What She Deserved

CHAPTER FIVE

CALLIE

By the time we reached the end of the forest, the others were waiting for us. Worry clouded their expressions. “Finally, we were thinking we would have to in after you,” Mackenzie said, and I could tell she was glad they hadn’t been cornered to come to get us.

“Let’s keep moving, we still have to cover a lot of ground,” Mike said without sparing her a glance. He seemed to be caught up in his thoughts. That or he was talking to Xander through their bond.

We took our places and continued with the patrol. Along the way there wasn’t anything unordinary, I saw a couple of squirrels chase each other, fighting for food for the winter. Everything looked like it was supposed to.

I could feel my wolf pacing in my mind, she didn’t like the way the wind had carried our name in a whisper only we could hear back in the dark forest. I didn’t want to tell Xander, I had made sure to block him out of my thoughts so he wouldn’t be able to see what was troubling me. Not even Helena could get through to me and I felt her push my walls to try and find out what was going on.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked next to me, making me jump slightly.

I nodded my big wolf head, “yeah, why do you ask?” Even though I had already guessed the answer. Xander was probably demanding to know if I had been hurt.

“Probably what you have already guessed. Your husband isn’t too happy about you blocking yourself from him,” Mike said with a shrug, but I could feel the worried glances he was throwing my way.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine, I’ll talk to him when we get back,” I responded, and he nodded his head.

It took us a couple of minutes to get to the Southern Gate, but when we got there I gasped. It was worse than I had imagined. The trees had been rotten to the core. Some were on the ground, fallen, looking drier than an arid city. Others had reduced their size by half until only a small stick was sticking from the ground. Where there had once been a blooming forest, now it was only a withering desert. Everything was dead.

My eyes began to tear up as I recalled the pack run Rose and I had first participated in almost a year back. Anxiety filled me as I remembered the waterfall, a special place for me, and Xander.

Without thinking twice, I sprinted forward. The others stared at me in shock and when Mike finally reacted, I was too far for him to catch up to me. I heard his heavy footsteps behind me, but I was faster. I had to see it with my eyes, I had to know if the waterfall had been destroyed just like a piece of the forest that surrounded it.

I began to slow down when I reached the edge of the forest that looked healthy and peaceful. “Callie, please come back. You cannot be on your own here, we don’t if there’s anything circling our territory,” Mike pleaded and by the sound of his voice, I knew he feared Xander would come racing to scold him.

“Don’t worry, Mike. I’m fine. I just want to check on something,” he let out a nervous sound but didn’t protest. He walked into the forest after me. I could tell he had never been here; he was sniffing our surroundings and his paws seemed to float on the ground.

We walked in silence. I perked my eyes forward, trying to catch the sound of flowing water. Somehow, something inside of me told me that if the fall was alright, every problem was still solvable. As if the waterfall decided our destiny in some way.

Droplets of water hitting against rock caught my attention and I instantly bolted forward. Mike cursed behind me and followed closely behind, breathing heavily.

I didn’t stop until I saw the waterfall and my eyes widened. It was still as beautiful as the first time I had seen it. A large wave of water was flowing continuously, making a rumbling sound that echoed around us, surrounding us in a powerful embrace.

“What is this place?” Mike asked in awe as he looked around with his muzzle open in surprise.

“Welcome to the waterfall. One of the most special places in the forest,” I whispered as I turned to him and gave him a wolfy grin.

He stopped turning and he stiffened, and I saw as he tried to put the pieces together in his mind, “wait a minute, I’ve seen this waterfall before. Not in person but… in the painting, the prophecies. The one where your wolf is with Xander’s.” I nodded my head and he let out a sigh. “Wow, I never imagined that place existed.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t know about this place, you grew up here in this territory,” I said with a raised eyebrow and he shrugged, although in his wolf form it looked uncomfortable.

“And I can assure you I’ve been in every square of this forest, but I don’t recognize this path you led me through. It wasn’t there before,” he said thoughtfully as he looked back at the way we had come.

