It was as if the entire pack was holding its breath.

No one but Beta Hunter and I knew of Alpha Kane’s travels, but the news of the two threats spread like wildfire. Everyone in town was on edge, wondering who would be next and if it would happen again. Not a single person could provide any useful information.

There were no witnesses the night of the mysterious wolf. No one saw anything. It was as if he had vanished into thin air. The patrols that night reported nothing out of the ordinary, noting that the night was quiet. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

I was almost afraid to go on patrol tonight, but I never let fear hold me back. Knowing that the threat was somehow connected to me, I was determined to find out why. If Marcus were really behind these attacks, he would never stop. Marcus might not be smart, but he was definitely ruthless. It was clear that Marcus’s mysterious friends were the brains behind this whole operation.

"I wonder if any of this would have happened if I had just stayed in Moonstone Academy." I shrugged, heading out on patrol with Sophia and Jackson.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "If Marcus was behind this, it would have happened anyway."

"He’s probably pissed off about Alpha Kane leading his pack," Jackson shrugged.

"It’s Marcus’s fault for angering him." I shook my head. "If Marcus wasn’t an arrogant jerk."

"You shouldn’t dwell on things like that." Sophia shrugged, "You have to live in the moment, you know?"

I stopped and looked at her strangely, "Have you talked to my dad?"

"She’s a smart person." Sophia chuckled.

"Too smart." I raised an eyebrow in response.

Sophia turned left, and Jackson and I turned right. He and I were patrolling together, and Sophia was on duty on the other side of the pack.

Two new people had joined us tonight. From the looks of it, they were Alpha Kane’s men. Both were large, covered in intricate tattoos and sculpted muscles. One of them had startlingly blond hair, long and tousled.

The other had midnight-colored hair, cut short and swept to the side. They both looked equally intimidating with their tattoos and scars, but I didn’t mind. On the contrary, I felt a little safer here, as if a piece of Kane was with us.

"I assume you are Zara and Jackson," the blonde grumbled, casting a glance at us. "I... Carter, this is Wade."

The devil-haired man chuckled, giving us both a piercing look.

"It’s us." I grinned, widening as I saw Jackson’s confused expression. "How are you guys going to do that?"

Carter’s eyes widened, and Jackson raised an eyebrow at him.

The silence was unsettling, so I took the first step.

"I think we’ll go in groups of two." I shrugged, two seconds away from turning around.

"Alpha said not to leave you alone," Wade barked, sounding very much like Kane’s Alpha.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course he did. Why am I not surprised?"

Carter chuckled, looking at Jackson with a quizzical expression.

"Something funny?" I raised an eyebrow, placing my hands on my hips.

I felt Jackson tense up next to me, clearly intimidated by the two large men. You’d have to be a fool not to feel the power coming from them. It was a power that was very different from Kane’s Alpha power. Carter and Wade had the power of warriors, and Kane had the power of an Alpha.

"No," Carter shook his head. "Just making an observation."

"And what observation?" I narrowed my eyes at Carter.

"Alpha Kane simply informed us of your... stubbornness," Carter replied, his tone calm and unconcerned.

"Stubbornness?" I pursed my lips. "He said I was stubborn?"

"A few times." Carter nodded, as if nothing had happened. Jackson chuckled next to Carter, but looked away when I glared at him.

"How... kind of him," I smirked. "I guess we’ll just patrol together."

Wade and Carter stood silently next to Jackson and me. Jackson and I were having a mental conversation that Wade and Carter were refusing to participate in. Now and then, I heard a chuckle from either Wade or Carter, proving that they were indeed listening to our conversation.

The night was still, the ground cold and yielding beneath our paws. Nova was enjoying her freedom, thinking only of the dull thud of her paws on the ground. A cool breeze blew through our fur, awakening new scents.

The cool breeze would have been cold on my human skin, but through Nova’s fur, it felt like a cool caress. The smell of wet earth and trees was strong in my nose, but there was something else in the air. It was the smell of something sweet, like candy or syrup. The strange thing was that it smelled too sweet, almost sickly sweet.

"Can you smell it?" I murmured to the others.

The four of us froze in place. Nova lifted her nose to the sky, and we inhaled deeply.

"I don’t smell anything." Jackson’s wolf shook his large head.

"I only smell the earth." Carter shrugged, but his eyes were scanning his surroundings.

"You don’t smell anything?" I frowned, tilting my head.

Jackson shook his head, and Carter and Wade looked at me suspiciously. "No, nothing out of the ordinary."

We shook our heads and ran again.

The patrol ended quickly, and the strange smell faded from my memory. There were often hikers and campers in our forest.

Most of the time, we noticed their campsites and avoided them, continuing our patrol as usual. The sweet smell was most likely coming from a group of hikers who had left food in the forest. This was not the first time.

That evening, Jackson walked me home, waved goodbye, and jogged down the street to his house.

I walked into the living room to find my father looking very upset.

"Did something happen while I was gone?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Nothing important." My dad’s voice was hoarse as he tossed the folded note onto the table.

"Alpha received cotton?" I frowned.

"Yes." My dad grumbled. "I’m not surprised."

"Now, Alpha must know about our business." He nodded, and her face creased.