Page 38 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)
LYLE
I’m not sure how long I will be able to spend couped up in this bunker. I’m not claustrophobic by any means, but having so many warriors in such a confined space is testing my nerves far more than I had expected. I wonder if Bronze is feeling the same in his bunker?
Due to the number of warriors crammed in here, the sanitary arrangements are already starting to fail.
We dug a long tunnel away from the main area, and after only our first day here, the stench is dreadful.
We can’t go outside as the rogues had been doing, or we’d be discovered immediately.
There is a small group of ours hiding in the trees that buried the entrances once we were all inside.
When the enemy force passes, they will open the entrances, and we will prepare to surprise them when they attack the Blood Pearl Pack.
Fortunately, Arric’s forces pass us earlier than we had anticipated, but there seemed to be more than we expected. They take an extremely long time marching by, I hope they are in narrow columns, which would make them appear a larger force than in reality.
Thirty minutes later and light pours through the opened entrance with a rush of gratefully received fresh air.
Those out first help dig out the other entrance, and it isn’t long before we are all breathing in the clean forest breeze.
One of the team that hid outside relays what they saw.
There are more than I hoped but less than I feared, so that’s a good thing.
With the other two bunkers that we had filled with our troops and those waiting for the attack at Blood Pearl, we are evenly matched.
We begin trailing the rogue army slowly and stealthily.
We don’t want to stumble upon any stragglers or march into their camp if they are stupid enough to stop for a break.
Nothing would surprise me with Arric’s planning or execution of said plan.
Joining with Bronze and Connell’s warriors from their bunkers gives us a sizeable force for attacking their rear.
An hour later and one of our forward scouts returns to say that the rogues are preparing to attack and that they are only fifteen minutes ahead.
We need to give them time to begin their attack so they are not aware of us until it’s too late.
Bronze will be on my right and Connell on my left.
I will delay my attack to give them time to outflank the rogue force, and prevent them from breaking ranks and trying to escape back into the forest to evade us.
Although we want an end to this, we don’t want to kill every damn rogue just for the sake of it. We know that there are some here out of desperation and others who have been forced into it. Capturing them in one fell swoop will help us weed out the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
Watching the rogues attack the Blood Pearl Pack and having to refrain from rushing in is difficult, but it has to be done for our plan to prove effective.
brONZE
Circling the enemy flank has been too easy, and I have scouts out watching for any enemy force catching us unaware. I can’t believe they would be so negligent as to leave themselves so open to an attack.
I am glad that I’m not in Lyle’s shoes. Having to sit there and wait for Connell and me to get into position must be testing his patience and his nerves.
Seeing Lyle’s warriors reveal themselves from the forest floor, that’s the signal to attack.
Rather than charge in at full throttle, we have made the decision to almost march forward and engage them when they react to our presence.
We should be much closer, and the ring around the rogues will be much tighter.
The shock of us appearing so silently and suddenly will hopefully cause panic in their ranks. Going from the attack to the defense in such a short space of time will have them boxed in and fighting on all four fronts.
A small group breaks away from their main force and rushes to engage us. Changing to their wolves as they charge, my front rank obliges them and does the same.
I see two of my female warriors, Hazel and Giselle, throw themselves forward and into the rogue group.
I don’t know what the rogues were expecting in battle, but it was clearly not that.
The group scatters but leaves four of them dead or dying as they do so.
Hazel has a wound on her front right leg, but it isn’t stopping her from following the fleeing members.
Giselle looks to our ranks but then follows Hazel.
They have been friends for a long time, and I would not have expected Giselle to abandon Hazel.
Hazel will come before me after this is over to explain why she let her bloodlust overcome her priority of staying with her comrades.
There is safety in numbers not in running half-cocked into the middle of an enemy army.
As we close in, the rogues are being forced into a more compact force. Lyle has their direct escape route covered, and it is dawning on some of their warriors now that this is fast becoming a fight or die situation.
As I oversee the battle in my sector, I see Ethan, a Shadow warrior of my inner council, scything his way through rogue warriors.
