Outside was surrounded by a twenty-feet tall electric fence. With four gates. The building had two official entrances. Andrew told me we would have better luck taking the back entrance. So here we were at the south gate looking in the direction of our way in. We stood behind a tree line just out of eye-line of the guards. We Watched as a few guards passed by the back gate. Past it we could see the double door entrance. Ten moving trucks were parked at the back entrance. Each unoccupied. They must do something horrible with those... I can only imagine what they're used for.
"Cole," I heard my name being called. "What do you plan to do when you get in there?" Andrew whispered out his question to me.
"I don't know," I admitted.
Everyone will be locked in cages...
I'll have to figure out a way to get them all released.
"This is a big job... This should be done by an elite team that's not us Cole... and look we don't even have a gun," Andrew whispered. "You're down to one leg left- three in your other form," he whispered as he reminded me once again of my injured leg. Nevermind how I got it. It seems so unimportant now.
"I can't leave them there," I hissed out. I admit I was selfish before. But, I would not abandon my family when they're stuck in a warehouse literally meant to store them like cattle!
"Ok, here is the plan..." He trailed off as he tried to keep his voice down. "We sneak in there. We can announce- maybe on a speakerphone that the guards are needed to back up the search for wolves that have been spotted in the town's square. They'll leave their posts or at least there will be few enough that'll stay that we can easily take down." It was a damn good plan. Better than what I could come up with. I just planned to charge straight through the door and attack anyone that got in my way.
"Yeah, that's a good plan," I whispered.
I felt something inside me stirring with excitement. It was my wolf's feelings as he picked up on a familiar scent. 'I think that's Mateo,' my wolf said to me. I could tell instantly my wolf was correct. Mateo was one of the strongest warriors from the pack. I could recognize his scent anywhere. Mateo was strong and handsome... I always loved looking at him. When Emmett wasn't around of course.
"Wait," I whispered in a hurry.
I grabbed Andrew's arm before he could sneak towards the doors since the area was clear for a second. I listened to the forest... Hearing soft footsteps all around heading towards us. I could catch the familiar scents from the pack Everfur Howler. Everfur Howler was another pack neighboring my home pack.
"There's another pack closing in on us," I whispered and looked behind us. I'm sure Andrew couldn't pick up on the scents... He was just a human after all. I almost screamed as a hand reach forward and covered my mouth. Mateo stood in front of me in his human form as his hand was gripping my mouth and preventing me from screaming. But, the rest of him was starstruck naked and the moon was shinning bright on his fresh skin. I was pratically drooling from being exposed to his god-like muscles. He wasn't an alpha... but damn he was built like one.
"Shhh," Mateo would whisper as his eyes widened. He probably didn't expect me to pick up on his scent. He was sneaking up on me after all. I took his hand away so I could talk.
"You're the one sneaking up on us!" I made sure to keep my voice at a minimum. I looked past him at the wolves of Everfur. I could see the famililar colors of Artemis. She was in her wolf form. I recognized her and right by here was Destery. Mateo and Destery were fellow pack members and Artemis is the pack Alpha's sister. "Des!" I said in excitment. Destery was a good friend of my family. He was Niall's brother in law. My excitement was covered by Mateo's hand once more as he silenced my voice. Holy moly! They're all ok. Mateo let my mouth go. "What are you guys doing here?"
"What are we doing here?" He repeated as he sounded offended. "What are you doing here?" Mateo asked. Andrew raised an eyebrow as Mateo growled at him. "Who is this human?"
"This is Andrew, he's helping out," I told him. Mateo looked at my leg with worry.
"I see you're hurt," he whispered.
"I guess we have the same agenda," Andrew whispered. We all turned back to look at the warehouse.
"We're going to raid this warehouse while the vampires are all distracted from Scarlet and Blacktail. We'll get everyone out of there and take off to the north. Are you in?" Mateo asked me.
"Of course," I whispered. I guess the last of my home pack Scarlet Nightwalkers are working with the remaining pack members of Blacktail Growlers. I don't know why he'd think I wasn't in to save my own pack mates in this building. If they're going to the North its probably because the further away we go from Lamia the safer the packs will be. The very thought of leaving without saving my pack was irking. I couldn't just go without saving my family. I'm glad they're here. We could use some back-up. It's probably not a good idea to just go in there like Andrew was planning. "I'm glad you came," I told him. I felt Destery nuzzle my back suddenly. Destery was still in wolf form.
'Cole you should stay here. You might slow some of us down," Des told me by communicating in wolf-tongue which was hard to understand if you weren't a wolfblood. 'When we clear out the guards you can come in and help release people from their-' I growled in anger. Of course they'd make me stay here. I didn't want to be left behind. Especially not out here. I don't care if my leg slows me down. I want to be there to help. Something in the back of my mind corrected me as I thought about how slow I'd just be... Better I stay behind.
"F-fine, but the first second you guys have," I growled. "I want to be there to help."
"Keep an eye on this one," Mateo said to Andrew as I saw the wolves start to slip by.
