Zayn charged behind the Omega's who continued their way through the open gate, down the long path and into Zayn's Packhouse. Zayn waited by the gate while other packs quickly crowded the back of the huge building.
Zayn wanted to be one of the first to attack the Southern wolves, but his Omega's formed a neat half-moon shape around him.
When the first set of Omega wolves charged bravely into the building, Zayn listened.
All the wolves by the gate sat still, staring eagerly at the house in the distance. They waited for a second howl for backup. The howl never came.
Zayn was first to edge forward through the gate.
He sniffed the air, taking calm and collected steps down the gravel path.
Suddenly, a wolf bolted from the doors. Zayn's hackles were up in seconds. Then another wolf appeared, and another and another. They were enemy wolves, and Zayn had the pleasure of breaking through his Omega wolves and running as fast as he could, He collided with the other wolf at full speed and slashed his claws across its face, then sank his teeth into its neck.
Warm blood filled Zayn's mouth. He let it drip down his fur and dove on the next wolf. Other Alpha wolves seemed to enjoy themselves as much as him while joining him in the fight.
As the enemy body count rose higher and higher, revenge didn't taste sweet. Revenged tasted of copper blood and musty wolf scents and dirty fur.
Zayn glanced behind him to see his mother, Harry, and Junes' mate standing together by the gate. Zayn could tell by the hard look on his mother's face that she wanted to fight. Solana wanted to avenge Xavier's death. So Zayn avenged his father for her and killed as many southern wolves as he could manage.
Zayn was nothing short of savage as he flung scrawny Southern wolves into the mouths of other Northern wolves. Zayn's huge black and brown wolf intimidated the others. His red eyes were terrifying even in daylight. When Zayn growled, he looked like a monster of nightmares, especially with blood dripping from his mouth.
A white wolf was the last wolf to run from the building. The wolf was big, but not an Alpha. Zayn hoped the Omega wolves had captured the Alpha and saved him for Zayn and his mother to kill.
The other Alpha wolves stood back and watched as Zayn galloped towards the big white wolf. Zayn and the enemy rose on their back legs and their front paws slashed. Zayn bit the side of the wolf's face and it whimpered in pain. The white wolf tried to slash Zayn's side, but his fur was too thick and barely scraped the skin underneath.
Zayn sank his large black claws into the enemy's neck. Red blood soaked white fur. Zayn was strong enough for his claws to push far into the wolf's neck, and the white wolf weakened as blood splattered all over the gravel path. As the enemy fell, Zayn stood over it, watching it gurgle each breath, listening to its whimpers.
Zayn felt no remorse, only power pulsing through his body. He soon sat by the corpse and stared blankly at the entrance to his Packhouse, waiting to know if it was safe. Zayn wanted to charge into the building and fight until he no longer had the strength to lift his paws, but he had a mate now. Zayn couldn't risk himself like that, not if it meant that Liam would die if Zayn died.
Soon, Omega wolves who had returned to their human forms exited the house. Zayn watched them glance at each other nervously until a woman stepped forwards with a harsh limp.
"We killed all the southern wolves, but there was no sign of the Alpha."
Zayn's heart sank. He was more irritated than disappointed. If the Southern Alpha was still out there, then the fight wasn't over.
Zayn shifted back into his human, thankful to have his Packhouse back.
"What about the rest of my pack. Are they dead?" he asked.
"A few. Most of them are locked in your cellar and still alive."
Zayn didn't wait to hear more. He hurried past the Omega wolves and jogged down corridor after corridor, jumping over dead wolves.
Zayn leapt down the steps to the cellar. The dull room was thick with the scent of musty werewolves and warm bodies packed tightly. The look of relief when trapped werewolves saw their Alpha was enough to make even Zayn feel all tingly with emotion.
Zayn snatched the keys from the Omega who had fumbled clumsily with them for the past few minutes. Zayn knew what key to pick immediately.
When the door was unlocked, Zayn was stunned by arms flying around him. Wolf after wolf hugged Zayn and thanked him and expressed their concerns about not being rescued.
Zayn didn't hug anyone back, but he didn't shrug anyone off. Deep down, Zayn was thankful they were still alive. He had grown up with a lot of the young Omega's and knew the older ones mostly all his life. Zayn would have struggled to bury them without expressing his sorrow.
"We have our Packhouse back" he said when the last Omega patted him on the shoulder with a grateful smile and teary eyes. "Go and get some lunch and some rest. If I see any of you still up after 3 o'clock, I'll send you to bed myself."
The Omega's hurried up the stairs, eager for daylight.
