Chapter 6
AURORA
“There is no cover, so we’re going to need to be covering our scent and getting into the trees. We don’t have an option, and we are going to need our wolves to be extra vigilant or we could end up caught along with your pack members,” Gerry mumbles, making sure his voice is as low as possible.
‘Do you understand how important this is, Aztec?’
I will be alert. Asher is ready, too. Aztec growls in the back of my mind.
‘If we cannot get our pack out, we find enough information to take back and make a plan for rescue. We are not waiting any longer.’
I agree, pack have been hostages too long. I feel Aztec settle back in my mind, but she’s alert and ready.
“I’m ready, Gerry. Let’s hit the stream, shall we?”
Grinning, Gerry shakes his head, and I can see he’d like to laugh at my non-eagerness to mask our scent, but he holds it back.
After we wait a while for nightfall to descend, we quietly edge to the stream where we cover ourselves in mud. Masking our scent before making our way to the forest of trees surrounding the rogues’ camp. I’m hoping the camp is still there because we’ve seen hardly any rogues in quite some time. Whenever we have seen them they are whining about their misfortune, their Luna, whoever that is, and the harshness of their Alpha.
Quietly climbing a tree, with Gerry below, making sure no-one detects me, I get ready to cause a distraction if needed. Luckily, we use stealth techniques with our warriors and climbing trees is one of them.
I’m as high as I dare climb because the branches are now much thinner and more likely to snap under my weight. I give Gerry a low whine, which is our signal that I’m where I’m going to settle.
Watching Gerry climb the tree next to mine has my eyes straining. It’s dark enough to give some cover, but the moon is out tonight and gives me the opportunity to watch Gerry scoot up the tree like he’s been doing it since birth. I have never, and I mean never, seen anything like it. I thought Wallace climbed fast, but Gerry makes him look like he’s crawling.
Leaning on the trunk of the tree, my legs dangling from each side of the thick branch, I rest my head back and close my eyes. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow. Staying undetected but gathering as much information as we can from whatever we can see from our vantage point.
“I’m sick of patrolling. We seem to do nothing but walk around the border. Since the Alpha killed twelve of the border patrol for falling asleep on the job, he’s had to give a different patrol rotation.”
I try to look down through the branches but cannot see who it is speaking. One of the rogues stinks so badly I can smell him even high-up in the tree.
A second voice, “That bitch he calls his Luna needs getting rid of, and the hostage he wants to make his Luna is more fitting. But he’s going to have to break her to make her conform to the idea.”
My face shoots around to look at Gerry and he gives me a hard look, letting me know that he had heard, too. If it’s Wren, Rue or Wynona, they will fight him until death, none of the three will agree to something like that. They would rather die as would I in that situation.
“She’s a beauty that’s for sure, and her showing that the Luna is weak was a good move, until it got the Alpha’s attention…Oh, by the way did you see that big alpha they brought into camp, it’s a good job they injected him fast…” The first voice states as it gets quieter as they walk away.
I once again lean my head against the trunk of the tree and feel for the first time that I don’t want to be the Alpha of the pack once this is over and done. My time is done, and I may move to the Northern Parklands to find a quiet place to live out my life. I heard humans say this is like being a cat lady, and I’ve only ever seen one pet cat, but I could live with one if it could live with Aztec!
I’ll eat it and spit it out when I’m done. Aztec says in the back of my mind, and I can’t help the grin that crosses my face imagining Aztec chasing a pet cat around a home.
Gradually, the darkness turns to the early morning light, and rogues appear more frequently. It’s been quiet throughout the night and only a few have been passing underneath us, but what was noticeable is the way they speak with discontentment.
My stomach rolls a little and I hope it doesn’t make any loud noises. We had a couple of rabbits each on the way to this position, but if Flint’s comment about Gerry always being hungry and eating mountains of food is true, then he’s got to be ready for his next meal!
Hearing a voice, I think I recognize, I pull myself onto my knees and grip the branch so I can get as low as possible to hear what is being said and validate my suspicion.
“Why her? Why couldn’t he want me as his Luna. I’m sick of being the one out in the cold, even though I do as I’m told.”
“I don’t know Izzy. It makes me wonder if we did the right thing coming here. I’ve been here months and got landed with that rogue who took a fancy to me. I can’t stand him, yet the Alpha made me be his chosen mate.” Another voice states, and I look again at Gerry, who is listening the same as me.
“Come on, Charisse, we have to find wild onions because that bitch Aurora didn’t give any in the food this time.”
“I’ve never met Alpha Aurora, but Izzy, I’ve heard good things about her and the pack. I know you didn’t like her, but you are about the only one I’ve heard say bad things about her…” Hearing a slap, I look down again, trying to see what’s happening. “Don’t slap me Izzy or you’ll find I’m quite happy to slap you back and I was a warrior before I came here.”
Within minutes, all is quiet again around the trees, but I can see the camp and people starting to do what you have to consider are daily chores.
Standing on the branch, I grasp one just above to keep my balance, and watch as large cauldrons are placed over two fires. They light the fires and throw ingredients from the food I provided, along with buckets of water. No meat is thrown into the cauldron, and that surprises me, as we are in a forested area, for hundreds of miles towards the Eastern Parklands. There have to be an enormous number of deer and other animals that could be caught to survive on. Seems they are lazy and willing to eat vegetables which won’t be good for their wolves if that’s all they are eating, if they even have wolves anymore.
