Land of Wolves

Chapter 82

Caleb's on the phone the entire drive. He switches between talking with Adam, who's still at the safe house, and Cole, who's been tasked with keeping everything running while Caleb focuses his efforts on HPAW.

I sit quietly in the passenger's seat and listen to the conversations, desperate to take everything in.

It feels like most conversations go over my head, Caleb discussing intricacies and plans I'm not privy to, but I know I just need time. This is all new to me, and learning about Caleb's work in the middle of a fight against HPAW isn't precisely the best time.

Caleb doesn't have time to explain anything to me, not that I fault him. I wouldn't either if I were him.

"King's men are in," Adam says, his voice deceptively calm.

He's been keeping Caleb updated on the progress of the rescue missions. The last unit reached the furthest facility thirty minutes ago, and after some coordination with the few wolves who HPAW employs, the units have gone inside.

Two of the facilities are fortunate enough to have wolves stationed by a back entrance and the front gates, giving the wolves easy access, but the third isn't so lucky. King's men will need to find a back way in, making the rescue more time-consuming and complicated than we'd like.

Caleb was able to secure sewage blueprints, and the unit will have to travel underground through an unused sewage canal until reaching a manhole just inside the HPAW gates.

There's a high likelihood they'll be caught during their transition from the manhole to the facility, but if they move quickly, they should be able to get inside before HPAW sounds the alarm.

"Good. Keep me updated," Caleb says, speeding up the car.

We're the only ones on the road, typical in the wolf lands, so Caleb's been setting the speed limit by his heart. Thankfully the snow has just about melted, leaving the roads clear and easy to drive on.

I'm surprised Caleb didn't want to shift and run with Sash and Maverick to the pack, but I have a feeling it has something to do with remaining near me. He felt safe separating inside his pack, but it's clear he's anxious about being apart outside of it.

I don't blame him, and I'm secretly glad he decided to drive me despite the risk.

It would be easy for HPAW to spot him through the windshield, especially when we're the only car for miles.

Adam ends the call, and I slowly reach across the center console and take Caleb's hand. He doesn't hesitate to flip his wrist and clasp his fingers around mine, and I give him a tight squeeze as I scan the sky for anything that looks out of place.

HPAW loves their drones, and they're good at disguising them.

"We're almost there," Caleb promises. "About twenty minutes out."

He speeds up even further. He wanted to be at the pack by the time the wolves entered the facility, and I know it puts him on edge to have to rely on phone calls to know what's going on.

At this point, though, it's just a lot of waiting.

There's no way to communicate with the wolves once they're inside, the drastic change in their size and shape between their human and wolf forms making it impossible to carry any devices. It's terrifying knowing they're inside the facility but having no idea what's going on, but I hope it doesn't take too long for them to find the marked humans and get out.

It would be helpful if the humans were all kept in the same place, but HPAW's insistence on keeping them separate and unaware of one another makes that impossible. The wolves will have to split into small groups inside the facility, which is never ideal.