Rayne's POVThe loud silence nearly deafened me. Save for the sounds of my foot trampling leaves underfoot, I couldn't hear much. The eerie atmosphere sent shivers up my spine, eliciting goosebumps along my skin.I hadn't noticed the light chill in the air that evening earlier, but now that there was no longer a large roaring fire to keep me warm, the chill no longer had any barriers. Nevertheless, I had a job to do, and I wouldn't leave until I at least found that boy's sister.I sniffed the air, not quite sure what to expect. Tinges of grass, wet earth, and leaves permeated my senses, and somehow they beckoned me closer, like invisible fingers pointing me to the way. I followed them, still cautious, but knowing that since I had taken the initial risk, I couldn't turn around and give up now.The path I followed took me further into the quiet woods with every step I took. Occasionally I would hear a sound afar off, like someone shouting or loud thudding, but it never came close enough
Kaiden's POVLuckily, from what I had seen so far, not a lot of people had been hurt this time around compared to rogue attacks in the past. Thankfully we had gotten to the scene before things got even more worse.From the look of things, they really had another target, because if they didn't, things would have been more terrible. Rogues were ruthless creatures, treating their kin like mere prey for feasting. When they struck, they didn't even care if you were once from the same pack as they were. While some rogues could still remember certain things about their past for a little while after becoming rogue, turning wild slowly made those memories degenerate, until they couldn't even remember who they once were before. At this point, it usually became increasingly difficult for them to transform into their human form, so they remained in wolf form.I didn't know how Rayne expected to catch one of them and test out her theories, no matter how smart she was. I just hoped that she hadn't
Rayne's POVThe most important thing to me after saving that little girl, was the fact that I had also been able to incapacitate the rogue I had also met.Most of the fight had been blurry, but I knew at one point, I managed to bite into its neck again, sinking my teeth deep until I finally punctured an artery. It had been the best course of action for me to take, because I didn't have the strength to actually fight it off, but I had the speed to dodge it long enough to deal another targeted bite to its neck. I came up with the idea soon after I realized that trying to fight it head on wouldn't have gotten me anywhere, and I couldn't save the little girl if I was dead.The only thing I didn't foresee was that the rogue wouldn't be weakened immediately. After the last bite I gave it, it threw me off it again, and slashed into my back. Before I blacked out from the pain, I had rushed to the little girl who had somehow dropped from the tree, and shielded her with my body for fear that
Rayne's POVI didn't think he would have agreed so easily to my prodding, but Kaiden took me down to his quarters and showed me the scroll-like paper that sat by his bedside desk.It looked like ages had passed since it had even been made, but the paper still had the strength of normal, modern ones. A red ribbon sat around its middle, securing it in the position that it had been found. Curiosity, like a bad influence, pushed against the corner of my mind. I wanted to open it up and know its contents, but I couldn't do that without first understanding more.Like Kaiden had said earlier, it didn't have a definite smell, which made it a peculiar object. From sniffing it, I couldn't tell where it had been or how long it had even been buried. I just knew that it was a piece of paper; which didn't give me any significant knowledge that would set me apart from a human’s own perception of it, and it greatly unsettled me.I turned the object over in my hands, inspecting it thoroughly. Nothing
Rayne's POVEven though the crisis had been averted from Mysticrock, an air of melancholy still remained, and it would probably be a while before it faded away. Although there had only been one casualty—the man that I had seen in the forest—meny other had still gotten injured by the rogues despite best efforts. The person I actually pitted the most was Bradford. Every Time I saw him, he looked completely forlorn and stressed out. I knew that he had something going on with Sal, but I didn't know how deep it ran until now. Every few hours he went out to search for anything that could lead him to Sal, anything at all. My heart went out to him because I also wanted to do something to help.Which was why I put in all my energy in the interrogation we prepared for the rogue. I just hoped that the beast still had an understanding of basic English because if it had already gotten to the point where it now fed on its own kin, it was probably too far gone.He had been kept in the lower cellars
Sal’s POVFor three days I had been blindfolded, carried around like a meat sack, and kicked every once in a while. For three days I haven't been allowed to do anything but lie on the ground, drink water, and use the restroom. For three days I have done nothing but think about the different ways that I could escape from these captors and find my way back home.It didn't take long after my capture for me to realise that everything that was planned and it wasn't just some random rogue attack like the one we had been planning. No. This one had been very well thought out, but badly executed.After the rogue had snatched me away from Bradford like I was some kind of candy bar it had been searching for, the next few moments that followed had been so blurry. I wanted to shift and escape, but before I could do that, a tree branch had whacked my head, sending me into a sweet sleep I didn't desire nor require.By the time I had emerged from my slumber, a blindfold had already been placed over m
Rayne's POVIf I dared to breathe, I would die. If I didn't, I would still die. I couldn't scream or cry out for help because doing so would still doom me to a swift, watery death.Above me, Reynolds laughed, pressing my head further down into the river. I couldn't hear the words coming out of his mouth, but the sound of his harsh, disturbing laughter flew over my head, distorted by the water rushing violently over my ears.I kept wondering if that was the way my life was destined to end; that one day, Reynolds would tire of seeing my face and would put a pillow over me while I slept, or casually push me over a cliff to my doom. Or that maybe it was just to drown me like he was doing right now. Numbness spread all over me, as though my own body had given up on me and no longer wanted to be a part of Reynold's cruel game.The corner of my vision started to fade, swallowed up by a darkness I both wanted to fall into and escape from . . .…….I sat up from my bed, still feeling that num
Rayne's POVSomething about the priestess’ face reminded me of a clear white pebble. The kind that you found beside a rushing river; smooth and shiny, but reeking with the scent of hardened water and years of immobility. Placid, but not so much that nothing about it interested you anymore, in fact, that was the very thing that made you wonder how long it had taken for it to become so perfect. How it had lost its edges and sharp points to become this new thing of wonder.Her hands were folded atop each other over her belly as she stood at the entrance to the pack house, in the solemn pose that one expected from such an individual. Her eyes, clear as a new day, watched us expectantly as we approached, neither too excited nor too empty. She held her neck and shoulders straight like a sculpture, saying without words that she was not one to cower to anyone.When Kaiden and I finally stood before her, Bradford moved to her side, looking like he hadn't slept in days. A pool of black sat unde