Chapter 10
Camille
“Silence, my child.”
She heard a voice but couldn’t tell where or who it was coming from. Turning to her left, she saw the Alpha, Jean-Claude, walking toward their direction.
“How are you–”
“It’s magic. You’re Camille, right? The only girl out of a pack of boys.” Jean-Claude smiled gently. He looked at ZaMauri, and it seemed they were having their own mental conversation. ZaMauri nodded and left the table without another word.
“Look, we are all friends here.”
The siblings stayed silent, looking at each other as if the other had an answer.
“We need to ensure your father’s safety. He and every other Alpha in the state of Louisiana are in danger.” His eyes narrowed, focusing directly on Camille as if she were the only one there.
“Our father is an Alpha?” Daymond piped up, leaning into Camille’s shoulder.
Jean-Claude ignored him and continued. “You are safe with us—you and your brothers, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you. But we must find your father.”
“I agree, but we don’t know how… I mean, he just got up and left us. How are we going to find him?” Camille asked.
He smirked and sat straighter in his seat. “This will be your first lesson.” He finally looked at the rest of the siblings. “Being a werewolf isn’t just about reigning havoc recklessly. It’s about control, power—the hunt of being a monster from within.”
Antonie rolled his eyes, and Camille reached over Daymond to slap his arm. His ears turned red, but thankfully, Daymond was in the middle, an unintentional bodyguard between the two.
“You have the ability to track your father. You are of his kin, of course—a direct line. It should be second nature to find him.”
“We don’t know how to do that,” Bernard said.
Jean-Claude chuckled, looking down at the middle child. “Of course you don’t. It takes practice, time, and maturity—but with my help and the rest of my pack, it’ll come easy.”
“Well, sure, that’s fun and all, but what about the extra abilities? And didn’t you say you have a mind-link with the other Alphas? Why can’t you use that to find our dad?” Daymond asked.
“All of you have a special ability. Every werewolf does, and when provoked, you unleash it on the world.” He looked at the youngest boy and smiled approvingly. “You have a good memory. Yes, I have a mind-link with the other Alphas. But it isn’t as simple as knowing someone’s phone number or email. All gifts have limits. Mine is distance. But it’s different for you four. You’re his blood. Unless he chooses to block you, you’ll be able to sense him, even if he’s on the other side of the world.”
“That sounds pretty far-fetched. What about tracking through other means? You guys said his scent was in the air when we first met, right? Why don’t we try that?” Antonie said.
Jean-Claude glowered and said through gritted teeth, “We could have. But there’s this thing called weather. Even if you can’t feel a breeze, the air is still moving. And even the deepest traces will vanish over time. We could have attempted to track him down sooner, but you four chose to run away, endangering not just those poor humans but our very existence. It’s a good thing there are forces patrolling this area; otherwise, our kind might be hunted right now!”
Camille flinched and hung her head, unable to handle Jean-Claude’s gaze or look at her brothers.
“Get some rest, young ones. Tonight, when the skies have calmed, we’ll practice hunting, which will help you find your father, and everything will be as it should be.” Jean-Claude said with a satisfied smirk as he got up from the bench and walked out toward the fields.
“Okay, I can’t be the only one thinking about the random ass storm from the other night. Do you think that could have been one of the werewolves that took Dad?” Bernard asked.
“Probably, but at least we have Jean-Claude and his pack to help us,” Camille answered plainly.
“I don’t trust him,” Antonie butted in.
“You don’t trust anyone,” Camille bit back.
“Stop it!” Bernard shrieked. “I just think we should take this more seriously, especially once we learn what our powers are!”
“And I find it odd we have powers in the first place.” Daymond examined his hands more closely. “I wonder what you guys have.” He looked at Bernard and Antonie.
“My power is not being an idiot,” Antonie cheekily answered.
Camille rolled her eyes and bit her tongue. She was sick and tired of the back and forth with her brothers—especially Antonie. She may not trust Jean-Claude, but it didn’t matter. He had something she didn’t: a connection to their father.
“Keep Jean-Claude at arm’s length. That’s all we can do. Until then, he’s our only chance at finding Dad.”
That night, they slept huddled together in their tent, hoping and praying for a miracle. Camille prayed for the first time in what felt like ages.
“I’ll get Dad back, and everything else will be okay in this world,” she kept saying.
The next day, they stayed together, leaning on each other. Omega Erinn escorted them to an open field, where they met Beta ZaMauri and Jean-Claude.
“So, like… how does one become an Omega?” Daymond asked, clearing his throat as if to appear older.
Erinn smiled down at him, continuing to strut. “It’s in your DNA. You can’t really control it. Rather, it’s in your ability to serve your Alpha the best way possible. The same goes for being a Beta.”
“And what about Alphas?”
“The same,” she answered. “Though I always had this feeling that being an Alpha is measured by accomplishments. It has to be in some way, or Alphas would constantly be challenged for their leadership.”
Silence overtook them until they made it to an open field.
“Rely on all your senses. Particularly your nose area.”
Erinn looked at Camille as if she held the key to everything. “Think of any animal that you would see in the fields.”
Camille thought for a few seconds before asking, “Like a deer?”
“Do you know what a deer smells like?”
The younger girl chuckled, “Of course not.”
“Well, think of any animal—the woods, the way the wind could sing across their fur. Close your eyes, Camille.”
She looked to her right, and the encouraged smiles from Daymond and Bernard were enough to follow orders.
