*Calix*
“What happened?” I asked, taking the coat from Lady Hamund’s arms.
“He’s dead!” she cried, tears streaming down her face.
One of the other Council members came up to console her. “It’s okay, my dear,” he told her. “We’re here. You’re safe now.”
“What happened?” I asked again, this time to the group.
Dex, behind me, took the coat and shivered. “The curse…” he whispered.
Bayle Stormstrung, Alpha of the Northern Peaks, came to me. His silver beard was damp with sweat, and his clothes were torn and ragged. It looked like he had arrived in a hurry.
“Lord Aldrich,” he started frantically. “I was there after it happened. There was an attack within Lord Hamund’s compound. A wolf, but none that I have ever seen before. Lord Hamund didn’t even have time to react before he was ripped open. It wasn’t twenty minutes before he was dead. And those cursed marks were on him, my Lord. You should have warned us about this curse sooner! We could have prevented this death!”