Chapter 37
“Keith, come on, just tell me. I’ve got some information for you too. We can maximize the benefits if we work together.” My tone was borderline sycophantic.
Keith was the only Beta who had worked on both werewolf dismemberment cases. Back when Peter and I were trainees, he had even been one of our examiners.
“What message
do you have?” he asked, his voice steady and emotionless.
“You first. Tell me if the owner of the latest limb is dead.”
We’d known each other long enough that he hesitated only briefly before answering. “It was post–mortem dismemberment.”
I nodded, satisfied.
“And my
intel?”
“I’ll give it to you tonight. I’m verifying it now.” I smiled at his cautiousness.
“Well, I should have knew I couldn’t count on you,” Keith laughed, finally dropped the act of being profound, “Be careful, Fire Phantom Forest isn’t friendly to new wolves.”
“I know.”
“If anything happens, call me immediately.”
I chuckled lightly, letting my voice drift. “Don’t worry. If I’m in danger, my… friends will protect me.”
I ended the call. By then, Kai had finished grinding the Evermoss powder and even prepped the car, which was now parked neatly in front of me.
As I climbed in, it hit me–I’d just grouped Ethan in with my “friends.”
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Oh damn. Did he even count as my friend?
The rain had finally let up, and a crisp light spread across the sky. Spring sunlight had a way of exposing everything, clear and unrelenting.
There were dozens of ways into Fire Phantom Forest, each one tangled with complex vegetation and teeming with venomous insects.
Even the werewolves who lived there year–round had to tread carefully, let alone outsiders
like us.
The further we drove, the rougher the road became.
When the car finally stopped, Kai was drenched in sweat. “Why didn’t we just take the same route as last time? At least we wouldn’t need the car.”
“There are too many venomous bugs here. Werewolves exposed to them can easily catch infections,” I explained.
Kai didn’t quite catch the subtext, but that didn’t matter.
I pulled out the freshly prepared Evermoss powder and, while Kai was distracted, scattered some in front of him. He coughed violently, flailing his arms. “Claire, what the hell are you
doing?”
Laughing, I tossed a handful on myself as well. “It’s memory powder, something Halix’s mentor taught us. Did you forget?”
“I didn’t forget,” Kai said, glaring at me with mock indignation. Then his eyes widened. “Wait–you’re not planning to use your own blood to record evidence, are you?”
Exactly. That was the unique property of Evermoss. Only Omegas could use it. For a limited time, everything an Omega saw could be imprinted in their blood. When poured into a specially crafted container, it would display the captured scenes.
“We need a backup plan. Deep in the forest, miniature cameras are unreliable and easy to
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lose,” I said, adjusting my jacket before jumping out of the car.
I kept my outfit simple: a low–cut athletic top, a slightly worn jacket, and a pair of flexible
”
jeans. A hidden camera was discreetly clipped to the button on my chest.
“You’re determined to get results today, aren’t you?” Kai said with a resigned sigh.
“Don’t worry, your work won’t go unrewarded. I’ll make it worth your while later.” I leaned
gainst the car window, winking dramatically. Predictably, Kai burst into laughter.
I rolled my eyes, feeling mildly insulted, then waved him off.
Kai parked in an open area, and we gathered our supplies before heading deeper into the
forest.
About seven or eight minutes in, the sound of frantic animal growls erupted behind us. Alarmed, we rushed back to investigate.
Near our car, a middle–aged woman was holding a small poodle. Despite its size, the dog bared its teeth and growled viciously.
“What’s going on?” I exchanged a sharp glance with Kai, immediately sensing something
off.
The dog suddenly lunged at Kai, its snarls growing louder and more frenzied.
Kai responded by revealing his wolf claws and fangs, swatting the poodle aside with one powerful blow.
The little dog, terrified, scampered into the woods and vanished within moments.
The woman, enraged, raised her massive wolf claws as if she intended to strike Kai down.
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