5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Eldrick

E ldrick Drengr stood with arms crossed, leaning against his desk, a migraine forming from his tight, grinding jaw.

Large, smooth bricks of gray stone made up the walls of his office, and the color closed in around him, sterile and cold. Few windows lined the fortress, but Eldrick’s office possessed two opposing views. One was situated on the west wall, facing the Vadon Mountains. The tips of pine trees stretched for miles, like an evergreen army standing at attention. White-capped mountains lined the horizon, the first signs of winter evident in his homeland.

Behind him, the south window he’d situated his desk in front of, gave a bird’s-eye view of the Drengr Village. From eight stories high, Eldrick could watch the market, smoke stacks, corner bonfires, and even the outside perimeter where warriors patrolled.

His heart tugged towards the west window. The scant rays of evening sun peeking through the hovering clouds glinted off his axes resting beside him, lost in the sea of letters, parchment, and maps. What Eldrick would give to venture outside in the crisp air, grasping his axes and sparring until the moon hung above .

But the latest missive he’d received, taunting him a few feet away, had him glued to his duty, the contents of the letter too grave to dismiss for an evening sparring session.

More missing werewolves.

Seated at the oak council table, his uncle, Claus, studied the news from the Johannes pack.

“That is a total of forty missing werewolves,” he said.

“I know.” Eldrick gritted out. He didn’t need reminding of the tallying number, keeping count just well as Claus was. But he said nothing more. There was no sense in feeding the tension between him and his uncle as of late.

Months ago, Eldrick had screwed up, earning Claus’s unsolicited help. It hadn’t taken long for his uncle, also a commander and warrior, to discover Kade was no longer at the Void with the Gray Fenris, his brother’s team of werewolf warriors. Eldrick’s attempt at a ruse had, as Claus put it, allowed Kade to “abandon his duty” becoming no better than “that selfish witch who’d ran like a scared bride who’d gotten cold feet.”

Thank the stars Kade hadn’t been around to hear those words from their uncle. The two had never gotten along like Eldrick and Claus had, and even though Evelyn had run, Kade always demanded respect for his betrothed. He honored her no matter what.

If only Eldrick’s brother were here. He could use Kade’s grounding patience and apt focus. He himself couldn’t focus on the various missives spread out behind him without the latest one blaring like a village warning horn.

Gone. Missing. Vanished into thin air.

“You said the efforts at the Void had doubled,” Claus said.

“The efforts are doubled. I saw it myself during the summer visit. Double the warriors, double the posts. There isn’t a mile of the Void not being monitored. The efforts have also helped. Less scáths and demons are getting through to Sorin.”

Eldrick felt lousy, directing the conversation to a separate issue. They were discussing the missing werewolves—not the threat of darkness creeping over the Void. But what else was he supposed to say? He had put extra measures in place, but they weren’t working. Like other accounts, the Johannes’s missive detailed no evidence of foul play. No blood. No signs of a struggle. No clues at all.

Not even the scent of an assailant.

When the disappearances had first started, Eldrick had assumed it had been vampyrs, the vile creatures. Who else would take werewolves other than the bloodsuckers from the north? But there hadn’t been the sharp, citrus scent of vampyr in any of the areas where werewolves had gone missing. Besides, how or why would a scáth take werewolves in the first place?

“It might be time we consider one of our own,” Eldrick whispered with a shake of his head.

Claus growled. “That is what vampyrs wants us to believe.”

Eldrick gritted his teeth, digging his nails into the muscles of his arms.

Some rumors had circulated regarding a demon of sorts, but scholars hadn’t found anything. Even his middle brother, Lorkan, the best scholar he knew, was stumped. They’d debated on demons, ones that stalked and dragged away their prey like lions, but those resided closer to the far west side of the mountains and sand wastelands. Ialtógs plucked their prey from the sky but were relatively unforgiving in the devouring part of their attacks. There had been little blood at the sites of the recent attacks and few signs of a struggle. Nothing added up.

For a month’s time, fingers had pointed at the mages beyond the wastelands. Their magic connected them to the earth, a projection of the Earth Goddess’s power, and it made sense they could clear their tracks, make it appear as if werewolves had vanished into thin air. The mage king’s impromptu visit to their village over the summer had put that theory to rest. His visit had also cleared half the whiskey stores of the Drengr pack—a devastating loss Eldrick still lost sleep over .

He sighed, the tightness of his jaw joined by the pinch between his brow. Sore teeth and an onsetting headache—neither pain outmatched the frustration eating away at him. With no suspects, no new clues, it left Eldrick without answers and nothing to reassure the other packs it wouldn’t happen again.

Claus rubbed the scruff on his jaw. His deep-brown eyes landed on Eldrick with a severe stare. “We need to write to Alpha Johannes about how we plan to proceed. Aside from our own, his pack was the one left untouched by this mystery. Now, all the packs have been affected, and we need to present a cohesive image before they grow restless.”

