Chapter 455
100 – Ben
We run faster than we have ever run before. Elara is pissed, but didn’t fight me on leaving. She knows I’m right and we can’t do a damn thing blind. My wolf refuses to be further than ten paces from Elara, but he’s doing a better job than me hiding the absolute rage bleeding into fear that someone has finally come for her either through Malcom or along with him. We’ve seen the ultimate prize if someone does defeat her and we don’t even know what it does yet. I know she’s mad, but I won’t put anyone else above her safety, ever, and she needs to figure that out fast.
We have talked about the possibility of a magical attack and what that would look like and how to hone our senses to know when magic is being used. The one thing we haven’t done is defensive training. Mostly because no one wants the witches to use magic on them as an example. That seems like a major oversight on our parts and something I plan on putting the trainers on as soon as possible.
How did we get far enough in our knowledge to tell the pack to be aware of magic and even expose them to the positive uses but never show them what kind of nightmare they should expect from someone trained in and prepared to use dark magic?
A pain rips through my side and my wolf’s steady pace stutters. “ELARA!” I shout through the link.
A soft caress flits over the back of my head, “It’s not me. It’s the pack. Someone was hurt severely, but not lethally. From what I can tell it came from the Eastern border. Maybe someone who found Malcom’s border protection the hard way.” She doesn’t hesitate or move like she wants to turn to protect whoever was injured. This is the part I struggle with, compartmentalizing. She knows her pack and trusts them to do their job, but wants to run to Malcom’s aide, and is mad at me for forcing her to leave. I, on the other hand, have no issue leaving Malcom and his pack to their own devices, to protect Black Claw. I desperately want to go see that all of our warriors are where they need to be and follow orders. She breaks me from my musings, “I have a feeling there will be a lot of that today. You might want to brace yourself. The first time I felt pain like that I had a migraine for a week, and that was just a training accident.”
F*ck! That is not something I was told about. You’d think Alpha James would have given me more detailed info on the sh*tty side of being an Alpha once he found out who I was mated to. “I wonder why I haven’t felt that before.” I muse.
“I’m sure there are lots of reasons with deep symbolic meanings that we can reminisce about when this is all over.” Sarcasm noted. Her mood is all over the place right now. “For now, understand that while it sucks, you can use it to determine where the biggest threat is and if you can even get there to be of use or if it’s a waste of energy.” How can she think anything is a waste of time when it comes to pack members? “Shut that train of feeling down now. We can’t always save everyone and there is no point in rushing off when you’re too far away to help. Burning energy to arrive at a graveyard does nothing to help the pack either. It’s bullsh*t, but reality.”
My wolf huffs out my irritation. Even though it makes sense, I don’t have to like it. I attempt to clear my thoughts and begin to notice our surroundings as I focus. “Where are we headed? This is not the direction of the packhouse.” I reign in my emotions since they seem to be on full display for her right now.
“Back to the barrier. Something isn’t right, I can feel it and every time I have ignored my gut feeling since meeting you, everything went to sh*t.”
“Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?”
“Shut up.”
“A compliment then.” I know she can’t see me smile, but I let it show in my voice. She doesn’t answer or talk to me as we run, but it doesn’t feel like she’s avoiding or blocking me. In fact I can feel the worry, determination, and adrenaline coursing through her. She has let the floodgates of her emotions stay. open for me Pride washes over me as she gives me another small gift of herself that she normally keeps hidden.
“You are not going to believe this, but… the packhouse is on fire.” Jason calls out, almost bored. Both of our wolves skid to a halt. “It’s big enough that we are evacuating, but we have it contained. It’s something magically set, though which is proving problematic for our resident witches.”
I stop and shift, frustrated by all the
back and forth. “Is it another
distraction? You said you feel like you need to go to the barrier and
check that out. Is there some way this Ember and Ash witch somehow can track where you are r
the
pack?” I pace, not ready to jump into. any action and furious about my hesitation. “F*ck! Nevermind. That’s stupid.” I close my eyes and run my fingers through my hair. I am overwhelmed with all of this, which
is probably the plan.
I feel cool fingers glide up my arms and lace with my own, releasing my hair. I open
my eyes to see her emerald orbs studying me, her wild red hair billowing around
her.
“You are probably right and she wants us both distracted. I’m sure she has a way to track me too. We don’t know the lengths she has gone to and for how long. I am sure the packhouse fire is a distraction. I feel confident in trusting Jason to evacuate, if you are. I do feel a pull towards the barrier and the magical
fissure we found, but also feel a pull towards my pack members. You are not alone in this feeling. No answer feels right or helpful.
“Okay…We are less contained now. We need you to get back here. Now!”