent of whoever was here," Leo demanded, voice calm. "Let's not stumble into another scene."

I ignored him, jumping over the broken glass and carefully stepping towards the stairs, where drops of blood guided me. Nothing downstairs was otherwise disturbed. It just moved further up.

Halfway up the stairs, Leo tried to stop me again. "No one else is here, Adelaide. Just leave it and let the professionals take control."

I bared my teeth at him. For whatever reason, there was some unknown drive telling me that I had to be the one to do this. I had to see it first with my own eyes. Something was pulling me up those stairs and if Leo tried to stop me, I'd lose it. I had to do it. I had to do this, I murmured to myself over and over again.

Careful to avoid stepping in any of the blood, I arrived at the top floor. Whoever had been here had stopped for a while. Lingered in the hallway. They peaked into our bathroom, but left it alone. In my mind, I could picture the dark shadow of an unknown wolf. Ultimately, I was guided to our bedroom. I could smell a transition here. The wolf had changed into their human form and turned the doorknob with their hand.

Nudging the bedroom door open, I visibly bristled at the sight of our destroyed bedroom. No. As I inspected further. It wasn't the whole bedroom. Just... my stuff. My side of the bed had been absolutely massacred. The mattress had a massive hole in it, right where I had slept the night before. My pillow torn open and shoved inside the hole. Where the wolf had been bleeding, they rubbed it over the bed frame where I usually rested my back as I read or used the laptop. My clothes in the dresser and closet had been thrown onto the ground, ripped to pieces, lit on fire, and then... I sniffed closer, trying to understand the foul scent emanating from it.

Pissed on.

There wasn't a single item of mine that I could use any longer. Makeup, hair brushes, toiletries. Pads, tampons, towels, even my freaking loofah had been demolished and thrown about.

While not a single item that Leo used even appeared to be touched. His side of the bed was immaculate. His own laptop had been moved from where it previously sat on my side of the bed to his bedside table where it was safe from the destruction around it. His personal items in the bathroom were left alone.

My toothbrush had been thrown in the toilet while his was still hanging from its holder.

I wasn't even scared at this point. I was angry.

Leo stood in the doorway, jaw clenched tightly as he took in the scene. "They're targeting you, Adelaide."

Yeah, no shit, I said in our mindlink.

"Shift, you can wear my clothes for now. I am going to take you to stay with Emerson for the night while they search the place. She can give you clothes when you get there."

"It's him. It's Harrison." This I said once I was on my own two legs and comforted by an oversized shirt and basketball shorts.

"The scent is of a rogue. Female rogue," Leo disagreed.

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "What would a female rogue want to do with pissing all over my stuff? They have no motive. I, technically, am a rogue!"

He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "No, you have taken your place as a pack member now. They could be angry with you for joining the very pack that wants to take their land. Why would Harrison do this?"

"Because I am on his trail. To strain our relationship because your side is perfect. They even moved stuff around so your crap wouldn't get broken or peed on!"

"Don't you think Harrison would have wanted my side to be destroyed? Harrison, that lunatic, still wants you. He would not do something that makes you hate him more."

There was some sense to that. But Harrison had to be involved somehow. "H-he could have hired a rogue. But she got the wrong side?"

"No. In order to do this much damage, they had your scent. Someone gave them something with your scent on it. Have you been missing any clothing items or anything?"

I shrugged carelessly. "I don't know. I would check, but I really don't want to stick my hand in that pile of fabric now," I muttered, motioning to what used to be my wardrobe. "How has a stranger gotten across the border twice now?"

"Oh. Obviously we have a traitor," Leo claimed, seemingly unbothered.

"And you're so calm about it... why?"

"The longer I let them play their little game, the more sloppy they become, and the closer I am to finding them. Someone has been selling our information to other packs for months now. Fortunately most packs have contacted me to let me know. All except-"

"Harrison's."