A MAZE OF GREED

By the time Edwin reached the forest along with others, it was a time of the afternoon. They all climbed down the carriage. The place was pretty without a doubt. Yet the fact that something terrifying had happened there made it unpleasing.

"We have searched all around this place and have not find anything." Lester informed.

Edwin glanced around that silent place. Ruth's dream kept replaying in his mind. His eyes paused on the dark forest ahead. Ruth saw a Vampire coming out through that forest in her dream.

They had no other way than believing in her dream. It was better than nothing.

"Have you searched the forest?"

Lester turned his head to look at it. "Yes, but we didn't cross it."

"What is behind this forest?" Rees asked.

"There is a buffer zone. But as crossing this forest is a tedious task, we do not really use it that much. And thus the buffer zone also remained underused." Lester explained.

Edwin stared at it for a long minute before he announced. "We are going in there."

"But Edwin-"

"We can not take any chance, Lester. We do not have anything else to do. You have done everything possible yet haven't found a single clue. If we trust Ruth's dream, then that vampire must have used this forest route to break into the border of the Bluemoon pack.

As you said, people rarely come here. So it is obvious that the security around here is also weak. A cunning creature can break through if it uses a little bit of its brain."

Lester realised his father's ignorance. But he was not the only one to blame. If not his father then he at least should have thought about it earlier.

"You are right Edwin. Let me call more guards and-"

"No." Edwin said. "We are six people here. We will split up and search individually. Calling more people may create complications."

"What complications brother?" Elsie asked in confusion.

Edwin pursed his lips in a thin line before answering. "I have some speculations."

The rest of the people did not question him because they knew well that Edwin would not tell them anything before he was completely sure of his speculations.

"Stay close with each other just in case. Look for every minute thing. Don't ignore thinking it is nuisance. I am sure we will find a clue in there."

They all agreed in unison and split up, taking each route one by one.

There was no way Edwin was returning back empty-handed today!

As they walked deeper into the forest, Rees realised that it was more intimidating than the woods of the Vincardine. The trees here were standing in melancholy. He realised why the Bluemoon pack was relaxed about this natural border of their town.

Edwin had asked Elsie to stay with him, but she refused. It was a vast place to search, and they had less manpower. She had the hem of her dress lifted above her ankles and tied it around her waist. She wore shoes that were convenient for her to walk on the irregular forest ground.

It was the first time ever that Elsie had taken such responsibility willingly, and nobody argued. She not only felt proud but was also nervous. And the strange vibes she got in this forest worsened her nervousness.

She had her eyes roaming all around the place. She was checking the ground for any marks, trees and every possible thing that may provide her with any clue.

She heard the sounds of birds and wild animals now, and then that soothed her nerves a little.

"oouch!"

Elsie was looking up and did not see a branch ahead of her. She crashed into that branch of a tree and hit her nose with it.

Her eyes watered at the sensation of intense pain. She rubbed her nose and blinked her eyes to clear her vision. She was busy pampering her hurt nose when a peculiar scent hit her nostrils.

Moving her hands from her nose, she sniffed around. The scent was strong as she bent down. Her eyes keenly observed the ground and the bushes around. Her search halted when she saw a palm-shaped leaf of a plant with white coloured spots on it.

Elsie plucked the leaf gently. She turned it around studying it. She then brought it near her nose and sniffed again. That was a very strange scent that she had never experienced before. After five more attempts at analysing it, she came to the conclusion that she smelled saliva on that leaf.

But there was something else that she could not figure out. She had an evidence box hung around her waist. She opened it and carefully put that leaf in it. It meant she was going in the right direction.

She was about to call Edwin, but her body went still. The hair on her neck rose in the alert. She did not move, but her eyes roamed all over the place from one side to the other.

Her wolf could feel something... something that was not right. She subtly removed the evidence box from her waist and put it down on the ground. Her eyes darkened until they turned yellow with a black pupil.

Her canines grew in her mouth. Her wolf was ready.

And then she saw a shadow wheezing to her right. Within a blink of an eye, Elsie shifted into her wolf form and sprinted in that direction. Her orangish-brown wolf moved fast on her legs in search of that shadow.

All of her senses were on alert. She strained her ears and took a slight left after receiving the sounds of thumping on the ground.

It was difficult to run faster than this in this forest where trees had grown in an irregular pattern. The orangish-brown wolf avoided the tree trunks, large roots protruding out of the ground and the long branches obstructing her way.

She saw a wolf running ahead of her. She figured that it was a male wolf.

She growled in a warning. But the wolf did not slow down. Instead, it increased his speed. Elsie found it difficult to match his pace. The wolf was running so skillfully as if he was well familiar with the place.

Elsie growled again in anger at the wolf's defiance.

~"Brother Edwin... to your left. I am heading to the buffer zone. Its urgent!"~

~"Elsie... Elsie, what is happening?"~ Edwin tried asking her, but she ignored his questions.

She had a target ahead, and her wolf did not like to lose her chase. Even after multiple warnings, when the wolf did not slow down, Elsie got furious.

She opened her jaw wide and tightened it around a thick branch of the nearby tree. She forcefully pulled it, detaching it from the tree completely.

She did not slow down, nor did she lose sight of her chase. Moving her head sharply, she hurled that piece of wood, aiming for the hindlegs of the wolf.

The wood hit its target, and the wolf toppled down on the ground. He howled and whined in pain.

Elsie's wolf made a victorious sound as she slowed down near him. She had her eyes set on him. She barred her sharp teeth at him, waiting for him to turn around.

And when he did, Elsie got caught by utter shock. The wolf looked more barbarous than a normal rogue. And his eyes... they were bright red in colour, with dark dilated pupils. The saliva flew from his mouth profusely.

And he possessed no hint of mercy or conscience of right and wrong.

Elsie stood her ground determinedly and in a stance of attack.

She made sounds asking him who he was. In response, the wolf only made a weird guttering sound at the back of his throat.

They both stalked towards each other while not breaking their eye contact. Elsie found it hard to match his gaze as she had never seen or heard a wolf with such deadly eyes.

The wolf was about to attack Elsie when the distant sounds fell on their ears. Edwin and others were approaching them at a fast rate.

Elsie felt relieved that they would come at the right time. She was about to pounce on the wolf when he kicked the ground that scattered the dust and the soil in the air.

Much of it went into Elsie's eyes, and her wolf instinctively closed her eyes shut. She growled and struggled.

"Elsie... Elsie? Are you okay? What happened?" She heard Lester and Edwin's voices.

She slowly opened her eyes to see them looking at her worriedly. Without heeding them much attention, Elsie turned around to see the wolf, but he had disappeared before Edwin and others reached there.

~"That way."~ Elsie told still in her wolf form.

Lester sent the two guards in the direction she pointed.

Rees hurriedly passed her the dress they had carried along with them. Elsie went behind a tree and put that dress on her. When she came out, her eyes were reddened and watering.

"Come with me." She said before running to the place where she had left the evidence box.

Rees, Lester and Edwin followed her with their supernatural speed, still confused about what just happened.