Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 417: Lucas: Strange Symbols

LUCAS

What the hell is this?

Our fur bristles, but we can't linger on the shock of the moment.

The green circle pulses with an otherworldly glow, yet Aurum's paw passes through it as if it's nothing but air. No scent, no resistance.

Magic. Obviously.

Our attention turns to the bodies. There's something strange about them. Bloated, decaying, but somehow devoid of… bugs.

It's unnatural.

Unnatural, Aurum agrees with a growl. His agitation is high in here. Desecrated.

The stench of death fills my nose, but beneath it... Pack. My pack.

These bodies…

Yes, Aurum confirms. Pack.

Their faces, bloated and discolored though they are, are recognizable. Pack lost at different times in these past few months. The initial attack at Westwood. During the strange invasions. And more.

My feet carry me around the circle. Each step reveals another familiar face. Another pack member I failed to protect.

Five bodies total are pack. All who should have been laid to rest with proper rites, their spirits released to run free with the moon.

Instead, they're here. Defiled. Used for some sick ritual that makes me want to howl with rage.

The green circle pulses again, mocking us. Aurum wants to tear through the walls, hunt down every bloodsucker responsible for this desecration. But I force myself to stay focused, to memorize every detail.

They were preserved somehow. Kept from fully decomposing. We've seen some of our wolves brought back to life in some strange way, used as a zombie army; is this how it begins?

Or have they outlived their usefulness?

Too many questions. Too few answers.

Beneath the bodies we know, partially hidden, lie others. Fresher ones. Maybe humans. Maybe wolves from other packs.

of them. Strange, interlocked circles. An arm here.

semi-preserved in

rage simmers, mirroring my

the air fills with the taste of copper and rot. Then nothing.

Son of a bitch.

Track the scent!

as I know it's too late. Whatever

rips from my throat, echoing Aurum's fury. Every instinct screams to chase after our pack members, to track down whoever dared desecrate

green circle pulsed now shows bare ground, as

scent of decay and

it has disappeared, as if it never existed. Death. Decay. Magic that burns my nose. And underneath it

We can't

much, but won't give up that easily. Keep looking. Keep your

minutes of methodical searching, the truth becomes clear. Whatever magic whisked the bodies away left

makes my mental ears itch. We are here. Signs of attack everywhere. A lot of

builds in our chest. Aurum's rage goes

see claw marks, broken buildings. But no bodies, living or dead. The entire camp's been

we finally escape the sod house. Jericho

Perhaps.

tell Vester, already gathering my party. We're heading

* * *

and ravaged as Vester reported. Unlike the sod house, though, there's a lot of scent to wade

no sign of Ryder, but we can find traces of Jericho and his

Death lingers beneath it all, a stench that burns my

it's impossible to tell if it's from friend or

Found traces of Jericho's scent leading north, but it vanishes at

spread out, methodically checking every corner. The vampires have left

familiar that makes my skin prickle. I follow it down a

books litter the floor, pages torn and scattered. A strange thing to find, I'd think. We don't have many books at Wolf's Landing. They don't rank high on the survival priority

room. Vester follows me,

him, I circle the room, letting Aurum take

faint, but it's there. Ozone and lightning. The air

Magic.

I follow its trail to the pile of destroyed books. Beneath the

reminds me of Ava's magic. I can't always sense it, but