“Take into account the windy air and how the sun reflects off of you. What else can you feel?”
“Heat,” she breathed out.
“And what animal uses that heat?” Erinn gently pushed.
Camille furrowed her brows. What could be the obvious answer? “Everything.”
When Camille cracked her eyes open, she noticed her brothers were following the instructions, too.
“Close your eyes,” Jean-Claude huffed. “Think of your father now. When you think of him, what do you see?”
“A mistake,” Antonie grunted out.
“Shut up,” Camille ground her teeth.
“You shut the hell up–”
“Silence!” Jean-Claude growled. The four children crowded together, and the Alpha relaxed his stature for a second. He took a long breath before saying, “You need to be completely focused. Imagine who your father is and picture his scent. It’s pretty simple. But if you keep bickering, you’ll get nowhere.”
Camille glared at Antonie, who paid her no mind.
“I’m going to check the perimeter to ensure we are safe from other packs,” Jean-Claude announced as he left the children’s sides.
When he was out of earshot, Camille shot daggers into Antonie. “We are trying to get the hell out of here. Why are you being so annoying?”
“Me annoying?” Antonie scoffed, striding right in front of her. “We should not be trusting this guy—or anyone from this so-called pack.”
“He’s trying to help Dad!”
“And you believe him? We don’t know him.”
“So what’s a better option then?” Bernard butted in, standing at Camille’s side. “I understand where you are coming from, Antonie, but we are out of options.”
Daymond stayed silent, staring at the dirt.
Antonie opened his mouth, but nothing came out. And after a few more attempts, he gave up entirely.
“Alright, so he said I should imagine Dad,” Camille said. She closed her eyes again and focused with her entire being.
Inside her head, she saw her father at a distance, with a slight smile on his face. Inhaling sharply, she could nearly taste the woods. Something she grew familiar with because that’s how her dad smelt. It made more sense now—why he always smelt woodsy.
Green grass and clear skies.
“Earthy,” Daymond broke the silence. Cracking her eyes open for a moment, she looked at him.
“Dad smelt Earthly,” he repeated.
“Right,” her voice replied somberly.
Dad, where are you?
Focus on his scent.
A voice that was not so familiar rang in her ears, but she didn’t have time to think. Shutting her eyes tighter, she tried focusing on that smoky scent that she had become far too familiar with.
Dad, where are you?
She could hear his voice now, the whispers in the shadows, the way they called to her.
Camille, run!
“Dad?” she said out loud.
She felt the warmth of Daymond’s hand, the way it so easily massaged her shoulder. “Do you see him?” he asked.
Robert, her father, was out in a field, surrounded by people with worried looks on their faces, smiles, and laughter. It all made no sense, but the scenery was familiar. Dad was still in the woods—the same woods they had been in once before. But where?
“Where is he?” she heard Antonie call out.
When she didn’t respond, he repeated, “Where is he?”
Still, she said nothing, trying to focus more closely on the surroundings.
“Camille!” He grabbed her arm. Immediately, she recoiled, breaking the connection.
“You idiot!” she growled. “I was getting somewhere!”
His face fell. For the first time, it looked like he was stumped.
Marching away from Antonie and Daymond, she sat beside Bernard, who sat idly on a stump.
“I swear to god, he may be the oldest, but he is the most stupid out of us.”
Bernard sighed, shaking his head. “The only way to get out of this alive is by working together. I don’t know how many times I have to say it.”
She glared at him, leaning away in the opposite direction. “So it’s my fault that I couldn’t find Dad? If he were more patient–”
“I didn’t say that,” Bernard cut her off. “All I’m saying is, we are a bit different from each other—but regardless of those differences, we have to survive together.”
Camille sighed. She knew he was right. Grounding her feet deeper into the soil, she stood up fully.
“Alright, guys. Let’s stand in a circle.”
Bernard followed her, motioning Daymond and Antonie to follow suit.
“I think if we all focus at the same time, we can find Dad quicker. Agreed?”
Bernard and Daymond nodded eagerly, while Antonie was more hesitant.
“Let’s hold hands.” Camille reached for Bernard’s and Daymond’s.
“Hell no–” Antonie started but stopped when they glared at him.
Something in him clicked because he begrudgingly took Daymond’s and Bernard’s hands.
“Close your eyes,” Camille said softly.
The air picked up around them, and as they inhaled the cool breeze, the leaves began brushing up onto their shoulders.
“He smells like Earth,” Camille started.
“The woods,” Daymond added.
“But his own unique scent,” Bernard said.
Slowly yet surely, an image of their father appeared—like a memory that had yet to pass. But it was there, front and center. His scent was all around them.
“Run.”
“Run!”
A familiar voice yelled inside their heads.
“Is that Dad?” Daymond asked with a shaking voice.
“Sh…” Camille shushed. “Where is he?”
The open skies looked the same as the ones they were under. But where was Dad?
“Where are you?” Camille whispered.
The background became clearer. It was high on the mountaintops, near a waterfall, where others swam either for enjoyment or to clean themselves.
“Do you see that?” she asked the boys.
“Yes,” the three answered back.
In a flash, the scene faded, and inside Camille’s mind, she was face to face with a black wolf, large and angry in stature.
“You found him,” said the wolf, a smirk playing on its lips.
“Are you guys seeing this?” Camille’s eyes furrowed in frustration.
The boys didn’t answer this time. Instead, their grasp on her hands began to tighten.
