John's POV
As we headed in the direction of the pack border, going deeper into the forest, my body began to tense up; I was worried, I was not sure what Claire and I were about to see, but I did know I was not gonna like it, and most importantly I knew that however we reacted would make or break our chances of avoiding another war.
I started to think of all the possibilities of what we were about to witness if maybe I should have forced Claire to wake her brother and ask for some back up just in case, but I don't think I could have, Claire was determined, and while there are still so many things I have yet to learn about this new, more confident Claire, I already understood that I should count myself lucky that she is allowing me to come along with her.
As an Alpha I know that it should irk me, to ask for permission instead of to just command ow things are going to go, but I have no desire to pull rank with Claire, she is my equal in so many ways, more so now than ever before, I do not want to control her, I want to provide and protect her space so she can blossom into the Queen she is quickly becoming.
Everything in the atmosphere is still, there is a strong sense of foreboding in the air, and it causes me to pause, as I try and fail to use my senses to give me a hint to what we are heading towards.
Claire picks up the pace, pulling me to keep up with her, as the beginning of the forest comes into view.
"John hurry up, I think this is going to be serious, the elements are screaming at me right now, demanding that I see the disturbance"
"I'm right here with you claire. Tell me, what are you feeling?"
She squeezes my hand in a painful grip, as a shudder runs through her body.
"Evil."
again, I try to use my senses, to pick something up, but my wolf seems far from me, as I try to connect and call him forward, the connection slips like water through my fingers.
"something is very wrong" I mutter under my breath
"You feel it too?" claire says looking up to me.
"No, I don't feel the evil your feeling, in fact, I don't feel anything" I whisper, "its as if my wolf is asleep" I pull Claire to a stop, grabbing both her arms until she is focused on me.
"Are you sure about this Claire?"
she places her right hand softly on my left cheek, "Yes John, we have to see what's happening, I will not be allowed to ignore this feeling without great discomfort, you don't think you will be able to shift? What's wrong?"
I sigh, running my fingers through my hair, "I don't know for sure, but I may have been drugged, we can worry about that later though. I don't think I will be able to shift, so at least I know I won't be able to do anything rash, we need to be smart about this, you need to promise me that we are simply going to observe, wolf or no wolf I will protect you until my last breath, do you understand what I am saying to you?"
Her piercing blue eyes are locked on mine, I move closer to my mate, and lean down until my forehead is resting on hers, I can see her soaking up every single word that is coming out of my mouth.
"yes" she breathes out, "just observing".
I give her a small smile at the look of determination on her face, and lightly kiss her forehead
"No, what I'm saying is that my next few breaths are in your hands, whether or not they are my last is completely up to you."
I move back a bit to grab her hand and direct us both straight into the forest.
Claire gently squeezes my hand in response, "your breaths are safe with me"
Claire's POV
"Damn, John can be so intense! He's acting like it wasn't my idea in the first place to stay hidden!" I roll my eyes internally.
"I am worried though, drugged? if he was drugged, then we have a traitor in our midst, and that means more problems, we have to assume that the rebels already know our plan, that they know everything, and are already moving against us. I wouldn't be surprised if that's who we are about to come across just outside the pack lines.
John pulls me deeper and deeper, and the further in we go, the heightened my senses become, it's like my whole body is tingling, more sensitive to the world around me.
I pull John to a stop, as an idea springs forth into my head.
Being surrounded by nature is allowing me to connect to all life in the area, and if I close my eyes, I can see everything they see.
I pull John to bend down with me as I run my hands through the grass, I dig my fingers into the soil and close my eyes. Focusing on becoming one with the wind, the creatures scuttering around on the forest floor, the birds taking flight, and nature's resilient critters until I start to feel what they feel, and see what they see.
"Show me what's happening" I whisper, and at once everything around me comes alive, and I'm seeing with the eyes of the forest. My vision blurs as everything rushes past me at super speed.
My eyes move back and forth behind my eyelids in an unsuccessful attempt to capture everything that I am seeing until everything stops suddenly. my vision starts to focus, and I can't help but gasp at what I am witnessing.
