The Blood Trail
861 Words
Liam stood frozen, his storm-gray eyes locked on the blood-stained scarf. His fists clenched at his sides, the muscles in his jaw tightening.
No one spoke.
The air was thick with the scent of iron, the damp earth beneath their feet absorbing the truth of what had happened here.
“Elena was here,” Ronan said, his voice unusually quiet. “But where is she now?”
Aria swallowed hard, her heart hammering. She wasn’t a wolf. She couldn’t track scents or hear things miles away like Liam and the others could. But she could feel that overwhelming sense that they were running out of time.
Liam took a slow breath through his nose, his entire body going rigid.
Then, in a voice edged with something primal, he said, “She’s still alive.”
Aria snapped her head toward him. “You’re sure?”
His jaw ticked. “I can smell her.”
Ronan shifted on his feet. “Then why did whoever took her leave this behind?” He gestured to the scarf. “They wanted us to find it.”
Aria’s stomach twisted. “A message?”
Liam’s expression darkened. “Or a trap.”
The wind howled through the trees, making the branches groan like something alive.
Then a rustling in the distance.
Every wolf in the clearing tensed.
Liam’s head snapped up, his entire body shifting into fight mode. Aria saw it happen in real-time, the tightening of his stance, the way his breathing slowed, controlled.
She reached for the small pocket knife she always carried, knowing it was useless against whatever was out there.
A low growl rumbled through the trees.
It wasn’t from Liam.
And it wasn’t from his pack.
Ronan exhaled sharply. “Tell me I’m not the only one who heard that.”
“You’re not,” Liam said.
Then before anyone could react something lunged from the shadows.
The figure lunged fast, too fast. Aria barely had time to react before Liam moved, shoving her behind him in one fluid motion.
A blur of black fur and glowing eyes crashed into Liam, snarling. The impact sent both figures rolling across the forest floor, snapping branches and kicking up dirt.
Ronan was already moving. He shifted mid-step, his body twisting as fur erupted over his skin, bones reshaping in an instant. A massive, dark brown wolf landed where he had been, teeth bared, ready to strike.
Aria stumbled back, heart hammering in her chest. She couldn’t breathe.
The creature Liam was fighting wasn’t just a wolf. It was wrong.
Twisted.
Its limbs were too long, its fur patchy and matted, its eyes glowing with a sickly, unnatural light.
And worst of all, it smiled.
Not the way wolves did, with bared teeth and raised hackles. A human-like grin, full of jagged teeth.
Aria felt cold terror slide down her spine.
Then the thing spoke.
“You shouldn’t have followed.”
Its voice was like shattered glass, distorted and inhuman.
Liam let out a vicious snarl, his muscles rippling as he grabbed the creature by the throat and slammed it into the ground.
“You’re not one of mine,” Liam growled, voice deep with something not human.
The creature choked out a laugh.
“No, Alpha,” it whispered. “But I was.”
The moment the words left its mouth, it twisted its own body with a sickening crack and broke free, darting into the trees with unnatural speed.
Liam was on his feet in an instant. “Don’t let it get away!”
Ronan sprinted after it, his massive wolf form disappearing into the darkness.
Aria couldn’t move.
She felt like she had just seen something that shouldn’t exist.
Her breaths came fast and shallow as she turned to Liam. His face was tense and unreadable, but his hands were clenched into fists, his breathing uneven.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded.
Liam’s eyes darkened. “A rogue.”
Aria shook her head. “That thing wasn’t a werewolf.”
Liam’s jaw tightened. “Not anymore.”
Her stomach twisted. “What does that mean?”
Liam didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. When he opened them again, they weren’t just gray anymore.
They were glowing.
“Aria,” he said, voice low, serious. “You need to go back to town. Now.”
Aria shook her head. “Are you kidding? I’m not leaving..”
Liam grabbed her wrist, his grip firm but not painful. His eyes burned into hers.
“Aria, listen to me. This isn’t just a missing person anymore. This is something else.”
His voice was raw, full of something she hadn’t heard before. Fear.
And Liam Grey didn’t seem like the kind of man who scared easily.
Before she could respond, a distant, bloodcurdling scream shattered the night.
Ronan.
Liam’s head snapped toward the sound, his entire body going rigid.
Then, without another word, he took off into the trees.
Aria clenched her fists.
Every instinct told her to run back to town, to pretend she had never gotten involved.
But instead, she followed him into the dark.
- Writer
