Pacing the length of my Aunt’s office, I watch from the corner of my eye as Quincy glares at me. After arriving at the pack house, Aunt Asteria had ordered us to her office while she ran off deal with a crisis at the training facility. This gave me a chance to shower and regroup my thoughts after the pain I have gone through. Viren has Brynlee, that I am certain of.
“For Goddess’ sake, stop pacing Rune.” My Aunt sighs out in exasperation. Planting my feet firmly on the hardwood floor, I turn to stare at her. She said she would keep Brynlee safe. Would not let anything happen to her. Yet here we are concluding that Onix Moon kidnapped her.
“Stop glaring at me young man.” She commands, her power washing over me and making me avert my gaze for a moment before I return to looking her in the eyes. Aunt Asteria really has grown stronger since becoming a proper Alpha.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. You fucked up and now Brynlee is in the hands of Onix Moon. She was just sexually assaulted.” I growl out feeling my blood boiling with rage.
“Actually as the Alpha here, yes I do get to tell you what to do.” Aunt Asteria snarls back, shocking me for a moment. She has never snarled at me. Never treated me like a Rogue. Yet she is now.
“We need a plan to rescue Brynlee and you pacing isn’t helping.” Her tone is short and clipped but she is right. We need to calm down and put our issues aside for Brynlee’s sake. Sighing, I move to sit on the only arm chair in the office. Brynlee is her Beta meaning my Aunt will be taking charge of this operation.
“I have to ask, are you sure Onix Moon took her?” Once I am seated and have taken a few calming breaths, Aunt Asteria asks me this question. I can tell she has hope that I could be wrong considering Crescent Phoenix just hosted Onix Moon a few days ago, but I know what I scented.
“The two wolves are named Tobby and Garret Steinmetz. They are Viren Bestial’s henchmen.” I explain, watching as confusion sweeps through Quincy and my Aunt.
“We never met them when they came to Crescent Phoenix.” Quincy chimes in after the two briefly speak through a link, leaving me feel left out.
“You wont ever meet them unless you are a target. This isn’t the first time they were sent to kidnap a she-wolf for Viren to use. When they came to Pine Moon five years ago, I came across them taking an Omega of ours because Viren needed a “fuck toy” as he put it. I had them imprisoned and Viren had to pay a large sum to both me and the Omega.” I state. My Aunt looks aghast and Quincy asks her if she knew about this. After explaining an Alpha command was put in place to keep the incident silent by Valor and that my aunt and her family were with Brynlee’s family on a vacation, they did not learn of this incident when they returned.
“Alpha Viren did state he was here to find a Mate.” Quincy whispers after I let this information set in, the two in deep thought.
“How was he when Brynlee was around?” I ask, needing more insight to this situation.
“Possessive.” My Aunt deadpans with a sigh, running a hand through her hair.
“He kept calling her “Miss Brynlee” instead of Beta Brynlee until she growled at him in warning. Kept watching her with lust and possessiveness in his gaze. It was like he was hunting her.” She continues with a frown. I growl at this and glare at my Aunt. She watched this man blatantly show his desire for Brynlee yet didn’t put a stop to it.
Aunt Asteria rolls her eyes at me, giving me a warning look as her hands move across her keyboard. With in moments she found what she was looking for as she pulls up an arial map of Onix Moon on her computer and turned the screen for Quincy and I to see. Shocked she has this, I give my Aunt a curious gaze wondering what else she is hiding before I face the map.
Like most pack maps, the main buildings are obscured by magic that the Goddess bestows us wolves to keep us safe and hidden from mortal view. There is a small town on the outskirt that is used as a decoy for human tourism since Onix Moon has a large lake in their territory, but the main compound and houses are hidden deeper into the pack lands.
“How far along are you into building a Decoy Town?” I ask, pointing to Onix Moon’s.
“We just got approval this morning. We plan to start building as soon as Bryn is back.” Quincy answers and I glare at him. It seems she trusts this wolf and jealousy builds inside me once again.
Returning my gaze to the map, I note that there is a utility road hidden from view of the small town and a plan begins to form. A group of us will be suspicious to the wolves on patrol. But if a single wolf goes in, we can get Brynlee out without Viren being the wiser.
“I have to go in alone.” I state, Quincy and my aunt turning to look at me with shock.
“Absolutely not!”
“The fuck you will!”
They both shout at the same time causing me to roll my eyes.
