The castle and its grounds had never been so silent. Even the horses were quiet in their stalls. We slowly walked through the stables, looking for any sign of life or the creatures. Andrew motioned for his scouts again, whispering to them. There was furious head shaking before they returned to their spots.

"What did they say?" King Orsand asked.

"When they scouted the area they saw nobody."

"Not a single person?" Edmond asked.

Andrew shook his head.

"Where did everyone go?" Ashley questioned.

"I don't know. This is very odd."

We continued around the side of the stable and into the castle. A strong, metallic smell assaulted our nostrils almost immediately.

"Oh, what is that?" I asked, covering my nose.

"That's blood," Andrew said softly. "And a lot of it."

"What should we prepare ourselves for?" Ashley asked quietly.

"I honestly don't know," Andrew answered. "Just keep your eyes open."

Andrew motioned with hands to the warrior group, who broke off into groups and ventured down other corridors in the castle. I took a few steps closer to Edmond as we moved to the ancient part of the castle. The rooms looked identical as the last time I had seen them. The last room though was one we hadn't checked. The door was locked before and the keys Edmond had didn't work.

King Orsand turned the handle and the door creaked open.

"That was locked last time we were here."

"Really?" King Orsand asked.

I nodded.

We entered the room, shocked at how clean it was.

"It looks like someone has been living here."

"How bizarre."

"Nobody ever comes back here though," King Orsand said. "Nobody should be living back here."

I walked around, looking at everything laying around. Books were stacked on a table near the window and the bedding was disheveled. I ran my hand along one of the walls, surprised that there were no cobwebs like every other room in this section of the castle. As I walked, my fingers ran along a small bump on the paneling. It wasn't very noticeable to look at, but there was something there. It felt off from the rest of the wall.

"Hey, come here," I said to nobody in particular.

"What?" Ashley asked as everyone gathered around.

"Feel this."

"The wall?" Alastair questioned.

"Yeah. It feels weird."

King Orsand ran his hand over the paneling and stepped back. "Odd."

They all felt the weird bump under the wood and stared at it.

"What if it's a button?" Ashley suggested.

"A button?"

"Yeah, like a hidden doorway or something. Is that possible?"

"It is, but there was nothing about a secret passage this far back into the castle."

"What if it was kept off the maps that you have? And someone else knows about it?"

"That's possible. Let's push the button and see what happens," King Orsand said.

We all looked at each other, wondering who would be the brave soul to find out what actually happened if we pushed that particular panel.

"So, who's doing it?"

Edmond sighed heavily. "I will."

"No, I will." King Orsand placed his hand on the wood and pushed.

There was a clicking sound as the wall moved slightly, showing a small crack. We pushed it open and saw a stone passage heading further into the castle. We followed along the tunnel for about a mile before a set of stairs loomed ahead of us. We climbed up, Orsand turning a small knob on the door.

We waited, listening for anything to come toward us. There was just silence.

We peered out the door and saw that it led to an alleyway.

"Where are we?" Alastair asked.

Edmond squeezed out the small hole, hoping to not draw attention. "I think we're in town."

The rest of us followed, creeping along the alleyway walls.

"We are in town," King Orsand said. "This is the Bull and Horn tavern."

"How old is the Bull and Horn?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. A few hundred years, I think. Maybe older?"

"So it's possible this was meant as another escape route?"

"Uh, Yeah. I think so," Orsand said.

Edmond peered into the street, looking around. "Well, the streets are empty."

We walked along the roads, looking for signs of anyone.

"This is not normal. Could they all be hiding?"

"It's possible I guess."

I walked up to one of the businesses that lines the main street and pulled the door handle. Locked.

"Knock?" Ashley suggested.

"Yeah." I knocked on the glass door loudly. "Hello?"

We waited for anything to happen. I knocked again.

"This is Princess Elanor. If anyone is inside, please come to the door."

