The White Wolf Chapter 82: Staying Unseen

The sound of howels had Alexia looking around her surroundings. They sounded close but came from all directions. Shifting her weight from foot to foot she thought nervously as to what her next move would be.

Following the river, she ran from the spot she had been at, splashing in the water in a hurry. Her fur became wet as the water washed the blood from her snow-white hair.

The moon illuminated the water while the stars reflected against the surface providing her light. Even in the darkness with what little light there was, her fur would be obvious for others to see. She hoped the water would help wash away the scent of the rogue from her body. The strong odor seemed to cling to her like a blanket that she could not shake.

The scent would pull royal warriors to her like a magnet as they were trained to eliminate any threats. An altercation is something she would want to avoid. Even if they recognized her it would require them to remain silent or they could possibly attack her if the smell was too strong.

If it were more rogues, the sound of the howels made it evident she was severely outnumbered. She could hold her ground against a few, but there were too many for her to hold off on her own. Either way, avoiding detection was of the utmost importance, when she felt it was clear she would find a way to sneak back into her chambers. Hopefully, before anyone knew she was gone.

She did not exit the water till she had been running for some time. Before she left the water, she submerged herself trying to remove the last of the blood and smell.

Walking onto the dry ground, she shook her fur out till it was only damp and stood up straight. Sniffing the area she looked for any signs of danger.

Looking for higher ground to get a better vantage point, she wove through the trees doing her best to remain as silent as possible. The cracking sound of branches had her turning in alarm to the noise. Narrowing her eyes she saw a squirrel jump from limb to limb. Every little sound had her on edge.

Her ears twisted at a sound, craning to hear more, Alexia became still as a statue. Lowering her body to the ground she eased herself into a group of bushes nearby.

The sound of paws against the earth had her on alert. She could hear breathing and the sound of sniffing coming from around her.

Barely breathing, she tried to figure out how many wolves were in the vicinity. She counted six and decided it was best to remain unseen. She could smell blood but they lacked the putrid odor that rogues tended to possess giving her hope that they were the royal warriors.

They continued their inspection for several minutes before moving on. Alexia did not realize she had been holding her breath till she let it escape her lips.

Time passed as she waited for the area to clear out, she was alone in her own thoughts. Knowing this was probably the dumbest idea she had had yet, she scolded herself for being so careless. The odds of Caspian not knowing she left were lowering by the second. However, she did not regret what she had done as she had eliminated a potential threat. Surely, her mate would see how helpful she had been.

Deciding to move in order to keep her scent from collecting in the area, she quietly backtracked from her spot.

Trying to avoid any more close encounters, she went in the opposite direction that the warriors had continued their journey on.

She could not find high ground, everywhere she went was flat and she began getting worried that she was moving too far away from the palace.

The time she had spent in the forest around the palace had been limited. If she was back at Silver Pack she knew every tree, rock, or stream that dotted the territory.

Dawn was still a few hours away as she tip-toed through the trees. Something was off. The forest was quiet and gave her an uneasy feeling.

The hair on her back stood up as she sensed something or someone was approaching. She looked for a place to hide, and seeing a small alcove of rocks she spurred herself towards it.

Some of the giant rocks had fallen over creating a cave. Alexia carefully crawled on her belly causing her underside to become covered in dirt. However, once she crawled through the entrance the cave became bigger. There was enough room for her to stand up once inside.

Watching the entrance she waited for whoever was out there to leave the area. She heard quiet paws against the ground outside of the cave. Claws scraped against the rocks as whoever was out there climbed on her makeshift dwelling.

Barely even breathing, she waited. She cursed herself for foolishly allowing herself to be trapped. A rookie mistake. She added it to the list of today's mistakes.

After a while, whatever was out there seemed to lose entrance and wandered off. With dawn now fast approaching, she decided it was time for her to emerge as she had already been spotted too many times for her liking. If she could get into the castle without being seen she would need to do it before dawn and before the palace came alive in activity.

Crawling out the way she came in, she once again crawled out on her belly. When she was free of the small space she shook off her fur and stretched her legs. Looking to the sky she studied the night sky in order to figure out which direction she would need to go.

Turning her head towards her destination, she froze. Her blood went cold as two eyes stared back at her in the dark. Two eyes she knew. Two eyes of pure anger.