Watching, a stream of she-wolves being led from a brick building by what are obviously guards. It is not a well-built building, I notice, but probably too strong to break into.
Allowing Aztec to come forward somewhat so we can use her heightened senses we hear, before we see, my pack of females.
“You touch me with your filthy hands and I’ll rip them off and shove them up your ass.” That is Rue’s voice, and I can’t help but smirk. More than a little relieved she is not broken with the time she’s been held.
“Yeah, you tell him, filthy pig, he’s been rubbing his dick while he’s been looking at you,” Paige snarls, and she’s not a whimpering mess either, so I have hope they can help when it’s time to break out of here.
“You okay, Rue?” None other than Voss shouts. I see him, Rico, Fergus and Randall all saunter out of another brick building but with their hands tied together. That has me grinning because nothing like that will keep these males tied down. They can get out of them easily.
No wolves! Aztec gasps.
‘What?’
I cannot link them. Their wolves are not answering. They have either given them wolfsbane, or their wolves are dead.
‘No, don’t say that, Aztec. I can’t live with it if they have lost their wolves.’
Hearing rustling, I look down, and Gerry is climbing up to me. “I can sense your panic. Calm, or others will feel it. What’s wrong?”
We settle back so our weight is next to the trunk where the branch is thickest. I take some large breaths, calming myself as the last thing we need is me giving our position away.
“Aztec cannot contact their wolves.” I whisper.
Gerry closes his eyes, and after a moment or two, looks at me. “They have put wolfsbane in the food. Their wolves will be unconscious, but we need to get them out sooner now we know this. I’m too far from Councilman Flint to link him, but as soon as we are close enough, I will inform him.”
A scuffle breaks out in the camp and I watch as Randall throws a two-handed punch at one of the guards. Voss tackles another and Rico is laughing alongside Fergus. My eyes can hardly believe what we are seeing. They are fighting for no reason other than causing trouble.
When I hear Borose shout, “Hey, Fragina…”
A she-wolf turns to look at Borose and gives a filthy look, but surprises me with no growl or other type of wolf's response.
No wolf! Aztec informs me, and I give a half-grin at that information.
Borose continues, “You want to have a go at me, bitch? Well now is the time, while your so-called-Alpha isn’t around.”
I’ve never seen Borose push like this, and it is showing me a different side of her. One that I didn’t know she had. But this she-wolf Fragina is the Luna that we’ve heard of, and it’s a name I can report back.
“Of course she won’t mess with you, she has no wolf, and she’s no Luna.” Jinny cackles, and she does it sounding like a witch. They all seem to act out of character, but I have to admit it’s amusing.
“Wren, give her one of your growls, you know the one you can do without your wolf.” Jinny shouts.
A growl rips through the air, and some of the so-called guards take a step back. My males are all fighting, or more like pretending to fight because they’ve not even snapped the bindings on their wrists. They are using their arms, as taught, and bringing down the guards one-by-one. Well, until I see a huge rogue walk up and hit them one after another with a club.
Wren sounds a snarl so loud it rocks everyone in the camp. My she-wolves launch themselves forward and mayhem ensues. There is fighting everywhere. All the hostages are doing their best to take down every rogue, but as fast as they take one down, another appears from nowhere.
“STOP!!!!!”
My eyes flick to the large alpha male that walks into the camp. When everyone has stopped fighting, I see my four males down, and others held hostage unconscious on the ground. Paige is holding her head and Rue is rubbing her cheek. Seems those two took a fist and are feeling the effect slightly.
“Get everyone under control, get them back to their cells. They won’t be eating for the next two days.” The Alpha walks over to Fragina, who is cowering behind the cauldron, looking more than a little pathetic for the Luna of the pack. “You and I are no longer involved. You will be an omega to the pack from this moment.”
“NOOOO!!” Fragina screams, as she stamps her foot like a child.
The alpha backhands Fragina so hard she spins on the spot before falling to the ground unconscious. I gasp, and it must be loud because the Alpha turns and studies the area. Looking for the source of that gasp I'm sure.
Gerry places a hand over my mouth and whispers in my ear. “Be calm, or he’ll sense you.”
Closing my eyes, I calm my aura. It takes a moment or two, but as I’ve practiced this many times, I can do it far faster than is classed as normal.
“Tomorrow we will have a mating ceremony, and you…” the alpha points at Wynona, “will be my mate.”
I jump from the tree and shift into Aztec. Before we hit the ground, she rolls to lessen the force. ‘I will do what I can Aurora, but they may put me to sleep.’
I can’t allow this to happen, Aztec. But don’t leave me by dying. If they make you unconscious, I will see you again as quickly as I can.
I shift back and storm toward the camp without waiting for Gerry to decide what he should do. I rush into the camp and point at the Alpha male. “You will NOT touch my females.”
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
“You have just met your worst nightmare,” I reply calmly, throwing my arm up to make it look like I’m saying hello to my pack members, but in reality, I’m telling Gerry to get away while he can.