Chapter 74 Boots On The Ground
1658words
Beta Don and I had arrived at the cabin Beverly had directed us to sooner than I had expected. I figured it was the adrenaline coursing through me—being so close to finding my mate—that I was riding a high, making us race here in record time. We shifted back to our human forms and stared blankly at the building. It was an abandoned cabin located on the edge of Midnight Moon pack territory. Not many shifters came out here besides patrol units since my father's death when we were attacked by rogues long ago. We had planned earlier this year to knock it down and build a shifter hospital there, as the pack was growing and the community needed to accommodate that as well. My wolf had been uneasy while we waited for the enforcers to arrive; every second mattered, and he couldn't bear another minute with Adeline. It was a constant battle for power—no matter how hard I pushed him down, he fought to resurface.
We approached the wooden shack but kept a distance far enough into the tree line, determined not to reveal our location. I stilled my breathing, desperate for any sounds that would reveal if the cabin was occupied. There was an eerie calmness in the forest—not even birds chirped nearby.
"Fuck it, I'm going in," I said quietly to Beta Don. The silence was making me panic. If Adeline was in there, was she dead? Time hadn't run out yet, but why the hell was it so quiet?
I began to rise when Beta Don shot his hand out and pulled me down by the elbow. A despairing look clouded his face as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Alpha, I recommend waiting for the reinforcements. We don't know who or what evil lurks behind those walls. It could be a trap," he said. "The pack won't be able to handle losing both their Luna and Alpha."
I shook my head. "If they lose their Luna, they'll lose their Alpha in the process by default."
More silence crept into the air.
I glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun was nearly set. Damn, I was running out of time faster than I realized. If she wasn't in that cabin, how much longer would it take until we found another lead? It was a risk, but the risk reaped rewards if she was in there.
"This is an order, Don. You will stay right here until the enforcers arrive. When they do, I want the entire cabin surrounded. If she's in there, I don't want to have to wonder if her abductors might run off. I'm the Alpha of Midnight Moon; I will handle myself. Whatever's in there is more scared of me than I am of it," I said, casting my Alpha aura over him to ensure there was no further debate. I was going in, and that was final.
He gave me a nervous nod, fully understanding there was no holding me back. The orders were simple. "If I hear commotion, I'm coming in, though," he eagerly replied. "Oh, and Alpha? Bring the Luna home."
I gave in to my wolf and let him take control of the situation. I felt my claws elongate and my canines protrude. Soon I stood on all fours as my bones broke and repositioned themselves into my onyx black wolf form. I cautiously approached the cabin, first taking time to sniff out the perimeter.
"Three scents are here. One is definitely Adeline's, and another seems to be Beverly's. You were right—she's somehow involved in all this. Get her locked up. I'll deal with her later," I explained to Beta Don through the mind link and continued to sniff out the scene.
I felt my paw get stuck between two rocks at the back of the cabin. I yanked it out effortlessly, but the sound of one of the rocks rolling out of place echoed through the forest. Shit. I'd just given away my location, eliminating the chances of a surprise attack. I raced back to the tree line and ducked under a massive log.
"Alpha? Where the fuck are you? That son of a bitch Asher just walked out the door. He's headed towards the back now," Beta Don chimed in through the mind link.
My blood boiled at the sight of Asher walking around the cabin, carefully studying the tree line for a moment. I should have killed him when he was begging for his life. He must have been behind the rogue attack. What kind of guard couldn't handle one rogue? He was trained for battle, whereas the rogue fought on instinct. But what connection did he have with Beverly? Last I knew, those two hated each other.
As he scurried back around the house, I heard the door shut behind him, and I proceeded toward making my entrance. "Be careful, Jax. We don't know how many are inside yet," Beta Don reminded me through the mind link.
It was now or never. I steadied my wolf and bolted for the door. My claws tore the door off its hinges in one clean swipe. A chuckle came from behind the doorframe. "It took you long enough. For an Alpha with your reputation, you really made this too easy for us," Asher taunted, jumping over the couch in the living room, then straight down the wooden staircase.
I began the chase like a starving lion hunting his next meal. I leapt down the staircase into a dark and foul-smelling basement. It was then that I locked eyes with my mate. Adeline looked frail and weak, chains clung to her wrists as she struggled to sit up on a dirty mattress. She barely kept her eyes open, but managed to call out, "Jaxon, no," softly before her head fell back onto the mattress. I bared my canines, though I didn't care that it was against pack law to attack a shifter who wasn't shifted into wolf form yet.
I growled loudly but was hit with piercing pain in my hind leg. I turned to see Beverly pressing down on a syringe—wolfsbane. I knew immediately what liquid was coursing through my wolf by the burning sensation accompanying it. This had just become the fight of my life. The betrayal caused my eyes to deepen into solid black. I was out for blood.
I leapt toward Asher, who was easily taken down by my wolf even as the wolfsbane weakened me and dulled my senses. My canines sank into his leg, ripping it from the bone in a single sweep. He screamed like a schoolgirl—this was the guy who kept my borders safe. What a joke.
Forgetting about the other abductor, Beverly, my wolf focused solely on Adeline. I needed to get my mate out of here. I was unsure how much wolfsbane she had injected into her; she needed medical attention immediately. I ripped the chains from the wall with my teeth, pulling patches of concrete along with them. My eyes widened when I saw how swollen the skin around her wrists had become. They must have been made of silver to cause that kind of reaction.
"Please... no... take me..." she whimpered through labored breathing. Her wolf was fighting the poison, but she was withering before my eyes. I pivoted only to find Beverly's wolf charging directly at me, canines extended straight for my throat. I struggled to dodge the attack as the wolfsbane already took its toll on me.
"Enforcers just arrived. I'm coming for you, Alpha," Beta Don shouted through the mind link. His voice throbbed loudly in my head, causing me to lunge forward.
Beverly's canines pierced my shoulder, just missing my neck. No one had ever landed a strike like that on me. Beverly had trained alongside me over the years; she already had the advantage because she knew my moves and how I used them in battle.
I struggled to stay upright, lucky the wound was already stitching itself up. I just needed to keep her distracted a little longer until I regained strength to end her.
I felt her gear up and pounce again. I jolted to the side just in time, causing her to lose her footing. She turned back to me, more furious than I'd ever seen her. "Step back, Beverly. It doesn't have to end this way," I told her through the mind link.
A cackling laugh filled the link immediately. "It does, Jaxon. You ripped my title from me, and now you've killed my mate, too. This can only end one way—with you and your precious little mate pooling your own blood." She leapt forward and clenched her jaw on the same spot on my shoulder. I winced, the wolfsbane in full effect, making my mind go groggy. Everything slowed to a crawl.
If wolves could smile, I was sure she had the biggest grin pasted across her smug face right now. I struggled to rise but then fell back on the cold concrete floor. She launched another attack, but Adeline somehow threw her frail body in front of me and intercepted the bite. Beverly held on to her arm harshly, shaking her head violently. I could hear my mate's skin tearing and smelled her blood overpowering mine.
A look of accomplishment glinted in Beverly's swirling golden eyes. "Grand finale?" she gloated through the mind link, then threw herself at me. Before I could blink, a glowing red wolf took Beverly's wolf down. The glowing red wolf snarled and growled until Beverly flipped it over and bit into its neck. Shock filled my chest as I watched in slow motion; she released its throat and slammed it against the basement's concrete wall.
Red wolf... the only other red wolf in the pack I knew apart from Adeline, who lay right in front of me, was... no. It couldn't be.
