Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Rynn
“Well, that’s not good,” Bastian said evenly.
The three of us stood at the edge of a clearing that was absolutely covered in blood and body parts. Literally every inch of the ground was stained red and entrails hung from the branches above us. I’d seen a lot of fucked-up shit in my life, but this was a new one.
I might have struggled to deal with my emotions sometimes, but I was excellent at compartmentalizing pretty much everything else. Which was why the screaming part of my mind was locked away in a little box and my analytical side had stepped forward.
These were the remains of more than one animal based on the body parts that were intact enough to identify. Plus the amount of blood was just way too much for a single creature, even if it was one of the larger ones that roamed these lands. I scanned the area slowly, looking for more clues.
Bastian crept along the outside of the blood-soaked clearing before crouching to get a closer look.
“Howlers?” I guessed.
“Seems that way,” Bastian agreed, pointing at the mass in front of him that still had some intact bones.
“There’s a skull underneath everything here.
Jaws look like a howler’s.” He reached out and dipped his fingers into the blood.
“Cool, but not cold. I think we only missed the attack by half an hour or so.”
I toyed with the edge of my shirt that was beginning to unravel at the hem.
We were only two miles from Silverdale, the outpost we’d be spending the night at, and we’d stopped at a small cabin a mile back to shift into our human forms and grab clothing.
Bastian had snagged the only pair of daggers before Ryker or I could get them.
I had my axes that I could call upon if I absolutely had to, but up until this point, our journey had been relatively monster free.
That should have clued me in that something was about to go horribly wrong.
My nose twitched. The air was stained with not just the scent of blood and death but also fear. It was like the woods were whispering in my ear that this was wrong. That, even for Lunaria, this was fucked up.
Surviving in this place was hard, not just for us but for the other monsters that lived here, because there was always something bigger and nastier.
There was one rule every living creature followed: food was never wasted.
The more I stared at what was left of the howler pack, the more I could tell that, while they’d been torn to shreds, they hadn’t been eaten.
There was too much meat and too many nutrient-rich organs left behind.
Even if whatever had done this had nibbled a bit, they should have stayed behind to defend their kill.
A slaughter like this would feed most monsters for weeks.
“This doesn’t seem hunger motivated, and it clearly happened during the day, so it wasn’t wraiths,” I thought out loud. “Territorial kill, maybe?”
“No beast I know of would waste food like this, even if it was just to defend its territory,” Bastian echoed my thoughts as he rose to his feet.
“I can’t pick up any other scents because of all this.
” He frowned before glancing at Ryker, who hadn’t moved from my side.
“You ever come across something like this, Ryk?”
Silence.
I turned to face Ryker and found him staring at the remains with a distant expression.
“Hey.” I rested my hand on his forearm. “You good?”
He blinked before slowly turning to look at me. “I’ve encountered something like this before. Only once.”
Seeing Ryker so unsettled disturbed me far more than the decimated howler pack. A dull ache thudded inside my chest. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand slipped into Ryker’s and I pulled him away from the clearing.
“Tell me about it?” I asked lightly.
Ryker stopped walking, turning to face me so the clearing was in his peripheral vision but his eyes were locked on mine. He didn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t pull away.
“In the mountains with my family,” he said quietly.
“There was another lycan clan that lived nearby. They mostly kept to themselves, but I remember occasionally playing with some of the pups my age. It was summertime and there was a swimming hole located between us. I decided to go and see if they were there . . . and found them in pieces. Exactly like . . .”
“This,” I finished for him. “What did your family do?”
“We moved.” His gaze dropped to where my fingers intertwined with his. “Never did find out what did it. Not long after that was the wraith attack, and then Warrick found me. You know the rest.”
I did. Warrick had brought him home. Ryker had become the fourth member of the Alpha pack, and a decade later, was one of the most feared Velesians, second only to Warrick himself.
Yet here he was, holding my hand like I was something precious to him. He’s Alpha pack, you’re not, a lone voice of reason reminded me. He will never choose you over them.
I slipped my hand free from his and took a step back, turning slightly to face the carnage again. Bastian stared at the two of us, his brows furrowed together and a strained look on his face before he wiped it away. “Rynn, weren’t you and Cade looking into reports of new monster attacks?”
