8 hours until the moon is full
AVA
Jeremiah picked up the envelope as planned, and within what felt like no time at all, it was time for
me to get going. Now, just to help Jeremiah with his distraction… whatever that was going to be.
“Hey Jeremiah,” I called through the mindlink, trying to sound lighthearted in case Oscar was
listening. “I beat my half-mile record.”
I could feel something in the back of my mind, like another presence. Oscar. He was definitely
listening.
Jeremiah snorted through the link, evidently having put two and two together. “Well done, my Queen.
Once this is all over, we’ll race.”
I smirked, slamming the link shut, before standing to leave my office and the pack house.
We’d already dealt with the Lycan warriors I had guarding me; they’d stay in position until Jeremiah
called for them later. Commanding this lot had been a mess, but I needed to get out of the pack
grounds alone.
“I’m proud of you, my child,” Selene whispered through my mind. “This has been hard, I know, but
some things we need to tackle alone, and others we cannot do alone.”
I hid my scent as soon as I left my office, before shifting and leaving my clothes in a hollowed out
tree. I’d sprayed a scent blocker first so even my clothes didn’t really smell too strongly of me.
I moved through the packhouse grounds, moving slowly but carefully, making sure no one saw me. I
wasn’t sure what Jeremiah had done; that would be a question for later, but it appeared to have
worked.
In any other situation, I would have loved this run. The lands to the north of the pack border in no
man’s land are beautiful. You’re talking huge trees, bubbling streams, waterfalls, flowers, deer, the
works.
Today… not only was I tense, but there were a lot of signs that wolves had been living here. I passed
four separate cold camps in the first two miles outside of our pack border. Four.
In all of them though, something stinks… well, didn’t more than anything. I was going to have to
update Jeremiah and just hope Oscar wasn’t listening.
“Jeremiah.”
“Yes, my Queen?”
“I beat my mile time too.”
He chuckled through the link, and we both waited for a minute, making sure we couldn’t feel Oscar.
“Okay, I’m pretty sure he’s not listening, but I’ll be quick. The rogue camps in no man’s land are
laced with sage.”
“Sage, my Queen?”
“They must be using it to hide their scent, there’s a ring of it around each camp.”
I heard him start to speak, and then quickly stop himself.
“It’s fine, Jeremiah. You can swear if you want to.” I carried on walking through the camp as I spoke,
my nose to the ground.
“Well, fuck,” he laughed.
“Fuck indeed,” I replied. “Anyone that is not resistant to wolfsbane needs to be very careful too, it’s
all over the ground around the campfires and leftover shelters.”
I felt a sudden extra presence in the back of my mind. I really hoped he hadn’t come in too much
earlier…
“Anyway, I’m sure you’re busy, Jeremiah,” I made sure I sounded light hearted. “Just wanted to brag
about my new PB! If you want to attempt to beat my record, you’ll be able to find the route I took.”
Hopefully he put two and two together…
He snorted. “Of course, anytime, my Queen.”
Five miles further out, I came to an active camp… again, surrounded by sage.
I crept up to the edge of the ledge above them, listening before making my move.
‘No, we have to wait!’ a gruff voice shouted.
‘Why? We could get this done quicker,’ someone replied, sounding impatient.
‘The King has been very clear. He needs to have his mate at midnight when the moon is full.’
‘Why? He can mark a mate whenever.’
The first voice sighed. ‘I don’t think she’s his fated mate.’
Too fucking right I’m not.
I had to fight Artemis not to growl and give away our position.
‘So he’s lying to us all?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why the hell would he do that?’
‘Do you not know who she is?’
‘No?’
‘She is the Alpha Queen. The next ruler of the entire kingdom.’
‘Oh fuck.’
At that point, I’d heard enough. There were six rogues in this camp, easy peasy.
I let Artemis growl, a growl that sent chills down their spines. I gave Artemis control, and let her deal
with all bar one of them permanently. The last, the one that was answering the questions, I wanted to
keep hold of for now, so she just broke his leg.
I shifted back, looking down on the rogue in question. I let my control drop so Callum and Oscar
would be able to find my scent here and it would lead to this camp.
“Now then,” I dropped down so I was squatting next to him. “What is your boss planning?”
“It’s you,” he gasped. “You’re the one he’s looking for.”
“Mhmm,” I replied.
“I… I can’t tell you, he commanded me.”
I scowled. I could probably get around this, but I didn’t have time to do it properly. I only had just
over an hour to get to the clearing.
“Fine,” I growled, letting my aura out to play. “Where is the Rogue King?”
He winced under my power, but didn’t reply.
“How many wolves are with him?”
“Seventy, my… my Queen.”
“Where are the rest of his wolves?”
“Camps near… near the border.”
“How many camps?”
“Six,” he winced.
“Including yours?”
He nodded.
“How many wolves are at each camp?”
“About… about ten.”
“Perfect,” I grinned, before knocking him out with one blow to the head.
“Jeremiah. Six lots of ten every two hours around the clock. Twelve o’clock dealt with, with one
present left behind tied with a bow.
“Thank you, my Queen.”