Chapter 4
AURORA
Darkness has fallen, and it’s time. Taria is standing in front of me, wringing her hands together in worry. “Stop, Taria. I will be back. I won’t do anything that I don’t have to do. I have Warrior Gerry with me, and he’ll be watching my back, as I will watch his.”
“Call me Gerry, because all this warrior talk is long-winded. Taria, your Momma is an Alpha. She can handle herself. Now, let’s see that strength we all know you have.”
Taria gives him a small nod of the head, before turning back to me with a glassy-eyed look, but she steels her spine, nods to me and walks back into the packhouse.
Raina is coming along to the territory border with us and will lead the pack until my return. I am determined to bring back my pack members or not come back at all. I cannot in all honesty lead the pack any longer, knowing I have ten members suffering.
Flint is speaking quietly with Gerry as we head toward the border. Raina is quiet, and I know she’s worried.
“Raina, make sure the pack members remain safe. If the Shifter Council tries to push for something you don’t like, you push back. You are the acting Alpha, and you will act like it. I would not leave you in my stead if you were not capable. Remember, you represent me and our members.”
“Yes, Alpha Aurora.”
Placing a hand on Raina’s shoulder, she looks up at me and I can see the worry in her eyes. “Strengthen yourself, Raina. Remember, I wasn’t an Alpha until I had to be to save us all. If I could do it, so can you. Make sure Taria stays strong. She’ll never be an Alpha, and we all know it. She’s waiting for her mate. She’ll be the most amazing Luna because that is what she is, a Luna in waiting.”
“She’s never going to meet her mate unless she gets herself out of the pack, and we both know we’re going to have to push her. She’s so unlike you…”
Interrupting Raina, I smile, “Taria is like her father. He was a Gamma, having all the traits, being gentle, loving, and kind. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, when he was murdered by three rogues. When I look at Taria, I see him and it warms my heart that she is so much like him. I’m also sad that he never knew her, but for a few weeks. He loved her so much, and he’d have spoiled her something terrible.”
“I wish I had met him.”
“You would have liked him. Everyone did. He had that type of aura that everyone felt easy with. If I hadn’t Taria to look after I would have allowed Aztec to take us to the Goddess and be with him. But I just couldn’t leave her to grow up without me. It has been lonely at times, I have to admit. Being the Alpha has given me purpose since Taria is now ready to meet her mate.”
“Do you think it’s odd that members are not finding their mates until they are eighteen now? Unlike the sixteen we’ve always had throughout history.”
“I think the Goddess has reconsidered when we are grown enough to find our mates. If you think about it, there had been a lot of rejecting mates as they were not ready, or they were messing with others while they grew up. Some were even considering taking chosen mates. But doing this, it’s taken the onus from finding a mate early and allowing more time to mature. I think it’s a good thing, but only time will tell.” I look up when I hear my name called.
“Are you ready?” Gerry asks.
“Yes, if it’s time to slip into no-man’s-land, then let's do it.”
Gerry looks me in the eye, which is hard for him with my being Alpha. “You follow my lead on this, Aurora. I can keep us safe, but you have to follow me, not try to lead me.”
“I can do that, Gerry. Let’s get the information we need, or get my pack members if we can. But whatever we do, we need to get it done and get back here.” I’m also thinking if I have to give Gerry the slip to get my people, I will.
Flint gives me a stern look after he’s given last-minute orders to Gerry. “Aurora, take care and come back safely. We don’t want to be saying we have eleven pack members being held hostage or, worse, dead.”
After giving Raina and Flint a nod, I link Aztec. ‘Are you ready, Aztec?'
I’m ready. We’ll follow Asher for now.
Quickly shifting into Aztec, I settle back, allowing her to take the reins and follow Asher over the border and into no-man’s-land. Our senses are on alert and I’m listening and watching through Aztec’s eyes.
We travel quickly, and as quietly as we can. Stopping when we hear something we are not sure of. Smells are hard to define, as the area has the stink of rogues all over it. Gerry’s wolf Asher is easy to follow, and now and again, I hear him speak to Aztec. He is respectful of my wolf and I’m happy to hear it. My worry was Asher may try to push Aztec around, and that’s something she won’t allow.
Asher, shall we stop and drink? I can smell water somewhere close. Aztec asks.
Yes, but be alert, drink quickly, and we move back to cover. We can rest awhile too.
After Asher and Aztec have had a drink from a stream, we take cover in a cluster of trees and shrubs. Shifting back, I lean against a tree and listen to the sounds of the night. An owl hooting in the distance, bats flying in the night air, and somewhere a howl from a wolf.
“How far do you think we have to travel now?” I ask Gerry, but keep my voice low and my senses alert.
“Two, maybe three hours. We won’t get to see the hostage area until daylight drops again. Finding somewhere to remain during daylight is going to be imperative if we are going to get in and find your pack members.”
“I think we have lost our sense of direction. Meaning myself and Aztec. I’ve been into no-man’s-land in the past, but not this deeply. It has a strange sense about it, don’t you think?”
“Yes. It’s like the place is waiting for something big to happen. I pray the Goddess is with us, and with your pack members. Being a hostage for months is not easy, and if they are held in one place, they may not be eating or exercising which isn’t going to be good for them.” Gerry leans the back of his head against the tree and closes his eyes.
