The air around the site of the attack sat heavy with damp and the fading scent of blood. The earth under Hades' paws and the trees hanging overhead seemed to mourn over the tragedy that occurred within it only days before.  The Alpha's keen senses scoured for signs in the woodland trying to find something, anything that solidified or dispelled the growing fear in his mind.  Scent wasn't enough. Plenty of wolves had been through here including Kade. Daniel needed more than suspicion and a statement from a girl who couldn't remember if she was attacked by one or more assailants.  Reaching the centre of the site, Daniel shifted into his human form, tattooed fingers brushing over loose earth and moss as paws became hands and fur disappearing into inked skin and glowing amber eyes cooling to stormy blue. A cool wind rushed

It was closing in on midnight when Daniel and Eva finally got to be alone. The packhouse had been busy as usual but they also had been talking with Ethan and Bethan. Eva had noticed a vast difference between the siblings not only in age but also personality. Ethan was much more confident and outgoing. It was easy to see why he had a high ranking position in his pack. Bethan on the other hand was shy and quiet. She seemed to prefer blending into the background."What a day." Eva breathed as she shut the bedroom door."What a year more like." Daniel sighed.He sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped and head down. His elbows rest on his thighs as tiredness and the pressures of being an Alpha caught up with him. He didn't regret taking over as Alpha, this was his destiny and he embraced it but the past few months had been a challenge and there seemed to be no end in sight.Eva moved quietly to kneel in front of Daniel, her hands cupping his face gently

 Eva sighed before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, the salty taste of her sweat meeting the tip of her tongue. She had been training with the warriors and hunters for several hours now, looking for something to take her mind off of things. Last night was still fresh in her mind but was overshadowed by the events that took place in the infirmary.  By now, everyone knew what had happened but only a select few knew of the true extent of the damage done. Eva was silently thankful that she hadn't witnessed what Daniel had. Just hearing it described had been sickening.  Wiping perspiration from her forehead with the back of her hand, Eva forced the thoughts out of her mind as she readied to tackle the obstacle course again, muscles and lungs not burning enough for her liking even if her palms were blistered

'your enemy hides in plain sight'    Those words had been running around in Eva's mind since Bethan uttered them. She had heard words very similar to these a few months before from someone close.   Eva hadn't spoken to Eshe since they had both left Silver Moon but she had heard that the former Alpha had reunited with her family and was enjoying retirement. Eva missed her and thought of her often with fondness but this time it was Eshe's last words to her that now preoccupied the she-wolf's thoughts.    She had struggled to sleep even after she and Daniel had made love in the shower. The intimacy with Daniel had thankfully distracted her for a few hours but the thoughts had eventually turned back to the warning.   

“Ah!”  “Sorry but I need to make sure there isn’t anything trapped in the wound.” Simone replied, ignoring as Eva glared at her. “Just because it’s healing doesn’t mean you’re not going to get an infection.”  “You sound just like my mum.” Eva huffed, relaxing when Simone finally finished examining the gunshot and pulled her gloves off. “So give it to me straight doc, am I going to make it?”  Simone chuckled, glancing at Eva before going back to writing in her notes. “A couple of bruised ribs and a clean gunshot wound. Doesn’t look like they used silver. You should be back to normal in a couple of days.”