Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 304

Caleb’s P.O.V

No one questioned it. We didn’t need to. The authority in his voice alone was enough, but the unspoken fear in his eyes was what really got us moving. I took a step back first, then another, my feet crunching over gravel and dead leaves. Alpha Camden stood tall and unmoving until he was sure no one was too close anymore, his eyes scanning the area like he expected the bones to rise up and attack us.

“There could be some kind of toxin,” he muttered, half to himself, half to the rest of us. “Whatever this is… we don’t touch it. Not until we know what we’re dealing with.”

“I don’t like the way they smell,” Ava whispered behind me, her hand clenches at her side. I glanced down at her pale face and gave her a quick nod. She wasn’t wrong. The scent coming from the remains was off. Rotten, but not in a way I could place. Like sickness and decay wrapped in something ancient and… cursed, if I’m being honest.

Beta Raymond stepped forward, his brow furrowed, concerned darkening his features. “Alpha,” he said in a low tone, “we should get everyone out of here. Head back to the estate, shower properly, scrub this stench off. I want the healers to look at everyone—just to be sure. If there’s a chance we’ve been exposed to something, we can’t take any risks.”

My father gave a slow nod, dragging a hand down his face as if he were trying to wipe away the tension that had settled over all of us. “You’re right. No arguments. Everyone, fall back. We regroup at the estate.”

I exhaled slowly, the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding escaping from my lungs in one hard gust. The moment the command was given, we started moving, none of us needing to be told twice. As we walked, the forest that had always felt familiar suddenly felt foreign—like the trees were watching us, whispering secrets we weren’t meant to hear. No one spoke. Even the night birds were silent. Every now and then, someone would glance over their shoulder, half-expecting something to come crawling out of the earth behind us.

“Do you think it’s really poison?” I asked, more to myself than anyone else, but Beta Raymond turned his head just enough to respond.

“I don’t know,” he said grimly. “But wolves don’t just randomly turn to dust after death and bones don’t look like that without a reason. And nothing good ever comes with that kind of rot in the air.”

Back at the estate, we moved fast—peeling off our clothes, washing away the filth in scalding water, each of us caught in our own thoughts. I stood under the spray for what felt like forever, watching the dirt and tar-like substance spiral down the drain, hoping it was enough. Hoping that whatever we’d found hadn’t already sunk into our skin, into our bones.

And as the water ran, my mind went back to the sight of those remains—how they seemed to hum with something ancient and vengeful. I didn’t say it out loud, but deep down, I had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t over.

Not even close.

When we came out of the spare washrooms in the estate, the wind was howling now. Trees bent like they were bowing to some invisible god, their leaves ripping off and flying past us like terrified birds. As we started towards the basement of the packhouse, I turned to Jade, squinting through the sudden onslaught of rain that felt like needles against my skin.

“This came out of nowhere,” I said, loud enough to be heard over the wind. My voice was tight with confusion, and maybe a little unease I didn’t want to admit. “The sky was clear just a moment ago. I was literally looking up at stars.”

Jade gave a quick nod, pulling his hoodie over his head and shielding his eyes with a raised hand. “Yeah, I saw it too. One second it was peaceful, and now… this?” He glanced up again, his face half-lit by the lightning streaking across the sky. “This isn’t normal.”

“No, it’s not.” I didn’t even try to hide the way my eyes searched the horizon, my instincts tingling like they’d been set on fire. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my chest, like my ribs were being compressed by a force I couldn’t see. “Let’s move. Pack house’s this way.”

We broke into a jog, boots thudding heavily against the wet ground. The air tasted like metal, thick with the promise of more than just rain. A storm like this? It didn’t roll in quietly. It wasn’t nature’s design. This felt summoned.

As we reached the back door of the packhouse, the lights inside flickered and went out. Jade cursed under his breath, yanking the door open and holding it for me as I stepped in. The whole packhouse groaned under the weight of the wind slamming into its sides. A few candles had been lit on the walls — emergency protocol, probably someone acting fast. Still, everything felt too still. Too quiet, considering the chaos outside.

Jade and I didn’t waste time. We hurried down the stairs to the basement, where my father and the healer was examining the body of the rogues…or whatever they could recover of them. And even as our boots clattered on the steps, I couldn’t shake the feeling crawling up my spine. Like something was watching. Like someone — no, something — was just behind us, always just out of sight.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I muttered. “First those…rogues, and now this sudden storm.”

“You and me both,” Jade replied, glancing behind us as if he could sense it too.

But what we didn’t know — what we couldn’t know — was that somewhere just beyond the tree line, cloaked in the chaos of the storm, a figure stood motionless, shadowed in the dense darkness. It didn’t move. It didn’t flinch. And it sure as hell didn’t blink. Just stood there… watching us. Hollow red eyes glowing faintly like embers, unblinking, locked on our retreating forms.

Whatever this storm was, it hadn’t come alone.

And we were already too deep in it to turn back.