The Monster Within Me

Chapter 6

Quinn

Last night was crazy. Maya... She's amazing. It wasn't my intention to sleep with her, especially not with all that I already had to focus on. After I drove her home, I explained to her that I would continue to help her, and teach her everything I knew about werewolves, our history, culture, and traditions. I also explained that I wouldn't complicate things because I knew she needed to focus. I didn't want her to choose to stay with me simply because of what happened; if staying with another pack was the better option for her then that is where she should stay. Her response? She asked me to come to the carnival that was happening in town tonight and of course I had agreed. Hopefully, my good mood would last the day.

I was currently on my back to the Moon Pack to speak with Alpha Fen. There had been another abduction of one of their wolves and the pack was getting restless. They had more questions than answers and so did I. We were no closer to figuring out what was happening with these wolves and at this rate, there would be none of the young strong wolves training to support the pack in the years to come left to do so. 

Pulling into pack territory, I parked the car in the same place as I normally did. I was greeted again by Franky who was pacing around in front of the packhouse. When he noticed me walking up, he ran up to me, "We found a scent lingering around the site that the wolf was taken and..." he trailed off, looking frantic. " And what Franky? Come on, this is important."

He wrung his fingers together, breathing heavily with panic, "It would be better if I just showed you."

He started running towards the forest and I quickly followed. There were several enforcers surrounding areas, speaking amongst themselves. Some of the younger and newer recruits were actually off to the side throwing up. What the f**k? When I finally broke through the crowd to see what they were looking at, I understood. There, pinned lying at the base of a tree, was the leg of, I'm guessing the missing wolf, and with their blood, written in the dirt, were the words, 

                                                You are running out of time to save them....

I've dealt with a lot of sick s**t, but this was definitely high up on the list. Alpha Fen was standing there holding a girl who was sobbing at the scene in front of her. As I approached, Fen released the girl and whispered something in her ear and then handed her off to one of the enforcers that were nearby. I bowed my head as he approached and he nodded to me. 

"Alpha... Franky told me that there was a scent left at the scene, I can smell it but it's faint. Have you already sent some wolves to follow it? If not, then I can go." I knew my eyes flashed darker, my wolf surfacing momentarily, ready to avenge the wolf that was taken.

"Thank you for coming in so early Quinn, there are already enforcers on the trail, my best trackers. I'm hoping they can find something concrete and bring it back to us," he said, sadness in his voice and eyes.

"This is Reina, it was her brother who was taken last night," He said, calling the young girl he had been comforting moments ago. As she approached, she wiped her eyes, trying to compose herself, "hello," her voice wavering with her sadness, her eyes downcast. 

I held my hand out to shake her hand, " hi Reina, my name is Quinn, I'm from Alpha Rhys' pack," her eyes widened at the mention of his name, "He sent me here to help with what's been going on. Can you tell me anything you remember from last night? Did you follow your brother out here?"

She nodded, tears streaming down her face, "Yes, I couldn't sleep last night. I don't know why, but I was feeling restless and I heard Ricky in his room. He was moaning, almost like he was in pain and I heard him shuffling inside his room. I didn't really think too much of it, so I tried to go back to sleep, but then I heard him go out the back door, so I decided to follow him. He was stumbling around, almost like he was drunk. I tried calling his name a couple of times, but it was like he couldn't hear me. He became more delirious the further he went, and when I tried to get closer to him to stop him, I got this sharp pain in my head, and my vision got blurry. He was around this spot when I heard a sound, it didn't sound like a wolf. It sounded bigger, and more menacing, just when I screamed at Ricky to come back, the pain got so bad I must've passed out. I guess my scream must've alerted some of the enforcers because when I woke up, I was surrounded by them and Ricky was gone." She began sobbing as she looked over at what remained of her brother.

"Reina, I know this is hard, and I'm sorry you're going through this right now. We're doing everything we can to find your brother and the other missing wolves. Now, this sound that you heard, did you see by any chance what it looked like?" I asked, resting my hand on her should and turning her away from the scene.

