Chapter 6
“This is a really bad idea.” Urgency sharpened Paul’s warning. “If he shifts, we’re screwed.”
“He won’t shift.” Nate looked at the other beta impatiently, but walked on through the forest. His steps were quick and purposeful. They had a long way to go before nightfall. “The collar is effective. I know from experience.”
Paul’s expression was lost in late afternoon shadows, but bitterness hardened his words. “Your captors collared you?”
“Repeatedly,” Nate admitted, refusing to let the memories intrude. “I’ve never been good at following orders, especially when I disagree with them.”
“But you agree with this?” Hayes asked as he tromped along on Nate’s right.
“We need information. Unlike Elias, Alex assesses each situation before he acts. I agree with the approach.” Their mission required stealth and speed as opposed to brute strength, so Alex had ordered Nate to take the lead.
“How do you know some random guard is going to have accurate intel?” Hayes persisted.
Nate frequently teamed up with Paul on missions, but he didn’t know Hayes as well.
Paul was Drake’s beta, so Nate knew he could trust him.
Hayes was linked with Caden, which made Nate uneasy.
Still, the beta’s concern about his alpha’s behavior helped lessen Nate’s misgivings.
Besides, secrecy was only important until the task was complete.
Once they had the cat, it didn’t matter who Hayes told.
“We need to know where the females are kept and everything that’s being done to protect them.
Any perimeter guard will be able to tell us that. ”
Paul and Hayes exchanged uncertain looks, but all Paul said was, “I hope you’re right.”
In human form it took three hours to reach the feline village.
The underground tunnels cut the time in half, and running through the passageways in wolf form would get them to their destination in around forty minutes.
The cats kept finding the entrances to the tunnels, but the network of passageways was more extensive than the other hybrid clans realized.
Soko controlled the entire network, which was the primary reason Alex had sought out an alliance with the exotics.
Nate spotted a uniquely shaped tree on the right side of the forest trail.
The entrances were virtually impossible to find without the map Soko had given Alex as part of their original agreement.
Nate pressed his hand against the trunk and scanner beams swept over the surface of his palm.
His code deactivated the camouflage shielding and authorized his palm scan for the rest of the checkpoints.
The illusion wavered and then disintegrated, revealing a narrow hatchway. Nate motioned the others inside, then climbed down the ladder and reactivated the shields with another palm scan. “We need to move.”
The betas quickly undressed, knowing a stash of clothes was kept at the other end of the tunnels.
“What the hell happened last night?” Hayes asked as he tugged off his boots. “Why did Alex change his mind about attacking Eagle Village?”
Nate glanced at Paul to see if he shared Hayes’ disapproval, but shadows still hid his expression.
“Alex didn’t change his mind,” Nate said firmly.
“He never had any intention of attacking Eagle Village. The other alphas were wound up. They needed an outlet for their frustration. Alex figured that marching them up the hill would settle them down.”
Paul chuckled. “I had a CO in the PDF that pulled shit like that all the time.”
The PDF was the Planetary Defense Force and CO meant commanding officer. It had been so long since Nate used military acronyms that they sounded alien to him. “The cats are the real enemy,” he stressed. “They control the females. It just makes sense to remain focused on them.”
“I agree,” Paul said. “And so does Drake.”
“Well, Caden is pissed.” Hayes concluded with a grumbling, “And I don’t know what to think.”
They released their wolves and took off running.
Motion triggered the lights in each section as the wolves approached, but being unable to see well ahead was disconcerting.
Nate was more familiar with this section of the tunnels, so he surged into the lead.
The sooner they completed the task, the sooner he could return to Luna, and he’d been too busy the last few days to spend any time with her.
They reached their destination and shifted back into their human forms. A large wooden crate had been placed to one side of a ladder leading up to the hatchway.
Nate grabbed the first pair of pants he found and tugged them on.
The others quickly found garments as well.
Boots took a little more time, but soon all three were fully dressed and ready for the mission.
Nate climbed the ladder and triggered the doorway with his hand.
Twilight shadows had deepened, but it wasn’t fully dark.
They moved through the trees soundlessly, approaching the feline village from the west. The front entrance was a good distance away, but guards regularly made perimeter sweeps of the entire village.
