The Scarlet Hunter

Chapter 38-2

Damon met the maid in the Alpha Hallway. He had done what he could to hide his scent and sight from Alec when the main door opened. Making small talk with Becky meant that a passerby would assume that the two of them were heading in the same direction. Otherwise, it would look like Damon was escorting a janitorial cart through the packhouse. The maid was trusted, but Isla was not to be without one of the four from the inner circle at any time.

After getting to a secure location near the dumpsters, Damon tapped on the cubby giving the cue for Isla to roll out. When she emerged, her intense posture was familiar to him from their training and patrolling together. She had taken a position to defend herself against him if necessary. Damon kept his tall form at ease and available for her inspection. Her eyes softened at the edges upon recognition of her patrol partner, but her body stayed tense. After smiling a thank you to the maid, Isla shifted back to their mission. The duo quickly and silently made their way undetected to the garage and awaiting bikes.

Jax's riding leathers had been stuffed to give Isla a masculine look. There would be several decoys heading out the next couple of days. The security staff was informed that these riders were decoys to provide confusion and distraction.

In the privacy of the garage, Isla silently smiled at Damon. She slid on her holster, the padded leathers, boots, helmet, and placed her gloves on the gas tank. She stuffed her throwing knives into a backpack and slid it on before she started her bike and pulled on her gloves. Damon took the lead, and they rolled out, heading towards the checkpoint. Damon linked gate security with his access code. Jax jumped in, pretending to be the second rider to provide a second code for Isla.

On the road, Damon and Isla shared small talk. She would be spending the next few days with him and Galan. The plan was that everyone would believe she was at the Northern Territory. Therefore, she was protected by secrecy, not force. Although she would have Damon and Galan with her if force was needed.

It was already dark as they turned onto Clandestine Road towards the checkpoint. Damon gave the team his decoy code, and Galan jumped in to provide a code for Isla like Jax did when they left the Northern Territory. Once parked in the garage, Isla stripped. She stuffed her personal clothes into a bag and the riding suit into a cubby, locking it. If anyone found Jax's altered leathers, they would know something was off. She shifted, and her red wolf grabbed the bag of clothes in her mouth. Once outside, she found the large gray wolf with violet eyes waiting for her.

"I need to apologize right now. Kade has never seen you in wolf form and is about to embarrass me, much like how Galan's wolf embarrasses him." Damon told Isla over the link when the gray wolf dropped his upper body to the ground and wagged his tail from his elevated butt. He lifted his head and yelped, then darted side to side before rolling onto his back and shimmying up to be under her face. "Oh my goddess, Kade, I'm going to take over if you don't fucking stop this!"

There were a couple whines and sneezes before Isla came through the link, "Well, here comes Kara." The red wolf lifted her lip into a snarl and growled. Kade took this as a good sign and started reaching up to lick her jaw. Kara sneezed at him and took a couple steps back.

"We gotta go, Kade. I'm taking over." Isla watched the wolf's eyes change from violet to a bright blue, and the large canine settled down. Moving a little sloppy, but still decent. "If you can leave Kara in charge, you have a better chance of going undetected since no one is familiar with your wolf's smell."

"Kara's got this." Isla linked back, and they took off trotting. Damon was not as coordinated since he had taken control from Kade but wasn't bad.

Damon linked to the patrols and included Isla in the communication, "Heading to my place from the Central Territory. I've got a full moon date."

"That'll keep them from suspecting the second scent with me," Damon told Isla. "Galan is on his way to my place as well. He'll meet us there."

Isla wished the circumstances were different so she could enjoy their night run more. The air was cooling her ears, and her paws loved the dampness of the dark forest floor. The smells of redwoods and ferns comforted her while she followed the gray wolf up a hill. A small house, ideally situated, quiet and alone, appeared before them. The south-facing porch opened towards a treeline with overgrown grass surrounding, not encroaching onto the structure. A two-track dirt road approached the dwelling from the side, which Isla could already hear Galan's truck driving down.

"I didn't get a chance to prepare for you, so please go in and rummage through my drawers if you want clean clothes. You'll find shorts in the bottom drawer and tank tops and shirts in the middle drawer. You can also help yourself to a shower."

Isla packed light, shoving a few pairs of underwear into her pockets when she left, but otherwise only having the clothes she wore when she snuck out in the cart. Leggings, a sports bra, and a tank top would be her uniform for the next couple of days unless she borrowed something from Damon. Her cheeks warmed at the thought.

The red wolf nodded and ran to the door, unable to open it in her current form. She heard bones breaking, and a human hand reached over, twisting the doorknob. She was very aware of a naked Damon standing right next to her but kept her eyes trained on the door and then on her path to the bedroom, where she was able to close the door and shift.

Damon was standing on the porch in all his naked glory when he heard a whistle. He turned to see Galan sauntering up. "You're starting a little early, aren't you?" The long-haired warrior snickered at him and tossed over a beer.

"Thanks for coming by and helping." Damon nodded back. "I told the patrol that I had a date, by the way."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time we shared on a full moon," Galan chuckled. "Besides, this is a dream assignment." They heard the shower start. "See what I mean?" Galan pulled from his bottle.

Damon went in and got dressed while Galan brought in food for the next few days. He was putting away the groceries in the kitchen when Isla walked out of the bathroom. Even though she used the same soap as Damon would, it still smelled more girly when she walked out of the shower.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it to your warrior tattoo celebration. I hear it was a good one," Galan offered as he pulled his head out of the fridge and looked over at her. "Mind if I see it?"

"Sure," Isla responded and pulled down her straps, revealing the crossed arrows.

Galan's usual jovial features lit up even more. "It is beautiful, Isla. A fantastic warrior tattoo."

"Thank you," Isla glowed back at him.

"Are you hungry? I can whip up a sandwich."

"Thank you." Isla nodded, returning her strap and sitting at the table next to the kitchen. She watched the massive male with a man bun make his way around the kitchen with such ease that he must already be familiar with it. She tilted her head, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Jason Mamoa?"

Galan laughed, "Yeah, it's a thing. I think it's the hair and incredibly good looks." He started spreading mayonnaise on a slice of bread. "How was the ride?"

The conversation flowed surprisingly easy given that this was the first time Isla had spoken to Galan outside of patrol duties. Isla washed her dish after she was done and joined him on the couch watching TV. By the time Damon emerged, Isla was passed out.

"Must have been a long day." Galan nodded at Isla.

Damon grunted and sat down on Galan's other side, promptly falling asleep as well.

"You two make the worst full moon dates ever," Galan exclaimed to no one. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and watched TV between two passed-out wolves. "Well, I guess I got the rounds on the first night."