The journey wasn’t a long one for Damon. It didn’t feel that way at all, but it was in fact two hours since he had been running through the woods on all fours. The distance probably didn’t bother him because of how pumped he had become after his talk with Sarah. She was finally coming around and all he needed to do now, was to get this over with so he could patch things up properly. It was also a huge relief that he’d soon have absolutely nothing to do with Katie. All she had ever been was a wormhole in his life… even now. Besides, not having her around was better for Sarah since there would be no room for misunderstandings anymore.
Damon shook his huge wolf form as he finally set his thoughts aside and skidded to a stop once he reached the spot where a vibrant red cloth was tied to a tree. This was it, the spot where he was supposed to rendezvous with those stupid hunters. Yet for some reason, he couldn’t hear, smell nor see them. His face contorted suspiciously. What kind of game were they playing? How dare they mess with an Alpha King?
When Jason suggested partnership between two species that had been against each other for ages, he wasn’t very supportive of the idea. But they were battling with beings as cunning as rogues and as such, he admitted that it was a good idea to partner up with the Hunters despite loathing every bone in their bodies. But as a person of such high status, Damon was determined not to initiate their alliance.
But a few days after his confrontation with their leader Kevin March at the mall, he had sent some of his goons to request for an alliance with the purpose of eliminating the rogues plaguing this area. It was definitely a surprise since they both weren’t very fond of eachother, and at the time, he thought nothing of it, but now he was getting the idea that leaving his pack stranded in the middle of their plans was Kevin’s form of revenge.
But no matter, this all worked out in his favour. A weak human like him was useless anyway. His help would probably be as insignificant as a fly’s. However…. deceiving him was something that he would not forgive anyone for. After this battle, he’d definitely have his head… whether it’d cause a war or not, he didn’t care.
Without any further delay, he took off once again and with a loud roar, he prompted the others to follow his lead. This time it took around half an hour for him to reach his final destination…. the hideout. He pulled to a stop in a spot where he was far enough to not be scented nor spotted but close enough for him to be able to search the premises with his eyes.
“Alpha.” Gilbert came to stand beside him as he began to change back into human form. “There are bodies.”
“I can see that.” Damon grumbled, his words sounding animalistic as he was still in the middle of shifting. “Stay back until I scout the area.”
“But Alpha–?”
“I said stay back.” He hissed, irritation clouding his voice. He was already annoyed about Kevin’s behaviour so his bad mood had derived mostly from that and now he was itching with the need to ram his fist into someone’s jaw… certainly if Gilbert hadn’t stepped back out of reverence, he would’ve surely gotten a piece of his anger.
“Keep everyone else in check until I return.”
Gilbert nodded, retreating back under the cloaks of the dark forest while Damon moved out into the open.
The place looked deserted aside from the dozens of bodies that littered the ground. And he could even smell the scent of his own wolves, the wolves from his pack that was sent to keep sight of their enemy’s movements. They had all been killed… And that was the very reason why he had lost all contact with them. This was certainly an unfortunate sight. These rogues lessened his army, and it was not just any low-ranked wolves, but some of the best he had in his arsenal. For that, they’d definitely pay with their lives!
“Alpha, you’re here.” A male voice acknowledged. Damon quickly spun around in his direction. He was a blonde with thick eyebrows and fierce looking eyes. Damon recognized him at first sight… Kevin’s right hand man. And behind him, around four dozen other hunters stood at attention, each looking equally as fierce and stoic as he was. But Damon wasn’t intimidated one bit. If anyone was to feel scared right now, it’d be them. How dare they all provoke him to anger?
“Why did you all hide your scent?” Damon glanced over his shoulder to look at the men behind him. They immediately shuffled uncomfortably in their spot, trying hard not to meet his icy gaze.
Perhaps, they weren’t as fierce as he initially thought.
“It is protocol to hide our scents when approaching the enemy. I apologize if it caused any inconvenience.” He bowed his head a bit and lowered his gaze.
His actions only made Damon’s jaw tick in anger. “I see.” He cracked his neck and curled his fingers like that of claws as his nails elongated. Everyone who saw it could tell that he was about to unleash his impending anger. And all the Hunters could do was step back.
“Who told you to desert the meeting spot? I thought I made myself clear when I said–”
“We were at the designated spot, but we had to move-”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence because a large, callous hand stopped his windpipe, inciting gasps from his men behind him. “You…” Damon bared his teeth, his fingers tightening around his neck, “… dare to cut me off?” He hissed.
“I apo-apologize.” The blonde’s words barely managed to creep up his throat. But an apology with no sign of regret only made Damon’s anger multiply. “We h-heard howls co-c-coming from a dis-distance…”
At that, Damon craned his neck as a newfound interest suddenly sparked within him. And reluctantly, he slackened his taut hold on his neck.
“Go on.”
“We headed-” he paused shortly to cough. “–for the hideout ahead of time. But unfortunately, when we arrived the wolves were already dead. Rogues came out in their numbers… so we were at a disadvantage. They ended up killing a couple of our men as well before retreating into the woods. It seemed like they were in a hurry.”
“In what direction?”
“East.”