She drew her eyebrows together in thought, "It was big, like almost a bear shifter, but it sounded like a bear and a lion mixed together, but it also sounded like something I've never heard before," she hesitates, "I'm sorry, what I'm not making any sense," tears pool in her eyes again.

"Hey, it's okay. I believe everything you're saying. I didn't smell any kind of shifter her, but your description of this thing is the first we've gotten, so believe me when I tell you that it helps. Why don't we walk back to the packhouse and get you something to eat? I have to go and have a chat with your

Skald (storyteller) about what you told me and see if she knows anything about it." She nodded and went to grab the water bottle that had been brought to her by the enforcers while I turned to the alpha.

"So we're dealing with a monster? Not a pack of angry humans, and it has the ability to lure the wolves away from safety before being abducted. It's also growing impatient, if the message is any indication and they're holding the wolves captive instead of outright killing them," Fen said while pacing.

"The question is, why? Why now? Why here? I'm gonna head back and see what you're Skald has to say and get Reina something to eat. We need to contact her parents and brief the pack of this development. They need to come together and support each other more than they've ever done before," I said, nodding at Reina as she stood nearby, ready to go.

"Okay, we'll take as much evidence as we can from here and brief the pack once the tracker return," Fen said turning back to handle the crime scene.

After dropping Reina back at the packhouse kitchen and making sure she had something to eat, I made my way to the library in search of the Skald. I found her, in the back amongst the books, immersed in whatever it was she was reading. I cleared my throat to alert of my presence, and she turned. Her hair was beginning to grey, a true sign of her age and the wonders she must've seen. Wolves were not immortal like creatures like vampires and aged 1 year for every 10 human years after the age of 18 as long as they continued shifting. When they went without shifting for more than 5 years the aging process would revert back to normal and they would age as a human again. The fact that her hair was beginning to grey, yet there was no sign of the age in her face. She smiled as she saw me approach, rising from her seat to greet me, "Ahh you must be the handsome young man my nephew requested from Alpha Rhys to aid in our time of trouble, it is nice to finally meet you. I am Ylva, the Skald of the pack. I take it you've come with questions?" she asked with a kind smile.

I bowed my head, "Yes Skald Ylva, my name is Quinn. It is an honor to meet you, I just wish it could've been under more pleasant circumstances. There was another boy taken early this morning, and his sister has a potential description of what we're dealing with. I was hoping you could help me with what she told me." She nodded as she took a seat, pointing at the one in front of her for me, "I will certainly do my best, my dear. Please, tell me what it was that you've discovered."

As I recounted the scene from today and what Reina had gathered, I could not only see, but I could feel the fear rolling off of her in waves. She stood, moving amongst the rows of books, to return with an ancient-looking book, with writing I couldn't recognize. She turned the book to a page with a historic looking picture drawn on it. Looking almost like what Reina described, "This is the pet of the King of the Vampires, Vlad. It is no secret that there has long been a struggle between our two species, which is why the vampires have been confined to their realm, and us to ours. Millenia ago, Vlad tried to enter and claim our realm as his own, but he failed. He was defeated by one born of royalty from both werewolf and vampire. The combination of power was more than Vlad could handle, and he was banished back into his realm, but he vowed to return when the next hybrid came of age sending warnings for the impending war that would ensue. Every hybrid afterward was killed to prevent this from coming true. As far as I know, no hybrid has been born in a thousand years. All vampires were banished back to their realm or killed to prevent crossbreeding to occur. The first warning, as it was written, would be the gathering of food to strengthen his pet. Then would come the slow and calculated assault on the hierarchy of the wolves in order to weaken us. He wants the hybrid to be at full strength when they battle to ensure that there is no doubt that he is stronger and more powerful, capable of ruling the two realms without challenge. If what Reina said is true, then we must either find and train this hybrid before they are killed or before we are all killed."

I sat there in shock for many moments, not knowing what to say. This was the first I was ever hearing of this prophecy and the first time I had ever felt true fear. This, for the time being, was only a theory, yet it was the only thing that seemed concrete about what was going on This could be the end of us all and most of us had no idea that it was coming.