*Noah*
Zara refused to leave with , so I returned to my warriors, feeling my head swimming with grief and frustration. I needed to get her out of there, whether she liked it or not.
“Where is Zara?” Caleb asked.
“I couldn’t get her out of there on my own,” I said.
I shot him a look to let him know I didn’t want to explain further, and he understood.
“What’s our plan of action now?” he asked.
“We get Zara out,” I said firmly. “We can’t do this alone, but we have allies here in the Dark Realm.”
I grabbed my phone and dialed the Midnight Sun pack.
Maybe Alpha Gage and Luna Eloise would help , I thought. I definitely needed it, and the strong ties between Drogomor and Midnight Sun would surely help get Zara out safe and sound.
The phone rang and the pack’s Beta answered.
“Hello?”
“Good evening. Is Alpha Gage or Luna Eloise available?”
“They are not. How can I help you?”
“Yes, I’m Noah Black from Drogomor.”
“Of course, sir. It’s been a long ti. How are you?”
“In a bit of trouble at the mont.”
“How may we help?” he asked.
When I finished explaining the situation, there was silence on the other end of the line. “This situation is very complicated. Well, we’re family and we appreciate our alliance with Drogomor. I can’t see a problem with sending in adequate reinforcents.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I won’t forget this.”
“I have heard of the trouble Alpha Dave is stirring on the other side of the Dark Forest, but most of his pack is made up of weak shifters.”
“That is good to know.”
“There are a lot of them, but it shouldn’t be much of fight.” His tone did have a touch of amusent. “Silver Fang are very showy, prideful wolves without much action to back it up. I’ll get your backup as soon as possible.”
With that, I gave him our location, and he assured us we’d be situated soon.
“Let’s make camp and get rest for the evening.” I instructed.
I found a space for myself where I could enjoy Zara’s lingering scent and the mory of having her in my arms for what felt like the first ti.
But when I had awoken to find myself camped on the outskirts of the Dark Forest, I couldn’t rember anything about the night before. It unnerved to have Caleb take to the side to brief on what I’d said and done.
Once I was caught up, we needed to formulate a solid plan, so I took so warriors with and shifted, darting into the forest to scout out the periter.
I mind linked Caleb as we patrolled. ‘Any sign of trouble?’
He had taken a group in a different direction, but he wasn’t so far that he couldn’t arrive quickly in the course of several minutes.
‘No. I spotted a patrol group of Silver Fang pack mbers in the distance, but I remained downwind. The winds haven’t shifted, by the blessing of the Goddess, thankfully.’
‘Good.’ I let out a relieved huff as I walked along, making sure I didn’t step on any dry leaves that would give away my position to any patrolling Silver Fang pack mbers.
‘Any openings?’ I asked.
“Nothing of the sort yet, unfortunately.”
“Understood. We’ll keep looking.”
The night darkened more, and I felt my fur stick up a bit. Anticipation flowed through my veins as my nose twitched, my jaws aching to clamp down on the damned pack that had Zara and my child.
My thoughts were interrupted by a warning howl right by the side of my ear, causing to curse inwardly.
Shit.
The winds at this point had shifted, and our scent was given away to a Silver Fang guard. One tiny slip-up and we were spotted.
Clanging jaws and eyes blazing with fury ca rushing from the forest, clashing with and my warriors. I let out a loud snarl, my lips peeling back from my teeth as I leaped into the fray.
‘Caleb, we’re under attack. I need you now.’
‘On my way.’
My jaws sank into one of the Silver Fang pack mber’s legs. I made sure to jerk my head back and forth to do as much damage as possible.
My enemy’s cries rang into the air, causing the sensation of pure satisfaction to rush through . I let go of their leg and moved onto their throat, not hesitating to sink my jaws into it.
Pain shot through as wolf jaws sank into my flank, then another set into my legs, but I ignored them. I kept hold of my current enemy until their squirming stopped altogether.
The scent of blood filled my nostrils, the excitent of battle and the chance to tear into the ones who had my mate pushing forward.
I whirled, lunging for the wolf who’d bitten into my leg. Our dance of death lasted a while, with us snapping our jaws and almost landing bites, but both of us dodged in ti.
The scream of my enemy rang into the night as I managed to snag their tail in my teeth, jerking my head back and forth and causing massive damage.
Blood sprayed onto the battlefield, coating my coat with crimson. I let out a snarl and carried on, the other wolf stumbling and making my job all the easier.
