Chapter 232
Frost stiffened beside me. “What do you mean, Thalia had escaped? How is that even possible?
“She had help. Kaius’s voice was dangerously calm, but I could feel the fury radiating from him. He gestured for us to follow him.
We trailed after him as he moved with purpose through the corridors of the pack house, eventually stopping at a small room I’d never been in before–an equipment room of sorts, with uniforms, weapons, and various keys hanging on hooks along the wall.
He pointed to an empty hook near the door. “There must have been a spare key, another way in. She had gotten help from someone in this pack.”
“She escaped; we would get her back,” Frost said with confidence, though his expression remained grim.
Kaius shook his head, his eyes darkening. “The problem is not just her escape, but over a dozen of our soldiers had been killed, their body parts torn limb by limb.”
“Oh gods.” The words escaped me in a horrified whisper.
“I shouldn’t have told you this,” Kaius said, noticing my reaction.
I straightened my spine, forcing down the nausea his words had provoked. “No, I need to know about this, I need to know everything happening in the pack.”
His eyes met mine, a flash of pride mixing with the anger there. “I only wish I had killed the bitch.
“Why didn’t you?” I asked.
“She is an elder, the only one who would ever be willing to give me information; killing her would be a huge waste. His reasoning made sense, though the consequences had been devastating.
“You didn’t know this would happen,” I offered, seeing the self–recrimination in his eyes.
He turned away, his shoulders tight with barely controlled rage. “I would join the others to dig; their bodies would have to be buried immediately; the pack members don’t have to see this.”
My hand moved unconsciously to my wrist, where the strange mark remained. Could it be connected to Thalia’s escape? The timing was too coincidental. But with the immediate crisis of murdered soldiers, my mysterious scratches seemed trivial.
“I’ll come with you,” Frost said, moving to follow Kaius,
I considered insisting on joining them but held back. Some horrors were better left unseen, and I had my own mystery to unravel.
The bodies had been buried by dusk, a solemn procession of pack members gathering to pay respects to the fallen. I stood among them, watching as Kaius spoke a few words over each grave–formal et personal, acknowledging their service and sacrifice.
The wind had picked up, carrying the scent of approaching rain. As the last of the graves_was filled, I noticed something at the edge of the tree line–a flicker of movement, there and gone so quickly I almost thought I’d imagined it.
A figure passed by in a flash, and I turned but spotted no one. Maybe it had been in my head.
Elowen?”
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Chapter 232
I startled at Frost’s voice, my heart racing inexplicably.
“Huh?” I turned to find him watching me with concern.
“You seem quite distracted.”
“No. I thought I saw something; I was wrong.” I tried to sound more confident than I felt.
The crowd was beginning to disperse, families returning to their homes, soldiers to their duties. The pack would mourn, but life would continue–it had to.
가
“It’s getting cold; we should head back,” Frost suggested, his eyes scanning the trees where I’d been looking.
“No, I want to stay.” Something about the atmosphere held me there a need to witness, to remember what Thalia had done.
Come on,” Frost said gently but firmly. “Kaius wants me to remain with you till he’s back.”
I nodded reluctantly, allowing him to guide me back toward the pack house. “How is he feeling now?”
“Better, I guess.” Frost’s response was noncommittal. Through his bond with Kaius, he likely felt more than he was sharing.
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