The House in the Countryside
Kiara
When the first rays of dawn began to appear, that instinct that I had been following through the night suddenly vanished.
My wolf fell silent, and I suddenly felt all alone.
I was exhausted from the running as well.
Should I stop and take a small break? Maybe it would be better if I did, but I wouldn’t stop for long.
Kataleya was out there, and I needed to find her.
I wondered if Alejandro had found out that I had left already… I was sure he had probably tried calling at some point.
I shifted and dropped to my knees in exhaustion. I opened my bag, pulling out some sweatpants and a crop top, putting them on quickly before sitting back, feeling the pain in my legs and arms. Goddess…
Kataleya. I hoped she was okay, wherever she was… I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her. Please let her be safe…
I stared at the sky, my heart clenching with worry as I tried to compose myself. The distant whimper of my wolf in my head told me she was still upset.
We are going to find her, okay? I told my wolf, although I knew I wouldn’t get an answer.
I ripped open a granola bar and bit into it as I took out my phone and switched it on. The shattered screen was still working for now. I hoped it would make do for a while. I sighed, seeing the thirty-seven missed calls.
Oh, fuck.
Three from Alejandro… twenty from Dad… Goddess, Dad, relax… four from Raven, two from Rayhan, three from Darien, and five from Liam. I sighed, so the entire population knew I had vanished…
I looked at my messages, my heart thudding at the single message from Alejandro.
My Love: I asked you for one thing. One fucking thing. To stay the fuck safe. Seriously, Kia? Just up and leaving like that? I had half a mind to ask Ri to fucking find you, call me when you see this. ASAFP.
I closed my eyes. He was pissed, as I expected him to be… I needed to call him.
I skimmed through the other messages. Dad and Liam were stressing out like it was the end of the world.
Dad was incredibly pissed off as well, also warning me that Alejandro was furious, and he fucking should be.
Was I sixteen or something? These men were being ridiculous.
I understood their point, but I was not an incapable woman who was going to sit at home whilst my daughter was out there.
I was sure I could help find her. The more of us looking, the better.
My own irritation and restlessness were flaring up, and before I could even do anything else, Dad’s incoming call came again, and I sighed, answering it.
“Hel-”
“Kiara, why did you leave? Why was your phone off all night? What if something happened? You and your mother do not fucking listen-”
“Dad!” I cut him off. “Calm down! I’m fine, and I can’t really answer in wolf form, can I? I think you and Alejandro forget that I am not a child anymore. I’m capable enough to help look for Kataleya, and I’m sure the more people looking, the better. Please understand that.”
“We know that, but we also know that even Alejandro wasn’t able to deter these wolves when he has taken down hundreds of wolves single-handedly in his teens! These wolves are something else, Kiara, and nothing to be taken lightly!” Dad growled. I frowned. I knew that…
“Dad, I’m not stupid.”
“Kiara, you were the one who found these notes. Don’t you think Alejandro is worried that, just like Dante is cursed, something may happen to you?”
Okay, I didn’t think of that… but I was fine.
“Dad, she’s my daughter! I am not going to sleep on a bed, not knowing how she is doing! She must be terrified; how do you expect me to just sit at home? Please, Dad, let’s not do this,” I almost pleaded, unable to hide the pain in my voice. He sighed heavily in defeat.
“I understand, but we were on it. We are going to get our Kataleya back. Where are you?”
“I was following my instincts. You know how I’ve always been able to sense this stuff, what if I am able to find her? I’m not that far out from your pack. Just south,” I said quietly.
“That in itself makes me think we all may be on to something. We got news that there were some odd occurrences near Oxford. If you’re heading south, stay that way. Maybe we are close.” My heart leapt at his word, any clue or sighting was hope.
“Understood.”
“Kiara. Wait for Alejandro though.”
My heart was pounding with hope, and when I cut the call, I quickly dialled Alejandro’s. His phone rang, and after a few moments, he answered.
“Let me speak,” I said before he could even answer. “Please.”
“Do I have a fucking choice? You’ll just hang up and continue doing whatever the fuck you want if I don’t.”
