Chapter 9

• Rex
• The healer’s words echoed in my head, each syllable a tiny hammer blow to my sanity.
• "… I can detect no magical residue, no enchantments, and no wolf form either. Nothing that would explain this… anomaly."
• Anomaly?
• In a world where the moon dictates our transformations, where the whisper of magic laced the very air we breathed? It was impossible.
• Every soul in the Trueblood Pack, heck, in all neighboring kingdoms were either werewolves or possessed some kind of magical gift but to be neither was… an anomaly. A complete and utter impossibility.
• "It’s not possible." I stated, this has to be some form of magic. A higher grade of magic the healer couldn’t detect. These spies were getting creative with their lies.
• Angus, the healer, looked equally confused. It was surprising how after all his years of practicing healing and revival yet he didn’t know what was wrong with the strange girl on the other side of the door.
• “I’ll be off to search for medicine for her.." He excused himself to fetch more herbs for Ayla's injuries, leaving me alone with my swirling bewilderment.
• Mundane.
• The word clung to me, heavy and unwelcome.
• If Ayla wasn't a werewolf, wasn't magical, then what was she? Where did she come from? This kingdom knew no mundane people.
• I strode back into the room where Ayla lay, hoping to find some answers, some explanation. I had to understand. But as I stepped inside, the breath caught in my throat.
• Empty.
• The bed was empty. Ayla was gone.
• Anger seized me, sharp and cold. Impossible! I had been standing right outside the door.. This was the most hidden room in the castle, the only way out was the door or the window.
• I frantically searched around the room, tearing back the heavy curtains, rummaging through the closets and the bathroom. Nothing. The polished wooden floor reflected my growing desperation.
• The windows were shut, latched from the inside. There was no sign of forced entry, no rope dangling down the window, no indication that she had even attempted to escape through them.
• "Guards! Guards, now!" I bellowed, my voice laced with urgency. The sound echoed through the stone corridors.
• Seconds later, two guards, clad in silver armor, stood panting in the doorway. "Alpha?"
• "She's gone! The spy! She’s escaped!"
• Confusion flickered across their faces. "Escaped, Alpha? But… we were posted right outside. No one has entered or left."
• My Beta, Jude, a wolf of immense strength and unwavering loyalty, arrived, his expression a mixture of concern and disbelief. "Alpha, what's happening? I heard the commotion."
• "Ayla's gone, Jude. Disappeared. The guards swear no one has left the room, but she's not here."
• Jude's brows furrowed. "But… the security is tight. Impossible this high up, especially in a locked room. How could she have just vanished?"
• "I don't know!" I roared, frustration boiling over. "That's what I'm trying to figure out!"
• I paced the room, forcing myself to calm down, to think rationally. We were werewolves, trackers. We could find her. But how could someone vanish into thin air?
• My gaze swept the room again, searching for any anomaly, any clue. That's when I saw it. Lying at the foot of the bed, partially hidden by the thick wool blanket, was a rectangular box. It was flat and black, smooth and cold to the touch. I had seen Ayla fiddling with it earlier, her fingers dancing across its glassy surface. It seemed… out of place, alien in this world of swords and spells.
• I picked it up, turning it over in my hands. The surface was blank, unblemished. It felt… fragile, yet somehow powerful. I had no idea what it was, what it did, but it was the only lead I had.
• "Jude, secure this room. Nobody touches anything. Sweep the castle, every nook and cranny. I want every guard on alert. Find Ayla."
• Jude nodded, his jaw tight. "Immediately, Alpha."
• Left alone again, I stared at the rectangular box. What secrets did it hold? Could it explain Ayla's impossible existence, her sudden disappearance?
• I tried pressing the smooth surface, hoping to activate it, to understand its purpose. Nothing happened. It remained inert, a silent, enigmatic object.
• Frustration gnawed at me. I needed answers, and I needed them now. Ayla was out there, somewhere. And I had a feeling that finding her was more important than I could possibly imagine.
• Holding the rectangular box tightly in my hand, I went to my room and began my search for answers. If Ayla wasn’t from the Trueblood pack or any other pack as she claimed, where was she from?
• What was she?
• My mind raced, trying to piece together the puzzle. The healer's words replayed in my head: "An anomaly."
• My eyes landed on the bookshelves in my room and I started to rummage through them, picking scrolls and books on legends and lore, hoping to get a clue. I skimmed over the histories of Kingdoms, the chronicles of magical beings, the explanations of the various shape-shifting creatures that inhabited our world.
• There was nothing that described a person with absolutely no magic or shifting abilities.
• The more I searched, the more I realized that Ayla's existence defied everything I knew about the world. It was like she belonged to a different universe entirely. I sat down with my head in my hands, the rectangular box still clutched tightly, and started thinking how this was even possible. How did she even get here? Did she use magic without knowing? No, the healer said there wasn't an ounce of magic in her.
• But he could be wrong. Maybe he was getting too old. Too old to detect magic.
• My wolf was extremely restless within me. For a long while he had not made any move unless the kingdom was at war but here he was not able to stay still. My heart clenched in pain, like I lost something important. The same pain I experienced almost two decades ago.