I heard their growls take over and a siren went off. Mateo shifted back into his wolf form to go help the others. The alarm was quickly disabled- like they already had pack mates dealing with them on the inside. They must have attacked already on the other side of the warehouse. Must be what the Alpha of Everfur is doing. Mateo, Destery, and Artemis lead the way into the warehouse's fense. I watched as gunshots went off but the wolves overpowered what little guards they did have outside. It looked to me like they didn't suspect anyone to actually attack the warehouse. Not with the numbers we have right now. Everfur Growlers was still a big pack. Even after- so I heard- being hit by Lamia's pack. They were able to assume control over the building in a matter of minutes. Mateo and Destery came back out to get me as promised. Everyone here has someone inside they want to save.
"Okay Cole, you guys can come in," Mateo's elaborate wolf's tongue was spoken to me. I was able to understand clearly. I grabbed Andrew's arm to tell him what was going on.
"We can go in," I told him. "They got the place cleared out," I explained. It occured to me then he didn't know much of what was happening. He just had to assume and understand by what was going on around him. He nodded as he helped me walk into the warehouse. The other two going ahead of us. I still had a bad limp but my leg will heal. Werewolves have an abnormally high healing ability. We can heal a wound twice the time it would take for an adverage human. More depending on the wolf. Everyone was working to free people from the cages. It was just like Andrew described to me... Except the place was bigger on the inside. It ran underground and there was people stuck in cages stacked on top of others. The amount of floors going down was overwhelming. How was I going to find Nena in a place like this? I whimpered as I tried to sense for my pack mates. Logically my family will be near them. I had to go help free them!
"Destery, do you know which way will be for our pack?" I asked.
"The goal is to free as many people as we can," Destery told me. I looked at Andrew. It was frustating to admit Destery was just trying to be a good person. He had family tied up here too. We can't put people first before others... Not when they're stuck in his situation.
"If they can't free everyone... they're still going to try to get as many as they can," I explained to Andrew.
"We're on limited time before Lamia figures out what's going on over here," Destery told me. "So let's try to hurry and free everyone."
I didn't want to play favortism. None of us would. Someone held out bolt cutters to us- they came prepared. All I could do was pray I would find my family. I took a pair and with the help from Andrew we started to cut open cages. I blocked out everyone around me. All I knew was they were begging to be let free next. I couldn't play favortism. I can't do that right now. I could barely focus as I tried not to look at naked bodies stuck in wire cages. I didn't want to process any of it. I couldn't. Not if I wanted to be the same as I once was before.
"Mateo!" I heard a familiar voice that was desperately calling out to Mateo. I looked around and smiled huge. It was Eli's sweetheart. Eli was another loyal packmember. One of the Alpha's prized pack warriors. He belongs to my pack. I heard the two often calling each other sweethearts instead of soul mates. Mia stood pressed up against a cage's door. She reached out and grabbed his arm. He had already saw and rushed over to her. They weren't mated but they were friends, Mateo and Mia.
"Mia~! I'll get you out! Step back," he told her. I heard a squeel of excitment then.
"Brother! Right here!" I turned around in excitement only to find Destery's sister calling out to him. It was still exciting... just not as. I was hoping it was my own sister. She was holding my nephew in her arms and sniffling. She was still Niall's mate. She's still somewhat family. Disappointing... But... family.
"What're you doing in here? Did that bastard just leave you in here?" Destery asked and growled with anger. That bastard must be Niall he was refering to. He walked up to her cage and started to help free her. At least someone was looking out for us since she still had my nephew attached at the hip. The two weren't seperated through all this. Baby Lowell was too young to remember any of this, I was thankful for that. He won't be fucked up in the head after going through this.
"I don't think they've told him," Lilith said as she shook her head. "I'm going to reject him into the next life if I ever see him again," she growled. She suddenly broke out into tears. "At least I would, but I think he's already dead, bubby." Bubby, a comical word I would get Destery for later. It was too early to make jokes now. Niall will never be forgiven.... But, if she feels he's dead then it must be true. I won't tell her he was good in the end. He doesn't deserve the credit.
Ugh... really... bubby? I glanced around me to find Mateo and Mia. I walked up to them when I found her freed. I couldn't stand Destery's happiness any longer.
"Hey Mia," I said and waved at her. "Do you know if Eli..." I trailed off to let her fill in what I was asking. I haven't seen him. He's not dead, is he?
"I think he's fine," she nodded to me. "I don't feel the lost connection," she told me. Eli must still be with the pack somewhere. If Eli is okay then the pack must still be thriving somehow. Possibly with my sister, Vivienne. I'm sure Eli and Vivienne are acting as decoys with Blacktail right about now.
"Nolan!" I heard my mom and sister's voices shouting. Her voice could be heard over any other's. My heart raced as my hopes were up. I couldn't wait to find her. I glanced around to find them a few crates above our heads. It was my sister and my mom! They were crying tears of joy when they saw us. "Honey you're okay," my mom said in happiness. I looked around for Andrew. He stayed right beside me the whole time to make sure I wouldn't have any trouble.
