Within minutes Kyle made it to the origin of the scent. Their car. And the scene before him was a mess. The car had crashed into a tree on the roadside and the doors were completely ripped off. 

Kyle could barely move as fear seized his body in its cold vice-like grip. His packmates weren't in the car. The smell of them was thick in the air along with the pungent stench of vampire blood. It took everything in him to get a hold of his emotions as he surveyed the wreckage before him.

There were clear signs of a struggle. Doors ripped off and seats with thick gashes running down, inner sponge exposed. Kyle slowly made his way closer as the smell of all the blood covering the inside of the car got stronger. He scrunched his nose at the overpowering stench and searched the car for any clues.

From what he could tell Anastasia and Robyn had been run off the road by a bigger car, which caused their car to crash into the tree. The back of the car was smashed in, the lights completely destroyed and the bumper cracked. 

Once the car crashed, the doors had then been forcibly ripped open and his packmates were dragged from the car. Kyle could tell that they had put up a fight going by the cut up seats and the smell of vampire blood thick in the air.

The roadside foliage was destroyed all around the car and Kyle followed the trail of destruction where it led to the highway. From what he could tell they must have been forced into the car that had rammed them off the road. The car then continued on down the highway to gods only knew where.

Kyle felt himself spiralling and it was only the thought of his captured packmates that kept his head on straight. 

They needed their pack leader, and he would do everything in his power to save them.

Kyle briefly considered going back home to let his pack know what had happened and to get the help he would need to save his packmates, but with the pack already down by two members he didn't dare leave their home unprotected by asking anyone else to join him.

It didn't take long for him to make up his mind and continue on down the side of the highway by himself. Even if the pack would be fine with one more packmate joining him, by the time he went back and returned not only would the scent be weaker but Robyn and Anastasia could be dead. Being captured by vampires meant that they didn't have long to live.

Kyle followed Robyn and Anastasia's scents as they led him down the highway, and as he ran he suddenly felt like something was off. 

The scent disappeared all too soon and with nothing but bare trees and the open highway there was no sign at all of his packmates and their captors. Kyle backtracked, thinking maybe he had missed a sign of them turning at some point down the long highway. But once again, the scent just randomly disappeared on the open road.

There was nothing that showed any sign that they'd gone off the road in any direction or had made their way into the woods. It was as if they had just simply vanished in the middle of the road. Kyle shook his head in frustration and took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

Maybe I am too worked up right now to scent them properly, he thought as sheer horror crept up on him.

Kyle sat down on his haunches and took a minute to get his thoughts in order. He shifted back to human form, got dressed and pulled a water bottle from his backpack. His hands were shaking so badly he nearly dropped the bottle twice. After he finally got the lid off and drank some water, he felt able to breathe again. 

How the hell could they just disappear? he thought, running his hand through his inky black hair as he tried to make reason of what was happening. Scents don't just suddenly stop just like that.

Kyle knew that he was too good of a hunter to have simply just lost the scent trail, and even with him doubling back and following the scent again it still just disappeared. Something wasn't right and he felt as if he might lose his mind. He stood up and looked around the spot where the scent abruptly disappeared. 

The road wasn't any different from the rest of the highway and provided no clues as to where the scent could have disappeared. If the scent had slowly lost intensity, before slowly tapering off he could understand, but just stopping without getting any weaker made no sense at all.

Kyle knelt down and gently ran his hand over the tarmac, hoping for some clue to jump out at him. His fingers tightly grasped at the road and he felt a flash pain as his nails slightly tore. He didn't let up and griped the road tighter, hoping that the sensation would help clear his thoughts.

Then suddenly he remembered, and felt like an idiot that it didn't come to mind sooner. 

Magic, he thought, the word sending a chill down his spine

A spell could have masked the scent of his packmates at any point the caster would have wanted it to. Kyle wasn't sure how complex or strong a spell like that would be but he was certain that any witch coven would be able to do it. Maybe even a single witch from an old coven. Due to magic being carried by bloodlines, the older the coven, the stronger the magic.

The problem was why would a witch coven or even just a single witch be working with vampires, Kyle questioned. What would they gain by working with vampires instead of humans, which was the safer option for them?

Kyle's inner thoughts were interrupted by the air suddenly shifting, and it was only his years of experience that had him leaping out of the way just in time as a vampire descended on him from above. He skidded to a stop and quickly shifted into his wolf form, as he picked up on the scent of another vampire hidden in the treeline. He calmly kicked his clothes to the side of the road and cautiously looked around.

F*ck, he thought, the witch must still be here. 

He hadn't even considered that they might still be lurking around, hidden from his senses with magic. Kyle snarled at the vampire who had lunged at him. The vampire was smiling smugly, sharp elongated canines shining in the late afternoon light. He wore black overalls that were tucked into shiny black boots.

“Took you by surprise, didn't I?” The vampire said, his bright yellow eyes glowing mockingly.

Kyle growled in response, the sound low and filled with warning. The vampire laughed and slowly circled him. Kyle made sure to keep him in his sight, while also paying attention to the other vampire still hidden in the woods. All his senses were on edge as he stood at full alert.

The vampire's eyes dashed to the side and back quickly, and Kyle figured it might be some sort of signal to the hidden vampire. Not wanting to give them the time to put their plan into action, Kyle quickly lunged at the vampire in front of him, sinking his teeth deeply into his neck. 

Thick, black blood splattered everywhere as they fell to the ground and the vampire screamed in pain and tried to push him off, but he held tight, biting down right to bone and crushing the vampire's spine with his powerful jaw. 

Kyle sensed the other vampire dashing towards him from the woods, and with one final twist of his jaw he snapped the vampire's spine and let his limp body drop to the ground. The vampire lay motionless on the ground but Kyle knew it wasn't dead. Not with its heart still in its chest.

The other vampire was armed with a pair of silver daggers that twisted menacingly in the late afternoon light. He wore the same black outfit as the other vampire and had eyes that were a sickly neon green, glaring at Kyle as he cautiously moved closer. 

Kyle stepped back and spat out the disgusting vampire blood in his mouth. The blood was thick, slimy and heavy with the scent of dirt and rot. Just like any other werewolf he enjoyed the taste of fresh meat, but vampires were anything but fresh. He pushed down his disgust as he watched the vampire with the long daggers in his hands.

The vampire dashed at him, slashing down with one dagger and to the side with the other, and Kyle quickly sidestepped both swings. His wolf form made it cumbersome to dodge the daggers but he didn't dare shift right now. The vampire didn't let up and continued to rapidly slash at Kyle with the daggers.

One of the wild slashes hit home. Kyle hissed as blood sprayed from a deep cut on his side. He limped back as the cut opened deeper and he felt blood running rapidly down his side. He knew he had to end the fight quickly before he bled out. 

I can't afford another cut from those blades, Kyle thought as he backed away from the vampire, I need to end this now.

Just as he lunged at the vampire, his body suddenly seized and Kyle fell to the ground as he lost complete control of his body. He crashed painfully to the road and his cut opened more as he landed. Kyle winced in pain as gravel scraped his open wound.

A loud maniacal laugh came from the top of one of the trees on the roadside, as Kyle tried to process what the hell just happened.

“Wow, that was so much FUN!” A nasally high pitched voice called out from between the leaves.

Kyle felt darkness creep over his senses as he slowly lost consciousness.

Fucking witch, he thought and everything went black.