But what would they tell Alpha Johannes? Eldrick was supposed to be a leader. But how could he lead when he had no facts to offer? Could he promise another search party? Ensure more reinforcements were placed at the Void? Call to aid from the witches?

Except the werewolves hadn’t uttered a word of this to witches. Pride over precedent. The alphas wouldn’t dare look weak to the Elders, as if they couldn’t control their territory. Ever since Evelyn Carson had run, tensions between witches and werewolves were high. But perhaps they didn’t have any other choice.

One, two. Eldrick breathed in, breathed out. The practice grounded his racing mind, brought his heartbeat back to a relatively slow speed, and in this instance, calmed his worry regarding the missing werewolves.

“I should write to Blair Carson,” he said. “We could at least trust her to keep it a secret while she helped.”

Claus scoffed, rising from his chair. Tall and stocky, his uncle exuded wolf and warrior head to toe. “Because she’s good at keeping secrets doesn’t mean we can trust her. If I recall correctly, she’s also the one who convinced Kade to leave in the first place.”

Eldrick’s jaw ticked. “He didn’t leave . He went searching for the Daughter of the Goddess. ”

Claus’s eyes narrowed. Doubt. Disappointment. He’d glowered the same look down at Eldrick the day his mother had died. Then he’d deserved his uncle’s ire. His mistake had cost his mother her life. But letting Kade go? No. Eldrick wouldn’t budge on that decision. The prophecy. The sake of their homeland. Defeating the vampyrs once and for all.

He moved from his desk to stand closer to the window, away from his uncle’s stare. Claus had always been hard on him, seeing as he’d one day be the alpha of the Drengr pack. Eldrick peered down at the village. A different view, a different perspective to help reign in his wild thoughts.

“You’ve always taught me to lead with my head,” Eldrick said, turning back to his uncle. “Facts, logic, not emotions. Letting Kade go made sense. Still does. We need Evelyn, and he was the best chance of getting her back.”

Claus relaxed a fraction, sighing as he folded his arms over his broad chest. “Yet, we have no idea where he is.”

Eldrick nodded. “True, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish Kade was here, offering his cutting insight.”

Kade gave others hope, not only because he was Son of the God but because he understood how to bring people together. Often at the expense of what he needed. Pride swelled within Eldrick, not jealousy. He’d always admired Kade. He’d not only kept their family together—he, Eldrick, Lorkan, and their father—after their mother died, but had also helped hold their pack together. Eldrick had stepped up, too, leading alongside his ailing father, but Kade had shown up in the small areas Eldrick couldn’t reach—the training grounds, the village streets, the Shield-maiden. Moons, if only Kade would return home with Evelyn. That would be the hope the werewolves needed, the Son of the God leading the investigation against this mystery, the Daughter of the Goddess, hopefully, at his side.

“What do you suggest we do then?” Claus asked. “I think writing to Blair is hasty. ”

“Fine. We let the news settle about the Johannes pack. Let me think of a response. Until then, we hold off on reaching back out.”

His uncle nodded. His eyes held more, but he said nothing as he left Eldrick’s office, leaving him alone.

He shut his eyes as the door’s lock clicked shut. “Fuck.” Eldrick exhaled, a sourness coating his tongue. He peered down at the Drengr’s prosperous village, a sight worth calming him. Yet, his heart ached, too, knowing other packs grieved.

The Shield-maiden, the village’s tavern, swarmed with activity. Fond memories flooded Eldrick. Kade at his side, enjoying a blueberry ale while the band played. Lorkan would refuse to dance but would tap his foot perfectly to the tune. With winter on the horizon, the songs would be heavy and sad while the stew would be meaty and hardy.

Loneliness settled over him. Both brothers were gone. Kade had left over a year ago, and Lorkan was on sabbatical. At least he’d gotten letters from his middle brother, detailing the wonders of Vísdómr, the werewolves’ most renowned library, but he’d not heard from his youngest brother in months. Eldrick hadn’t sent word to Kade either—he hadn’t the slightest idea where his brother was or what progress he’d made finding Evelyn.

Eldrick was about to turn away from the window when hair white as a dove’s caught his gaze.

Below, a woman walked through the current of werewolves, so light on her feet, she appeared to float like a snowflake.

The village faded. Eldrick’s emotions evaporated. Time stilled.

Her ethereal beauty cast a spell over him—snowy hair, a slender frame, nose and cheekbones to match. She reminded Eldrick of the snow that fell in the winter months, silent and delicate. Not once had he ever seen her in the village. Was she a werewolf? A witch? A human? It wasn’t uncommon for either to pass through the village to trade or shop.

One, two.

Fresh air, even a walk. Perhaps that was exactly what he needed.