Chapter 112: The Wolf Who Stole A Problem
Two cubs had gone missing three weeks ago.
The first had been found within days, shivering in a ravine with a twisted paw and a story about chasing a butterfly too far. Calis had wanted to punish the pup’s caretaker, but his sister had beaten him to it.
The second cub had not been found.
And it was Luth. His sister’s youngest. A quiet, female pup.
His niece missing aside, the pack needed every pure-blooded wolf, especially the females.
Calis and a few of his wolves had searched every inch of their territory, but they found nothing. Not even a body, which was somehow worse than finding one, because it meant she was either alive somewhere they hadn’t looked or dead somewhere they couldn’t reach.
His sister hadn’t slept properly since.
Calis had taken six of his strongest wolves and pushed further than they had ever ventured, following the faint trail of Luth’s scent that was quickly fading.
The rest of his wolves had even lost the scent, but Calis still had it, and he had gone ahead while his wolves followed his trail while also searching the surrounding area.
The dread that a corrupted monster had taken Luth worried Calis, but the lack of blood scent gave him a little hope. Along with the fact that there was a lack of corruption stink.
Calis ran faster, and had been running for hours when the terrain changed.
The trees were healthier, denser, and there was water in the air. A lot of water. He had barely been able to sit in his shock at the abundance of water he could sense when Luth’s scent grew stronger.
Calis slowed, noticing the large lake as he crept through the bushes.
The lake sprawled put before him, and he felt immense relief when his eyes honed in on his niece at the edge of the water, safe.
However, shock and confusion made him go still when he saw the other female in the water.
He had not sensed the female until now.
She was sitting in the shallows, her back resting against a rock. Her skin was bare and smooth, with no fur, no markings, or visible beast traits whatsoever.
She had no scent.
It was like she didn’t exist.
A shiftless female.
Calis had heard about them, but he had never seen one.
Especially one looking this healthy.
The shiftless females he had heard about were sickly thin, but this one had some muscle tone in her arms. She looked like someone who worked, who moved, who had been eating well for a long time.
His gaze travelled lower before he could stop it.
The water lapped at her waist, and above it, her chest rose and fell with calm breathing. Her breasts were full, her waist curved inward, and even from this distance, he could see the healthy flush of her skin.
Calis’s thoughts drifted.
More females would solve his pack’s breeding shortage. He would not even mind other beast types even though his father had strictly wanted the wolf pack to remain purely wolves. But a shiftless female out of all the others would weaken the bloodline.
Their cubs would carry the large risk of being born shiftless too, and in a world where strength determined survival, that was not a gamble he could afford.
And he couldn’t even tell if she was a shiftless wolf. With no scent and no beast traits, she could be anything. Fox, deer, rabbit. There was no way to know without asking, and he was not here to ask questions.
His eyes drifted to her body again.
He caught himself and felt a flash of anger so sharp it almost made him snarl.
He had not had a female in years. Not since he had given his pack’s females to his males for breeding. That had been a sacrifice he made willingly, and his pack needed cubs more than he needed release.
And it was going to stay that way.
But his body was not cooperating with his discipline, and this scentless female sitting in water she had no business being in was making his blood run warmer than it had any right to.
Calis forced his attention away from her toward the more pressing details.
A shiftless female could not survive on her own out here. There had to be a tribe nearby, which which meant territorial boundaries he was currently violating.
And this much lake water... He had not encountered a body of water this large and clean since before the Collapse.
His frustration deepened. There was a clan nearby with abundant water and healthy females, and his pack was surviving on a dwindling animal pen and four overworked mothers.
He would be back, but for now, he needed to bring Luth back to the pack where she was safe. He would return another day to scope out the tribe living nearby.
Luth perked up, having already sensed her uncle.
Alerted by Luth’s attention, the female shifted and soon enough, their eyes met.
Crimson locked onto wide, startled brown, and for one frozen heartbeat, neither of them moved.
His decision changed in that split moment.
Calis crept out of the undergrowth and closed the distance.
He snatched Luth up, the small pup letting out a small yelp of surprise but didn’t struggle.
The female scrambled to her feet, and darted back when Calis shifted into his human form and caught the female before her second step hit solid ground.
She was fast for a shiftless creature. He would give her that.
One precise strike to the back of her neck, and her body went limp. He caught her before she hit the ground and lowered her onto the grass beside the cub.
Luth’s small head swivelled between Calis and the unconscious female, and she let out a soft, distressed whine.
Calis grabbed them both along with their clothing, shifted into his wolf form, and bounded for the trees, taking the long journey back to his pack.
There was a tribe nearby and he needed information. The female was going to tell him that.
It was the only reason he was taking her. That was it.