Escape to Midnight

Episode 5

Logans Point Of View

As we drove to Crescent Pack my parents talked about different scenarios we might encounter. I could tell they were nervous and scared for me. My Fear of her rejection was second to the fear of us not getting there in time to save her. I was not sure why her father would even want her dead. I really needed more answers. 

“Did your cousin tell you anything else?” I was hoping for some more first hand knowledge.

Sterling cleared his voice. “I put in a few calls, Warren and Charis Mother, Eliza, are not true mates. He is an angry man and his brother has protected him from trouble his entire life. When her brother Edward disappeared, the Alpha said it was a rogue attack. No one believes that. The patrols never scented a rogue and there was no trace of a fight or body. Warren tried to convince people the Rogue kept the body as a trophy.”

I scoffed, I was stunned. How could anyone tell that story and think people would believe it? I felt hatred burning inside me for Warren. He would answer to me if he injured her. He would answer to me if he ever hurt her. “Why was he allowed to abuse his family?”

“I am not sure. I know they never had any proof. Their wolves healed them fast enough no one ever saw marks on them. They have no proof he ever hit anyone. It is all speculation. We can’t go in with the attitude he hits her. We will never get to her if we do. This is just a casual meeting.” He continued. 

The stress of the situation coupled with my lack of food and sleep was making me more tired than I needed to be. I leaned back and closed my eyes. All I could do was hope we got there in time.

As we crossed the crescent pack border the tension rose significantly. I began to take deep  breaths hoping to catch her scent. We were only a few miles in when we were found by their patrol. Two wolves came out into the road and shifted and we stopped our vehicles. 

“What is your business here”. One of the guards asked.

“I am Sterling Cain, Alpha of the Midnight Moon Pack. I am bringing my Nephew and his family to visit his mate. They met last night at the ball.” My Uncle sounded unconcerned, as if we really were just out for a drive and friendly visit. I felt my Mother put her arm around me and give me a little hug. It made me realize how tense my body was. I did not look like I was here for a friendly visit. The guard stepped away from the car and began to mind link someone. Every second he did not move out of the way my wolf was closer to making him. My Mother started to trace her fingers on my back. She did that when I was upset as a pup. It was still soothing, but now I could barely feel it. 

The guard finally walked back over. Alpha Jameson has requested you come on a different day. Charis is not available. My entire body became rigid and my claws descended.

“That would be a shame,” Sterling said. ‘We have driven a long way. Can we get some food in your town at least before we head back?”

I was impressed by my Uncle. All we really needed was to get close. I could track her scent. I almost could not believe it when the guard gave us clearance to continue. “You can go to the café in town and eat before you leave.” I don’t expect you will need to go anywhere else.” The guard spoke sternly and his message was clear. They would be watching us.

We drove into town, hoping the café would be hard to find, giving us an excuse to drive around and check for her scent. Unfortunately, the café was right in the middle of town, a few blocks from their pack house. We would not be able to wander around. As I got out of the car I caught a faint smell of her scent. She had not been to the café or pack house in days. I tried to observe as much as I could as we slowly walked up to the café. We all hung outside the door for a few seconds. Any recon at this point would be helpful.

We went inside and sat at a couple of tables close to each other. My uncle began to mind link the group. “This is going to be harder than I thought. I decided to have twenty more warriors follow us. I am glad I did. They are not welcoming, they are definitely hiding something. I checked a map of this area before we left. North of this café is a subdivision. I believe that is where Charis lives. We are going to create a diversion. Nothing big, but enough of a show that Logan and his mother can slip out. The objective is to find Charis and ask her if she needs help. I think Beth will put her at ease, if that is possible. I don’t know how long it will take them to realize  you are gone, so move fast. Our other warriors are stopped a mile from the checkpoint we went through. If I give the word they can be here in ten minutes. I timed our drive from the checkpoint. It took us a little under thirty minutes. They should make it in ten if they don’t have any problems.”