I winced at the anger in his voice. It hurt having that rage directed at me, I couldn’t deny that, but we weren’t going to agree, and I didn’t want to argue. This was about our daughter, and I was going to help find her.
“So then just listen,” I said stubbornly, resulting in a murderous growl ripping through the phone.
I exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm. “I am not far from Oxford. I’ll join you there, but if you even think about sending me home…
I won’t listen, Alejandro.” I heard him sigh in irritation, and when he spoke, frustration was clear in his tone.
“Fine,” he replied through gritted teeth.
“I’m heading towards Oxford now. I’ll meet you there,” I replied quietly.
It hurt so much. I realised how angry he was at me, but I couldn’t voice what I was feeling inside.
The pain of having her away from me was killing me.
I just wished he could understand how hard it was being a mother and unable to do anything for our daughter and not even knowing how she was. Was she fed? Was she safe?
“How far are you?” He asked me, his voice as cold and emotionless as it was when he spoke to others.
“Not too far. I should be there in a few hours.”
“Hmm.”
The silence between us was so tense and painful, it wasn’t like us. But right then, we had different mindsets, and there was nothing that I could say would change his anger or make him realise how I felt.
“I’ll see you soon,” I whispered softly.
I hung up. My heart was aching as I stared down at my shattered phone screen, sighing heavily.
I better get up and head out. Alejandro’s waiting for me.
Replacing everything in my bag, I shifted and began running once again, not caring about the pain in my body as I ran.
Determination fuelled me as I made my way through the forest and towards Oxford.
Kataleya, I’m coming for you, my angel.
An hour had passed since I had been travelling, and then suddenly, that instinct that had filled me returned.
I tensed. Could something be here? I looked around, scanning the area.
On one side, there were hills and bushes, along with many trees, scattered to one side.
We were in the countryside. To the right were some fields of farms. My wolf was restless after being silent for so long, telling me to go forward, and I did, my heart thrumming with panic and anticipation. Was Kataleya close?
After a good fifteen minutes, I became confused.
There was nothing out of the ordinary. I slowly continued on my way, my eyes darting around, my senses on alert.
I sniffed the air, my ears perking as they tried to pick up on anything that was out of the ordinary.
Was there perhaps a cavern or something?
Slowly observing the ground, I tried to pick up any footprints, any track marks that would give me a clue as to what was around here.
It was after a good fifteen minutes that I saw the paw prints on the ground.
Faint, but they were there. My heart began beating erratically.
Was I onto something? I padded along slowly.
Taking note of every inch, every millimetre of the ground.
My heart began thumping fast as I realised that they were becoming more and more frequent, clear signs that wolves had definitely been here.
The size of the paw prints belonged to no ordinary wolf but werewolves with big paws and claws.
From what I knew, there was no pack around here, and it was clear these paw prints had tried to be covered up; if I hadn’t been observing carefully, I would have missed them.
After another twenty minutes, there was still nothing, but my intuition was becoming stronger.
I paused, wondering if I should call Alejandro, but what if I wasn’t onto something?
What if it was just a false alarm, and I called him away from somewhere closer to Kataleya?
I’ll keep searching for a bit longer and take it from there.
I was about to lose hope as I was taken out of the forest and towards open countryside, feeling unsure if I should continue or not, and was about to turn away when I saw it.
It was nothing out of the ordinary, just one of several similar places I had just passed, but something about it gave me the chills.
It was a large country home with grey walls, and it was huge.
Many trees surrounded the actual building beyond the black iron gates with sharp spears and barbed wire at the top that was clearly made to keep trespassers out.
The entire property was surrounded by those metal fences.
I couldn’t sense anything or anyone around.
However, my wolf kept telling me to go forward, urging me to, and so I listened.
Could this actually be where she was being kept?
Just the thought that I may be close made my heart leap in excitement.
I looked beyond the gates, and in the distance, past the bushes and trees, I could see the huge house, or should I say manor.
There was no life or light in the windows, not an animal or person in the surrounding gardens, but still, I felt like I should go check it out.
How do I get in? Do I just see if there’s any broken part in it and just sneak in? Sounded like a plan. Let’s do this!