***Conlan's POV***
I ran down the halls as several howls reverberated through the pack house. That crazy she-wolf's blood left a trail over the hardwood floors from where my claws extended. Down the hall I noticed Rolland was hunched over and curled up on the floor at the end of the corridor at the card key access point. He was howling for his lost Alpha. There was no time to spare for him. My main mission now is to make sure that Zara and my pack members are safe and on their way to the Sacred Moon Pack for protection.
"Wait!" Gamma Rolland pleaded. "I can feel," he howled again in anguish. "Take me with you. I'm on her side." His words were huffed out in great pain.
A frustrated sigh escaped me. For a few moments that I did not want to spare, I considered his words. Karr sensed his sincerity, and he could help us protect Zara. My wolf nudged me to pull him up and offer an alliance.
"This way!" He yelled painfully. It was in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go, from the path I knew that would lead to Zara. "Come on! Trust me! There isn't any time left!" Rolland pleaded again.
Karr whined. It took everything in me to trust this man, and I prayed to the Moon Goddess that I wasn't wrong to.
Rolland stopped in front of an empty wall and pressed his fingers into different points, like he was pressing invisible buttons. With every press he winced in pain. Several clicks later from the smooth maroon painted wall the unexpected happened. Before I could say anything, an explosion blasted in Zara's direction of the pack house. Force from the blast caused the whole building to quake.
"James!" My heart pounded in alarm for him and Zara. "Answer me dammit!" I felt my breathing stop. "Theo! Anyone!"
"Beta." James responded briefly. It sounded like he was going to continue but he was silent and Theo has still not responded at all.
A door appeared. One second there was a wall, next a panel slid down to reveal a dark opening. From the smell of it most likely a sewer. Then Rolland walked through as if the smell didn't bother him like he has done this a million times. He shook his hand and blew on his fingers as he walked down the dark passageway. In the pit of my stomach a sick feeling grew. My wolf snarled as I stepped through to follow him, clearly not pleased to go into the stinking abyss that led further away from Zara and my pack mates. Everything about this mission, this pack, Zara was making me crazy.
Once inside I noticed a familiar face. Her face was stained with grime and salty tears. The wrinkles were deeper and the bags under her eyes darker. Strands of brown silvery hair stuck to her cracked lips. There were cells after cells filled with others besides the witch Zara called Auntie. Rolland quickly made work of the one guard by the time I took notice of the expanse of the entire dungeon like room.
"Oh, Gamma!" Voices cried. "Let us out!"
"They are going after her daughter." A raspy voice stated as Gamma Rolland paused by a particular cell. An older gentleman in ragged clothes gripped Rolland's hands between the bars. "I heard them talking about her. They are attacking the pack house now."
"What should we do father?" Rolland asked. His hands deftly releasing his father first among the many prisoners.
"We need to alert the ones nearest her for support, the loyal ones to the true Alpha line." He kept his gaze on his son as he exited the cell. The old wolf's body seemed strong and true. "But the rest of us need to make our way to the Rogue King. We use the element of surprise, and take him down. It is the only way to end this madness and corruption." His strong gaze shifted to mine and sized me up. "Who is this?"
"No." I interjected before the Gamma could respond. "We need to go and protect Zara. She's wounded." Images of her bloody and torn body were burned into the forefront of my mind making me sick with worry. Karr wasn't pleased at all and only wanted the blood of all those that stood between him and Zara.
"They expect us to rush there. I heard the explosion from here." Rolland's father stepped closer to me and gave me a confident look I wouldn't expect from his haggard appearance. "They have more numbers than us, and they have rogues and witches on their side. Our only chance to save her is to take them by surprise." His eyes didn't waver for a second, and the power from his wolf was that of a Gamma, or even a Beta.
In that moment I put my trust in these strangers. I only had two others besides Zara that I counted as allies, and I lost contact with both. Options at this point were next to nothing, I had to put my trust in them and follow their lead. A look must have passed over my face because Rolland's father started barking orders to his son and the others in the cells.
"All of you get ready to shift. There isn't time to explain, but if we want to keep our lives and save what our Great Alpha started we have to fight now!" His voice was soaked with experience of commanding others. "Our mission is to rescue our true Alpha's bloodline from the Rogue King. The same king that destroyed our pack from within by planting the plague known as Edith." He looked out among the angry faces with a slightly gleeful look. "We get our revenge on them starting tonight. Let them know that they have used us as leverage against our kin, but they will taste what true loyalty means and they'll feel what it means to be truly defeated."
Cheers erupted throughout the room.
Now, in this sewer I've come to realize that this pack is rotten. It has been corrupted and twisted and factions have split among it's pack members. The problem was that the evil members have been in charge so long that the good ones have suffered. If this pack was not cast into shadows by even the royal family, then maybe we could have saved this pack and even Zara from the suffering inflicted on them from the Rouge King and the witches. I wouldn't have known this until now, but my hatred of them grew tenfold.
