Jae exited the castle to find Yejin, Xander, Haikon, and Kace standing just outside the gates. Kace stood straight from the wall of the gate he was leaning against and came to join the now-complete hunting party. Each of the men was dressed in stealth gear with an ample supply of moonflower to disguise their scent.
"Can you shift?" The prince inquired of the man with his hood down. Kace nodded shortly in response. "Do you have your mask?"
Kace pulled a half-mask from his belt and placed it over his eyes in response to the prince's inquiry. Jae looked at the mask and let his gaze linger on the blue-eyed man before turning to address the rest of the party. "Ready?" Each member nodded his head as Haikon stepped forward and stood behind the prince and the alpha. Once the party was in formation, the hunt began.
The five wolves sprinted across the wide fields and entered the forest north of the castle. 'To our three o'clock.' Haikon instructed through the party link as he picked up the prey's scent. Jae turned toward his three o'clock and began sprinting through the trees. Yejin followed suit with Haikon, Xander, and Kace behind him. The hunting party ran for the entire day, only stopping to take a quick drink from a few streams.
The sun had nearly when the party had taken a short breather. The men had shifted back to their human form to let their wolves rest. Yejin and Xander were drinking from the stream and Kace was leaning against a tree while Jae and Haikon were standing by the stream's edge.
"How much farther?" Jae inquired of the theta.
"We can reach him by morning if we don't stop," Haikon informed his prince who nodded in acknowledgment of the theta's answer.
"What's his stability?"
Haikon let out a breath and glanced at his mate by the stream before turning back to Jae and answering, "In the negative forties."
Jae's brows raised, and his eyes widened. "The negative forties? The lowest recorded is N-50!" The prince's voice was quiet as he responded, but, being the leader, each wolf was subconsciously keen to their prince, and, therefore, every member of the team heard Jae's response.
Xander stood from the stream and came to stand next to his mate. "Wh-What's in the negative forties?" The delta's voice was quiet and slightly quivering as he looked up at his mate for a response.
Haikon closed his eyes as Kace and Yejin approached them. The theta wrapped an arm around his delta's waist as he informed the team, "The alpha's stability is in the negative forties."
A shuddering breath left the delta as he heard the news. "It's almost to the point where they were," Xander said in a low voice. Each member looked at the delta with concern as they knew Xander's past with unstable wolves. Haikon released comforting pheromones to calm his mate, but, to his surprise, Xander lifted his head, and his eyes were cold and determined. "Then we just have to catch him before he gets any lower." The delta's voice was hard and steady. He had made up his mind. He would not allow himself to be affected by his past. He would overcome his past and push forward. "It's a kill order, right?" Xander inquired of the prince, who nodded in confirmation. "Good."
"Let's go," Jae instructed as he shifted. The members followed their prince in shifting and heading back into the thick of the forest.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
"Noooo!!" The zeta woke up in a panic. Arms immediately wrapped around the zeta and began to sooth him.
"Shhhhh. It's okay," Estan's soft voice reached the zeta as the gamma began to rock Syri in his arms. The gamma released soothing pheromones which immediately relaxed the zeta.
"Estan?" Syri's small voice sounded as the zeta looked up at the man holding him.
"Hey, Little One," Estan smiled down at the zeta softly.
"What...what happened?" Syri inquired. He did not remember anything except the fact that he woke in a sweat.
"You had a nightmare. That's all. It's nothing to worry about," the gamma answered as he brought his hand to Syri's head and began to pet the zeta.
"A nightmare? It wasn't...my mate?"
Estan shook his head. "No." 'Telling him it's a nightmare is better than telling him the truth that his mate was tormenting him, right? There was nothing I could do except hope he'd wake up.'
Syri relaxed in the gamma's arms and closed his eyes as he released a deep breath. Estan continued to sooth the zeta and release comforting pheromones as Syri grew calm.
After a few minutes when the zeta had regained his composure, Syri sat up straight and looked around. He was in Jae's room, but the prince was nowhere to be found. "Where's Jae?" The zeta inquired of the gamma.
"He has duties he as to tend to. He won't be back for a few days."
"Oh...okay."
"Syri," Estan began. The zeta looked up at the gamma as he waited for the doctor to continue. "Would you like to go somewhere?"
Syri's eyes widened, and a smile came to his lips as he nodded.
"Jae wanted me to take you somewhere while he is gone. Is that okay?"
"If Jae wants me to go, then I will go," Syri answered. "Plus, I love exploring and seeing new places."
"Perfect," Estan smiled. "Are you hungry? You slept for a whole day."
"A whole day?" Syri asked in disbelief. The zeta looked out the window when the gamma nodded his head in confirmation. The moon was high in the sky, illuminating the windowsill and white curtains billowing in the night breeze. The zeta turned back to the gamma and lowered his head. "I'm not really hungry. Thank you, though."
"That's alright. I will bring some snacks for the walk to the cabin."
Syri lifted his head, a smile on his face. "We're going to a cabin?"
Estan nodded. "Mm hmm. It's next to a river to the west of the castle. It will take a little under a day to get there, but the walk is beautiful, so it won't feel as long."
Syri's eyes widened in excitement. "It's next to a river? Wow...I bet it's really pretty."
"It is." Estan smiled at the zeta a ruffled the boy's fluffy pink hair. "I would like to leave as soon as possible. Can you be ready in an hour? If we leave soon, we should get to the cabin around sunset. It will be beautiful then."
"I can be ready in ten minutes!" Syri said with a smile. "I don't have much anyway. Just the clothes Jae gave me."
"Do you have a bag to pack your stuff in?"
Syri shook his head in response.
"Okay. I'll come back with a bag."
Syri nodded at Estan as the gamma stood to his feet and exited the room. The zeta let out a breath and looked out the window. He watched the stars twinkle next to the big, bold moon and thought about the true blood dashing under the light of the celestial object that gave so much meaning to the werewolf world. The zeta closed his eyes and offered up a small prayer. 'Stay safe, Jae...please.'