There are men everywhere, some prowling around as wolves but others just sitting or standing in groups of five or six. no one is speaking save for a few whispers here and there but for the most part, everyone is moving in silence. There are swords and arrows looted everywhere, these people came prepared for war, and if it wasn't for this warning we would have been lambs to the slaughter.
"Claire love, tell me what you see."
"It's an army John, someone brought an army of rebels to our doorstep and they look ready to spill blood"
"We won't let that happen, try to find out who's in charge"
"I don't need to", I whisper back, "this has Mr.Spade written all over it, but I am going to see if I can get any information from the slime ball himself"
Show me Mr.Spade I know he's here"
And show me they did. My eyes zoomed past all of the rebels until they focused on a small group of three men. Gathered around a tiny fire, was Zachary, Ben, and a tall imposing man who could be none other than the infamous Mr. Spade.
Upon closer inspection, I guess one could classify Mr.Spade as someone who has attractive features, He's your typical Tall dark and handsome, except Mr. Spade has blood-red eyes, and to what I can see they are utterly terrifying. His hair was cut short and very curly, frown lines seemed carved into his face, definitely not someone who made smiling a habit. Moving from his face to the rest of him, Mr spade is built like a Bull. His muscles have muscles, even dressed in all black, I could see that he was cut, and I don't think He's trying to hide it.
"I bet he's overcompensating for something" I chuckle to myself
"We're more than ready to move out tomorrow night Mr.Spade, in fact, we could go right now and have Claire back in our possession by daybreak, I don't understand why we are still waiting," said Zachary pacing back and forth in front of Mr.Spade
"We wait because I say to wait, all the pieces have not fully fallen into place yet, to ensure victory, this next part requires patience Zachary" Growls Mr.Spade who ironically seems to be losing his patience right now.
"Patience? All I have been is Patient"
Suddenly, Mr. Spade grabs Zachary by the throat, completely cutting off Zachary's air supply "I hear the dead are pretty good at keeping still, Do you want to help me prove my theory?"
Zachary's eyes are bulging out of his head, he desperately grabs at his throat as he gasps for air, but Mr.Spade shows no signs of mercy, his anger is dripping off of him in waves, his body vibrating with the desire to kill as his wolf growls for dominance.
Zachary immediately goes still, bearing his neck to his leader, and Spade lets go, leaving Zachary to drop on the forest floor with a big thump.
"We wait until tomorrow night, I've asked our informant to acquire a few things for me, and to make sure that he has done everything he can to make sure that our plan goes as smoothly as possible, We will not move out until he has accomplished his assignment, so you better get used to being patient, or I'll have to help you with it, and with all that struggle I know you aren't ready to die yet."
Spade walks off, leaving Zachary lying on the floor, aggressively trying to take in air.
"Ben!" Spade calls out, urging Ben into action as he launches forward to catch up with Mr.Spade
"Yes sir?"
"Remind me, Why do I trust this informant to get me what I want? Why are you so confident that he won't betray us?"
"Jealousy, He covets that which belongs to another"
Mr. Spade barks out a laugh, "Right! The fool believes we'll pass her over once I've gotten what I wanted" Spade pats Ben on the back and chuckles softly, "Well, make sure he continues to believe that Ben, or else you too will learn a thing or two about... How did I put it with Zachary?" Turning away so his back is facing Ben, waiting for a response.
"Patience" Ben mutters, solemnly looking at the ground.
Ah, right! well, hopefully, it doesn't come to that, you've proven yourself to be an asset, keep it that way." and with that Mr.Spade shifts into an averaged sized Dark grey wolf, with a red stripe down his back and sprints off into the night.
Ha! I knew he was overcompensating!
I pull back from the connection I forged and release nature from my control until I'm fully back within myself. I open my eyes and John is right there, his face full of concern for me.
"What did you hear? What did you see?" He urged as he helps me up from the ground.
I take his hand and begin to lead us out of the forest, back to the house.
"I'll tell you everything, lets head back and wake my brother up, just my brother, there is a lot to discuss."
A/N
Hey, y'all sooooo it's been a minute, I am honestly so sorry, but I am committed to finishing this book now, I want to start something new but I can't with this over my head so hopefully in the next month the King's Luna will be finished, let me know what you thought about this chapter, feeling a bit rusty but I can see this really coming together! don't forget to vote!!