“Look, I am the only Rogue strong enough to send in. Not only that, I know a wolf who will most likely be willing to help us.” I state, trying to reason with these two.
“I think Rune is right.” Turning to the sound of my Uncle’s voice, Uncle Gale walks in with a basket full of food and Quest trailing behind him with a similar basket. They set the food on the coffee table in the sitting area with Quest taking a seat while my Uncle looks at me with an unreadable gaze.
“But dear, if we send only Rune in, he could get killed.” Aunt Asteria retorts with as my Uncle walks to where she sits and bends down to kiss her forehead.
“But he is also a Rogue who has met the two wolves that took Brynlee for that bastard Viren. If anyone can save her, its her Mate.” Happy by these words, I discreetly look at Quincy and see a frown marring his face. It’s clear he doesn’t like that Uncle Gale is siding with me.
The office goes silent and after Quincy and I simultaneously look at one another, hatred simmering between us, we turn to face my Aunt and Uncle. It is clear that the Alpha couple are mind linking one another and their discussion will take a while. Deciding to see what food the two brought in, I stand from my chair and walk towards the basket finding sandwiches inside. Taking one for myself, I munch on the snack and wait for their decision.
“Fine.” Asteria growls out in defeat, my Uncle turning to give me a wink as my Aunt stands to stare at me.
“Our familial link with Brynlee is still hitting a wall meaning she is unconscious.” She continues before I can say anything, walking towards her book shelf. She pulls on a book and the shelf moves forward before swinging open, surprising everyone but Uncle Gale as the shelf then slides to the side to reveal a hidden room the size of a small closet. She enters, moving to a cabinet before pulling out a box that I note is a cellphone – the latest Samsung – before she exits and pulls the book again, the shelf returning to its original spot as if nothing happened.
“Tell anyone about this and I will turn you two Rogue.” She warns Quest and Quincy who solemnly nod in agreement before she turns her attention to me.
“Since Gale and I cut our link to Pine Moon and cut familial ties with you and Valor before we left, we can’t link you right now.” She begins, letting out an exasperated sigh.
“So take this. It will be our way of communicating while you are on this rescue mission.” Taking the box from her outstretched hand, I find a new phone already set up with a protective case. When I turn it on I am shocked to see the battery fully charged and the phone in service. It is similar to the one Caspian has and I ask if the phone is protected to which Uncle Gale confirms it is.
“You will go to the tourist town first. Unfortunately you will have to go on foot because of your Rogue status. We will give you the supplies you need and you can keep your things safe at our house but we need to save Brynlee as soon as possible.” My aunt continues, returning to sit behind her desk.
“I know that. It would be strange for a Rogue to have a car. Thank you though for letting me store my things at your house.” I smile at my Aunt who just nods.
“Are you sure Viren is the one that wants Brynlee?” Quest asks from his spot, his mouth full with food.
“Unfortunately, yes. After they left, Virun came with an entourage to Pine Moon a few days later. He was going on about needing to find a Mate back then but still messed around with the pack whores.” I answer, frowning at the memory.
“If he came here and took an interest in Brynlee like you’ve all stated, then Viren took her and will do anything it takes to break Brynlee in order to make her his Mate and Luna.” Quincy growls at this and I roll my eyes. He could have protected Brynlee, could have been by her side until Viren and his men left the area for good, but he didn’t. My aunt sends a warning glare to Quincy, shutting him up while the room descends into silence.
“When do I leave?” I decide to ask once we have all settled. This whole situation has put us all on edge.
“Tomorrow morning. It will take three to four days on foot to get to the tourist town.” Uncle Gale answers, turning to look at my Aunt.
“While you are traveling, we will try to get through to Brynlee using our link so we can get information from her. Keep your cell charged as much as you can so we can pass on any and all information we get to you.” My aunt continues with a grim expression.
“You could be walking into a trap since that email of yours has spread to all the packs in the country.” She adds making me grimace. I do not regret sending that email. It set me free from Valor, Tanya and Jonnah. I just regret that this could be another reason that Viren uses to claim Brynlee before we can rescue her.
“So who is this contact you have?” Quincy asks, diffusing the tense atmosphere. I grin as I think about the one wolf I have known since I was a pup.
“You guys most likely met him a few days ago.” I admit, looking to Quincy who rolls his eyes.
“His name is Tristan and he is Viren’s Beta.”