Chereads / True Mate (BL) / Chapter 36 - N-48

Chapter 36 - N-48

'Estan, are you alright?'

Estan stopped wiping the dust from the mantle as his mate's voice sounded in his mind. A breath of relief rippled through the gamma as tears entered his eyes and his knees began to shake. He had missed his mate deeply and longed to be in his arms. Estan sank to the ground as his heart ached and images from the night before flashed through his mind. What should he say? Should he tell Yejin the reason he had not linked him for nearly an entire day was that he had been kidnapped and drugged? Estan longed to tell Yejin everything, but the gamma knew that it was important for his mate to remain focused on his mission.

'I am alright. Estan replied through the link. Syri and I went to a festival in Gern and had such a good time. We got to the cabin a little later than I had planned because we played the whole day, but we are fine right now.'

'Babe. What's really going on? I could not even feel you. Not even last night. What happened? Why is your heart racing? Are you okay? Are you in danger? Where are you?'

The gamma let out a breath as he steadied his heartbeat and interrupted his mate's panic. 'I'm fine, Jin. Syri had an episode with his mate just a little bit ago. I guess I am still affected by his cries. Sorry, Jin. I didn't mean to scare you. We are at the cabin, and we are safe. I promise.'

A pause occurred before Yejin replied. 'Are you certain?'

'Yes.' Estan held his breath as silence passed. When Yejin did not question his safety, the gamma inquired on his mate's condition. 'How are you, Love?'

Estan began to relax as his mate's deep voice sounded in his mind. 'I'm good. We're taking a small rest right now.'

'How's the hunt going?'

'We're catching up to the bastard. We're almost to him.'

The gamma let out a sigh at the news. 'That's good. I'm ready for this to be done. I hate not being able to do anything when Syri is in pain.' Estan's brows furrowed as he thought about the timeline. According to the hunting party's skill, they should have caught up to the alpha by that time. 'Aren't you guys behind schedule?'

'Yeah, we are. We ran into some unannounced rogues from Black Moon and had to wait for Tharn to come to get them.'

'What are wolves from Black Moon doing in our territory?' Estan pondered as he processed the news. Unannounced wolves were a big deal to prestigious packs. Especially since Black Moon was the second-largest pack in the eastern region.

'They said they were a delegation party to White Fang, but every word they said seemed suspicious. Tharn is holding them until we get back and can figure out what to do.'

'This is big news. I hope the king returns from his trip soon. We can't let this get out of hand.'

'Agreed.' A moment passed before Yejin spoke through the link. 'I've got to go, babe. We're moving out.'

'Okay. Stay safe. I love you.'

'Love you. I'll see you in a bit.' Yejin bid as he severed the direct link.

Estan let out a breath before standing to his feet and continuing to clean the mantle.

<<<<<>>>>>

The padding of paws on dirt could be heard as the hunting party made their way through the dense trees. The wolves were now running as their prey was nearing the northern border of the pack's territory. They would need to stop the alpha before he crossed over into the neighboring pack's land. If not, the unstable wolf could cause massive destruction to the Eternal Dawn pack and would potentially cause a war to break out.

The sun had risen and was approximately forty-five degrees above the horizon, signaling the time was about three hours after sunrise. The five wolves maintained their swift pace as they chased the unstable alpha through the forest.

'Target shifted to our ten.' Haikon informed through the party link. Jae did not waste a second in shifting direction.

'What's his stability?' Jae inquired on the alpha's level of instability.

'N-48.' Haikon informed the party. The prince quickened his pace in response to the theta's answer, determined to catch the alpha before he crossed over onto Eternal Dawn's land. No werewolf's stability had ever been recorded lower than negative fifty, and Jae planned to keep it that way. Any werewolf with a stability lower than N-50 would not have even an ounce of humanity left; it would be a beast.

The five wolves ran through the trees for two more hours before Jae finally heard it: the rapid breathing of an unstable wolf.

'We've caught up to him.'

Upon Jae's words, the party slowed in their tracks and began to fan out to surround their prey. The five wolves kept low to the ground as they slinked between the dense vegetation. Jae and Yejin positioned themselves to crouch in front of the alpha while Xander and Haikon flanked the wolf and Kace targeted the back of the alpha.

The alpha was standing in the center of a small grove overgrown with weeds and thorns. The wolf's snout was open, incoherent snarls wafting through the air as saliva dripped from the blood-stained teeth. He had just slain a deer. The torn carcass of the animal lay at the wolf's feet as he had completed feeding and was observing his surroundings.

The alpha's eyes were red, and the fur stood up on the back of the beast. Wicked laughter rippled through the grove as the alpha lifted his head to the sky and let out a hurdling howl before dashing madly into the trees toward the prince and his right-hand.