Chapter 5: Three Wolves, One Scent
1354 Words
“They found us.”
The words inside Elena's head were barely a whisper.
She pressed her palm against her collarbone.
The burning continued.
“Who found us?” she murmured.
Maya looked at her strangely.
“What did you say?”
Elena quickly lowered her hand.
“Nothing.”
Across the courtyard, the royal warrior was still explaining what they had discovered.
Twenty-seven names.
Twenty-seven women.
All connected to the bloodline of the First Wolf Queen.
Elena looked at the triplets.
Roman's face was unreadable.
Riven looked thoughtful.
Rafael looked angry.
“Who are these women?” Elena asked.
The warrior hesitated.
“Some are still alive.”
“And the others?”
“Dead.”
Elena swallowed.
“Do any of them live in Shadow Creek?”
The warrior glanced at Alpha Marcus.
Marcus answered.
“No.”
Elena felt a strange sense of relief.
Then the warrior added, “Not anymore.”
Her relief disappeared.
“What does that mean?”
He looked at her.
“One of the women on the list was born here.”
Elena's pulse jumped.
“Who?”
The warrior opened his mouth.
Roman interrupted.
“Not here.”
Everyone looked at him.
Roman's eyes moved across the courtyard.
“Too many people.”
Riven understood immediately.
“We need somewhere private.”
Marcus nodded.
“Follow me.”
Elena didn't move.
She looked at Maya.
Maya gave her an encouraging nod.
Elena followed the brothers into the main house.
The noise of the courtyard faded behind them.
They entered a small study.
Roman shut the door.
Riven locked it.
Rafael remained near Elena.
She noticed immediately.
“You don't have to guard the door.”
“I know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because you keep telling me what I have to do.”
Elena folded her arms.
“Fair.”
Riven leaned against the desk.
For the first time since the attack, he looked exhausted.
“There's something you need to understand.”
Elena looked at him.
“The list wasn't created tonight.”
“How long has it existed?”
“Twenty-two years.”
The room became quiet.
Elena's chest tightened.
“Twenty-two?”
Riven nodded.
“Someone has been tracking these women since they were born.”
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
Roman looked at Elena.
“But we know one thing.”
“What?”
“The list includes your name.”
Elena stopped breathing.
Maya's hand flew to her mouth.
“No,” Elena whispered.
Roman nodded.
“Your full name. Elena Vale.”
Her knees weakened.
Maya grabbed her arm.
“But how?”
Riven answered.
“That's what we're trying to find out.”
Elena stared at him.
“My name isn't unusual.”
“Maybe not.”
Riven pulled a folded document from his jacket.
“But your birth date is.”
He placed it on the desk.
Elena walked toward it.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Elena Vale.
Born twenty-two years ago.
Female.
Shadow Creek Pack.
Bloodline classification: unknown.
Status: protected.
Elena frowned.
“Protected by whom?”
Riven shook his head.
“That section was removed.”
She looked at the paper again.
There was something else.
A symbol.
The same silver crescent.
Elena touched it.
The moment her finger made contact, the paper burned.
Riven jerked his hand back.
The document burst into silver flames.
Everyone froze.
The fire vanished almost immediately.
The paper dropped onto the desk, blackened around the edges.
Rafael stared at Elena.
“Did you do that?”
“I don't know.”
Roman stepped closer.
“Don't touch anything else.”
Elena looked at him.
“I didn't mean to.”
“I know.”
The gentleness in his voice caught her off guard.
She looked away.
Riven examined the ruined document.
“This isn't normal.”
Elena gave a humorless laugh.
“Nothing about tonight is normal.”
Rafael moved toward the window.
“Someone is outside.”
Roman immediately turned.
“Where?”
“East side.”
They all went silent.
Elena listened.
At first, she heard nothing.
Then she smelled it.
Smoke.
The same strange scent from the forest.
Her body reacted before her mind could.
“There's someone there.”
Roman looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“I can smell them.”
Riven frowned.
“What do they smell like?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Cold iron.”
Rafael's expression changed.
“That isn't a normal wolf scent.”
“What does it mean?”
He didn't answer.
A sudden crash came from outside.
Roman drew his weapon.
“Stay here.”
Elena grabbed his arm.
“Don't.”
He looked at her hand.
Then at her face.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Her voice dropped.
“I just know something is wrong.”
Roman didn't move.
For a moment, they stood there.
Elena could feel his heartbeat beneath his skin.
Fast.
Steady.
Strangely reassuring.
Then Riven spoke.
“Roman.”
They looked toward him.
He was staring at the floor.
“There are footprints.”
“Where?”
“Inside.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
Riven pointed beneath the desk.
A muddy footprint marked the wooden floor.
Someone had entered the room.
But nobody had opened the door.
Rafael moved toward the window.
“It wasn't there before.”
Roman's expression hardened.
“Everyone stay together.”
A scratching sound came from the wall.
Elena flinched.
Again.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Something was moving behind the stone.
Riven slowly reached for his weapon.
The scratching stopped.
Silence.
Then a woman's voice whispered from the other side.
“Elena.”
She froze.
Maya grabbed her hand.
“Do you know that voice?”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
The voice came again.
“Don't trust the Blackthorns.”
Roman's face darkened.
“Who are you?”
No answer.
Then the wall cracked.
A thin silver line appeared across the stone.
Elena's mark began burning.
Roman stepped in front of her.
“Stay behind me.”
The c***k widened.
A gust of freezing air swept through the room.
And then the wall exploded inward.
Everyone ducked.
Dust filled the study.
When it cleared, there was no one behind the wall.
Only a small wooden box sat on the floor.
Riven approached carefully.
“What is that?”
Elena stared at it.
“I don't know.”
The box suddenly opened by itself.
Inside was a silver necklace.
A crescent-shaped pendant.
Elena recognized it immediately.
Her mother had worn one exactly like it.
Her breath caught.
“I've seen that before.”
Roman looked at her.
“Where?”
“My mother's.”
Riven picked up the necklace.
A small piece of paper lay underneath it.
He unfolded it.
His expression changed.
“What does it say?” Elena asked.
He looked at her.
Then slowly handed her the note.
There were only six words.
Your mother did not die that night.
Elena stared at the message.
Her fingers trembled.
Behind her, Roman suddenly inhaled.
Riven looked at him.
Rafael did too.
“What?” Elena asked.
Roman didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on her.
Riven's face had gone pale.
Rafael whispered the words none of them could explain.
“The scent.”
Elena frowned.
“What scent?”
Roman took one slow breath.
His eyes changed.
Then Riven.
Then Rafael.
All three stared at her as if they had just discovered something impossible.
Roman's voice was barely audible.
“It isn't just the mate bond.”
Elena's heart began racing.
“What are you talking about?”
Riven stepped closer.
“We've smelled that scent before.”
“Where?”
He looked at the necklace.
Then back at Elena.
“On records from the First Wolf Queen.”
The room went silent.
Elena looked down at the silver pendant in her hand.
And for the first time, she wondered whether the strange voice inside her wasn't warning her about the triplets.
Maybe it was warning her about herself.
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