“Cade was.” I cleared my throat. “He only told me about it recently, so I don’t have all the details, but I know the reports came from the west coast. Not a lot of details about the beasts themselves and he didn’t mention anything like this, but there are documented cases of entire hunting parties going missing. ”
“We need to alert Silverdale and all the nearby outposts.” Bastian moved around the carnage, looking at the ground. “There are footprints, difficult to make out because of how hard the ground is and the mayhem of the killing. But I think it was just one large creature.”
Thank the moon for small mercies.
“A hunting party will have to be organized before whatever this thing is turns its attention on us.” I rubbed at my nose.
“We’ll need more people,” Ryker finally said, glancing at Bastian before carefully adding, “and we might need to call Warrick back.”
Bastian grimaced but didn’t disagree. Once again, my curiosity about the deal between Bastian and Warrick rose. I kicked myself for not asking Kieran about it, but I’d had more pressing things on my mind. Maybe next time.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, not wanting to smell the blood and gore anymore. “Whatever did this is probably still around here, and I’d prefer not to meet it when it’s just the three of us.”
“Don’t lie, beautiful.” Bastian grinned at me. “You’re just looking forward to the cuddle session tonight.”
“We’re getting two rooms,” I said flatly, even as I was thankful for him lightening the mood a bit. Ryker smiled faintly, and that eased the tension inside my chest. “Or at least a room with two beds. You two can cuddle with each other.”
Bastian chuckled and opened his mouth to no doubt tease me again when a scream sounded in the forest.
“Shit.” Ryker looked to the northwest as more terrified shouting echoed through the trees.
“Get to the outpost. Ryker and I will handle this,” Bastian ordered before drawing two daggers and racing off towards the screaming.
Ryker looked at me. “You’re not going to listen to him, are you?”
“What do you think?” I asked sharply before darting after Bastian.
“Damn it, Rynn,” Bastian hissed when I pulled up next to him. “Ryker and I have nearly a decade of experience fighting beside each other. You’re the odd one out.”
“I’m not leaving you two assholes to get yourselves killed,” I snapped back.
Ryker appeared on my left in his enormous wolf form.
I wasn’t all that surprised that he preferred to fight in this form.
When Velesians fought in a group, it was standard practice for some to remain human while others shifted.
There were advantages and disadvantages to both.
Bastian was right that he and Ryker were more familiar working together, but that didn’t mean I’d leave them to face this alone.
No matter how much pain and frustration they’d caused me.
“You’re so fucking stubborn.” He slid me a cutting glance. “Don’t think I won’t punish you for this later.”
A small, feral smile flashed across my face. “Love your optimism that there’s going to be a later.”
The ground started to slope upward, and we raced to the top before sliding to a halt at the ledge.
“Oh fuck,” I breathed out.
Ten feet below us was an enormous beast, unlike anything I’d ever seen or read about, battering the corpse of a Velesian on a frozen river. I knew the Velesian was dead because their head had been crushed and most of their entrails decorated the ground around them.
Bored of mauling the broken body, the beast swatted it aside with one giant paw.
I cringed at the splat the body made as it collided with a tree and slid down.
A large, blocky head rose as the monster straightened to its full height.
It was at least ten feet at the shoulder with legs thicker than most tree trunks.
Its body was leaner like that of a feline, but the blunt jaws and square head were more like a bear.
The size was definitely a problem, but not as much as the wide, triangular-shaped, dark brown scales that covered its entire body like armor.
“You’ve really outdone yourself, Lunaria,” Bastian muttered before flipping one of his daggers and extending the handle to me.
“Thanks.” I bared my teeth in a fast grin. “But I got my own.” Half a thought, and my new magic axes were in my hands. Staying alive and killing this thing were more important than keeping them a secret.
Bastian eyed them as I twirled them around, getting used to the weight. “Seems you left out some details about your time with the Moroi.”
“This is less of a Moroi thing and more of a my friend is a mad scholar who likes to experiment with new spells thing.” I shrugged. “Don’t be jealous that my besties are better than yours.”