Land of Wolves

Chapter 85

Everything is chaos.

The marked humans scream on one side of the room, and Sash and I rush to set up cots on the other. Too much is happening in the pack and at the border to transport them to Caleb's pack tonight as planned, so they'll have to spend the night here.

It's not ideal, and the infants have thrown an even larger wrench into our plans. Who knows when it will be safe enough to transport them. They'll all need complete exams to ensure they're healthy, and our vehicles aren't equipped to transport infants.

I don't even want to think about how the warriors are doing it now. I know for a fact they didn't travel with car seats, and I have a feeling they're probably cradling the infants to their sweaty, bloody chests. It's the only way to ensure they don't get jostled and hurt their necks.

I glance at the clock, checking the time.

Caleb rushed out of here with the promise he'd return when King and the infants arrived, and that should be any minute now.

The remainder of Everett's warriors returned a few hours ago, along with the eleven additional humans they managed to rescue. I thought the first batch of humans that arrived was loud and hectic, but things reached levels I didn't even realize were possible when the second came.

I'm pretty sure my ears are going to explode, and I don't even want to imagine how the wolves are holding up. Their hearing is so sensitive.

Still, nineteen is a good number, and I'm beyond pleased with how many humans Everett rescued. It sounds like King lost several adults due to the wolves prioritizing the infants.

Eleven infants were rescued, so I knew there must have been at least that number of adults in the facility at some point, but only three made it out alive.

"I'm going to stay behind with the humans," Sash says, smoothly pulling open another cot.

The damn things are nearly impossible to pry open, but Sash is doing it easily. I'll probably be embarrassed about my struggle when I have time to sit back and relax later. The wolves love to make jokes about how weak they find me, and this is undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

"Are you sure?" I ask Sash.

I thought she'd want to see the infants.

She sets the cot on the ground before reaching for mine. I hand it over with a huff, my face warming as I turn and grab the bag of pillows instead. Ripping it open, I pull one out and drop it onto the cot Sash just opened.

Two other women are making their way down the row with blankets and sheets, so they'll make the makeshift bed pretty once they get down here.

"I can hear fighting outside the doors," Sash admits, glancing at them. "Unmated wolves are swarming, and I have a feeling they'll fight to get inside if they get word that both of us are gone. They're desperate to know if one of the humans could be their mate, and they lack patience."

I turn toward the doors, my heart racing. Both are firmly shut, and four wolves stand guard directly in front of them. We're already on thin ice with the humans, and only negative will come from wolves forcing their way in here and pawing at them.

We already know one wolf has found his mate, and I'm sure that's served as encouragement for the other unmated ones.

Sash huffs and returns to opening the cots, but I continue to stare at the doors. What is she hearing out there? I thought the wolves would scamper after Caleb so roughly dragged the one warrior out, but it seems their fear of angering their Alpha is less than their desire to find their mate.

I shouldn't be nearly as surprised as I am.

They'll happily risk being stripped of their title if it means they have the potential to find their mate. It probably wouldn't take them too long to earn it back, a year at most. I suppose, to them, it's an easy decision.