Zayn looked though the metal bars and to the corner of the room, where he had first seen Liam. Zayn pictured his mate with his knees to his chest and tears streaming down his face.
Zayn shook his head when the thought made him queasy. He turned back to the stairs, but he suddenly felt so light-headed, he fell into the wall.
Zayn blinked a few times until his vision steadied. Something wasn't right, and the ill-feeling wasn't to do with Zayn. His mate senses prickled the back of his neck. Something wasn't right with Liam.
Zayn regained his composure and left the cellar, slamming the door behind him. His Omega's were already piling the deceased wolves up outside. There were two piles, their allies and their enemies. The Southern wolves pile wasa lot bigger, though Zayn recognised some of the wolves as his own. His jaw tightened. The Southern wolves had caused him so much pain, and still, the Alpha hid like a coward.
Zayn found the rest of his wolves in the dining hall.
"Where are the other packs?" Zayn asked, storming up to his mother and Baela who handed out cups of tea to the wolves who were trapped in the cellar overnight. Zayn stared at the cups of tea. His stomach twisted in knots.
"They've gone back to their Packhouses. One of the Delta's suddenly freaked out about leaving their Packhouses alone because the Bedlam Alpha could be anywhere. They all left in a panic."
"Stay close to your phone then, Baela. If they
need help, we have their back." Zayn sat down and rubbed his temples. He couldn't shake the feeling of absolute exhaustion. "Something's not right," he mumbled.
Solana quickly ushered other wolves away and sat next to her son.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked, checking for wounds. She hadn't seen anyone hurt Zayn in the fighting.
"Something's up with Liam. I need to find him."
"It's not safe out there with the Alpha still loose. Nobody knows how big the Bedlam pack really are. We don't know how many Beta's overthrew Northern Alpha's. There could be packs on their way here to fight right now. You have to stay here to protect your pack."
Zayn sat up and stared at his mother. Makena then saw his fatigue in the deep circles around his eyes, and the way he struggled to glare so hard. "Do you expect me to sit here and simply hope that Liam makes it back alive?"
"No. Send wolves out to look for him and Niall. Niall had an injured arm and Liam's human. They couldn't have gotten very far in the snow."
"That's what worries me. The Southern Alpha was probably watching Sea Claw Packhouse when they escaped. They knew we were there because their traitor Beta was there, probably feeding them all the information." Zayn climbed to his feet.
"We need to get to them. Now! Baela, phone packs that didn't answer us last time. Ask them to spare a few Omega's to look out for Liam and Niall. If I can't go and look for him, send as many Omega's out that you think we can spare. If Liam isn't found within the hour, "I'll go myself"
*******
Baela was gone for almost half an hour, phoning as many Packhouses as she could. Only two Packhouses picked up, but they were Packhouses on the North East. Niall and Liam would still be West.
When she returned to Zayn with the news that only two packs picked up, he was pacing the canteen, making everyone around him very anxious.
"Then go and ring again!" Zayn yelled. His presence was just bearable when he spoke. His shouting made everyone want to run and take cover.
Baela knew she would be just as on edge if she had a mate that was missing, and something bad was happening to them.
"Please be okay Liam. Please be okay Niall" she whispered and ran back down the corridor.
When she reached the Packhouse home phone, Zayn had followed her and was looming right behind her like a dark cloud, wanting to hear what other packs had to say.
******
Liam's mind surfaced to one of the worst headaches he had ever felt. For a while, he wondered something was banging against his head with every heartbeat. As his mind rationalised his situation, Liam was soon aware of a dull pain in the back of his neck, then the throb of his heart in his face.
Am I upside down? When he lifted his head. It rolled back and hit something hard behind him. Liam groaned and fought against his heavy eyelids.
His surroundings were dull, and hard to make out at first. Liam blinked and blindly looked around. He couldn't move his hands no matter how hard he tried.
Liam thought he would still be in the library and surrounded by books and light. Instead, he smelt damp, and dust, and saw very little in front of him.
Shapes soon formed and Liam could tell that he was in some sort of basement. Though unlike the institute's basement, which looked like an eighteenth-century dungeon, this basement was full of unused furniture.
Liam tried to look behind him. His hands had been handcuffed to a radiator and to Liam's disappointment, the radiator wasn't on.
He tried to pull on the handcuffs a few more times. Metal clanging metal was loud enough to make him cringe. Liam gave up and looked around again. Only when his eyes adjusted, Liam saw Niall a few metres in front of him.
