Choleric

Chapter XIX

"No. The plan is to keep a low profile," he replied with a growl. Cassius glared down at the man. He looked to be in his fifties and was still in perfect shape. His body oozed dominance, but it was no match against Cassius' genetically modified form.

Cassius straightened up and rolled his shoulders back. "Well we're heading to the cars and will drive north to a small rogue house and take cover for the night," Cassius informed with a smirk. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Celia tuning into the conversation, catching his eye she gave Cassius a grade A eye roll.

"We've already tried that. The tyres were slashed," Alpha Lennon replied nonchalantly. It was the perfect sass opportunity yet the humble mean didn't say anything to rub salt into the wounds. Celia wasn't so kind.

"So it looks like our big bad Alpha has basically, no idea what he's doing," she mimicked.

"We better split up if we want to keep on the low. I will be returning to the clearing at dawn tomorrow," Alpha Lennon stated. In all honesty he just wanted to leave the other Alpha's suffocating aura. It was a strange feeling, not being the top dog and Alpha Lennon didn't like it one bit.

The shuffling of feet across the overgrown shrubbery whispered through the night as the two groups set off in different directions, weaving through the thin, condensed trees as the bright moon did little to cut through the branches and light the way. Some wolves switched groups, preferring one Alpha over the other. Cassius left with a group slightly bigger than the one he arrived with. It seems that most wolves chose better protection over good company.

Celia kicked at the clumped dirt and uplifted roots as she walked beside him. "We need to go back for her," Celia stated. Sudden movement rang to the left, causing all eyes to glance fearfully into the night. Cassius reflexively drew up a taught arm, his large hand resting on Celia's chest and stopping her in her tracks. The group froze as something scuttled by, reminding them all the night was alive and dangerous.

As the thick undergrowth settled back into a noiseless background, Cassius sighed and relaxed his rigid figure. It was probably just a feral cat – there have been a lot of them since the humans became extinct. His fingers bristled, feeling cold as they left the warmth of his mates skin.

His gaze weaved through the thin, twisted trunks that grasped at the sky, searching for something that didn't belong.Instead his eyes only met the gloomy darkness that swamped them like thick blankets, strangling them all and leaving nothing but the sickeningly sweet smell of fear.

"Cassius," Celia whispered again, drawing his attention to her. She gave him a pointed look and glanced in the direction of the clearing.

"No," he replied flatly. Pushing himself between two grass trees. The long, needle like leaves scratched at his legs as he forced himself through. "It would be impossible to find her, the attack was hours ago and there's a large chance she is in a group trying to keep a low profile."

"But I think something happened. I can feel it," she insisted.

"You can find her in the morning. Right now we have to keep ourselves safe and worry about others later okay?"

"But what if she's alone or injured?"

Cassius sighed in annoyance. "Look, I'm not going to put 14 people in danger in an attempt to save someone who may or may not need saving. The bushlands here are too dense, we will never find her in the darkness and it's too dangerous to go back to the clearing when we have no idea if the bad souls are still there," he explained exasperatedly.

Looking at her feet, Celia gave up. His argument was valid, much to her displeasure.

•§•

The night went by at an agonisingly slow pace. The group felt zombified as they lamely walked about the bushlands near the glasshouse mountains. They began to circle closer to the clearing as the dark night gave way to the gloomy sun. Before long the sky was scarred with lines of pinks, blues and yellows; warning them the day was near.