Vivianna #2
Tav wrapped me up in a hug and kissed his mate mark, sending a shiver through my whole body. “Viv, we can’t let anything happen to you. You’re Dama to an entire pack that needs your help. We know you can protect yourself, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to leave you to do it alone.”
At his words, my wolf and I relaxed, knowing what he was saying was true. As much as I hated it, I wasn’t looking out for just myself anymore, and I needed to think of the greater good.
“I understand,” I whispered as Tav tilted my chin up to kiss me.
“Thank you. Now let’s go see what the hell is going on with this wolfsbane,” Tav said, giving me another quick peck before stepping back to shift.
“Wolfsbane will put your wolf on edge, so when we get to the spot, it’ll be best to shift back,” Rik said before he shifted.
Koit gave me a wink before he took off on four legs, leaving me to be the last to shift.
We have to do this, right?
I don’t see how else we can figure out what’s going on.
You’re right. Okay, let’s get this shit show started so we can get back to having fun.
Taking a calming breath for us both, I shifted, the smell of the wolfsbane ten times stronger.
Koit paused a moment before he took off, his nose working side to side as he locked onto the trail.
Surprisingly, we journeyed farther into the island, away from the town but deeper into the woods that covered the majority of the unpopulated area.
The scent remained the same to me, but I could tell it was really hitting the guys now as I watched the hair rise on their backs and their tails rise in the air.
We broke through the forest and found ourselves in a clearing with an old log cabin that seemed to have been abandoned for many years.
The windows were shattered, and the roof sagged as if it had collapsed somewhere inside.
I could smell the mold rotting the wood, the scent nearly strong enough to overpower the smell of wolfsbane that was growing all over the area around the cabin.
Koit shifted back, and we joined him moments later.
Something about this house made my skin crawl and my stomach clench in fear.
Rik bent down and looked at the clusters of purple flowers that were blossoming all around the cabin. The plant itself was actually pretty, but wasn’t that often the case with deadly things?
“What is this place?” I asked as I moved closer to the cabin.
Koit stepped up next to me, grabbing my hand and pulling me to a stop before I got too close to the porch steps. “It smells like death.”
Having been in the hospital world for so long, I had missed the scent.
Not that I smelled death often, but it happened, not to mention working with cadavers in medical school.
Taking a deep breath, I could tell that indeed, more than one something had died here, but it was very old, more of a lingering memory than a recent occurrence.
“It’s an old smell. I don’t think we have to worry about finding anything fresh,” I said, testing the first step of the stairs.
It groaned under my foot but held, as did the three other steps leading to the porch and front door of the cabin.
The front door was off its hinges so it tilted inward, like any good door in a creepy cabin should.
I quickly shoved it open and stepped to the side, out of the way in case there were any animals or other living creatures inside that would attack us.
A group of birds burst out of the door and the windows, making me yelp and jump, slamming against the outside wall of the cabin.
Koit chuckled beside me as my heart jumped into my throat.
I elbowed him in the gut, cutting off his laughter as he let out a grunt.
Rik, back in his wolf form, went into the cabin first, sniffing the air and checking all the dark corners, but nothing else felt the need to leap out at us.
The inside looked worse than the outside, almost seeming as if someone had tried to burn the place down but didn’t succeed.
Charred furniture was littered around the large open room, and the cast-iron stove looked like it had a bomb go off inside, blasting it wide open.
I wasn’t happy about walking around naked and barefoot, but it couldn’t be helped right now.
Reminding myself that I wouldn’t get the same diseases as a human helped.
“Hey, guys, I found something over here, but I need your help to uncover it,” Rik called.
We all headed his way and moved the table and other shrapnel from the spot he was focused on.
Under what I could only guess was at one point a rug, we found a trap door.
The hinges looked rusted, but it was no match for three werewolf men.
They ripped it right off the floor, sending it flying into the ceiling before it crashed on the floor a few feet away.
“Overkill much?” I asked, raising a brow at them.
“That wouldn’t have happened if it really was rusted,” Rik grumbled.
Tav shook his head with a small grin on his face. “What he means is that the hatch was well oiled. We were expecting more of a fight, so we gave it everything we had.”
I frowned at this. Wait, does that mean someone has been using this cabin for something?
Well, there’s only one way to find out. Who’s going down the creepy tunnel of doom first?
I think this would be a perfect time to make sure I keep myself safe and send one of the boys to investigate—don’t you?
“So, who’s first?” I asked, grinning at the guys.