Page 22 of Blood Pearl
It seems from his sluggish reaction he has been sedated with something. Paige and Jinny take one side of the Alpha each. “Get him out of here and to either Blood Pearl or Spirit Walker. I’ll cover your asses. Now move.”
Maintaining my position behind Paige and Jinny, I see my pack members following, too. “Move out, get back to one of the packs,” I order, and watch as they pass me, but Fergus and Randall take the Alpha and make better time as they run.
All my pack members are in front of me now, and I’m keeping my eye behind us for the rogues and Alpha Arric. I am sure he will recover quickly and if he catches up with us, it will be hard to take him down on my own.
I can feel pack wolves waking. They need to use their strength to get away. Link the pack now, Aurora.
‘Pack, run fast, return to the pack border. If you cannot get to it run to Spirit Walker Pack. They will allow you through their border patrol. Look for the council warriors. They are on the border and alert.’ I throw out the order to all my pack members through the mind link, and hearing the responses from them, I know they are running as fast as they can to do as I say.
We run hard maintaining a strenuous pace. Rico, Fergus and Voss take turns to run with the alpha over their shoulder, they even shift and have him riding on their back. I’m more than relieved that they have their wolves back now.
Exhaustion is starting to hit us all because of the distance we have covered. I am amazed that the Alpha and his rogue pack have not caught up with us as yet.
Seeing the border I keep running, I am remaining in human form as I need to give Aztec as much rest as I can in case she has to fight. The border is nearing and I can see the border warriors of my pack and the council warriors.
Hearing a snarl from behind, I shift and spin, facing a large black and gray wolf. Arric…he is much larger than Aztec, but I’m not going back and I can feel Aztec’s resolve to not go back either.
Snapping, we circle each other, and I know I can’t win this, but as Arric’s wolf lunges into the air to take me down, a large red wolf slams into Arric’s and sends him bowling away.
Run, Aztec, run.
With Gerry’s wolf Asher on our tail, we run to the border and spin around as we cross to watch Arric’s wolf come to a halt, snarling in a temper that he didn’t catch us.
The council warriors are lined along the border and ready to surge forward if needed. But Alpha Arric turns howling at his rogue pack to follow him.
I shift and turn to Gerry as he shifts back as well. “Thank you. I don’t think I could have taken him down, but I at least would have given the others time to cross the border if we had any stragglers, that is.”
“No, you all crossed and you have the Alpha with you. That was a brave move. I just hope the other packs got away also,” Gerry adds, and it’s at that moment the lack of food, water and sleep overcomes my stubbornness, and I see black spots, before everything becomes black and I know nothing more.
Chapter 13
AURORA
Sitting in my office, I am so relieved to be away from the rogues' camp. It’s been a nightmare come true, but thankfully, none of my people were hurt when we escaped.
I don’t think any of us have run as fast as we did to reach the border before the rogue Alpha and his band of merry men caught up to us. Aztec is curled in a ball with her nose tucked under her tail in the back of my mind, and I can’t help but give a gentle smile upon seeing her.
My meeting with Taria was heartrending. She cried until sobs broke out of her and she clung to me like a monkey. We have always been close, probably due to the fact she has never had a father in her life. She has a soft heart which is easily hurt, and the pack has seen that and holds her dear because of it. She helps everyone, and is a natural Luna wanting to nurse the sick, be a support system to anyone that needs it.
Raina, on the other hand after her initial hug fest, wanted to know every detail of how I ended up in the camp, what happened during the stay in the camp, and how we escaped.
The door opens, and Councilman Flint enters the office, giving me a closed look. “Good morning, Aurora. How did you sleep?”
“Good morning, Flint. I slept intermittently. I hope you slept well.”
“Oh, I sleep three hours, then I’m finished. The older I get, the less I sleep, it seems.”
“Maybe you need to get yourself a mate, someone that will tire you out,” I give him a grin, letting him know I’m teasing him.
“Oh, Goddess forbid. A mate is the last thing I want, but if the Goddess gave me a second chance mate, I wouldn’t reject her.”
A few minutes pass before Roul, Gerry and Raina enter the office, taking a seat at the table where both myself and Flint settle too.
Roul leans forward, elbows on the table, and hands clasped. “Can you tell us everything that happened from you entering the camp? Gerry has informed us up to that point, so we don’t need to go over that again.”
“There isn’t that much to tell you if I’m honest, but I will tell you what I feel is relevant so we don’t waste our time,” taking a deep breath, I continue. “The rogue in charge calls himself Alpha Arric, he wants a Luna, now the choices he has are not great, for example, Fragina and Izzy.”
“I heard Zoella Worth is there, too. Wynona saw her and heard her sucking up to the Alpha,” Raina states, but the look of disgust on her face has me shaking my head and smiling.