Page 57 of Wulf’s Pack
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
W hile we’re waiting for the rest of the pack to get here, I send Ben and Isabella to scout out the compound.
Having their eyes in the sky will be a blessing.
They can keep an eye on things, and from the air the wolves won’t pick up their scent or recognize them as shifters.
And Victor has no reason to suspect them.
He doesn’t know I have a pair of hawks in my pack.
While they’re scoping the place out, Ashlyn draws up a crude map of the compound and she, Brett, Easton, and I strategize as much as possible without having knowledge of who is being kept where.
Every minute that passes has my anxiety levels rising.
I’m a mix of nerves and anticipation. This night will be bloody, and my pack is definitely the underdogs.
I have confidence we can pull this off, but at what cost?
I’m worried about my mate. I’m worried about my pack.
I’m worried about the women and children that are being held captive, if they haven’t already been killed.
I don’t know enough about Victor to judge whether he would keep prisoners or just slaughter everyone.
Either way, it’s a horrible situation, and I’m willingly leading my pack into it.
After the longest hour and a half of my life, the pack arrives, and Ben and Isabella return with information. We can’t all fit in Brett’s small apartment, so we gather in a park across the street. Night has fallen, and it’s full dark. Hopefully that makes it easier to sneak up on them.
We gather under a large ramada. Everyone takes a seat at the various picnic tables, and suddenly all attention is on me.
The weight of responsibility strikes me again, but I try to push back any fear and doubts.
This pack needs me to be strong and confident.
I need to be smart. We can’t win against Victor’s pack based solely on strength.
We’re going to have to outsmart them, and the better prepared we are, the better our chances of a successful outcome.
I do a quick headcount. There are nineteen of us, including Brett and Ashlyn. Two of them are new faces, a male and female. Considering the way the woman is clutched to Jack’s side and the young man is standing next to them, I figure this is Sophia’s mom and brother. “Who’ve we got here?”
Jack pulls his shoulders back and sits up straight. He squeezes the woman at his size. “This is my mate, Pam, and my son, Caleb.”
Pam gives me a small smile. “I know we’re not pack yet, but we couldn’t leave our family to fight without our help.”
I don’t blame them one bit, and I’m happy to have them. We need all the help we can get. “Glad to have you with us.”
I scan the faces. Almost everyone is here. “Audrey?” I ask. “Is she okay?”
Elise speaks up. “She’s doing okay. Still a little weak and pretty traumatized, but she’s tough. She took Abby and went to stay with Rebecca and her youngest son at the Island Lake pack. Alpha Fuller has agreed to take them in as pack if…”
Her voice trails off, and the mood grows somber. The tension rises, and fear starts to permeate the air. Dennis is the first to break the silence. “Even Abby?” he asks Sophia, voice filled with worry.
Elise gives him a small nod. “He’s aware of Abby’s sorcerer side, but says all children need a pack. He claims he owes Alpha Winters and is happy to help his allies. He assured me Abby would be welcomed and well taken care of.”
Dennis’s shoulders sag, and the breath wooshes out of him in relief.
Elise continues with her report. “Alpha Fuller said that should the worst happen, any member of this pack who survives the battle will have a place with him, if they so choose. Ben, Isabella, and Bree included, but he couldn’t guarantee the pack would be very happy with the idea or welcoming of other shifters in their ranks. ”
I take a breath. It’s nice to have a contingency plan, but it bothers me that we need one. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
After quickly introducing Brett and Ashlyn, I give the pack a rundown of the situation.
Ashlyn spreads her map of the compound out on a table, and the pack gathers around us to get a good look.
I stand in front of them, lifting one foot to set on the bench, and lean over the table, pointing down at the map.
Five main buildings are laid out in an X shape like the five dots on the side of a six-sided die.
I point to the buildings on the outside edges, starting with the two on the left.
“This is the Lapeer Pack’s compound. There are two residential homes here, and here.
” The third square I point to is the house near the front gate.
“This is the alpha’s house.” I move my finger to the fourth building in the back corner.