“That’s strange,” I didn’t say anything else; I just kept my eyes fixed on the falling water in front of me in amazement. Mike sat next to me and the silence between us was comfortable.

After what seemed like only seconds, but I knew it had been minutes, I turned to Mike, “let’s get back to the others. I only wanted to make sure this place was okay.”

Mike nodded his head and began to lead us out of the forest. We walked in silence and by the time we reached the others, they were searching anxiously all around us but didn’t see us until we were out in the dead forest.

“Goodness, I was worried out of my mind,” Jessica snapped furiously.

“Everything’s fine, we’re fine Jessica, let’s keep going,” Mike said nonchalantly.

Jessica stepped in front of him, blocking his path, “no, everything is not fine. We couldn’t find you; it’s been half an hour.”

My eyes widened; time seemed to pass differently in the waterfall. “Jessica, we only searched the perimeter, made sure the disease hadn’t spread to the rest of the forest,” I said sternly. For some reason, I didn’t feel comfortable mentioning the waterfall to her or to the group.

Jessica winced at my tone but nodded her head and let go of the subject. Mike and I walked past her and gathered the group together before continuing with the patrol.

According to Mike and Jessica, there hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary besides the dark forest and the dead forest. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” Jessica said once we were walking back to the mansion. The rest of the patrol had stayed behind to take their respective spots in the four towers that stood on the corners of the wall that surrounded our home.

A coincidence, huff, my wolf said with a slight growl and I agreed with her. For some reason, I knew we hadn’t seen the end of the situation and I was almost sure the next attack would come from the Western border.

“Damn it,” I suddenly heard Mike say and I quickly realized why. Xander was storming our way, fume was practically coming out of his ears.

Mike and Jessica stiffened next to me while I turned to them casually, “please make sure the security cameras are installed today, I am counting on you. Also, Jessica, please take a group of trackers after lunch to search for any sign of disturbance in the Western border and its surroundings, I don’t think this is over yet. If you come across anything, tell me immediately.” Both of the wolves nodded their heads and I dismissed them just as Xander reached us.

Jessica and Mike hurried away while I turned to talk to my husband who looked confused and mad at the same time. “What is going on?” he asked through gritted teeth, I could tell his wolf had taken over, his eyes were glowing.

I sighed and took his hand firmly on mine. “Why did you block me?” he asked with confusion, hurt and desperation clear in his voice. When I placed a wall between us, both of us would start to feel cold and hollow due to the strain on our bond.

“We need to talk, love. I’ll explain everything alright?” I said softly and he eyed me closely. “Take a walk with me.” Xander slowly nodded his head and began to follow me into the woods inside our territory.

I stopped walking when we reached a small clearing where a bench was placed in a position that the sun gave it enough sunlight to see clearly but not too much that it would strain our eyesight. Both of us sat down and Xander waited patiently for me to continue. I could tell his anger had disappeared, replaced by worry.

“Jessica and Mike, and now me as well, think that something is happening or at least something is going to happen. There have been several… situations that look like a message, but we don’t know what they could mean,” I started and Xander nodded his head in understanding.

I took a deep breath and then told him the rest. Xander controlled his expression so that it remained neutral as he heard my words and by the time I was finished, the only sign of wariness coming from him was his pale face and tightened knuckles.

“I take it you have arranged for more security measures and for the Mike and Jessica to report to you directly,” Xander said slowly and I nodded my head. He let out a deep sighed, “okay then, the only thing we can do is wait. I won’t alert the pack yet, first we need to know that the threat is real.”

I nodded my head. By the position of the sun, I guessed it was around noon and I was starving. “Let’s go get something to eat, it’s no good if we deal with this with our stomachs empty,” I said as I got up and held out my hand for him to take. I was guessing he hadn’t had any breakfast due to our late awakening and by the smile he gave me, I could tell I was right.

For some reason, I had the feeling Rose knew something. I had to ask her as soon as I saw her, we needed to know if we were in danger and her wolf would be able to feel it if it were true.