"How can I get them down? They're my family," I told him quickly. He nodded as he let me go and moved to go find a way up to them. The crates were oddly stacked on each other. Pallets seperating them by merely two inches. He'd have to find a way up to them to get the bolt cut.
"We don't have much longer guys," I heard Artemis tell us. "We need to be thinking about how to get out of here," she said to us.
"Don't worry mom!" I shouted up to her. "We're going to get you down," I promised. Andrew found a ladder and quickly used it to get up to my mom and sister. He cut the bolts. I made sure to help them down as they carefully came down to me. I gave them a hug as I watched everyone working around me to free the victims in this affair. I couldn't help find my eyes land down on my sister. She was a total wreck. Trembling in culture shock I'm sure. But, she was safe now. I couldn't be happier. I found her. I saved her.
"HEY!" I heard someone shout and make us all go silent. We looked around to find who was yelling. I heard Mia gasp in excitement and run past us towards the entrance to the north side. I followed her body and saw the rest of pack Scarlet Nightwalkers walking in with Blacktail Growlers not far behind them. I eyed them over as I noticed a few missing faces. Most importantly... My sister... The Alpha... They're both missing. "Look at who I found," I heard Alpha Mabel tell us. Alpha Mabel is the Alpha of Everfur Howlers. I recognized her only from her authoritve voice. The rumors were true about her. She was a female Alpha. The first in history.
I didn't see Brendon or Vivienne... Brendon was my pack Alpha and Vivienne was my other sister. I was filled with worry as I couldn't think of why they'd be missing. I didn't recognize the Alpha of Blacktail. His scent was missing as well. We're missing a few important faces. There was no one leading the two packs... Not offically. There was however a familiar pair of faces. Eli and Eloise. Eli! Eli is alive! Eli and Eloise are the Alpha's trusted pack warriors. I know they'd have answers.
"What's going on?" Artemis growled as she walked up to the two packs. I only then noticed how well Artemis and Mabel were fit to lead. Is... Artemis and Mabel a thing? I didn't notice before but it's starting to make sense now. She growled furiously at them. "You're traitors to your own kind. Why should we let you in here without killing you first?" I watched as everyone growled and got offended. Wait... What is she talking about? Traitors? I'm confused... I thought things were peachy.
"Hold on," Mabel yelled as she held up hands. "The more mouths the better chance we stand at getting out of here. So, lets get along just enough to get the fuck out."
"What're we going to do?" Artemis asked Mabel as she looked worried. "Weren't they supposed to be our decoys?"
"Yes, we're on limited time," Eli announced. "They ran out of amo and we've got exactly ten minute on a head start. We came here to free people... but looks like you guys beat us to it. We can't describe our guilt... but can we please get through this together?"
The question left the air silent.
What the fuck happened?
What am I missing here?
Think... Think Cole... Did you overhear anything to Lamia's plan that would explain this? I don't remember...
"No. Let's rip these traitors apart and everyone get on the move if you want to live," Mabel yelled with a voice full of authority. "I am the Alpha here, listen to me now! I'm not the one to betray and leave you." What the fuck is going on?
"You're being cruel," Artemis said to her. "This is my home pack! You cannot just ignore that. I will not stand here and let you kill them. I stand beside it. If you want to kill them then kill me. You can't abondon them when they're asking for redemption," Artemis told her. They growled at each other for a few more minutes before nodding. Whatever happened was flying over my head as I felt utterly confused. I totally missed something.
"We leave now," Mabel said. Wow... Artemis was so cool. She totally changed Mabel's mind. Maybe it was just because there was no time to actually argue. "While we still have time for a head start." She was right and we saved more then enough people here. If fact the cages were emptying out as we spoke. We did all we could on the little time we had.
Andrew walked up and tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to let him have my attention."I'm going to stay behind and free more people and set fire to this place. They'll be distracted by you guys leaving. I can save the rest here. You should go with your fam-"
"I'll be too slow," I admitted. "I'll just slow them down," I looked at my mom and sister. "You guys go with the pack. We'll catch up to you," I promised. "They're heading north, I'll know where to go."
"Then we'll be together again," Nena whispered and nodded towards me. We seemed to share an understanding. We always did. She loved me and cared for me like no other. But, she understood when I felt like I was on a misson. I wouldn't be persuaded from this decison. I was going to burn this shit hole to the ground. Nena just didn't understand when we would meet again.
"I can't... let you go," my mom sniffled out.
"It's just a little bit longer," I told her. I heard the pack mates starting to shift and run outside of the warehouse. I watched as my mother went with the others. My sister was dragged with her. Destery, Mateo, Mia, Eli, Eloise... Lilith.... and Lowell all disappearing. They were gone. I was left behind without a blink of the eye.
Andrew touched my hand and broke me from my thoughts. My eyes scanned around me at new faces. There were a few people that stayed to help us. They smelled like Everfur pack members. Probably had family still locked up. I nodded at them. We'll have to work fast to get this done.
None of us were going to leave without making the last efforts to save these people. But, I will be the one to set the fire. I will be the one that destroys this warehouse. I will dismiss them in an efford to save them. I already knew it would be impossible for me to make it to the North Kingdom without being caught. I will only slow them down.