The howl sounded once more.
Long.
Haunting.
Nothing like the call of a plain wolf.
All the warriors at the north gate reached for their weapons instinctively.
The horses picketed beside the stable stamped nervously, ears back against their heads.
Even the estate hounds whimpered and ran back under the wagons.
Seraphina stopped dead.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
She knew that howl.
It was the second time she had heard it.
The night the Blood Moon pack was wiped out.
The night she had been brought in chains before the Elders.
The night her pup had died in her arms,
“No…
It was impossible.
Not yet.
‘“Impossible,” she whispered.
Kael spun around to face her.
““You know that sound.”
No question about it.
Too late Seraphina realized she had said it out loud.
She forced herself to be calm.
“I’ve… heard stories.”
Kael didn’t look so certain.
Before he could make his point another howl split the air.
This time, closer.
It had an unnatural vibration to it that rippled through every wolf there.
Several younger warriors stumbled, clutching their chests.” My wolf…” breathed one.
“It feels wrong.”
Kael’s face went dark.
““Get everyone back in the estate.
No one argued back.
Guards were herding servants and guests toward the manor while warriors assumed defensive positions around the courtyard.
Lord Vale walked over to Kael, his expression grim.
What are we up against?
“I don’t know.
Kael’s answer was honest.
But whatever that noise was…
He looked toward the woods.
“”…wanted us to listen to it.”
Panic spread through the manor.
Noblewomen snatched their children.
Servants murmured prayers to the moon goddess.
Rumours travel faster than truth.
A rogue army.
“‘A damned thing.’ “The Shadow Wolves.
Every story was more terrifying than the previous one.
Seraphina paid them no mind. Find the original chapter at g.com.
She climbed the east staircase to the library.
If her memories served her right, there was only one place that could possibly hold the answer.
The earliest records of the Vale family.
The thick oak doors she pushed open.
Dust drifted in the quiet room.
Shelves went from floor to ceiling, much too high.
Pack heritage spanning centuries.
Treaties.
Bloodlines.
Wars.
She hurried.
No peeking around.
Looking with intent.
“Old pack warfare…No.” “Rogue Clans .
.
.” ““Nope.
Finally-
Her fingers came to rest on a thick leather-bound tome.
The Lost Packs of the North.
She let it pass.
The pages were yellowed and brittle.
Of most of them she was told, packs gone long before her birth.
Then she came upon a drawing.
A wolf in black.
Bigger than an Alpha.
Crimson ink eyes.
Below it was a single line in handwriting.
““The Hunter is already across your border when you hear the Hollow Howl.”
The blood chilled in Seraphina.
The Hunter.
In her first life she did not know who he was.
His title only.
A spirit.
An executioner.
A man whose victims seldom lived long enough to describe him.
There were footsteps behind her.
She shut the book instinctively.
Kael was standing in the doorway.
“Here,” I thought, “is where I will find you.”
Seraphina steeled herself.
“You followed me.
You disappeared.
There was a little silence between them.
Kael’s eyes went to the book in her hands.
What are you reading?” “Ancient history.
“Have you found anything useful?”
She faltered.
Her every instinct was to conceal the truth. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
But if the Hunter had really come back…
She could not face him alone.
There are stories,” she said cautiously, “of an assassin by the name of the Hunter.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
“the crow feather.
She nodded.
“SeeI think it is tied to that.
He came closer.
“What do the stories tell?” “Almost nothing.” “Tell me anyway.”
Seraphina opened the book again .“The Hunter does not strike without a contract.” He leaves a black feather.
““He only kills when the result changes the balance of power.
Kael himself read the faded page.
No names.” “Most were lost to history.” “Convenient.
“That means whoever wrote this wanted people to forget.”
Kael looked thoughtful.
Or somebody made sure they would.
Seraphina looked at him.
For the first time since they had returned to the past, they were on the same side of a mystery.
They were working on it together.
And somewhere deep within her…
That frightened her nearly as much as the Hunter himself.
Because trust had destroyed her once.
She couldn’t afford for it to happen again.
A sudden knock broke the silence.
A warrior of Kael’s strode into the library without waiting for an invitation.
Alpha!
Kael turned round at once.
What went wrong?” “We found some tracks.
His breath came in gasps.
Human?” “”No.” “Wolf?”
The warrior swallowed hard.
“Both
The room was silent.
Seraphina gripped the ancient book more tightly.
‘Both?
What do you mean both?
The footprints…
He tried to explain.
“They start as wolf tracks.”
He looked directly at Kael.
” “And half way through the woods…”…they are human footsteps.”
Seraphina did not speak.
Neither did Kael.
Because they both knew exactly what this meant.
Whatever had come into the Vale Estate…
This was not an ordinary wolf.
And not an ordinary man.
It was something that could be either one.
The Hunter was here.
And this time…
He was not hiding any longer.