Without a Wolf

16

"Hey," Emeric said gently, his hands landing on my shoulders. "It's okay, Gem. I will protect you against anyone. I do not fear Celestina."

"What do they want with me?" I asked him, looking up at him. I'm sure he could see the fear that was leaking into my features. "What would she want with me?"

Emeric was silent, his lips turning into a frown. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I don't know..." I said, and while it was the truth, I knew I was holding something back.

I didn't know why the Hunters were after me. But... I did know that someone had been after my pack before. I wasn't sure who slaughtered my pack, or my family. Of course, I had spent months going over every detail of the attack, from the scene that I had come across.

I had been absent from our territory on the night it happened - that sweltering mid-July night. It was not uncommon for me to sneak away from my bedroom in the pack house back then, nimbly climbing down the tree beside my window. Once outside, I would shift into my wolf form and venture to the nearest human town bordering our lands.

There, an old, abandoned house served as a popular gathering spot for local teenagers. Hidden among the trees in my wolf form, I would observe them, quietly studying their behaviors and interactions. These nights where I watched them were my only insights into the human world. Ultimately, the knowledge I gained during those nights proved useful. When the time came for me to escape, I was able to hide into human society with relative ease.

But in the early morning hours, when I finally returned back to my territory, I found the dead bodies of everyone I loved. The pack house had been ransacked, our belongings thrown around like they were worthless. Whoever was there, they were searching for something.

"Gem," Emeric sighed out, taking his hands off my shoulders and running one of his hands through his hair. "Is there anything you're not telling me?"

I didn't answer. I looked down at my feet. I was waging a war inside my mind. I knew I should tell him who I was, now that I knew the danger had arrived on the doorstep of his pack. I didn't want to, though. I didn't want him to know who I was. I didn't want him to know that I was the girl who had only narrowly escaped being murdered along with my pack.

Could it be connected? Could the Hunters have been the ones to slaughter them?

"Gem?" Emeric asked, his voice was still gentle but I could tell that he knew I was holding something back for him.

"I... don't know if I can tell you," I told him, and it was the honest truth. I didn't know if I could. I have never had to tell anyone what happened. I have never had to audibly release it before.

Emeric's expression softened. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," he said. "But if it could help us understand why the Hunters are after you, it could be important."

I bit my lip, feeling the weight of his words. It was true, if I didn't reveal what I knew, the consequences could be dire. But the thought of reliving that night, of exposing my vulnerability, was almost too much to bear.

"I'll think about it," I said finally, still not meeting his gaze.

"Of course," Emeric said, his hand brushing against mine briefly before he moved away from me.

"Gather the pack," he muttered, his voice low. I knew he wasn't speaking to me any longer, and I knew even though his voice was low, the surrounding wolves would hear him very clearly.

I grew nervous as the wolves around me began to howl, clearly calling their pack members back to the area. My heart started to beat faster as the wolves began to surround Emeric, Selene and I. They changed back into their human state, hastily grabbing their loose clothes and throwing them on.