“Don’t worry about that. I know my pack members will do whatever they can to maintain their bodies. They will do any exercise they can to keep up with their fitness, and are ready to take any opportunity to escape,” I sigh, but continue, “my worry is they may keep being punished for trying to escape and for not being compliant. Most of my members have come from situations they will never willingly go back into. They’d rather die than become slaves to anyone’s will.”
“I hope they will be alright Aurora. You know this will all end with a war. We can’t forever ignore what these filthy rogues are doing. They keep messing with Alpha Lyle of the Spirit Walker Pack, and he’s a good Alpha. He’s mild tempered until such a time they push too far, then he’s going to blow and he’ll storm this place and all the packs will have no choice but to follow or we’ll see a pack destroyed.” Gerry opens his eyes as he turns his head to look at me.
“I agree. One of my regrets is I couldn’t help the Blackshadow Pack when I was called. If I had done that, they threatened to kill my pack members. They already had them at that time, and I was being watched by one of them inside my pack. But he tried to rape one of the she-wolves and four pack members ganged up on him and killed him. No way could they keep their wolves under control. It became a killing frenzy. It was at that point that I threw his body over the border with a note pinned to him that if they ever put any of them over my border again, the same thing would happen. I also told them if one of my people were touched because of this rapist, I would stop all food supplies and speak to the council. It had the desired effect, but I still didn’t have my pack members back.”
“Everyone knew something was wrong, but with you closing your borders, we couldn’t find anything. Be very proud of your pack members. Not one of the patrol warriors would say a word about what was happening. Councilman Flint tried many times to get inside your pack to speak to you but had no success. Only one of the council pushed to rush your border and see what was happening.”
“Yeah, and I can guess that was Eve Planter.”
Gerry chuckles, giving me a nod of the head. “Yep, you guessed it.”
“I’ve no idea why she has this hatred for me. I’ve had nothing to do with her. I’m not going to worry about it either. It’s more than obvious to the other council members, and they keep her under control as far as my pack is concerned, so I can live with her dislike.”
Hearing rustling, we slide down and tuck ourselves behind bushes. Thankfully, there is wild mint growing. It is covering our scent and the more movement we make, the more the mint gives off its aroma.
It’s rogues. Stay still and quiet, Aztec links.
The smell hits and I flick my eyes to Gerry, who is tense and I can see he’s ready to shift if needed.
“I’m sick of all this border patrolling. It’s not even our border, let’s be honest. This is no-man’s-land. It belongs to whoever wants to live here. If we hadn’t been banished from our packs, we wouldn’t be living here in the first place.”
The voice gets quieter and quieter as they walk past and away from our position. There is more than the one person but the second one says nothing. It seems not all the rogues are happy about being a rogue, and that could be to our advantage.
The one that spoke was a new rogue. The other one smells bad. Been a rogue for a long time, Aztec informs me.
Gerry taps my arm, gaining my attention. “Let’s move. I think if we follow the stream, we may come across more cover. If we are very lucky, we may even find a tree hollowed out.”
Giving him a nod, I shift as soon as he is standing before me as Asher. Taking off, I remain behind Asher and keep my eye out behind us. Aztec is alert and I’m doing my best to listen for anything untoward.
Thirty minutes later, Aztec follows Asher into a cave. We’d moved away from the stream and toward a small range of mountains. Not quite mountains, I suppose, but large boulders that have created a natural range of rock. Within them Asher has found a cave and stepping inside it’s dry and warm.
Shifting quickly, I look at Gerry, who is checking for any wild animals that may cause us a problem. I see nothing to worry about, but it’s hardly somewhere you would stay unless you were forced.
“Everything seems secure. If we take turns resting, we’ll not get taken by surprise. I’ll take the first shift to watch. Shift to Aztec and you’ll be able to rest easier than in our human form. We need to be rested if we are going to cover the last piece of our journey quickly. We are close to where we need to be, and by the look of the terrain now, we may be lucky to be able to look down on where they are being kept.” Gerry squats near the entrance and I can see he’s using Asher’s senses as his eyes have a glow to them.
“Wake me for my turn, Gerry. I’m a light sleeper, and I don’t sleep many hours, even at my best.” I shift to Aztec and after walking in circles for a moment, she flops down and tucks her nose under her tail, closing her eyes after exhaling a large breath.
While Aztec is resting I’m still listening for anything untoward. But I don’t think it’s too long before my eyes close and I sleep too.
“Aurora, wake up. Take your turn now. My eyes are tired and Asher needs a break,” Gerry murmurs, still keeping his voice low.
Waking easily, I shift to myself and give Gerry a head nod. “I’ll start watch and Aztec will take over a bit later, but she’ll lend me her senses, as you have with Asher.”
Shifting to Asher, he quickly settles and closes his eyes. Taking a step toward the opening of the cave, I sit cross-legged and let my senses open to the surrounding area. I have done this so many times that I can do it with my eyes closed and visualize what I am hearing.
Hearing Asher stirring, I know it’s nearly time to move again. We’ve rested throughout the day. Now evening has arrived we need to make a move. But we may need to find a rabbit or two because both mine and Gerry’s stomach growl. I grin at Gerry and mumble, “We’ll let the enemy know we’re coming if this keeps happening.”
“Come on, let’s find something on the way.” Gerry is grinning broadly as we both shift into our wolves and start the last leg of this journey.