Chapter 174

Chris

The cool, damp earth beneath my paws was a welcome sensation as I padded through the forest. The first light of dawn was just beginning to filter through the trees, casting long shadows across the underbrush, and a gentle breeze ruffled my pure white fur. Leonard’s wolf form moved silently beside me, his nose to the ground as we searched for any trace of Olivia.

Shifting like this with my Beta by my side should have felt like an immense relief, a joyous occasion. Finally, after years of barely even being able to drop my fangs properly, I could shift fully with ease. I was home, healthy, and my wolf was happy.

But rather than feeling relaxed and centered, I just felt more tense and stressed than ever.

We had been at this for hours, combing every inch of the territory and beyond. But so far, we had come up empty-handed. Not a single clue had been found; not a single hair, or a scrap of fabric, or a broken twig. Not even the slightest scent on the wind.

Finally, with a frustrated huff, I shifted back to my human form. Leonard followed suit a moment later and came to stand beside me in the dense forest. For a few long moments, the only sound between us was that of the early morning birds and water running through a creek somewhere in the distance.

“Find anything?” I finally asked, although I already knew the answer.

Leonard shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. “Nope. Nothing. It’s like she vanished into thin air.”

I leaned against a nearby tree, feeling the rough bark against my bare arm, and gently prodded a nearby mushroom with my boot. It let out a tiny puff of bioluminescent spores at my touch, although I didn’t have time to stop and admire its ethereal beauty.

“We can’t give up,” I growled, my eyes scanning the misty forest. “She has to be out there somewhere. She couldn’t have gotten far.”

“I know,” Leonard sighed. “But where? We’ve searched everywhere.”

I closed my eyes, trying to think. We needed a new approach, something we hadn’t tried yet. Suddenly, an idea struck me.

“The other Alphas,” I said, opening my eyes to look at Leonard. “Maybe they could help.”

Leonard raised an eyebrow. “You think they’d be willing?”

I shrugged. “Alpha Edward definitely would. Alpha Fabian likely would as well. But the other two... I’m not so sure. But if the blight could spread beyond our territory, it would affect everyone. Not just Moonstone.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Leonard agreed. “But how do we convince them to hear us out? Alpha Winston has already denied your request to visit his territory.”

“We’ll just have to go anyway,” I said, pushing off from the tree. “Present our case. Make him understand the gravity of the situation.”

Leonard sighed and nodded. “Perhaps you should visit Crescent Moon first. If you can rally all of the other Alphas behind you, then perhaps Winston will have no choice but to join in the effort.”

We started making our way back to where we had left the car along the side of the road, neither of us speaking. My mind was lost in potential strategies for approaching Alpha Bernard of Crescent Moon pack. As we walked, Leonard suddenly chuckled.

“What?” I asked, glancing at him.

“Nothing, it’s just... your wolf form. It’s impressive, Chris. Much stronger than when you first came back to Moonstone. And your white fur is quite rare.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. “Thanks. I’ve been working on it.”

But Leonard’s words also reminded me of a sobering reality, and I shuddered. “If we have to evacuate the entire pack, though... all of our wolves might become weak. When my wolf was weak, I felt awful all the time, even though I didn’t tell anyone. I don’t want that same feeling for my people.”

Leonard’s expression turned serious again. “We won’t let it come to that. We’ll find Olivia and the real moonstone before it gets that bad.”

I nodded, hoping he was right. As we approached the car, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a message from one of the scouts, with an attached photo.

My heart leaped into my throat as I opened the image. It showed a woman who looked remarkably like Olivia boarding a boat. The timestamp indicated it was taken just a few hours ago.

“Leonard, look at this,” I said, showing him the photo.

His eyes widened. “Is that…”

“Olivia,” I confirmed. “Looks like she might be headed to the human world.”

Leonard let out a low whistle. “Well, that complicates things, doesn’t it?”

I nodded, my mind already racing with the implications. “We’ll need to expand our search. I’ll have to make some calls, see if we have any contacts in the human world who can help.”

As we drove back to town, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were always one step behind Olivia. But at least now we had a lead. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

By the time we pulled up to Ava’s house, the sun was fully up, and exhaustion was hitting me like a freight train. I had been up all night, and the strain of the past few days was catching up to me.

Ava met us at the door, her face a mixture of concern and hope. “Any luck?” she asked as we stepped inside.

I shook my head. “Not much. But we might have a lead on Olivia. She may have gone to the human world.”

Ava’s eyebrows shot up. “The human world? That little…”

“Yep,” I agreed, stifling a yawn. “We’ll need to figure out our next move.”

“Well, first things first,” Ava said, leading us to the kitchen. “You need to eat something. I made breakfast.”

The smell of bacon and eggs hit me as we entered the kitchen, and my stomach growled in response. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until that moment.

“You’re amazing,” I said, pulling Ava in for a quick kiss before sitting down at the table.

As Leonard and I started to eat, I filled Ava in on our night of searching and the photo of Olivia. She listened intently, her brow furrowed in thought.

“So what’s the plan now?” she asked as I finished explaining.

I opened my mouth to respond, but a massive yawn came out instead. “Sorry,” I mumbled, blinking hard to try and stay awake. “I think... we need to contact our allies in the human world. See if they can help us track her down.”

Ava nodded, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. “That sounds like a good start. But Chris, you need to get some sleep. You’re exhausted.”

I wanted to argue, to insist that I needed to keep working, but another yawn betrayed me. “Maybe you’re right,” I admitted. “Just a quick nap, though. We can’t afford to waste time.”

“The pack needs you at your best,” Ava reminded me gently. “A few hours of sleep isn't wasting time.”

I nodded, my eyelids feeling heavier by the second. “Okay. But wake me if anything happens, alright?”

“Of course,” Ava promised.

I managed to finish most of my breakfast, although I was practically falling asleep at the table. As I was about to get up and head to bed, the phone rang.

Ava got up to answer it, and I listened as she spoke to whoever was on the other end. My mind was already drifting, thoughts of Olivia and the moonstone swirling hazily in my head.

I was just about to doze off right there at the table when Ava’s voice cut through my fog. She had hung up the phone and was looking at me with wide, shocked eyes.

“Chris,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Dedrick is dead.”