Chapter 106: Blood In The Air
"Smell what?" Rowan asked with a frown.
I took a deep breath, carefully concentrating on the small trace of smell I caught in the wind. Among the smell of wet grass and pine, there was something familiar. It took me a couple of seconds before I confirmed my suspicions.
"That!" I said, my eyes widening significantly. "I just smelled Willow’s scent! Can’t you smell that?"
More than that, I even detected the metallic undertone of blood in the air. My heart began to race with worry. They could be two completely unrelated scents, but I had a feeling Willow wasn’t so fortunate.
When I had last spotted Willow’s wolf, it was already a frail, bedraggled creature. It wouldn’t be difficult for another wild animal to think it was easy prey and land a killing blow.
My stomach twisted, and suddenly, I lost all appetite.
"Willow’s scent?" Violet asked, raising an eyebrow. "Briar, have you gone mad? Willow is dead."
The way Violet so coldly spoke of her missing and possibly dead friend was appalling. She sounded as though she were speaking of a stranger whose death was inconsequential to her. In fact, her tone had been so jarring that even Cassian turned to look at her briefly in shock. Rowan and Soren furrowed their eyebrows as well.
Considering how heartbroken she had been when Willow first went missing, demanding that justice be served, this was an inexcusable, complete change in attitude.
Better yet, it didn’t seem like she even noticed the Alphas’ looks of concern at all.
Ignoring her, I immediately got up and peered around. While Violet and Willow may have been so-called best friends once upon a time, Willow was also my sister. I knew what I saw in the safehouse that the Alphas built, and right now, I wouldn’t mistake Willow’s scent. My theory had been correct― Willow was probably too weak to leave these woods right now.
Rowan stared up at me, his eyes roving over my face before he also got up.
"I don’t smell anything," Rowan said, "Are you sure you’re not mistaken?"
If I were paying more attention to Rowan, I would have detected the faint worry in his voice. He shoved the sandwich back into my hands.
"Eat. Your hunger is messing with your senses," he said firmly, the furrow between his eyebrows deepening as he forced me to sit back down.
But I shrugged off his hands from my shoulders, insistent on standing.
"I know what I smelled," I said. I turned to Soren, hoping that he had a better sense of smell than his brother.
Soren looked pleased that I had finally decided to show him some attention, and he quickly got up, taking deep breaths as he tried to detect a new scent in the air. However, I saw a vaguely apologetic expression cross his face as he stared at me.
"I’m sorry, Briar. I don’t smell anything out of the ordinary." He looked so guilty at the thought of failing me that I almost felt my earlier anger with him drain away.
Almost. Now I just had a new reason to be disappointed with him. As though he detected my less-than-charitable thoughts towards him, Soren quailed slightly and spoke out.
"But we could still send out search parties while you eat," he added, checking my expression carefully like a child desperately trying to please an upset parent. "Just to double-check."
There was a wet thud on the ground. I turned to see that Cassian had flung his own sandwich on the ground in exasperated anger. What a waste of food.
"Soren, are you planning on wasting everyone’s time and energy on a wild goose chase?" Cassian demanded hotly with a scoff. "You can’t seriously be entertaining her nonsense. This is her literally crying wolf again! Rowan, don’t tell me you forgot what happened just yesterday?"
I gritted my teeth and glared at him, rankled at the insinuation that I was a liar. "I know what I smelled. I wasn’t lying about it the last time either. That is my sister, and I know she is here."
Cassian scoffed, folding his arms across his chest as he looked away.
My eyelids twitched. "You don’t have to waste manpower on me. Heck, you don’t have to believe me either. I’m going to look for her on my own―"
"Like hell you are!" Cassian growled out. He leapt up to his feet and stomped towards me, snarling and spitting. "None of us smelled a thing. You’re just lying again to escape us now that you’re actually outside, just like before!"
Soren and Rowan’s faces clouded over at Cassian’s words.
"I’m not trying to escape. I’m going to look for Willow, and you people are free to follow me or not!" I declared.
"You’re telling me that you can smell something that we can’t?" Cassian said, his expression darkening. "Did you conveniently forget that you’re wolfless?"
I pursed my lips. It was true. Rowan, Soren, and Cassian were alphas. Their wolves were among the strongest a werewolf could possibly be. Even Violet came from a rather prestigious bloodline. All four of them weren’t ordinary pack members. In a pack, they were supposed to be superior in every way.
Which was why I refused to believe I could smell something that everyone with their heightened senses could not. But at the same time, I couldn’t deny that the looks of confusion on their faces also seemed genuine. Cassian looked frustrated, and Violet looked curious. Rowan and Soren, on the other hand, looked worried. Perhaps they were starting to question my sanity.
"Just sit back down before you embarrass yourself further," Cassian continued with a heavy scowl. "To think my brothers were kind enough to feed you, and this is how you repay them? By trying to escape the moment the opportunity arises?"
A small sniff came from Violet’s direction. I turned to look at her and saw that her eyes were wet with tears. I had a feeling I was going to experience her stellar acting, and she did not disappoint.
"Briar, I know... the pack hasn’t treated you well. You have every reason to want to leave," Violet said with a trembling lower lip. "But no matter what, you can’t bring out Willow’s name in vain! She’s not a tool you can use at will!"
A tear rolled down her cheek right at that moment, before she began to sob. She had certainly corrected her attitude in a short timeframe. Perhaps I was wrong― she might’ve noticed the Alphas’ looks of horror previously after all.
Her little performance was so moving that I immediately felt several angry pairs of eyes glare in my direction. All of the guards clearly thought I was some sort of ungrateful mercenary, willing to spit on my sister’s memory for a chance of escape.
Nothing could be further from the truth. But I didn’t have the time to convince them― I just needed to go and look for Willow. Time was of the essence.
Cassian immediately went back to Violet’s side, hugging her in an attempt to comfort her, while shooting me a glare filled with vehement hatred.
"Violet’s right," Cassian spat out. "The two of you ought to think with the right head for once. This is the type of woman she is. She’s even willing to use her dead sister’s name for her own ends!"
"I am not!" I yelled. I glared at them, too riled up by Cassian’s words to notice the small smile on Violet’s lips. "How is it that you three idiots claim to love my sister so much, yet time and time again you’re unwilling to even bet on the chance that she might actually still be alive?!"
Rowan’s lips were tightly pursed together while Soren looked red― not out of anger or embarrassment, but as though he had been wronged. To his credit, he did offer to send men to help look around nearby, but at the same time, he wasn’t willing to argue with Cassian.
"You, especially!" I spat, pointing right at Cassian. "You claim that your brothers are led around by the wrong heads, but let’s be real here. You are the only one who seems to be entirely bewitched by Violet! She sheds a tear, and all of a sudden, you’re conveniently forgetting how much Willow meant to you? To all of you?"
Anger rushed through me, engulfing me in flames. I clenched my fists tightly at my sides, my nails digging into the palms of my hands.
"For fuck’s sake!" I yelled, not bothering to sugarcoat my language any further. "You three wanted to crown Willow as your chosen mate! She was supposed to be your Luna! And yet now, you’re just leaving her to rot out there alone and in pain? I’m not the monster here― you are!"
"Briar, that’s enough," Rowan said. He stepped forward, intending to hold me, but I moved away. "You need to calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself."
"No, I don’t need to calm down," I said. "What I need to do is to get my sister."
"Listen here, you fucking brat," Cassian growled. He shot forward before Rowan or Soren could stop him, harshly grabbing my wrist. "Need I remind you, you’re currently speaking to your Alphas!"
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