I swallowed hard, determination engulfing me. I did not want to bring my mother, she would slow me down. I had to admit though Sterling was right. Charis might feel more comfortable if my Mother was there. One of the warriors came back from the bathroom. There was a window we could slip out. We ordered some sandwiches and only seven drinks. We did  not want extra drinks left at the table after we snuck out. My Mother went to the bathroom first. I waited about five minutes and followed her. As I shut the bathroom door, I could hear the rest of our group getting rowdy. I am not sure what the diversion was, but I hoped it was good. My eyes fell on the window and I winced. It was a tiny window high off the ground. I am not sure we will even fit through it. I looked around, but my mom was not in the bathroom. I was a little puzzled. Could she have gotten out without any help?

I jumped up and grabbed the bottom ledge of the window. I pulled myself up and looked out. My Mother was waiting for me outside. I am not even sure how my mother was able to raise the window from this height. I pushed my head through the window pulling my body up as I did. I rested my chest on the window ledge and tried to reach my arms out. My shoulders were too wide. I tried to maneuver so my shoulders went out one at a time. I would never fit through. Time for plan B. I dropped back into the bathroom. I quickly removed my clothes and threw them out the window to my Mother. I shifted into my wolf. I tried to jump up to the window, but I had no leverage. I looked around the bathroom and formulated a plan. I backed up to the door, got a running start and leapt to the ledge. My wolf is over six foot tall, the jump was easy, it was angling to go through the window that was hard. As I cleared the window I shifted back into my human form mid air. I quickly put my clothes on. 

“We need to get to that tree line. We can follow it into the subdivision.” My mother had already come up with a plan. Maybe she would not slow me down. We walked to the corner of the café furthest from the window. We walked hand in hand like a couple to the trees. We ducked behind them and checked to see if we were being followed. I heard yelling and looked at the front of the café. The rest of our group was out front sparring. My uncle was explaining that they needed to blow off steam after the long car ride. I am beginning to think he is a master strategist. My mother and I began to run towards the subdivision. Pretty quickly I was able to pick up Charis' scent. It was not as new as I wanted it to be. My concern was growing as I pushed myself to move faster. A few laps around one street in particular and I was sure I knew which house was hers. I walked straight to the door and knocked. I did not hear anything inside. I was not just walking away. I turned the knob and the door opened. I tried to mentally prepare myself to walk in, but there was no way to be ready for what I saw. 

The inside of the house looked like it had been turned upside down. Everywhere I looked was destruction. Broken furniture and holes in the walls dominated the scene. A little further inside I observed a pool of blood that had dried on the floor. I knew it was Charis’ blood; pieces of her dress were shredded all around it.  I felt panicked. My worst case scenario was a reality. My Mother touched my shoulder and said, “ You can’t focus on what happened before we got here. You need to focus on finding her. She is still Alive. You would have felt if she wasn't. ” 

I started towards a hallway when something caught my eye. It was the pendant Charis wore to the ball. I picked it up. To my horror it was covered in her blood. I fought back tears as I put the pendant in my pocket. The smell was strongest at the second door. I held my breath as I entered it. 

To my surprise this room was spotless. It definitely belonged to a teenage girl, but everything was in its place. The rest of the house appeared to have years of damage, but this room was untouched by the violence. It gave me hope, but the blood in the rest of the house snuffed it out. .

We heard the front door open and a woman call out, “Charis, Are you here!” She came running into Charis room and froze when she saw us. “Who are you, What are you doing here?” 

“Please help us,” My mother said. “My son is Charis' mate. We just want to talk to her. We  will leave after that. We don’t want any trouble, for you or us.”

The woman let out a long sigh as tears started to stream down her face. She walked away from us to an overturned kitchen table and sat in a chair. “I don’t know where she is.” her voice sounded broken and strained. “She left, renounced our back and ran away to find you.” I was taken aback as my mother gasped. “On Foot? Could she make it that far by herself?”

The woman began to sob and put her head down in her hands. “Where is Warren, Her father?” I asked sternly. This woman is probably her mother and if she is she allowed this situation to happen. 

She began to shake her head, “He went to look for her, He is not responding to my mind link.”

