SIERRA

There's a dead body of a bald girl lying in front of me and she's naked!

I scream and scream till my throat feels sore but the sight scares the shit out of me. I stay rooted on the floor not knowing what else to do. I hear footsteps behind me and then they stop, abruptly, probably looking at the sight in front of me.

"What the hell happened here?" I hear the familiar voice of Talia, the senior she-wolf, as she walks to stand beside me and puts an arm around my shoulder to steady my trembling form. I feel my knees shaking as I take in the dead body. There isn't a single hair on her scalp and she has a blank look in her open eyes.

"Call the elders here as soon as possible and barricade this area. No one, I repeat no one will go even a foot closer to the body. Barricade the blood trail also." She commands to someone. I am not able to turn my face from the dead body.

"Come on. Walk a few steps behind. You are too close to the body, Sierra," she soothes me and pulls at my elbow to help me walk.

Another scream echoes in the hallway and I startle from my shock to look at an unfamiliar she-wolf.

"That's my sister, you fucking bitch. You killed my sister," she screams as she marches towards me and I realise that she is accusing me of killing that she-wolf. I shake my head at her, frantically, afraid that she would go on with her false accusations.

"No. I didn't kill her. I don't even know her." I frown. She looks very different with her raven black hair and extremely pale face. I walk towards her as if possessed and sniff at her.

She smells like roses, intense, with an underlying hint of something else. I walk into her personal space and she stiffens but I don't let that stop me. My instinct tells me that something is wrong here, either with her accusation or with her. I sniff her and bend to sniff at her neck. She smells strongly of roses and something which runs deeper but I cannot place it. I walk closer to her and let my wolf take over as if wanting to know what that scent is of. She stands stiffened like a robot and I wonder why isn't she screaming accusations now.

Suddenly, a pair of arms close around me making me scream and I am pulled away from her. The she-wolf in front of me has gone all pale as if she's seen a ghost and I struggle in the arms of the person holding me. I claw at the hands and they loosen around me but keep hold of my elbows.

I turn to look at Connor and push him off me to get back to this she-wolf. Something is wrong with her. She smells different. She smells off.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elder Raoul walk towards me and I feel my wolf claw, trying to come out and warn the elder about the dangerous she-wolf. I gnash my teeth, trying to control myself.

He quickly raises a hand to stop me. He shakes his head and subtly looks at the she-wolf who is observing me. I come to a conclusion that he doesn't want me to speak in front of her so I nod, mutely.

"Everyone, move out of here and go back to your rooms. Talia, child please see that all the she-wolves return back to their dorm rooms," says Elder Alarick and it is now that I notice the other elders.

Talia nods and motions for each and every she-wolf to move. The she-wolf in front of me moves, turns to look at me and glares before walking away behind Talia.

I ram my elbow into Connor's ribs, catching him off guard and his hold on me loosens. I get myself out of his hold and start marching towards the she-wolf. Something about her seems off. I need to find out. That's the only thing on my mind right now.

"SIERRA."

I stop as Elder Raoul shouts at me.

I turn to look at him and I can see that he's quite angry with me. I don't like that he is angry with me for no valid reason as such. I start growling but push my wolf back in my mind, not wanting the elders to know about my wolf's anger.

"Connor and Marcus. I want you to take note of any unfamiliar scents around the dead body. Then, cover the dead body and move it towards the woods for a proper burial. We will join you in sometime," elder Alarick instructs the guys.

I stand there fuming. It doesn't feel good when you are told to stop from acting on your instincts. A low growl slips past my throat and I clench my fists as I feel my nails lengthen. My vision blurs and I feel my wolf rising, pushing me to go behind the strange she-wolf.

"Control your wolf, Sierra. Come on. Let's go to my office. We can talk there," elder Raoul suggests.

I look at him and see genuine concern in his eyes. Calming down enough to walk properly, I follow the elders.

"Sit down. Drink this." Elder Raoul passes a glass of warm water to me and I sniff it before accepting it. I drink it feeling only a slight respite not actually thinking about how he knew that warm water soothes me.

"I know what you smelt there, Sierra. That she-wolf is not actually a wolf," says elder Raoul calmly.

"What?" Now, that surely wasn't what I expected. I stare at him wide-eyed as he continues to gauge my reaction with those too old and knowledgeable eyes.

"You heard me correct, child. She is the spy sent by the rogues to find the mate of the royal heir or the royal heir himself," he says grimly. I shake my head trying to understand what he's saying but it eludes me.

"What does that mean? I don't understand." I look at all the elders one by one as they sit in front me in a semicircle.

"Didn't you ever wonder why we don't have Elder Amaruq with us anymore?" I stare at elder Ernouf as he asks me this. I shake my head not knowing where the conversation is heading and wait for them to continue.

"Elder Amaruq made a deal with the rogues to help them kidnap she-wolf trainees for a small amount of time to find out if any one of them is the mate to the royal heir," continues elder Ernouf in a heavy voice.

"What? But I haven't heard anyone being kidnapped." I exclaim trying to understand what they are telling me.

"You see child, the time when they kidnapped you, Fenris was very agitated and in his fit of anger, he attacked Amaruq when he found out about his deal with the rogues. Because of elder Amaruq, Fenris was one week late to rescue you," says elder Raoul.

"But elder, I crossed the borders. The rogue told me that when I pled them to let me go," I whisper as those memories torment me. A small whimper escapes and I shake my head as if to push away those memories. A growl of anger escapes unknowingly as I now understand that elder Amaruq was the reason my mate was late in rescuing me. I wouldn't have suffered that much if elder Amaruq hadn't intervened. I don't even remember what they did to me.

"Yes, your case was that of neglect on your part," scolds elder Raoul and I dip my head in embarrassment. "But Amaruq did make a deal with the rogue. That is the reason why he was beheaded yesterday morning," continues elder Raoul. To say that I am shocked at this revelation will be an understatement.

"We believed that Amaruq had somehow managed to bend the loyalty of our own students and trained him/her to be the spy but after your reaction to Amora, tonight, I think that Amaruq somehow managed to plant a different being in our school," explains elder Alarick and I remember the girl I saw today.

"What do you mean by another being?" I ask.

"What did you scent on Amora?" Elder Raoul asks me but I have a feeling that he already knows and is just waiting for me to state it clearly.

I take a deep breath as I remember the earlier scene.

"I was scared and shocked to see that dead body there. Amora, the sister of the dead girl accused me of killing her. When she came closer to me, I got a whiff of her scent and I felt my instincts flare up. That is why I went to sniff her. She felt off, the scent of roses was very strong but there was an underlying hint of something else. The scent of the dead body was hampering my senses may be that's why I was scenting her like that," I tell the elder all of a sudden feeling foolish.

"What was the underlying scent like?" asks elder Alarick.

"Like decay? I don't know, close to smoke." I say looking at the elders. Elder Raoul looks deep in thought while stroking his long white beard while Elder Alarick waits patiently for elder Raoul to remember something. He looks like a grandfather and suddenly, he brightens up as if given a Christmas gift. I sit up in my seat wondering what he's going to say.

"You smelt ash, Sierra. That is the distinct smell of a witch practicing black magic. She has probably disguised herself as a wolf to spy on us," exclaims elder Raoul. I am shocked at his revelation. Witches really exist. Wow! If anyone told me this yesterday, I would've laughed on their face but after taking a sniff of that girl, I totally believe that witches do exist. I nod in understanding. Getting up from my seat, I start walking towards the door as silently as possible. Woah! Today was definitely a harrowing experience.

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Abouï ngan!

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