Page 29 of Silent Noise

CHAPTER 20

RAIDEN

Any news? I linked Gunnar and made my way back up to our temporary campsite.

Not yet, Ray.

It’s been a little more than 48 hours since they’d lost sight of her, and I could see my men losing hope by the second. There was nothing I could do to motivate them, because deep down, I was losing hope too.

Running a tired hand through my hair for what felt like the millionth time, I steadied myself against a tree, gazing out at the expanse of forest. She could be anywhere, and we’d never be able to find her, not without a scent.

Are you heading back? Gunnar asked after a while.

Sighing, I pushed off the tree, and took a few steps down the mountain instead of up. Exhaustion pressed on my shoulders. I was cold, wet and hungry. I had intended on going back, but knowing that she might be out there somewhere, I couldn’t stop. Not now, when we were this close.

No, I’ll be out here a little while longer, you can tell the men to retire for the rest of the evening. Make sure everyone gets a warm plate of food and a pillow for their head.

Sure, Ray. Let me know if you need anything.

He knew better than to push me to come back. I would eventually, on my own terms, be driven home by hunger or the cold settling into my bones. The weather conditions worsened by the hour. I looked up into grey, cloudy skies. We’d been caught in a brisk, vicious rainstorm in the early morning hours. The clouds hadn’t parted since. The sun hadn’t shown its face again, and water ran everywhere. Tiny streams of icy aqua ran through the forest, all of them leading to the gorge and the soil was soaked through, indicating that rain was a regular occurrence here in Grimlark.

It wasn’t something we were used to. Our clothes stuck to our skins and unless you brought a few extra sets, you’d be stuck in wet clothes for the rest of the search. It was different up here, north. The climate, trees and animals, all of it strange and foreign to us. Beautiful, but a challenge. We weren’t equipped for it in the least. The men’s tents were drenched, their shoes sodden. A simple task such as gathering wood for a fire was futile, not a single inch of dry timber, or even bark could be found. Everything was wet through, and the constant drone of the river reminded us of it every second.

Having so much water around also didn’t help with picking up any possible scents. We’d been searching for Lily nonstop since arriving and to be honest, the whole ordeal was tiresome, painful, like she’d disappeared all over again. It brought back all those raw memories I’d fought so hard to bury.

LILY

That afternoon, the Alpha came to my room again, wearing the same red plaid shirt as that morning. His boots were dirty and worn and, on his head, he sported a knitted beanie - red, to match his shirt. Dark curls peeked out from underneath, lining the rims and curling into his neck, over his ears. His name was Mathew, the nurse had told me, Mat for short. He smelled of burnt wood, coffee and cedar. Aromas of a forest camp. I liked it, maybe a little too much. Especially for someone I knew nothing about.

If it wasn’t for the Alpha scent in his blood, I would have dismissed Mat for a regular wolf. Nothing about him screamed Alpha. On the contrary, his Beta had more of an Alpha appearance than he did.

Mat was of average height, probably the same as me. Boyishly attractive features danced on his face, friendly and open. I studied him where he stood talking quietly with a nurse by the door. I noticed for the first time his extraordinarily long lashes and a slightly upturned nose. It suited him, made him look normal.

The night before, I’d told him everything I knew, every single detail I remembered before ending up here. I didn’t know whether he believed me or not, he certainly didn’t let any of it show on his features. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t, though. The nurse and border patrol undoubtedly thought me crazy. In fact, I remembered hearing one of them call me delusional when I first came in. The nurse nodded at something Mat said and disappeared down the hall, moving swiftly on her nimble feet.

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” he said as he neared the bed and pulled off the beanie. Curly brown locks cascaded around his head. He pulled his fingers through it a few times, but it didn’t help in taming them at all, and the curls bounced in all directions.

“Thank you,” I managed to say, “for helping me.”

He was quiet for a moment and stared at me with emerald eyes, his head cocked to the side like before. A quirk, I realised. His eyes were forest green and held so many questions, so many stories.

“You’re welcome.”

Blade Rock had fed me, washed me and cared for my wounds. I’d have been lost without them.

“Is this your father’s pack?” I asked after a while, waving vaguely to the room around us.

He smiled, a toothless, amused smile.

“It’s mine,” he said, stepping closer and leaning with his hip against the bed.

I didn’t feel threatened by his closeness at all; the woodsy scent clinging to him hugged me from all sides. It was comforting and smelled of home, like a forest fire in Hollow Stone.

“How old are you?” I asked. I didn’t want to say that he looked too young to be an Alpha.

“I’m twenty-eight,” he said, “you?”

“Sixteen.”

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