Nature is not a place to visit 47

Chapter 47
*“I know there are people who believe you should forgive and forget. For the record, I’d like to say I’m a big fan of
forgiveness as long as I’m given the opportunity to get even first.”*
*Sue Grafton*
“You’re bleeding,” Rae told me.
“Am I?” I looked down to stare at my hands. She was right – I’d dug into my palms a little too hard, and now, blood was
trickling onto my clean pants. “I didn’t notice.”
*Oh well.*
“Ollie, are you okay?” Rae asked me, her dark eyes shining with concern. “You’ve been really quiet the past hour, and
now, you’re bleeding.” As she said it, my supernatural healing had already kicked in, the skin knitting itself back together
until it looked brand new. The only evidence I’d done it at all was the stain of blood left on my palms.
“I’m fine,” I said, “It’s not me who we need to be worried about. It’s Hudson. He hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Look, I don’t understand how your mate’s magic works any more than I understand rocket science,” she said, “But the
guy seems to be good at it. If he thinks Hudson will wake up, I’m sure he will.” I didn’t miss the way her eyes flickered
over to my brother’s sleeping body or the look of concern on her face.
She was worried too, she just wasn’t going to admit it. If Rae was good at one thing, it was putting on a tough face,
especially when she thought someone else needed it.
But I didn’t need reassurance or consolation right now – I wanted action. I wanted to dig my fingers into something that
yielded results, not shallow cuts on my palm.
My brain ran through the events of the night again and again, looking for something I might’ve missed.
“Do you think Ambrose was right?” I asked her, “That the scent you followed was just a trap?”
“It certainly felt real. It smelled like the forest, like someone was trying to hide their scent in all the nature that
surrounded us…but they missed. By just a hair. That’s how subtle it was,” she said, and then she shrugged, “But I can’t
say for sure. I’ve been wrong before.” That haunted look passed through her eyes again, and I knew she was
remembering the Blood Moon attack.
“But you still followed it,” I said, “Where did it lead to?”
“Just this little mountain town,” she told me, “I didn’t get to stick around long before Hudson called me back, but there wasn’t much there. A little convenience store, a post office…” She started to trail off before her eyes suddenly narrowed
and she sat up straight.
I tensed – she was remembering something.
“You know,” she said, “Now that I think of it, there was something weird about that town.”
I leaned forward. “Well, don’t leave me in suspense here, dude.”
“That specific scent disappeared as soon as I got to the town, but there was another scent,” she explained, “Like a similar
one, much stronger though, like it hadn’t been masked or cloaked.”
“Like a relative’s scent or something?” I asked. Most people, at least humans and werewolves, smelled similar if they were
family. The more closely related they were, the more similar the scent.
“Yeah,” she nodded, “Exactly like that, but I can’t say for sure. I wasn’t there long enough to really get a good feel for it. I
guess it could’ve been the same scent or maybe unrelated…but I don’t know.”
My fingers itched to dig back into my palms. I took a deep breath, stuffed my hands in my pockets, and stared at my
brother. The quiet rise and fall of his chest. He looked peaceful – like the past couple of hours had never happened.
“How long do you think it’ll take before Ambrose and Akeem get a lead on the witch covens?” I asked.
Rae huffed. “Hell if I know. Doesn’t sound particularly quick though.”
“And even then,” I continued, “How long is it going to take to isolate a specific scent from the rest? By the time we find
them, the culprit will probably be under the protection of their coven.”
Rae narrowed her eyes. “What are you saying, Ollie?”
I balled my hands into fists in my pockets. “I’m saying,” I started, swallowing down the lump in my throat. “That maybe
your lead is worth investigating before it goes stale. If it doesn’t lead to the witch who did this, then maybe it’ll lead to
someone close enough to them.”
She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “And then what?” she countered, “Let’s say it does lead to some relative of
whoever did this. Then what?”
“Then…” I paused to look over at Hudson one more time. “Then maybe we can use them to lure out the culprit like they
tried to do to us.”
“Oh, a hostage situation. Those always work out great.”
I whipped my head around, anger and adrenaline still pumping through my veins. “Do you have a better idea?”
Rae’s eyes went wide as she leaned close to me. “Actually, I don’t,” she hissed, “Usually you’re the one talking me out of
my stupid plans, not the other way around, so excuse me if I’m a little unprepared.”
“Look,” I said, “I know it could be a trap, but what if it’s not? What if it’s a solid chance at catching whoever did this? We
could speed up the process – nip it in the bud like Ambrose said we would.”
“You know,” Rae said, “It wasn’t that long ago that you were the one telling me not to seek revenge, that it wasn’t worth
my life. Where’s that Ollie now?”
“This isn’t about revenge,” I insisted.
“Bullshit.”
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“Okay, maybe it is, but it’s not pointless revenge,” I replied, “The witches went after Hudson unprovoked, and I’m sure it won’t be long before they piece together that their plan failed. Which really only leaves one question – who they’re
going to go after next.”
When she didn’t immediately reply, I continued. “Maybe they won’t be able to get to me or Ambrose, but they’ve
already proven they can get to our pack. If we find the culprit, we can find the rest of the coven. Put an end to this before
it gets worse.”
“You know who you sound like right now?” she said, her voice quiet. She turned to look at Hudson. “You sound like me
before the Blood Moon attack, and you know where that got us.”
“I know,” I said, “But that was a suicide mission.”
“You don’t know that this one isn’t,” she shot back, “And trust me, I know how you feel. You feel helpless.”
“Yeah, I’m just sitting here on my ass,” I said.
“Better sitting on your ass than getting your ass handed to you by a bunch of witches,” she told me, “If this little plan of
yours doesn’t work and we end up captives or hostages, it’ll feel much worse than it does right now. Trust me.” Rae
paused before continuing, “It may be frustrating, but you have to take your wins where you can. Ambrose said Hudson
should be fine, he reversed the curse. That’s what matters.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Rae was beginning to wear me down.
“Hudson being okay? That’s what matters,” she repeated.
“That’s what matters.”
There was a beat of silence after I spoke, and then a quiet groan filled the room. Rae and I were on our feet immediately,
hovering over Hudson’s bedside, but ready to jump out of reach if we needed to.
Hudson shifted in the bed, groaning again.
And then his eyes opened.