"What can I do, Ronald?" Hazel asked. She limped out of her cell after a few other members took over releasing the others.
"Hazel." Rolland's father, Ronald sighed. "Do you have the strength to grow the plants and grass to hold back the witches? Or maybe heal us as we fight?"
Her face fell. "No."
"We need to leave now." He said giving her one last look before turning on his heels to the end of the dungeon. "All the warriors stay in human form and gather weapons in the armory, kill all of Edith's followers along the way. The rest shift." Ronald commanded.
"What do we do with him?" A woman asked. She was referring to a burly dark haired man still locked in his cell. Black matted curls bounced around as she vehemently looked from her Gamma to the man.
I recognized him immediately from his obstinate eyes. He was the one that severely hurt Zara back at the witch's house. Beta of the Pack. Follower of Edith. In front of his cell now, he backed away from my presence. My Alpha dominance rolled off of me freely. His wolf submitted to mine as the woman wisely unlocked his cell for me. No hesitation was made as I closed my fingers around his throat and squeezed with all my might. The whites of his eyes bulged, never blinking. Karr and I reveled in the feeling, and Karr made a satisfied bark when his body thudded heavily onto the floor of filth.
When I turned around to get out of the cell I witnessed a make-shift army on its way out through a dark doorway leading even further away from where I last saw Zara. Most have shifted into their wolf form and about a third in human form were forming ranks into a military like unit. It was impressive. The amount of organization and training needed to accomplish this task during a time of duress was truly extraordinary.
"If Zara comes into contact with him." Hazel's voice echoed off the dark stone walls. "The spell I placed on her will start to break." Her words ignited something within me. Physically, I could feel Karr's most ferocious side wanted to break free. Sharp canines elongated. My body stilled. I focused on my breathing. Moments couldn't be wasted at a time like this. Without turning back to meet her I sprinted down to follow the rest out.
Following the wolf pack on their tails I calculated that we were about fourteen strong. 'I hope this will suffice against the rogues and witches.' Units of formed warriors cut away to the left and up a rounding stone staircase. Immediately, shouts and screams could be heard from where the warriors went. In the back of my mind I prayed for their victory as we busted through a large double door into the still dark morning.
The entire group flanked to the right, all in unison. There were three wolves that lagged behind the rest, and they were unable to keep up. With my Alpha traits flowing freely, I quickly ran to their rear.
"Don't get left behind!" I barked at them. The three picked up the pace and pounded the dewy grass harder.
On the other side of the hill we were halted by the sight before us. Just as we crested the top of the hill I witnessed Ronald shift in mid air. His jaws ripped through a witch too stunned to move. Eight witches dotted the underside of the hill. Their disorganized movements suggested that they were indeed caught by surprise.
Karr started to stir with excitement. He wanted out; bad. It felt good to shift after so long. I let Karr take over as the familiar popping and snapping of bones that used to be agony was only now such sweet satisfaction. We were part of the same half and we would always be one. There are times that we don't always see eye to eye but we knew it was because one of us used emotions and instinct while the other used logic and reason. Only when we worked together were we at our greatest. Zara suddenly came to mind, but I just as quickly pushed the thought aside.
My white paws pounded into the squashy green grass. In wolf form I could expertly dodged fireball after fireball. Our target was getting closer. I could see the fire witch's breath huff in the air from spent mana. Her last intake of air was a strangled gasp as I sank my teeth into her warm neck. After I ripped her throat out I twisted my body around to go after another witch. Now there were only five witches left. Wolves laid gasping and howling pain. Devastation riddled the dwindling defense of emaciated imprisoned wolves. Rage started to consume me. Fire of justice burned within, and I was thankfully proud as the warriors returned with their weapons. Two more were taken down by the newcomers, and saved a wolf about to be dealt the final blow. From the initial fourteen we now only have four remaining wolves, and if we count the warriors we have ten.
"Brother, sisters!" A witch yelled as she appeared through a swirling blue and red veil. One of her hands had a dagger jutting through her palm. Her long black hair whipped around her proactive body. 'I remember this witch. She was at the mansion.' Now I remembered why I felt that something was amiss. This witch must have used the same magic she's using now to disappear without a trace from where the last time I saw her. The last of the witches narrowly escaped. Before the portal closed she pouted her thick violet painted lips and used her uninjured hand to blow a kiss out to us.
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This chapter was on the longer side with 2,056 words! I did have more to say. But I didn't want the chapter to be too long nor did I want the next chapter to be too short. Please let me know if you enjoyed this chapter, or even if you didn't. :D
thank you
-Lynne