Damon studied his face for any from of lying and pushed him to the side when he found none whatsoever. “Gilbert.” He called to the werewolf he left in charge of the others. “Let’s move. We’re heading east.”
In an instant Gilbert was standing right behind him, face as hard as a rock. “Are you sure you want to believe these humans? I don’t trust them.” He spoke low enough for only Damon to hear.
“If that’s the case, all we have to do is kill them.” Damon replied casually. “You…” He pointed to the blonde. “I’ll take your leader’s absence as a form of disrespect. After this, he better be ready to have his head separated from his body.”
He nodded. “I’ll have him know your intentions.”
“Anyway, I want you and your men under my tail. Gilbert, you lead the others and make sure no one falls behind.”
“Understood.” Gilbert took a few steps back.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
Damon was about to lurch forward and shift in mid-air but before he could, a sudden mind-link came knocking at his consciousness.
“Alpha!”
That frightened call was from no one but Jason. There were only two times when Jason has ever called him Alpha. It was either he was in a exceedingly good mood or he had done something that he knew for sure would anger him. In this case, it was definitely the latter and that realization made him stiffen in place. Swallowing the saliva that had accumulated in his mouth, Damon quickly fired back a reply. “What is it?!”
“Forgive me Alpha, but she has been kidnapped! I’m trying to track her but there isn’t any trace of her scent!”
Damon didn’t have time to get angry in this case. The only thing that creeped up his spine… was fear. The same raw fear that devoured Jason was the same one that devoured Damon. It had been a very long while since he had felt so much fear surge within him and it wasn’t a good feeling.
“Gilbert, we’re heading back at full speed!” He spun around and was ready to take off, but a hand suddenly grasped his left shoulder.
“I’m sorry but we can’t allow you to leave.” The blonde said nonchalantly, his fingers tightening against his skin. “You’re ruining our plans.”
Damon didn’t even bother to turn his head to look at him, he simply reeled his hand back and slammed it against his neck, detaching his head from his body. As blood splattered all over his clothes and the limp body dropped to the floor, the measly hunters the blonde brought with him cowardly took a few steps back.
“I’ll take care of the traitors.” Gilbert marched up until he was standing before the hunters, back straight and hands ready to rip through whatever stood in his way. “I need Blaze, Seraph and Flip to assist. We will catch up with you, Alpha.”
Damon nodded as he flicked his hand in an attempt to get rid of the blood. “I want atleast one of them alive. And get the wolves on standby ready for battle, including those from the west, north and south. I need every single warrior wolf at my disposal.” And with that, he took of into the woods with over three hundred wolves thundering behind him.
Gilbert had evolved over the years into one of the best beta’s around. And there was no doubt that he’d get the job done, so now the only person he needed to worry about was his mate; Sarah!
*******
*******
When Sarah awoke, she was draped over a bulky male’s shoulder. She had no idea who he was nor where they were going, but she had enough sense to keep herself still the best she could.
“So where’s Kevin?” That was indisputably Katie’s voice.
“He’s waiting at the warehouse.” The bulky man said gruffly.
“Just so you know, if you dare to betray me, I’ll kill both you and her on spot.” She tightened her fingers around the bow she was carrying. “And he won’t get his precious woman.”
“There’s no need to deceive an ally. We’re almost there anyway.”
“Fine.” She looked back at him. “But why does he want her so much anyway? She’s Damon’s mate for crying out loud!”
“That’s none of your business.” He rumbled. “Your task was to capture her, nothing more.”
Katie scoffed. “So don’t I deserve to know why the Alpha King’s mate is so important to a Hunter? I’m the one who risked my life to get her!”
Sarah curled her fingers into a fist, tears springing at her eyes. Hunter? She couldn’t be talking about that Kevin right? He looked and behaved like a maniac the last time she met him, but he wouldn’t do this to her. Though the memories weren’t all there, she was still pretty sure that they were good friends. So why on earth would he capture her? What was her purpose and what exactly was he trying to accomplish?
“I don’t know either.” The man sighed, stopping in his tracks so he could glare at her. “Just keep your nose out of his business if you want to stay alive. You get that Alpha and he gets the girl. That’s all there is to it.”
“Whatever.” She flipped her black hair. “Let’s hurry before Damon finds out. We’ve hidden our scents but we still need to make sure we don’t leave any tracks. I’m telling you that it won’t be pretty if he reaches us before we reach Kevin. He’s probably on our tail right now.”
Sarah second that. If Damon was alright then he was definitely hunting for her… but if she had heard correctly then they had hidden both hers and their scents… though she had no idea how exactly. So how on earth would he be able to find her? How would he save her when she was in this state?
She stayed still against the Hunter as her hope constantly drained the farther they got.
“Ow!” Katie’s screech suddenly filled the air after a few silent minutes.
The Hunter spared her an annoyed glance as she pulled to a stop in front of him. “What is it?”
“It’s just a scrape. Luckily, it isn’t bleeding.”
Those last few words sprang forth an idea into her Sarah’s mind the second she heard it. Slowly, she drew her hand to her lips and took a hard bite out of her skin, rapturing it. She squeezed her eyes shut at the pain that enveloped her as blood started to leak from the wound, dripping off her hand and to the forest floor.
This… was the least she could do to up her chances of surviving.