Page 10 of Blood Pearl
Grinning, Gerry shakes his head, and I can see he’d like to laugh at my non-eagerness to mask our scent, but he holds it back.
After we wait a while for nightfall to descend, we quietly edge to the stream where we cover ourselves in mud. Masking our scent before making our way to the forest of trees surrounding the rogues’ camp. I’m hoping the camp is still there because we’ve seen hardly any rogues in quite some time. Whenever we have seen them they are whining about their misfortune, their Luna, whoever that is, and the harshness of their Alpha.
Quietly climbing a tree, with Gerry below, making sure no-one detects me, I get ready to cause a distraction if needed. Luckily, we use stealth techniques with our warriors and climbing trees is one of them.
I’m as high as I dare climb because the branches are now much thinner and more likely to snap under my weight. I give Gerry a low whine, which is our signal that I’m where I’m going to settle.
Watching Gerry climb the tree next to mine has my eyes straining. It’s dark enough to give some cover, but the moon is out tonight and gives me the opportunity to watch Gerry scoot up the tree like he’s been doing it since birth. I have never, and I mean never, seen anything like it. I thought Wallace climbed fast, but Gerry makes him look like he’s crawling.
Leaning on the trunk of the tree, my legs dangling from each side of the thick branch, I rest my head back and close my eyes. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow. Staying undetected but gathering as much information as we can from whatever we can see from our vantage point.
“I’m sick of patrolling. We seem to do nothing but walk around the border. Since the Alpha killed twelve of the border patrol for falling asleep on the job, he’s had to give a different patrol rotation.”
I try to look down through the branches but cannot see who it is speaking. One of the rogues stinks so badly I can smell him even high-up in the tree.
A second voice, “That bitch he calls his Luna needs getting rid of, and the hostage he wants to make his Luna is more fitting. But he’s going to have to break her to make her conform to the idea.”
My face shoots around to look at Gerry and he gives me a hard look, letting me know that he had heard, too. If it’s Wren, Rue or Wynona, they will fight him until death, none of the three will agree to something like that. They would rather die as would I in that situation.
“She’s a beauty that’s for sure, and her showing that the Luna is weak was a good move, until it got the Alpha’s attention…Oh, by the way did you see that big alpha they brought into camp, it’s a good job they injected him fast…” The first voice states as it gets quieter as they walk away.
I once again lean my head against the trunk of the tree and feel for the first time that I don’t want to be the Alpha of the pack once this is over and done. My time is done, and I may move to the Northern Parklands to find a quiet place to live out my life. I heard humans say this is like being a cat lady, and I’ve only ever seen one pet cat, but I could live with one if it could live with Aztec!
I’ll eat it and spit it out when I’m done. Aztec says in the back of my mind, and I can’t help the grin that crosses my face imagining Aztec chasing a pet cat around a home.
Gradually, the darkness turns to the early morning light, and rogues appear more frequently. It’s been quiet throughout the night and only a few have been passing underneath us, but what was noticeable is the way they speak with discontentment.
My stomach rolls a little and I hope it doesn’t make any loud noises. We had a couple of rabbits each on the way to this position, but if Flint’s comment about Gerry always being hungry and eating mountains of food is true, then he’s got to be ready for his next meal!
Hearing a voice, I think I recognize, I pull myself onto my knees and grip the branch so I can get as low as possible to hear what is being said and validate my suspicion.
“Why her? Why couldn’t he want me as his Luna. I’m sick of being the one out in the cold, even though I do as I’m told.”
“I don’t know Izzy. It makes me wonder if we did the right thing coming here. I’ve been here months and got landed with that rogue who took a fancy to me. I can’t stand him, yet the Alpha made me be his chosen mate.” Another voice states, and I look again at Gerry, who is listening the same as me.
“Come on, Charisse, we have to find wild onions because that bitch Aurora didn’t give any in the food this time.”
“I’ve never met Alpha Aurora, but Izzy, I’ve heard good things about her and the pack. I know you didn’t like her, but you are about the only one I’ve heard say bad things about her…” Hearing a slap, I look down again, trying to see what’s happening. “Don’t slap me Izzy or you’ll find I’m quite happy to slap you back and I was a warrior before I came here.”
Within minutes, all is quiet again around the trees, but I can see the camp and people starting to do what you have to consider are daily chores.
Standing on the branch, I grasp one just above to keep my balance, and watch as large cauldrons are placed over two fires. They light the fires and throw ingredients from the food I provided, along with buckets of water. No meat is thrown into the cauldron, and that surprises me, as we are in a forested area, for hundreds of miles towards the Eastern Parklands. There have to be an enormous number of deer and other animals that could be caught to survive on. Seems they are lazy and willing to eat vegetables which won’t be good for their wolves if that’s all they are eating, if they even have wolves anymore.
Watching, a stream of she-wolves being led from a brick building by what are obviously guards. It is not a well-built building, I notice, but probably too strong to break into.
Allowing Aztec to come forward somewhat so we can use her heightened senses we hear, before we see, my pack of females.
“You touch me with your filthy hands and I’ll rip them off and shove them up your ass.” That is Rue’s voice, and I can’t help but smirk. More than a little relieved she is not broken with the time she’s been held.
“Yeah, you tell him, filthy pig, he’s been rubbing his dick while he’s been looking at you,” Paige snarls, and she’s not a whimpering mess either, so I have hope they can help when it’s time to break out of here.
“You okay, Rue?” None other than Voss shouts. I see him, Rico, Fergus and Randall all saunter out of another brick building but with their hands tied together. That has me grinning because nothing like that will keep these males tied down. They can get out of them easily.
No wolves! Aztec gasps.
‘What?’
I cannot link them. Their wolves are not answering. They have either given them wolfsbane, or their wolves are dead.