So the three betas concealed themselves at the edge of the forest and simply waited for their prey.
Nearly an hour passed as they watched and waited.
Nate visually swept the area, but he also scanned with his mind.
Often strong emotions would alert him before he heard or saw anyone.
He stubbornly focused on the scene before him, but Luna’s image teased his imagination.
He was anxious to get back to her, more than ready to see her smile and kiss her sassy mouth.
She was captivating, so spirited and intelligent.
She regularly challenged both him and Alex, yet she knew when to back down.
Or at least she was starting to recognize which fights were worth fighting and which she should just let go.
Nate’s wolf surged closer to the surface. He always grew restless and eager when Nate thought about Luna.
Mate, the wolf howled. Claim mate.
Soon. We’ll claim her soon.
Paul nudged Nate, drawing his attention back to the present.
One of the guards had just rounded the corner and was walking steadily toward them. Nate held up his hand, indicating that the others should wait. The guard approached, weapon still strapped to his thigh.
Hayes, grab his blaster. Paul, keep him quiet. Nate sent the orders across their telepathic link then sprinted toward the unsuspecting cat.
The betas swarmed the feline guard, each focused on their assignment.
Nate wrapped the suppression collar around the guard’s neck and quickly secured the device with a thumb scan.
Hayes snatched the blaster off the cat’s leg and quickly changed the setting to stun.
Paul wrapped one arm around the struggling cat while clasping the other hand over his mouth.
The cat yelled, twisted, and jerked against the arm restraining him.
Through it all Paul managed to keep him quiet.
A well-aimed pulse rendered the cat unconscious, and he slumped, nearly dragging Paul to the ground with the weight of his big body.
Nate rushed forward and wedged his shoulder into the cat’s armpit.
Paul did the same and they dragged their captive into the forest. Working with silent efficiency, they bound his hands and feet in magnetic restraints.
Finally, Nate gagged the cat. They would not risk detection if the cat woke up screaming.
The ankle cuffs had a connecting cable that would allow him to walk once the cat regained consciousness.
Until then, the betas would have to drag/carry him.
Heaving their uncooperative burden back to his feet, Nate and Paul hooked their arms under his and started walking.
The cat was taller than they were, so his feet dragged across the ground.
Hayes disrupted the grooves created by his feet, minimizing the chances that the cats could follow their trail.
Nate and Paul were panting heavily by the time they reached the entrance to the tunnels. Hayes switched places with Nate so he could trigger the hatch, then all three worked together to lower their captive down into the passageway. Nate closed the hatch and reactivated the camouflage.
“That was fun,” Paul said in between harsh pants.
They took a few moments to catch their breath and then drew the cat back to his feet. He groaned, tugged against their hold on his arms, and then recovered enough to open his eyes.
His protests and cries for help were muffled by the gag, and the restraints hampered his struggles. His face turned red and fury blazed in his dark eyes.
Nate grabbed the back of the cat’s hair and twisted until the cat looked at him. “Settle down and walk. Your struggles are a waste of energy.”
“Fuck! You!” Though distorted by the gag, the response was hard to misunderstand.
Rather than reacting to the outburst, Nate simply grabbed the cat’s upper arm and drew him along the tunnel. The cat took four reluctant steps and then dug in his heels. Paul returned to the cat’s other side, and they propelled him forward with a combination of shoves, pulls, and carries.
It took three and a half hours to reach the lupine village, and the cat fought them every step of the way. Nate was ready to knock the fool out and tell Alex where to find him.
“We should have knocked him senseless again,” Paul echoed Nate’s conclusion. “It would have been easier to drag him the entire way.”
The cat sneered at them but didn’t attempt to speak.
They reached the ladder at the other end of the passageway and Nate deactivated the shield. Hayes climbed out first.
“Your turn,” Nate told the cat.
With a mutinous glare, the cat sat down.
“I don’t have the patience for this bullshit,” Nate sneered. “I’ll be right back.”
Paul drew the blaster and pointed it at the cat as Nate climbed up the ladder. Using the telepathic link he shared with Alex, Nate pinged the alpha’s mind.
Do you have the cat? Alex responded.