Chapter 40: Preventing Scandal
As for the party who tried to attack her, Reana could tell they weren’t from Ryan’s faction. Their clothes and facial features were unfamiliar, not from her pack or any of the neighboring ones. And they weren’t rogues either, lacking the feral edge and disgusting scent that characterized those who lived outside pack’s structure.
Another thing that was eating Reana up was the person who had killed them all - with such ruthless efficiency, and seemingly, without leaving a single trace behind. The memory of those lifeless bodies, and the eerie feeling that a ghostly foe was lurking in her pack, sent a shiver down Reana’s spine every time she thought of it.
Reana’s mind swirled with questions. Was the person an ally or an enemy? If they were an ally, why did they kill Hale? And if not an ally, why did they protect her? How did they know she would be attacked?
The more she thought about it, the more her head spun. Unless... unless the person who killed Hale wasn’t the same person who saved her. That would make more sense, but it still left her with a haunting question:
What was that mysterious force they used to kill, which left no physical injuries, yet took a person’s life? It was as if they had sucked the very soul out of their victims. Reana shuddered at the thought, her instincts screaming that she was dealing with something ancient, something sinister, and something that threatened the very fabric of her pack’s existence.
Her only hope of finding a clue was healer Dira’s research. If that failed, then she’d have no choice but to visit the ’Deadly Pool’ - an elite group of people who possessed forbidden knowledge, garnered from the darkest corners of the world. Their network was so vast that nothing could shake them.
They were known to exact a steep price for the secrets they held, one that often came with a terrible cost. Reana’s gut twisted at the thought, but she knew she had to be willing to take the risk. The alternative was to remain in the dark, vulnerable to the whims of a mysterious enemy who seemed to hold all the cards, and she didn’t like that.
...
Morning ~
"Enough with the pretense, you can open your eyes now," said Marcus. However, Ryder remained perfectly still, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling with slow, even breaths.
Marcus didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Ryder’s antics. "You’ve achieved your aim. Beta Ryan was accused of attacking you, killing pack members, and making an attempt on the Luna’s life. He and his brother are being escorted for public execution right now."