The Wolf King's Demand

8

TYLER

Do we have them all? We’d better check. Tyler was trying to focus on the task at hand, which was subduing this rogue group of shifters and fending off any further problems. Still, he knew Addison was nearby. She had come to check out the report of women and children who were being kept prisoners in terrible conditions in the rogue camp.

While fighting, it was hard not to worry about Addison, who was out of his sight. He had left her with a crew of guards, so he just had to assume everything was fine.

Louis nodded his agreement, put his muzzle down, and sniffed around, searching the camp. He knew the way already, but by his demeanor alone, Tyler knew he wasn’t taking any chances. Louis was the best beta Tyler had ever had and the pack’s best tracker. He knew they could walk into their deaths if they didn’t have Louis leading the way.

Tyler followed behind his beta and watched the tracker’s every move. Even a twitch of his ears could be significant. There were other signs, too, such as Louis stopping in his tracks or letting off a flow of infrasound that would signal for the pack to attack. The last thing they wanted was to be surrounded on their flanks by the outlaw marauders.

Near the back of the camp, Louis and Tyler hunkered down in front of a dirt berm and observed a group of shifters. The men felt sure they were readying for another attack. The rogues had already shifted and, as a group, were now headed straight for the alpha and beta.

Louis looked at Tyler, and Tyler looked back. The alpha gave the paw signal, and they leapt. The avenging pack moved swiftly and dangerously before the blink of a rogue wolf’s eye.

Growling, howling, and gnashing fangs filled the air. Tyler’s adrenaline peaked with his rage for their attack on Addison, spurring him on. He heard yelps and yowls. Tyler and his wolves were winning the battle. Blood spurted and flew high in grizzly sprays.

It felt like it took forever as Tyler’s energy stores depleted, but they took down what was left of the pack one by one. Although they did keep two alive, those they thought were important members of the pack, to glean whatever intel they could from them.

The encampment was a shambles. Tyler, Louis, and the entire pack slipped and slid over the blood brew covering the ground. The enforcers cinched the prisoners and dragged them into a nearby outbuilding. Louis and a few select enforcers would get the confessions.

Tyler left them to do their hair-raising deed. He had other things on his mind.

The alpha shifted back when one of his enforcers came by, distributing clothes they had all removed before the fight. Nervous exhaustion gnawed at him. Yet, amid the fatigue and muscle pains, he continued toward his mate.

Tyler headed to the side of the camp, searching for Addison, but she was nowhere to be found. For a moment, he lost his breath. Panic set in.

Had that skirmish been another ruse? Had remnants of the rogue pack flanked us and taken her under my nose?

Tyler ran through the camp, trying to catch sight of her. He asked shifter after shifter where they had last seen her. He couldn’t find any of the guards he had left with her either. His panic rose higher and higher each time someone shrugged, saying they had no idea where she had gone.

The alpha continued his search, thinking Addison must be close. He hit the middle of the moat bridge when he saw Louis ambling along. The tracker had shifted into his two-legged form. He looked tired but calm as he made his way down the well-trodden path toward Tyler. Obviously, the interrogation of the prisoners went well. But that supposed success didn’t help him now.

Tyler furiously waved and called out. “Louis! Addison, she’s gone! I can’t find her anywhere.”

Louis grinned and made a peace sign with his hand. “Calm yourself. They’ve taken all the children to a shed in the back of the cave tunnel. At least until they sort out what to do next. Her guards are still with her. It should be the safest place for them right now, though we seem to have everything under control out here.”

Tyler flashed a relieved smile, rushed to Louis, and gave him a big hug. “Man, I do not know what I’d do without you, you wonderful wolf.” The alpha slapped Louis on his back and raced toward the cave-like entrance on the edge of the forest to seek his queen.

Tyler jogged along the wooded trail until he found the sod-covered cave. He slipped through, and about fifty feet on the other side, he laid eyes on the modest hideout. A thin sliver of smoke eschewed from the fieldstone chimney.

Tyler reached the stoop and lightly knocked on the knotty pine door so he didn’t scare them with his arrival. Seconds later, it opened, and there was a small boy, about six years old, smiling up at him. Tyler smiled back. He looked over the top of the boy and saw Addison sitting on a fireside bench, reading a storybook to the children sitting cross-legged or lying about on the floor.

The tiny audience of four children was mesmerized by Addison’s soft lilt and the wondrous tale she told. A few of the guards he had left to supervise Addison were scattered around the outskirts of the room, along with three women he guessed had been kept as slaves.

Tyler noticed one girl in particular. She sat alongside Addison, resting her head on Addison’s bosom, her tiny arms wrapped around her waist.

Louis came up from behind and whispered over his alpha’s shoulder. “That’s the little girl who was abused by her mother. The same one Addison swiftly took out, if you know what I mean.”

Tyler sniffed. Blood. Addison’s blood. He looked at her more closely. She had a swollen lip.

By this time, Addison had sensed Tyler. She jerked her head up to see who was at the door, assuming it was a guard checking in.