I heard a loud noise by the door and saw three Crescent pack warriors charge into the house. I put my hands up to show I was not a threat. My Mother bent down and kept talking to the woman. The warriors slowed and stopped looking around the room in shock. “Eliza, are you okay? What happened here? Where are Charis and Warren?” One of them asked. She shook her head again and motioned to the forest. The guards stiffened and a blank look came over their faces. “We are meeting everyone at the pack house, Come with us.” he said. 

As we exited the house the warriors started running. I don’t know what we are running to, but at this point I am ready for anything. I noticed several others leaving their homes and heading towards the pack house. I hoped my Father and Uncle were not injured. As we entered the pack house I spotted the rest of our group. They were at the front talking to several other warriors.

As we approached I realized Sterling was working with them and not fighting. “I think we have a plan to find Charis. Her pack is going to help look for her.” My heart leapt at the mention of her name. I was relieved her pack was going to work with us to find her. I would kill her Father when this was over. 

Before my Uncle could explain the plan they were working on, a strange hush overtook the Crescent pack members. I looked at my parents confused as I saw a woman gasp and start to cry. Outside the pack house I heard Wolves start to howl in despair. 

My Uncle looked at the men he had been talking to. It was clear they were all mind linking and had received bad news. My fear for my mate soared. Had they found her body. My eyes instantly filled with tears, as I waited for the bad news, holding my breath. My Parents both rushed to my side as we waited for the men to finish their mind link.

One of them looked at Sterling and began to shake his head. My stomach dropped and my knees got weak. My parents both grabbed me to support me. 

“Our Alpha is Dead. Warren has killed him and is taking his place as our new Alpha. He is going to kill anyone that helps you.” The man's voice was mixed with despair and shock. 

It took a minute for me to fully process what he had said. If Warren found Charis first he could prevent us from taking her with us. If we found her first he could declare war if we did not give her back. My shock was compounded by the knowledge that Warren and Jameson were brother’s. He killed his own brother to take over his pack. It is common for wolves to challenge each other for positions of authority. It is always done ceremoniously and the fight is to death almost all of the time. This was done without witnesses. No one would know if it was a fair and honorable fight. Knowing what I do about Warren, I doubt it was honorable.

I felt my father pushing me towards the exit. The room had erupted in chaos. We needed to get away from Warren’s Border, He could order us killed for trespassing. We rushed to our vehicles. The extra 20 warriors Sterling brought had joined us at the pack house. Now we were all retreating. As we barreled through the main street Sterling began to formulate his next plan.  My uncle slammed on the brakes and made the car drift into a 180 degree turn. He was racing back towards town. “We need Charis' scent to track her.” 

I realized where we were going and felt my heart begin to race. If Warren came home while we were there, we would have to fight, not only him, but his pack. A pack is sworn to protect their alpha with their own life. As we stopped in front of Warren's house everyone jumped out of the car. Beth and I led the way to Charis' room. My dad grabbed a sweater draped over a chair. I looked around the room desperate to find something with her scent.  I reached down to grab her pillow and take the case. I saw on her nightstand a picture of her and Who I felt sure was her brother. I grabbed the picture and the shoe box it was sitting on. Inside the box were what appeared to be sentimental trinkets. I kept it all as I turned to run back out of the house. 

As we got back to the car I was surprised by the variety of things we had taken. Sterling had pieces of the dress Charis wore to the ball, and my mother had a stack of pictures and a jewelry box. We looked at my Mother a little puzzled. She sighed and said, “ If she can never come home, I tried to get something she might want.” 

My Mother was such a caring warm hearted person. Even in the middle of the chaos and fear, she was still thinking of Charis' future.

We drove until we reached the Crescent Pack’s border. We stopped driving and got out of our vehicles to formulate a plan. We all agreed she would be able to run to the border within a day, if she was healthy. Judging from the condition of her house and her ball dress, she might not be able to run. It   was maddening. We did not know her condition or if she even knew how to get to midnight. 

Sterling decided to leave warriors to patrol the pack border. They would find her if she passed through. The rest of us would search in a criss-cross grid pattern. Sterling sent one warrior back to Midnight with a piece of Charis’ dress to help our trackers.  The rest of our warriors were to search from our pack house to the crescent border. We should overlap our grids and find her. There are 150 miles of territory between our packs.  We could cover as much ground as we could each day until we found her.