The Delta wolf laid on his side with hands tied behind his back and feet tied together. Niall's face was bloody and bruised. In the silence, Liam heard his own panicked heart and Niall's wheezy breathing. He's still alive. Good.
"Niall?" Liam whispered. The Delta wolf didn't move.
"Niall?" he said a little louder and stared a little harder. "Niall-" Movement to Liam's left startled him so much, he gasped and attempted to wriggle away. The handcuffs made his escape impossible.
A light was turned on, so bright that Liam's head felt like it cracked in two. He scrunched his eyes as someone said, "Get the Alpha. The human's awake."
Liam watched another tall person weave between the furniture. They had sat so still in the dull room, Liam hadn't noticed that he and Niall were not alone.
The other man, who Liam assumed was a werewolf, sat back down on a chair and stared at Liam without an ounce of emotion.
Liam didn't dare speak a single word, despite having many questions about tea, librarians, and why their basement was so hectic. He was so terrified that by the time more people entered the basement, he trembled with terror.
A woman with fiery red hair weaved through the furniture. She stopped a few metres from Liam with a stern frown. She crossed her arms, lightly tapping the heel of her pointed black shoe. When
Liam braved to meet her gaze, her face was bruising underneath her eye and across her left cheek. The left side her lip was swollen and cut.
Liam glanced from face to face. Each person looked at him like he was a bug they were figuring out how to squash.
"Tell me where the Alpha of the Bedlam Pack is. If you don't cooperate, you will not get out of here alive."
Liam's eyes widened, and he pushed himself against the cold radiator. "I- I don't- I'm not with southern wolves!" he squeaked.
"Hm, so you do know who I'm talking about" The woman's dark eyes flicked to Niall. "Is that your mate? Do you know what happens to werewolves if humans die?"
"H-He's a Delta wolf. I'm just a human. I can't be his mate."
The woman narrowed her eyes at his knowledge.
"Then what the hell are you and a Delta wolf doing on our territory, the same day my bastard Beta wolf tries to kill me? Hm? What do you have to say for yourself, human?"
"T-That's Niall, um, I don't know his last name. Um, he's Zayn's Delta wolf!" Liam couldn't remember Zayn's last name either. "From the Ethdellin Pack!"
The woman's thin lips curled down disapprovingly, not believing Liam. "Then who the hell are you?"
"I'm-" Liam glanced to the two men on either side of their Alpha. He suddenly Remembered Zayn's last name. "I'm Zayn Malik's mate."
The woman looked him up and down once, and snorted. "Bullshit. The Bedlam Alpha told you to say that if you got caught. Zayn Malik doesn't have a mate and if he did, it wouldn't be you."
Liam felt a pang of annoyance.
A phone suddenly rang, and Liam's annoyance was quickly overshadowed with fear.
"It's Ethdellin Pack again," one of the guys said, showing her the phone screen.
"How convenient." She smirked. "Let's ask if Zayn Malik has a little human on the run. He's probably looking for his traitor Delta."
She took the phone and answered, interrupting Baela immediately. "I have a question for you."
Liam heard the pause, then a "Yes?"
Liam wanted to scream at Baela that he was there, but his tongue was frozen. He could barely breathe.
"Does Zayn Malik have a mate?"
"Yes! I'm phoning about Zayn's mate. We were wondering if you could spare a few Omega's to watch out for him and Zayn's Delta wolf. They had to run from Sea Claw Packhouse after their Beta turned on Junes." Baela's' voice was soothing.
Liam felt himself relaxing.
"What were they doing at Sea Claw Pack house?" Baela was turned off loudspeaker, but Liam could still faintly hear her explaining about what happened at the annual meeting and so on.
The longer the woman listened to Francis, the more her face twisted with displeasure. "Yes," she eventually muttered "My Beta turned on me too."
Liam glanced to Niall when he rolled onto his back, coughing.
"What's the name of Zayn's mate?" the woman asked. She then held the phone to her chest. "What's your name?" she asked Liam.
"L-Liam Payne. They sometimes call me Li for short," he whispered. The woman tensed her jaw. Liam knew the names matched.
Annoyed at being proven wrong, she turned the phone back to loudspeaker and said, "Zayn's mate is here, and he trespassed, so we'll do what we like with him, and your Delta too."
She tapped her foot on the hard ground, expecting Baela to offer something in return for Zayn's mate. She expected too much.
There were a few noises from Baela's end, almost like she had dropped the phone. Then a deep and familiar voice came through, and Liam shivered from head to toe.
"Start fucking running, I'm coming for you," the voice growled before the phone line went dead.