Xander's hand instantly went to the knife strapped to his thigh, but Haikon turned to the delta and shook his head slightly. 'Don't do it.' Xander's heart raced at the sound of Haikon's voice in his head through the mate link. It was different from the pack link. Haikon's voice always sounded fuzzy and distant in the pack's link, but it was clear and beautiful through the mate link.
'Why? What's wrong?' Xander responded through the mate's link.
'We can't afford to fight him again. Finding Jae is more important.'
Xander sighed before nodding in agreement. The delta removed his hand from the blade's handle and returned to observing their surroundings. Haikon was right. As much as Xander would love to tear that alpha to pieces, he would not be able to defeat him without a hunting party, and Jae was hurting.
The theta and delta held their breaths as the growl neared them. Soon, the padding of paws on soft dirt could be heard as the alpha ran through the trees sporadically. However, when the alpha was passing them, he slowed to a stop and sniffed the air.
'Shit. The moonflower is wearing off.' Haikon bit his lip as he recalled how long they had been on the hunt. It had been more than a day since the two set out to track the alpha, and the protection of the moonflower hiding their scent was fading away.
The two heard a huff and a sneeze leave the wolf as it smelled its surroundings. The alpha shook his head in annoyance before continuing on his way. The wolf was allergic to moonflower, but he did not know it. The delta and theta released their pent-up breaths as they heard the wolf leave.
"That was close," Xander said under his breath when they were in the clear.
"Yeah," Haikon nodded before continuing to lead the way through the trees.
The two shifted into their wolves and began to run as they neared their prince. Knowing the alpha was heading in the opposite direction, the theta and delta had nothing to fear. There were no known dangers left. The only thing they feared now was that the omega was dying. Haikon and Xander turned back into their human forms as they broke into the small clearing.
Jae turned to see the theta and delta approaching him. Xander took the lead in approaching the prince as was the custom. The higher-ranking wolf would approach the wolf of royalty or dominance to show that there were no hidden strong wolves that would pose a threat and also because the higher-ranking wolf would have an easier time resisting the royal or dominant wolf's presence while their guard was up.
"Xander...Haikon...," Jae said as he saw his friends approaching him. His face was stained with tears, and he was holding something to his body closely.
"Jae, what happened?" Xander asked softly. He could tell his prince was in shock and did not want to spook him.
"He-he...he marked him." Tears began running down the true blood's face as Xander slowly knelt in front of Jae. The delta looked at the small male in the prince's arms, and his heart sank. There, on the pink-haired boy's neck, was the most gruesome mark Xander had ever seen. And it did not appear to be healing.
"Haikon," Xander motioned for the theta to join him once Jae had released a scent that signaled he trusted the delta with the small male in his arms. Haikon came to Xander's side and sucked in his breath as he saw the gnarly bite.
"Haikon," Jae said with glistening eyes as he saw this theta friend.
"Hey, Jae," Haikon responded softly as he looked at the true blood. Haikon had never seen the prince like this. Jae must have seen either something terrifying or something terrifying happen to someone he deeply cared about. Haikon assumed it was the latter as the prince had seen some pretty gruesome things in his young life. Haikon then trailed his eyes down to the male in Jae's arms and let out a breath. The boy was so small and looked rather young; Haikon presumed the pink-haired to be around six years his junior. "We need to get him to Estan," Haikon said to the true blood.
Jae looked down at the boy in his arms and nodded. The true blood's eyes turned hard as he stood to his feet. Jae rolled the zeta so he was pressed against his chest securely as the three began walking through the clearing. "Did you see what direction he was going?" Jae asked with a firm tone.
"He was heading north," Haikon answered.
"Then we go north," Jae determined. Haikon and Xander smiled to themselves at Jae's response. The prince was back, and a hunt was about to ensue.