I watched as a door in the back of the shop cracked open. A young girl hurried across the room to the door.

"Is it really you?" she asked.

"Yes. I have the king and the prince with me. Can you let us in?"

"Are those things still out there?"

"Things? What things?"

"Those-those monsters! The ones that were attacking people."

"No. There's nothing out here."

"Oh thank Goddess!" she hurriedly opened the door and ushered us in, before relocking it.

"What happened, child?" King Orsand asked.

Her face dropped as she burst into tears. Five other women emerged from the room in the back of the office. Clutching one another.

"They just came out of nowhere. They were attacking everyone. Biting. There was so much blood."

"It doesn't look like anything happened outside."

"I-I don't know how. There were so many of them. We thought they got all of you. They were heading for the castle."

We jumped and turned at the sound of someone banging on the door. Andrew sighed with relief, opening the door for his warriors.

"No! Close it!" the women screamed in terror.

"It's okay. We know them."

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked.

"The castle. We found the smell."

"What was it?" Orsand asked.

"Everybody. In the ballroom, their bodies were laid out."

"What?"

"The bodies are laid out in the ballroom. I've never seen so many people."

"And they're all dead?" Andrew asked.

The warrior nodded.

"We have to find the source of this right now." I turned to the women, "Did you happen to see where they came from?"

The young girl nodded her head and pointed. "Down the street. They just marched right into the city."

"They're not traveling through the sewers? We need to get to the other packs. Now."

I hurried for the door, unlocking it and walking into the street.

"How? Are you going to walk?" Edmond asked.

"We're going back to the castle and getting vehicles. Then we're going to check. These things are coming from somewhere and we're finding them."

Our group made the way back to the castle, finding the vehicles and keys where they were supposed to be. The men ventured to the ballroom while Ashley and I waited near the SUVs. I had no desire to see all of the death.

"Let's go," Edmond said, walking into the garage. "We need to go."

"What?" I asked.

"It's just...it's bad in there. Let's go."

We all were able to fit into five of the palace's SUVs. We sped through the streets making our way to Silver Peak. I watched Alastair as his usually stoic face showed nothing but worry.

Was his pack still standing? Would they be decimated?

We came upon Misty Pines rather quickly. The small town was completely empty. Nobody was on the streets, except a few bodies scattered around.

"Where are they?" Ashley asked.

"Left, I guess."

"Should we get out and check?"

"For a minute, we should," Orsand said, stopping the car.

"Hello?" Edmond called out. "This is Prince Edmond, King Orsand, and Princess Elanor. If anyone is here, please come out."

We waited and waited. A small family hurried from their apartment above a shop with hiking packs on their backs.

"Sir!" Edmond shouted.

The man glanced over his shoulder and ushered his family down the sidewalk.

"Sir, please!"

"Prince Edmond, I do apologize, but we must hurry."

"Hurry to where?" he asked.

"We have to meet the rest of the town. We're leaving."

"To where?"

"Sanctuary. We've heard there is a sanctuary not far from here. Others from other packs are gathering at an abandoned fort to get away from these things."

"There's an abandoned fort?" I asked.

"There is. We haven't used it for centuries though. My great-great-grandfather was the last king to keep it functioning."

"Come with us," the woman said. "You can be safe with us."

"Thank you," I said, "But we're trying to find more survivors and where these things are coming from."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Be safe."

I nodded as we climbed back into the SUVs. The drive to Silver Peak didn't last long. There was no enjoying the scenery. As we entered the town, we saw some people standing near the town hall. Orsand brought the vehicle to a screeching halt as Alastair jumped out.

"Alpha?" he shouted. "Alpha Wesley!"

"Beta!" a man called to Alastair. "Beta, over here."

Alastair ran up the stairs, taking them three at a time as Ashley ran close behind. He stopped short and let out a scream. We hurried up to him and looked at what he screamed about.

His alpha lay in front of the building, blood pouring from the wounds on his body, gasping for air.