Mate Massacres

Chapter 55

Krey had never seen a sweeter sight, well, other than Pip, of course.

"Krey, are you hurt bad?" Makena asked, resting a hand on top of his head, in between his black ear and brown ear.

Krey made a low noise and lifted his head to lick her hand, telling her he was okay.

Makena crouched and cupped his face, gripping his fury cheeks. She looked at the scratches on his face, then stared deeply into his red eyes. "Is Pip safe?"

Francis and Sid hurried to them before Krey could try to answer.

"Pip and Mark got away." Francis had a bloody hand on her heart, trying to catch her breath. Her black jumper was covered in holes and blood soaked the top underneath. She wasn't seriously injured, but not unscathed. "They were seen climbing out of a window. I don't know where they went. Alpha, I-"

Krey growled lowly to quiet her. If Pip had run off with Mark, he was basically on his own. Mark would abandon him at any given opportunity. Krey had to find Pip before other wolves did or before Mark pushed Pip into their ravenous paws.

"Go find him," Makena said, still looking into his eyes. Krey's wolf was a lot like his father's wolf, they had the same brown fur with black patches and one brown ear and on black ear and red glowing eyes. "Take Francis and Sid. I'll stay and figure out what the hell is going on."

Krey nodded once, flopping his ears forward. As he padded towards the centre of the room, other howls echoed from outside the building. The fight wasn't over. He turned back to Sid and Francis who crouched and started shifting to their wolf forms. If More southern wolves arrived for round 2, Krey might be stuck fighting for hours.

In the cold and the dark, Pip might not have hours.

Krey made a flash decision and ran when Francis and Sid were mid-shift. He wanted them to stay with his mother. By not waiting for them, Francis would know that he didn't want them to follow, and he couldn't afford to be dragged into another fight.

Krey would draw less attention to himself if he was alone, and he was one of the fastest wolves in the North and would be quicker by himself. He didn't slow down as he pelted from the exit. He jumped down the steps and down the pebbled road towards the gate. No wolves chased after Krey, and he was doubting that the wolves had come for him or his mother. If southern wolves planned the attack, someone he knew would be dead already. They were vicious fighters and arranged cunning plans, like sending humans into a Packhouse to avenge the death of their Alpha's mate.

As Krey approached the gate, he looked back to the building. All seemed quiet and calm from the outside. Now that his pack had arrived, he had every faith that the rest of the southern wolves would admit defeat.

He sniffed at the air and turned back to the broken gate. Krey's heart suddenly exploded when a breeze whistled his way.

He could smell Pip.

Krey backed up and jumped over the bent and broken poles. A burgundy blazer was stuck to a snapped pole. Krey sniffed it, smelling his mate's sweet scent all over it. He whined and followed the footprints in the snow leading further into the woods.

Snow had already started to fall. If he was going to follow the footprints, he would have to be quick. Krey took one last look around and silently prowled into the darkness.

He had only passed a handful of trees before he smelt his mate again. Krey sniffed around a tree trunk. Pip had smeared his scent on the bark. Krey pressed on. He smelt Pip's scent on another tree, and another. Where gaps spaced between trees, Pip's scent was on leaves of bushes or twigs scattered in the snow.

If Krey was in his human form, he might have cracked a smile. Pippor, my clever human. Two tracks were in the snow and Krey didn't smell Mark at all, which meant that Pip had purposefully rubbed his scent on everything for Krey to follow him.

Krey only hoped that other wolves hadn't found his scent curious and followed it too. Nobody knew Pip's scent belonged to Krey. He was now thankful he kept his mate a secret. Though after tonight, Pip's smell would be familiar to southern wolves, and the news would spread from pack to pack that Krey's mate was a little human.

They'll think he's easy to catch, Krey thought as he followed Pip's scent deeper into the woods. Krey didn't doubt that Pip would somehow find a way to out-smart wolves. Pip was shy, but quizzical and thoughtful and spent his time observing people when he wasn't speaking.

When Shadow Packhouse was a big light in the distance, Krey started to sprint through the snow. Pip and Mark's tracks were still visible, but the snow was now falling heavier. Half an hour of thick white flakes, Krey would only have Pip's scent to follow.

The longer he ran, the more he noticed how Pip and Mark's footprints were in sync. They had moved through the woods together and kept the same pace. Krey knew Pip was faster than Mark. He had proven that many times when Mark chased him through the woods.

Krey slowed to sniff a tree stump. Pip's scent was on it, he couldn't mistake the sweetness. But as he sniffed, he started to smell something other than the earth and the cold.

Another wolf was nearby.

Krey lifted his head just in time to see glowing silver eyes in the distance. Krey's hackles were up at once, but as the wolf grew closer, the smell was more familiar to him, in a good way.

The black wolf soon emerged from the shadows, looking like a shadow itself, apart from the glowing eyes and the wolf's breath, like a white flame twisting from its open panting mouth.

Krey quietly approached the wolf and greeted her with a little nose-nudge.

Victoria greeted him back by softly licking the cuts on his face.

Krey stared into her swirling silver eyes. Worry twisted around his cousin's pupils. Krey guessed someone told her that Mark and Pip were seen escaping together.

They looked in the direction of their mate's footprints fading into the darkness and hoped that only two sets of footprints remained, and that they reached their humans before anyone else.