“This is a security building. It has a surveillance room, an armory, and several holding cells. I assume this is where they’re keeping Skylar and any of the coyotes who resisted the takeover, if they didn’t kill them outright. ”
When Ashlyn stiffens and pulls in a sharp breath through her nose, a tinge of guilt pinches me at my bluntness.
But we need to lay out all the facts and possibilities.
Sugarcoating things won’t help anyone. After this is over, I will do what I can to help her grieve.
I’m sure Skylar will want to do all she can for this pack, and an omega will be the best thing for them to soothe their hearts after the trauma.
I give Ashlyn’s shoulder a supportive squeeze and then keep on with the brief. Better to keep her focused on the mission ahead instead of the unknown possibilities that are out of our control.
I point to a rectangle in the middle of the three houses and the security building. “This is a communal rec room—kitchen, media, games, lounge area.”
I move my hand to the edge of the lake and the small building beside the dock.
“This is a boathouse. Nothing in it except water toys. On the other side of the dock here is the playground for the kids. The playhouse is the entrance to the tunnel. That’s our entry point.
It’s fairly open. We’ll have to be careful to get in undetected, but there’s a small utility shed and thick woods behind the playground that we can take cover behind until we’re all safely inside. ”
Heads nod all around the group. It’s a fairly straightforward layout. I turn my attention to my hawks. “Ben and Isabella scouted the property while you guys were on your way. What can you tell us?”
Isabella steps forward. The others make room for her to get close to the map.
She points to the front gate. “This is the only entrance to the property aside from the lake. The entire place is warded, fenced, and under surveillance. There are two guards posted at the gate and another two posted at the dock in the back of the compound. We didn’t see anyone anywhere else along the perimeter or roaming the woods, but there could be a few hidden in the trees that we missed.
“The majority of the pack is hanging out in the rec room or moving from there to the house in the back of the compound and the security building. The utility shed and the boathouse seem to be unguarded. We noticed only a handful of wolves coming and going from the two houses at the front. We believe the one on the left—not the alpha’s house—is where they’re holding hostages, but we can’t be sure.
The only building we could get a look inside was the rec room.
There are two women being held there who were cooking for the pack.
One of them delivered a bunch of food to the front house. ”
“Which women?” Ashlyn asks, hope saturating her voice.
Ben clears his throat. “A shorter woman with long, curly dark hair, and a younger woman. Taller, with red hair.”
I glance at Ashlyn, silently asking for any insight she may have.
She wrings her hands in front of her. “Jemma and Jane. Jemma’s a weaker alpha, but Jane is Alpha Mike’s daughter, and very strong.
Both are good fighters. We all are, except for the younger kids.
We’ve been training hard since we left Wisconsin.
Jemma and Jane will be helpful in a fight. ”
Some good news, then. Coyotes aren’t as strong or as large as wolves, but they’re known to be quick and agile. If they’re well-trained, they may stand a chance against Victor’s wolves, and it’ll be nice to have two extra fighters on our side.
Isabella points at the map again, tapping the square near the back across from the security building.
“We figure they’re using this one as a bunkhouse since so many of them keep going in and out.
The back end of the compound is much more heavily occupied than the front, but we weren’t able to figure out numbers.
All of the buildings are being used, but we don’t know how many wolves we’ll find in each one aside from the fact that we counted at least twelve using the rec room and bunkhouse, plus the four guards stationed at the front gate and the dock. ”
I do the mental math. “That leaves about nine spread out between the other three buildings. If the front two are quieter, I’d assume there are only two or three in each, with the other four or five in the security room.”
The pack falls silent as they all absorb the information and study the map. “What are our hostage numbers?” Dennis asks.
I’m not surprised he’s thinking strategically. He’s been working as a mercenary for hire for years.
Ashlyn glances at me, and when I give her an encouraging nod, she takes a deep breath and addresses the pack.
“Well, there’s Jane and Jemma in the rec room.
Aside from them, Aunt Lisa and Daniel are the only other adults.
” She swallows hard and whispers in a shaky voice, “They wouldn’t have gone down without a fight. ”
Ashlyn’s eyes gloss over with tears, and Brett wraps his arm around her, tucking her into his side.