He is making his way towards Hazel and Giselle who are not only in the thick of battle but totally surrounded and cut off.
They stand back-to-back with a growing heap of dead around them.
When Ethan reaches them, they falter slightly at whatever he says and the three of them begin working their way back to their own ranks. Safely back, Ethan escorts them to one of our healer stations and glances over to me, giving me a head nod, which I return.
Staying out of the fighting is difficult.
My natural reaction is to go to the front and stand with my warriors, but we agreed when we planned the mission that we would only put ourselves at risk if it was necessary.
Dying in battle would leave others to pick up our responsibility, and also, seeing their Alpha killed could adversely affect our warriors’ resolve.
CONNELL
Watching my warriors engage the rogues is a wonderful sight.
Not that I’m a bloodthirsty tyrant wishing my people dead, but they are magnificent to behold.
Their discipline in keeping to ranks, as far as wolves have ranks, is impressive to say the least. They are cutting their way through the rogues, and it won’t be much longer before we have them routed.
Not being able to join them is frustrating to say the least, but I promised Hope I’d stay clear of the fighting as much as possible. She knows me too well, and I was relieved when it was decided that we Alphas should stay back, monitor and deploy rather than fight tooth and claw.
Hallec and Iona, his mate, are in the thick of the fighting.
They are both members of the Blackshadow Warrior Council, and I politely asked them to stay at the pack and guard it.
They just smiled, and although they knew I wanted them to be safe, they came anyway.
The rogues are falling back, and their superior numbers appear to be dwindling fast.
I’m drawn out of my thoughts by a mind link calling out to me.
‘Alpha Connell! To your right! To your right.’
Recognizing the voice as Caleb, my Beta, I look to see what he has seen. A small group of warriors is moving around the battlefield, and I’d say they were looking for a way out of this mess.
‘I see them, Caleb.’
‘Alpha Connell, look more closely. One of that group is Bellamy!’
Taking a second, more careful look, I see that he is right. Bellamy! He was one of my friends long ago, but crept away from the pack one night and never returned. His betrayal was not only painful as his Alpha but more so that he fooled me as his friend.
Striding through my warriors, I head that way, and I’m determined that Bellamy will not escape from the battlefield.
Watching as they approach our front I order my warriors to allow them to think they are slipping away.
Mind linking with Lyle, I let him know what’s happening.
It doesn’t take long for him to respond that he will meet me and support me with my personal mission.
Approaching the fighting, I focus on the group as they near me. I’m concentrating on Bellamy, when Lyle arrives beside me.
“Which one is your target?” Lyle asks quickly. Pointing out Bellamy, he adds, “Good. The tall one with the all-black eyes is mine. I believe we have Number Seven! I haven’t seen Arric anywhere as yet, but this one will do for now.”
Stepping forward quickly, I put myself directly in Bellamy's path. He tries to strike me, but I block the blow and state, “Hello, Bellamy. It’s been a long time since we last met. Just before you slunk out of the Blackshadow pack lands, crawling on your belly so you wouldn’t get caught.”
“Connell!” His eyes are wide in shock, and he reeks of fear. “What are you doing here? We’re miles from Blackshadow Pack’s land.”
“You’re king declared war on the entire sector, Bellamy. Surely you knew that? Having no sense of loyalty yourself, I suppose you wouldn’t expect us to look out for each other and face you rogues as one.” I sense movement to my right, but before I can do anything, Lyle is there.
“Not so fast, warrior of the Shadow Clan,” Lyle states as he blocks his sneak attack on me. “We don’t want to interfere with this reunion quite so quickly now, do we?” There is a moment of surprise in the all-black eyes, but it is quickly masked.
Bellamy tries to move away, but the fighting around us has made his fleeing impossible. Realizing he has nowhere to run, he turns to face me.
“You have a Luna to think of now, Connell. You shouldn’t involve yourself in things that could take you away from her. You really shouldn’t.”
“You think too highly of yourself if you imagine you could keep me from her.”