The night is quiet as the vans slowly drive along the gravel path toward the Pine Moon borders. We agreed to arrive in groups of five every hour until every wolf in our small army was present for what was to take place tonight. Sebastian is the one driving us through our final stretch while Carrie is the one instructing him through their link. We need to be careful or else Pine Moon will learn that we are here.
[Tristan is here with us. His men and ours are getting into their formations.] Gale says in our link, making me sigh with relief. Tristan had been late in joining us after having to leave Crescent Phoenix to take care of a problem in their Pack. It turned out Valor had sent his men to spy on Shadow Rose and that led to two of Valor’s wolves being captured while the rest were slaughtered for thinking they could attack Tristan’s Pack and get away with it. I am glad he managed to make it on time to help with our slaughter tonight or else he would have missed out on getting revenge for the fact Valor’s men harmed three of his Warriors and tried to rape innocent wolves who were newly shifted.
[We will be there in about three minutes.] I answer, eyes scanning the woods closing in on either side of our van. Being so close to Pine Moon is putting me on edge and I won’t be able to calm down until we make it to our rendezvous point. Feeling the sparks of the Mate Bond, I look down to see Rune has taken my hand in his. He squeezes it gently, his touch helping me calm down slightly while we sit stoically in the van preparing for any ambush that may happen.
Luckily for us, nothing happens as the van drives through a small opening that reveals a clearing with vans lining the right side. Grinning, I take a deep breath and celebrate the completion of the first step to our plan, making the journey and arriving here in one piece.
Sebastian parks the van beside the others and as quietly as we arrive, we slink out into the clearing, the fresh air circling us. Caspian and Rune are quick to help unload our van, bringing out some of the specially designed injection guns out while I remind Sebastian and Carrie to lay low and stay safe. Reminding them that if Asteria gives all of the Omegas the signal to run, they run and they make their way back to Crescent Phoenix with the other Omegas. After giving them their warning and thanking them for driving us, Caspian, Odette, Rune and I make our way to the others already gathering in the center of the clearing.
“Glad to see you made it.” Tristan says with a smile, Delilah at his side.
“Weren’t you the one running late?” I tease back, hugging my brother-in-law. Delilah lets out a chuckle, taking her turn to hug me. Behind her, I spy Avery and her Mate Jamal in the corner talking with Ashton, Devlyn, and an unfamiliar male.
“Who is that?” Rune asks as he too notices the wolf. Everyone turns to look at the small group and for a moment I can see the displeasure on Tristan’s face. He opens his mouth to answer but another voice calls out first.
“One of Devlyn’s friends helping the operation.” Asteria answers, her voice coming from behind me.
“He and the other wolves helping us are linking each other to let us know when it is safe to attack” Warm arms surround me and the scent of that familiar rose perfume fills my nose.
“Glad you made it safely.” Her voice is filled with relief and I can’t help but relax into the motherly love spreading through the familial bond. I turn around and hug her back, feeling a strong hand on my shoulder and noticing Gale standing just beside Asteria and me.
“I knew trusting Sebastian and Carrie to drive you two was a good idea.” He chuckles out as Asteria and I end the hug. Asteria then moves on to explain that they arrived with the first group with Ashton, Devlyn, and the three wolves that we brought along from Flaming Canine. They sit on a fallen log, their eyes searching the clearing.
“Have our wolves brought back Cleo yet?” I ask, worried something might have gone wrong.
“Just wait.” Gale answers, a smile on his face. The sound of an approaching vehicle follows his words causing everyone but Asteria and Gale to tense up. My group was the last to show, so how could another vehicle be joining us so soon?
We all watch the entrance, many of us slinking closer to the trees where the shadows provide more cover but the three wolves keeping watch over Hawk, Misa, and Zack whisper something into their ears. Misa is the first to react, the she-wolf climbing to her feet and bolting towards the entrance to the clearing just as a black mini van comes into view, stopping just to the side of our only entrance and exit to the clearing.
The doors open and a wolf I recognize as James from Crescent Phoenix steps out, holding a little pup in his arms. Misa is quick to take the pup from him, holding her tightly to her body as quiet sobs cause her to shake. Our wolves did it. They rescued little Cleo.
Hawk and Andre are quickly beside Misa, the two men silently crying as they each take turns checking over Cleo. James had left them in the care of four other men before coming to stand beside us, the young male looking tired yet happy.
“Glad to see a pup returned to her rightful family.” Rune says with a grin, wrapping his arms around me. I know he is thinking about our own pup growing inside me, is feeling the relief any father would feel seeing a pup unharmed and safe with their loved ones. I can’t even imagine the relief Misa must be feeling as she cradles her daughter with Hawk, the two wolves looking over at our group and mouthing thank you to us.
“It was a simple job, really.” James says, arms crossing over his chest as he turns to look at the family of four.
“Flaming Canine wasn’t as organized as we thought it would be after the Alpha pair spent time celebrating their luck in gaining a daughter. We kept hidden in the trees watching the Pack until everyone became too drunk to notice anything.” Another voice calls, one I recognize as Edison.
“Glad to hear that everything went fine. Did you do what I asked?” Gale praises the two, his tone turning serious. Rune and I look at each other, curiosity reflecting in both our eyes. A simple blood lust we rarely feel from Gale is radiating off of him and I wonder just what he asked Edison to do.
“I did. Roderic and Stella are both dead. We made it look like a murder-suicide.” Edison answers as James laughs.
“We learned that Roderick had a mistress so we planted everything on her dead corpse.” James adds with a smile, fist-bumping Edison.
“Good. As long as they are dead, their Pack will not be able to help Pine Moon.” Asteria states, her eyes twinkling with happiness.
“Now, I want you two to keep an eye on those four. Holten is going to be taking off their collars so they can listen in on the Pack links for us in case Flaming Canine does come to Pine Moon’s aid. The rest of us will need to prepare for our attack as midnight is quickly approaching.”