Running with Alphas_Winter_Seasons Book 1 by Viola Rivard

Author:Viola Rivard [Rivard, Viola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

Hale stood beside his brother, observing the felled tree, their faces sporting identical expressions of confusion and concern.

What could have done this?

True to his word, Cain had woken Hale in the middle of the night, quietly urging him from the room. Hale had been more tired than he’d realized, and it hadn’t been until they were out in the cold night air that he’d shaken off the last vestiges of sleep. From then, they had traveled east in their wolf forms, picking up the dead wolf along the way. He and Cain took turns pulling the corpse on a makeshift sled, though Hale would haul it whenever they were going uphill, which was often. Yewen’s den was on the other side of the eastern mountain. Compared to the Halcyon and Whiteriver mountains, it was really more of a tall hill and they were on Yewen’s side by midday.

No wolves came to confront them, which was the first sign that something was wrong. Wolf shifters were highly territorial and the presence of intruders would not have gone unnoticed. According to Cain, Yewen’s wolves were particularly prone to accosting trespassers and demanding tribute to use the mountain pass.

As they descended the mountainside, Hale noticed the sour scent of decay on the breeze. It could have been an animal carcass, but the smell never abated and only intensified the farther down they went.

The fresh snow was undisturbed at the foot of the mountain, but several large trees had been uprooted. This was strange because very little wind had accompanied the last few snowfalls. But what was truly bizarre were the markings on the trees. Gouges that looked like claw marks, but were as wide as Hale’s biceps.

“Did Yewen do this?” Hale asked.

Cain was scratching his beard. “I don’t smell him here.”

Hale considered the markings for another moment and then said, “They must have been carved with some sort of tool. I’d bet it’s an intimidation tactic. This is probably how those rumors of the giant wolf were started.”

As Hale spoke, Cain began walking away in the direction of the river. Hale followed him, abandoning the sled as he caught sight of what his brother had noticed.

Bodies. Or rather, parts of bodies. They had gotten caught at a rocky patch of the riverbed, a cluster of waterlogged limbs and severed heads. They counted four heads in total, but there were only enough limbs to make up two bodies. If they’d cared to take the time, they might have been able to piece them together by scent, but what was the point?

Not his pack, not his problem.

“This is a good thing,” Hale announced after a few minutes. “If these are just the ones we’ve found so far, then I’d say Yewen has a bigger problem on his hands than the one wolf that floated downstream to your territory. I doubt he’ll be missing this guy.”

Cain didn’t seem convinced by his logic.

“I recognize that one,” Cain said, pointing at one of the heads. “It is—was one of his betas.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.