It didn't take long for Osckar to arrive along with Roman and William, each wolf fanning around us in a semi-circle. The alpha of the Dreadclaw pack held his hands up in defeat, his eyes never leaving mine. Only the slight twitching of his jaw gave away his agitation. 

Dorian, the wolf he'd halted before, sunk into the grass submissively, probably on silent command from his alpha. I relaxed slightly shaking out my fur to be rid of the tension in my muscles that I'd been holding since I'd seen the murder. I had a feeling that I knew what he was, that if legends were true we might've met our match.  I'd barely been able to take on the witches and to now have this creature threatening our lives, I wasn't sure if I could do more. 

Osckar shifted, letting himself be just as exposed as the alpha before me. 

"I warned your pups about stepping foot on my land uninvited." he snarled taking a few menacing steps forward. 

"There's a vampire on the loose and you're worried about me?" the strange alpha ground out incredulously. 

The word rang sharply in my ears, the same word that I'd thought of when I saw the dead girl rise again. When they both vanished fairly fast, it sealed the deal. Cordelia knew, but why wouldn't she just say it? If these were the hunters then surely there'd be hope to kill them yet. There were two now, an ancient-looking one and a fresh one. If they were anything like us when we were young they'd be destructive.  They could tear the town apart if left unchecked. 

"Yes, I gave you a warning and you chose to ignore it," Osckar ground out, "We're not keen on strangers passing through." 

The other alpha laughed humourlessly, "But you're fine with vampires using your land as nesting grounds. We have one common enemy here. That's where our efforts need to be focused." 

I clenched my jaw, as much as this went against everything in my being I knew he was right, like with the witches we needed to know our enemy. 

Conceed to him Oskcar, we need to know how to deal with the vampire more than him. 

Osckar's head didn't so much incline towards me in acknowledgement but he replied in a cold whisper.  Any threat to our lands needs to be dealt with. We gave him a warning. 

We can deal with him later, there are parents looking to us for answers. Put your ego aside or I will shift. 

Now his gaze did turn on me, it was hard and unyielding, like I was his enemy. 

They directly ignored a threat from me. If I don't follow through and word gets out what do you think the other alpha's will think?

Fuck what they think,  I snarled back. This is people's lives we're dealing with, if the other alpha's decide to challenge us based on this, then so be it. I'll be glad to wipe a few of their snarky smirks off their faces. 

Osckar bared his teeth to me for merely a second at the challenge, like wiping a blank slate he looked back at the alpha. 

"My mate is eager to spare you this time, on one condition." 

I didn't miss the look from the alpha, he was surprised, curious maybe at the exchange between us. I myself was surprised that Osckar yielded to me, he was so stubborn and set in his ways that I forgot that maybe he did care about what I thought. 

"Name it." there was a slight smile pulling at the edge of the alpha's lips almost like he knew what was about to be asked. 

"Don't let even a single bit of your grubby fur land on my property after today. If it does, I won't hesitate to kill you on sight." 

I was taken aback by the threat, I was expecting a show of comradery,  an exchange of information at least. He'd have a few more words from me about this the moment we were alone. I thought we'd come to some understanding, albeit a little forceful from my side but he was being just as steadfast as I in our ways. 

"Here I thought your mate persuaded you to be nice," He smiled sinisterly, "This won't be the last time he kills. Don't come running to me when you find yourselves with a coven to fight against." 

I gritted my teeth in frustration. 

"You'll find that we've dealt with a whole lot worse." Oscakar growled, "Now, I'm sure I don't need to tell you twice to leave." 

"No, there is no need." The Alpha turned his back on us like it was nothing like we were no threat to him. 

With a subtle gesture of his hand, the two wolves he was with turned, flanking his side as he began to jog away from the crime scene. I waited until he was out of earshot before I lunged at Osckar. He didn't see it coming. 

I pinned him on his back as he fell with a grunt. My paw was on his chest and my breath washed over his surprised face as he looked up at me. 

That was not what I meant. We needed answers!

I could hear the others shifting uncomfortably behind me at the scene before them but I didn't care. Let them see how their alpha doesn't take council from their equals. Let them see me be wrathful against him. 

We don't need him Calla, Cordelia is who we trust with this, she will have the answers. 

I huffed, Cordelia will only likely know what this vampire's potential weakness is based on nature, not its patterns, not its intent. She hasn't been hunting this vampire down. 

The vampire I saw already defies the stories I grew up with. It was daytime, at least late afternoon, granted the shadows of the leaves in the woods probably gave him enough shade if sunlight was a weakness. He should've burned by all accounts. I wondered if there was anything about vampires in my dad's book. The one he'd left me containing the family secrets that were mostly now exposed to more than just the immediate family. 

I let Osckar go, the fight draining out of me like someone had come in and turned off the lights. There wasn't much I could do now. The best course of action was to sit down with Cordelia and find out everything we needed to go. Another more rouge thought passed through my mind and I quickly shut it down. I'd play by Osckars rules for now. 

Leaving without another word I followed the scentless trail ignoring the shouts of protest from Oscakr. 

I followed the nearly stale scent all the way to the river's edge where our border met with my old home. I hadn't been back since the trial. I stared out into the woods, peering through the trees as if I'd suddenly see my parents on patrol. I knew better though, I'd seen them in the afterlife. 

I glanced down at the bracelet still visible on my right leg, curiosity and impulse getting the better of me I slipped it off. Turning human again, I tied it like a hair band around my ponytail.  At first, I didn't feel anything at all, but then like a gentle wave, my skin began to tingle. The magic was euphoric, and soothing as I began to sense more than I'd had all day. The scentless trail that lay ahead of me now had a tang to it. A magical one, giving me the taste of metal on my tongue, or was it my tongue? I couldn't tell. 

My magic hummed, simmering and waiting for a command. Hesitant, I reached out an arm, hovering it just above the scentless trail. A thread in my mind connected to the tang, elevating it until the tang became more, it became a real visible thread. I pulled away amazed, my eyes dropped to my fingertips as if they too would erupt in a burst of magic. 

"Calla?" 

The voice jarred me out of my thoughts, the thread scattering like a million fireflies before me. I turned to the familiar voice. 

"Amy," my tone expressed the relief I'd felt.

Hadn't I only just thought about her? She stood a few feet in front of me, her eyes wide as she stared at me with concern. 

"It's been a while," She started, "I heard about the witches."

I wasn't surprised, people talked and we'd had a victory like no other pack in the country. 

"I'm sure you did. I bet they sprinkled in a bit of jazz here and there to make it sound more exciting than it was," 

I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did and winced at the dryness of of my tone. 

Amy just smiled at me sadly, "I was relieved to find out you were alive. I wanted to visit but I wasn't granted permission from the alpha." 

I scowled at the thought of the man that had made my life hell. 

"It's good that you didn't," I said, "I'm still not sure I've processed it all. I died you know." 

Her hand flew to her mouth but I continued as if somehow saying all of this out loud would make the hurt go away. 

"I died and came back to life because of a magical spell." I laughed darkly, "I saw the other side and came back irrevocably changed. And now we've got another threat on our hands. A vampire is roaming these woods." 

Amy's lips pursed as she contemplated her next words, "I'm sorry, you don't deserve all of that.  This threat you're now facing, it won't be all on you." 

I raised an eyebrow at her, " I tell you that vampires exist and you don't even question me?"

She shrugged, "I think we're all a little harder to surprise now."