Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 417

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.

But one thing remains constant. There's a strange mark on all of them. Strange, interlocked circles. An arm here. A chest there. One has it on their face.

All semi-preserved in this unnatural state.

Aurum's rage simmers, mirroring my own.

The green circle flares. For a split second, the air fills with the taste of copper and rot. Then nothing. But the bodies... the bodies are gone.

Son of a bitch.

Track the scent!

My orders whip out through the pack bond, even as I know it's too late. Whatever this is, it won't be that easy to find our lost people.

A snarl rips from my throat, echoing Aurum's fury. Every instinct screams to chase after our pack members, to track down whoever dared desecrate their bodies. But we can't afford to lose focus now.

The spot where the green circle pulsed now shows bare ground, as if nothing supernatural ever happened here.

Even the scent of decay and death is gone.

We catalog the scents, but so much of it has disappeared, as if it never existed. Death. Decay. Magic that burns my nose. And underneath it all, a sickly-sweet vampire stench. All gone.

Alpha. We can't catch the trail.

I figured as much, but won't give up that easily. Keep looking. Keep your noses to the ground.

But after ten minutes of methodical searching, the truth becomes clear. Whatever magic whisked the bodies away left no trace for us to follow.

Vester's contact makes my mental ears itch. We are here. Signs of attack everywhere. A lot of blood.

Another growl builds in our chest. Aurum's rage goes cold. Casualties?

No bodies. No people. It's completely empty. We can see claw marks, broken buildings. But no bodies, living or dead. The entire camp's been cleared out. _{freeweɓnovēl.coɱ}

Aurum rumbles as we finally escape the sod house. Jericho would not leave so easily.

Perhaps.