Chapter 8: Into The Woods

Azia ran the remaining steps to Ralph, with Claudia in tow. The Knowles Beta had barely emerged from the forest before hunching over. His long, ash blonde hair lay in sweaty clumps across his forehead. As Azia approached, she could see a large gash that ran the length of Ralph's forearm. Vibrant red blood dripped from his elbow onto the leaf ridden ground.

Azia cursed aloud as she examined the wound. "This could have been fatal had it been any deeper."

Claudia leaned forward to grasp Ralph's shoulder. "Who did this to you, brother? Tell me!"

Azia blanched, but continued to tend to the wound. She had no idea the quiet, slender Beta was Claudia's brother. But then, there were a lot of things she had yet to know.

"Tell me!" Claudia pressed again. Her blue eyes were like icy darts as she stared at him.

"The rogues," Ralph replied, wincing. "I was ambushed."

"We need to get him to the healers," Azia interjected, as she tried to stop the bleeding. She felt overcome with a sickening sense of déjà vu. It felt like only yesterday she had been helping Mack in much the same way. She didn't know how much more she could take.

She heard a loud rustling behind her. A small group of Knowles wolves, led by Zeke, ran up from the compound entrance. Zeke looked even more pale than usual, but determination was etched all over his face. Azia could practically feel the anger radiating off of him. "Derek saw Ralph come out of the woods and got me. Was it them?" he asked.

Claudia whipped her head around to look at her son. Nobody needed to ask who he was referring to. "Yes, it was," she murmured.

Zeke nodded, as did several of the wolves behind him. They had prepared for this answer. "I'm going after them," he said. "I'll return as soon as I am able."

"Be careful," Claudia insisted, looking tenderly at him.

Zeke nodded again. As if against his will, his light gray eyes slid to look at Azia before turning away. The group of seven weaved themselves into the forest, disappearing and then reappearing again through the dense foliage. Azia watched as Zeke vanished from view behind a cluster of massive red cedars. A stunning light gray wolf reappeared a few moments later. Azia forced herself to look away, to refocus on Ralph's arm, and what she could do to help.

The resident healers, now all too familiar with these kinds of situations, tended to Ralph calmly and swiftly. Claudia and Azia waited outside the Healers Ward. Its large, rectangular windows overlooked the span of trees that Zeke and the others had disappeared into.

An hour passed. Then another and another. A healer in a white linen dress came to escort Claudia into the ward, to visit her brother. Azia remained on a black loveseat, staring off into the trees.

Another hour passed. A small knot began to form in Azia's stomach. She sat, she paced, she wrung her hands. She tried to keep her gaze from falling on the tree line. Part of her itched to run out of the compound, change shape, and find the group herself, so she would finally know what was going on.

But she didn't want to disappear on Claudia. Nor did she want to risk leaving now, when surely Zeke and the Knowles wolves would return at any moment. Surely.

Two more hours passed. With a sigh, Azia curled up on the loveseat and forced her eyes to close. She couldn't stand looking at the trees anymore. Her stomach continued to knot itself inside her body.

It was dawn when Azia opened her eyes. Sunlight began to peak on the horizon, bathing the waiting room in soft orange light. She slowly sat up from the loveseat and turned to see Claudia seated on the opposite couch, slowly shaking her blonde head.

"I really wish you would have taken one of the guest rooms," she said plaintively. "They are far more comfortable than that tiny couch, I assure you."

Azia waved her hand dismissively. "The couch is perfectly fine. I just didn't intend to sleep here all night." She looked towards the forest and stretched. "What time did they get back?"

"They haven't yet," Claudia said. Her tone felt forcibly light.

Azia stared at her, incredulous. "Zeke's not back yet?"

Alarm bells started going off in her head. She jumped up from the loveseat and walked to the row of large windows. Apart from the shift of time, the surrounding trees looked much the same as the day before. They provided no answers.

"Ezekiel has been running around these forests since the moment he could walk," Claudia told her. "I know it's far easier said than done, but try not to worry."

Azia's neck made a sound of protest as she whirled to face the Alpha. "Who's worried? I'm not worried," she insisted quickly. She turned to glare back down at the trees. "I just want to get to the bottom of this spy business, that's all," she added.

Claudia fought hard to hide a smile. "Of course, dear. Naturally."

Azia eventually made her way towards the common areas of the compound, hoping the walk would do her some good. Large clusters of tables and chairs were strewn around the center of a long hall, while market stalls and vendors had food and items for sale along the walls. Knowles wolves mingled about everywhere, whispering in small groups while they ate their meals. Azia caught snippets of conversations as she passed through. There were several others who were starting to voice concern for the heir.

Azia walked along the various food vendors, but suddenly found herself void of an appetite. She meandered her way towards an empty table and sat down, unable to suppress a sigh. Time seemed to drag on in Zeke's dramatic absence.

As if on cue, there was a great commotion towards the far end of the hall. People slowly began to stand to see what was happening. Zeke and three others emerged from the throng and made their way towards her. Zeke's companions, two guys and one female, hung back a few feet while the heir approached her table and sank into the chair beside her.

Zeke's spiky black hair was slightly disheveled, and small circles were visible under his eyes. Azia was secretly frustrated to realize that despite all this, he still looked handsome. She shook her head to repel the thought.

"I'm glad you're alright," she said quietly to him. "You were gone a lot longer than I thought you'd be."

"You're telling me," Zeke said, laughing softly. "I haven't stayed up all night like that since I was a teenager."

Azia smiled, but it quickly disappeared as she leaned forward. "Did you find who attacked Ralph?"

"We didn't find a soul," Zeke said, running his hand through his hair. "And we covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Whoever attacked Ralph left immediately after, and with good reason."

Zeke slowly leaned forward as well, taking a moment to enjoy being close to her as he fished something out of the pocket of his jeans. He laid a crumpled sheet of paper on the table between them.

"The night wasn't a total waste, however," he told her with a grin. "I found this, not far from where it looked like Ralph got attacked."

Azia gingerly picked up the piece of paper and brought it closer to her face. The tiny hairs at the nape of her neck began to stand on end as she examined it. "This is my mother's handwriting," she remarked out loud, peering closer at the script. "This is sensitive information from my compound."

Zeke nodded at her. "We knew we had a spy. And now we have the proof. Our investigation panel can begin."