The damage I’d done and the pain I’d caused had rendered them totally distracted and unable to dodge anymore. A rush of excitent hit as the taste of blood flowed over my tongue.
I didn’t stop until they stopped moving.
More and more pain surged through as from all directions Silver Fang wolves joined in. There was an endless sea of vicious enemies, and when one fell, two took their place.
We were outnumbered.
The Drogomor warriors and I had taken down a fair amount of Silver Fang wolves, but it wasn’t enough. We were no doubt going to be overrun soon, and we would have no chance to flee.
But then a different howl pierced the night, causing to look up in that direction for a mont. More wolves rushed into the fray, but they didn’t attack us.
I realized that they were our Midnight Sun allies, arriving just in ti to save our asses.
Thank the Goddess, because one mont longer, we’d have been dood.
We were able to turn the tide, running side by side and taking down any Silver Fang pack mber we intercepted. Before long, we arrived at the mansion.
We breached it, ignoring the servants running amok and taking down any guards that stood in our way. My nostrils were flaring as I darted down the halls.
I flattened my ears, growling with concern until making a turn and catching the scent of soone wonderfully familiar... Zara.
I took several more turns and ca upon a door, slamming it open and rushing inside. This room was filled with her scent. She had to be there.
She wasn’t.
I let out a frustrated yelp and began to pace, lashing my tail before clicking my jaws in frustration. My fur spiked, and I sent orders to Caleb and the warriors to search through the entire damn mansion.
They didn’t find her.
Damn it.
Fear rushed through as I realized she wasn’t there. If not here, then where was she, I wondered.
I shifted back and approached one of the servants who had been left untouched. She stared at fearfully but offered information freely.
“What do you know about a woman known as Zara, who was being kept here against her will?”
“She fled into the nearby Dark Forest with another girl earlier today,” she whispered.
I widened my eyes, my fear only spiking from this information.
The Dark Forest had a horrible reputation, and Zara was in grave danger. Surely, she knew about it, too. It wasn’t exactly a secret. Why the hell would she take that risk?
“Shit. I need to speak with Alpha Daven, now!”
I followed so Midnight Sun pack mbers to where they had him cornered in his quarters. His expression was filled with hatred when he looked at .
I ignored it and demanded, “What the hell did you do to Zara that she was so desperate to escape into the Dark Forest?!”
“Do to her?!” he answered. “You bastard. I was planning on letting her return ho after my son Gray’s wedding. I don’t know why she would be foolish enough to enter that damned place.”
I eyed him skeptically, having a feeling he wasn’t answering honestly at all. But before I could snap back, I was tapped on the shoulder. I turned to stare at the Midnight Sun warrior who’d done so.
“Yes?”
“The Dark Forest is said to be haunted by the ghosts of ancient witches, Alpha Heir,” he muttered, his eyes distant.
“So I’ve heard.”
“Said witch spirits lure travelers to their doom,” he continued. “There have been many, many vanishings during the night, and the culprits are likely them.”
“Damn it,” I snarled.
I shot Alpha Daven one last look before turning to the now-gathering mbers of both Drogomor and Midnight Sun.
“Night has fallen, and Zara is in grave danger,” I said. “I need our most skilled trackers to help search for her in the Dark Forest.”
After gathering up the shifters who would help with this task, we took a detour to Zara’s quarters so her scent would be fresh in their minds.
Then we were off, running side-by-side and taking cues from one another as we rushed toward the tree line. When we picked up Zara’s scent trail, my stomach clenched.
Worry flooded every nerve in my body. The Dark Forest was known for more than just spirits. There were dangerous packs and other unseen monsters that could harm her, unforeseen magic that posed a real threat.
I took the rumors of the spirits seriously, too. I didn’t know how they lured people to their doom, but I didn’t want Zara to find that out.
Every horrible scenario rushed through my head as we followed Zara’s trail.
My ears were pinned back as I kept my nose to the ground, and eventually, we ca across an abandoned car. I stalked around it, trying to figure out what the hell could have happened.
It was stuck in a sinkhole. Shit, she was now moving through the woods on foot....
Not only that, but the scent of her blood hit my nose, and soon, I discovered traces of it in the general area.
Panic seized further, and I threw back my head and let out a loud cry of frustration.
My wolf fangs bared, I rushed into the forest, hoping to the Goddess that I would find Zara okay, my heart pounding a mile a minute.
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