I stopped dead. Did I seriously just think that? Maybe there was more to Yuri’s and Scott’s words than I thought… I shook my head, this was not the time to think about that.

“Do you smell something?” Yuri asked, oblivious to my sudden realization. I wanted to say no but when I breathed in I actually caught a whiff of something interesting. A sickeningly bitter scent of a very certain flower.

“Wolfsbane,” I told them. Both Scott and Yuri looked at me with confusion. I reminded myself that they had lived a sheltered life in the pack so they had no way of knowing. “It’s a flower, one that’s often mistakenly thought to be poisonous for werewolves. Amateur hunters often use it and then they get killed,” I explained. “These amateur hunters go for loners, that's why you don’t know about it. But once you smell it you never forget it.” I wrinkled my nose but breathing with my mouth only made it coat my tongue in a bitter gag-worthy taste. “It might not be poisonous but it leaves a horrible taste in your mouth and you can’t smell anything else.”

Of course, both Yuri and Scott were already sniffing all around. So that was one sense gone. With that concerning thought came a murderous thrill though. “We found it,” I said and felt my voice get thick with my wolf’s exhilaration. “The smell of wolfsbane is so invasive that not even the scent of cadracs could break through it. Why else would the wolfsbane be here then to hide the presence of mercenaries?” With newfound energy, I started practically power walking through the tunnel.

“Wait! Reid! Stop.” Yuri made a grab for me, but I dodged him.

“What?” I snapped, shaking with excitement.

“We found them. Now we should call the pack. We have no idea how many of them are there, this is suicide,” he said.

“Are you kidding me?” I growled out. “Few seconds ago you were fine with walking right in and now you want to run back to the pack? Fuck and here I thought you were actually loyal. I guess you just can’t help whoring your loyalty to the person who suits you the most, huh?” I barked out at him and my voice was practically dripping with hatred. I felt my skin buzz all over and I had to fight back the urge to shift.

Yuri just stared at me, there was hurt in his gaze, but I couldn’t be bothered, not now. Not when my prey was just inches away from me. I had to… I had to… It was hard to get enough oxygen into my lungs as my wolf howled the song of hunt and murder in my head.

“You’re distressed so I will let that slide,” he said softly. “I know you want to go and kill. They killed Bran, they hurt Jack, they threatened Matt…” I felt my fangs pop out of my gums and tasted blood as they got caught on my lip. “But stop, think. Think with the rational part of you, not with your wolf who wants to protect his pack, not with the darkness inside you that will use any opportunity to go on a rampage.” He sounded so calm, so rational and it pissed me off. Didn’t he want revenge? Didn’t he want to rip them to pieces? If he’s not with us, he’s against us… An ugly little dark voice whispered into my ear. For a split second, I thought about swinging the dagger in my hand. And the dread of realizing what I was about to do finally pushed away the raw rage and grief. I let the dagger clatter to the ground and looked at Yuri in bewilderment. Was I seriously thinking about killing him? I pushed against the darkness and my skin stopped buzzing so bad.

“Fuck. Sorry… I… sorry…” I told him and took a deep breath to calm myself down only to gag with the smell of wolfsbane.

“You with us?” Yuri asked, still absolutely calm. I nodded. And he punched me. Fuck. I groaned with pain as I felt my nose crack and hot blood started pouring down my face.

“What was that for?” I asked as I grabbed at my poor nose.

“You know what,” he growled out. And… yeah, yeah I deserved it. I looked up at him and saw the pain in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t me, the darkness…”

“I know. I know.” He sighed and shook his head. “Look, let’s just get out and call the pack, Baltazar either lets them in or he’s their accomplice.“

“Okay, yeah. But…” I groaned again as he reached up and fixed up my nose. Fuck that hurt even more. I glared at him, he just smiled.

“No buts, Reid. Let’s go.” He cocked his head to the door that glowed in the distance. Fine whatever. The wolf in me didn’t like that he was commanding us but Yuri was our best friend so it was just a little annoyance more than actual anger.

I took a step forward and all the hairs on my nape stood up. “Too late,” I told them and quickly spun around. Shit, where did I leave my dagger? I couldn’t see it even with my super sight. And I quickly realized the tunnel was darker than a few seconds ago. The impenetrable darkness stretched and moved. Scott whined and pressed himself against my leg. Yuri took a stance next to me, his dagger at the ready. I pulled out the other dagger.

The darkness moved, I didn’t budge, and eventually, it stopped just a few feet shy of us. A figure appeared in the shadows and the blackness retreated to reveal the shape of a young woman with brown hair pulled back into a thick braid and dark dark brown eyes. She was smiling while she played with my dagger. Fucking mercenary. I couldn’t smell the cadracs, not over the wolfsbane, but I could see them, moving in the dark.

“Well hello hello little Prince…” she purred. I growled as I felt the wave of violence hit me from deep inside. This woman killed Bran. Bran. My teacher, my guardian, my Bran. She would not survive this night. That was one thing I was sure about.