Scent of the Alpha

Chapter 10: THE SILVER BEARERS

The morning sunlight crept through the cracks of the decaying castle windows, touching my eyelids with a gentle warmth. I squinted, then slowly opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was an incredible sense of freshness flowing through every inch of my body. The burning heat was gone; the suffocating pressure that had haunted my lungs when I was with Eros had vanished.

The union with Kaelen last night felt... right. It was as if the cells in my body—the silver blood that had been rebelling for so long—had finally found their proper course. Kaelen’s cold, calm soul was the perfect antidote to my fire. I looked to my side, but Kaelen was gone. Only the lingering warmth on the old daybed and his black cloak draped over me remained.

I stood up, stretching my muscles. Miraculously, I felt much stronger and more alert. I could hear the flapping of bird wings outside with startling clarity, and even the trickling of a stream that was likely hundreds of meters away.

I stepped out of the old castle, breathing in the crisp morning air. However, after walking only a few meters through the thick pine trees, my hearing caught the sound of human conversation. These weren't the heavy, vibrating voices of werewolves, but something lighter yet sharper.

"The scent of wolves is strong around here. It seems concentrated near those castle ruins up there," a young man's voice said.

"Stay alert. The Alpha of Obsidian is no easy opponent, especially if his right hand is with him," another voice replied, deeper and colder.

I flinched. I immediately hid behind a large tree trunk, trying to peek down the slope. There, in a well-hidden clearing, a group of young men was camping. There were four or five of them. They didn't look like ordinary campers; they wore dark tactical gear, and near their tents, I saw rows of weapons glinting in the sun—**silver**.

My heart raced. This was the group that had made Kaelen so tense last night. *The New Order of Werewolf Hunters.*

I was so focused on them that I didn't notice the movement behind me.

*Click.*

The sound of cold metal touched the back of my head. The chill from the weapon instantly shot through my nerves.

"What is a beautiful girl like you doing wandering around this forbidden forest at the break of dawn?"

The voice was right in my ear—dangerously close, cold, yet masculine. I froze. Instinctively, my silver blood surged as if wanting to fight back, but I forced myself to stay calm. I couldn't show them who I truly was.

I slowly raised both hands and turned around. Standing before me was a young man with a strikingly handsome face but eyes as sharp as a hawk's. He held a pistol with a barrel coated in engraved silver, its muzzle pointed directly at my forehead.

"Answer me. Before I pull this trigger," he hissed.

"Julian, put your weapon down! You're scaring her," another voice interrupted.

Another young man emerged from behind a tree. His face was friendlier, with messy brown hair. He looked at me with pity. "Maybe she’s just lost, Jul. Look, she’s pale as a ghost."

The man named Julian didn't lower his weapon immediately. He scrutinized me from head to toe. His eyes seemed to want to pierce my soul. "Lost? In Obsidian territory? That’s the most ridiculous excuse I’ve ever heard."

I took a deep breath, trying to make my voice tremble like an ordinary human. "I... I’m not lost. I’m on a writing retreat at a castle nearby. I won a competition and got a two-month retreat package."

"A writer?" Julian narrowed his eyes, lowering the pistol an inch but remaining alert.

"Yes," I continued, trying to sound convincing. "My name is Aira. My shuttle crashed yesterday, and I was forced to stay at that old castle up there because I didn't know the way back. This morning, I just wanted to find the way to the main road, and then I saw you..."

The brown-haired man suddenly widened his eyes. "Wait... Aira? Did you say Aira? Are you... Aira Amelia? The author of the viral novel *'Black Shadows'*?!"

I paused for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Y-yes, that’s me."

"My God! Jul, did you hear that? She’s my sister’s favorite author! Even I follow the story online!" The man looked ecstatic. He quickly reached into his backpack and pulled out a book that looked worn from frequent reading. "Could you sign this? I carry it everywhere; it’s my favorite book!"

Julian snorted loudly, finally holstering his pistol with an annoyed gesture. "Leo, for God's sake! We’re hunting, and you’re asking for an autograph from a stranger? You actually brought that stupid book into the middle of the woods?"

"It’s not a stupid book, Jul! It’s art!" Leo argued, offering a pen to me with a pleading face.

I took the pen with slightly trembling hands—not from fear, but because the situation felt surreal. I was in the middle of a forest, having just united with a Sigma werewolf, and now I was signing a book for a werewolf hunter who happened to be a fan.

"Thank you, Aira! You saved me," Leo said happily after taking the book back. "Come on, sit with us. We just roasted some venison. You must be hungry after being stuck in that old castle alone."

Julian didn't look pleased, but he didn't stop Leo from leading me to their campfire. I sat on a log, trying to act as natural as possible while my brain worked overtime to gather information.

"So, what are you doing here? You said you were hunting, but I don’t see any tracking dogs or typical hunting gear," I asked, accepting a piece of roasted meat from Leo.

"Oh, we’re camping while hunting wild animals that bother the village below," Leo replied, glancing at Julian. "This forest is quite dangerous, Aira. There are a lot of large predators."

"What kind of predators?" I fished, looking at Julian, who was busy cleaning a long, shiny silver sword.

"Wolves," Julian replied shortly without looking up. "Very large wolves that are very dangerous to humans. That’s why we’re here—to make sure they don’t leave their territory."

I nodded as if I understood, though I knew the 'predators' they meant were Eros and Kaelen’s kind. They were the New Order, an elite human force specifically armed to slaughter werewolves.

"But..." I paused, trying to add a touch of humor to lighten the mood, though I was actually testing them. "Why did you point a gun at my head earlier, Julian? Your pistol... it looks very specialized."

Julian finally turned, staring at me with a deep, heavy gaze. "In this forest, sometimes what looks like a beautiful girl can turn into something horrifying in an instant."

I gave a light laugh, a forced sound meant to be pleasant to their ears. I looked into Julian’s eyes with the newfound courage I had learned from Kaelen.

"And what did you think I was?" I asked with a thin smile. "Did you really think I was one of those werewolves you’re hunting?"

Suddenly, the atmosphere around the campfire went deathly silent. Leo, who had been eating, suddenly choked, and Julian stopped sharpening his sword. The popping sound of the burning wood was the only noise between us.

Julian stared at me without blinking, his hand slowly gripping the hilt of his silver sword.

"What if I said... yes?"