Page 2 of Forgotten Fate

Suddenly, I halted in my tracks again, dirt kicking around my heels, tongue lolling from my mouth as I licked around the dried jowls.

This time, however, I didn’t give my guards a chance to recognize something was amiss, and I immediately reclaimed my footing before they could scent my new path in the air. I shot forward, albeit at a much slower pace this time.

My senses were in high gear, and I took in the unexpected aroma of a female in my purview. Someone was among the trees with me, someone who wasn’t supposed to be.

Slower but still moving, I covered my movements, careful not to warn the others on my trail that I was also on the scent of something. My head twisted back to check on the guards, but they maintained their distance, none the wiser to what I was feeling.

My eyes narrowed, nose low to the ground, but the scent I had picked up was easy and unfettered. This fae was not hiding herself.

Casually, my sleek neck turned back, but there was no sign of Landon or Calliver in proximity, shooting me forward before they could also detect the intruder. Whoever it was, I wanted to find her first and have her dealt with. The hunt I’d been craving had come to fruition in the end, and excitement surged through my bones.

It wouldn’t be the first time that a brazen city teenager had snuck across the property line on a dare from his freshman friends. It was simply a youthful rebellion that needed to be quashed. I had absolutely no qualms about scaring the shit out of a local kid—even if it was a female. Examples needed to be made, and the locals needed to be reminded: this wasmyland, and they weren’t welcome, not even after a year.

They were never welcome again, not without a thorough background check and a formal invitation.

Pausing in a small clearing, the ripple of Simonian Falls met my well-trained ears. It wasn’t visible to any naked eye, and if I hadn’t known it was hidden beyond the cave, locked in behind a wall of inconspicuous trees, anyone sauntering by would not be the wiser to its location.

Butsheknew. That’s wherethe elusive female was hiding. I could smell her there, musky and damp but excited, the chase enticing me.

This female—whoever she was—had been here before. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to locate this secluded spot. I slowed down, allowing myself to regain my breath with each stride of my paws. If I was forced to pounce on her or give chase, I wanted to be sure I wasn’t gasping for breath and giving away my own position.

Yet as I crossed the barrier of trees that sheltered the cave, her aroma only became stronger. She was definitely inside the cave, likely crouched next to the waterfall in hiding, already having seen or heard me coming through.

But she wasn’t moving.

This revelation was bittersweet. It angered me because she should have run far and fast to escape my wrath. Anyone with eyes and ears in Silverhold had no illusions about what would happen if they got caught trespassing on my property. I’d made no secret about what I’d do, and my justice would not be drawn out.

Simultaneously, I had to admire her intelligence. Running would mean certain death for her because when I caught her, I wouldn’t show her an ounce of mercy. Running meant guilt, and guilt was an immediate sentence. Perhaps she had weighed all this out as she waited. I was eager to see the face of this fae now.

Step by step, I neared the entrance to the cave, distinctly aware of my guards closing their surveillance behind me. They hadn’t called out for me yet, but they would soon, and I intended to have a prisoner for them when they did.

I slipped inside the dark, chilly cavern, the temperature dropping at least five degrees here, the rush of water distinct now. A spray of mist touched my nostrils, and I wriggled my nose. My tongue came out again to taste the air, and my brow knit as I recognized what was troubling me the most.

Her scent hadn’t changed. It had grown more powerful, her presence overwhelming here, thereby confirming the grasp of her location, but the smell of her hadn’t altered in the least. She still reeked of musk and sweat, but there was no fear or excitement. I didn’t hear her heart thudding wildly or taste anticipation dripping from her pores. The lack of change surprised me, confused me.

It was almost as if—

I froze in place, my eyes blinking rapidly as I stared at the mouth of the basin. Water rushed over the low boulders and pooled around the lagoon in a foamy bluish white. Again, my eyes opened and closed, the clump of amber swirling against the granite captivating me at first, conflicting me as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

The body lay over the rock, still and sprawled, one foot in the water, arms extended on either side of the boulder but the tips not quite reaching the surface, her form sprawled like a starfish.

For the first time in my life, my incredible senses overwhelmed me in a torrent, the overload of colors, smells, and intuitions pulling me in three different directions. I didn’t know which way to start.

That’s her. She’s not hiding. She’s dead.

The thought snapped me back to reality, and I rushed forward, taking in the horrific scene with more clarity. My senses kicked back into gear, and I shook my head, dismissing my initial assessment.

On one of the protruding rocks lay the very female I had been chasing for over half a mile, although her lack of movement suddenly made perfect sense as I gawked at her position.

At first glance, I thought she was old, but as I neared, I realized it was only the translucency of her skin that made me think so. On closer inspection, she appeared to be only a few years younger than me—maybe twenty-three or four.

Not a single wrinkle or hint of aging marred the canvas of her porcelain complexion.

But she didn’t look well.Through the tatters of her destroyed outfit, the sodden redhead’s chest rose and fell in uneven, shallow movements. Her skin was grayer than my fur, the unhealthy parlor accented in bruises and scratches. She was broken, injured, and the sight of her terrified me inexplicably.

I waded through the water,not realizing that I had morphed back into my mortal form in my shock. My hands extended to check her eyes for life.

“Hey!” I called out, my voice a low rasp as I touched her, but I didn’t expect a response. I was sure her life was slipping away.

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