Run! The Black Wolf's prey.

Chapter 32 - Bittersweet

John had his hands full, tending to the wounded and traumatized Pine Ridge pack members. Luckily, most of them had only simple injuries, but a few had more severe wounds and, unfortunately, two had lost their lives in their attempts to defend their pack against their aggressors.

Rebecca had taken the lead in making sure everyone got fed and cared for, and Warren had taken charge of the interrogations of Nolan’s two fighters that had been caught. As far as John had heard, he hadn’t gotten any valuable information out of them yet...

The two shabby wolves were surprisingly quiet, refusing to tell anything useful about Nolan’s whereabouts or plans. As soon as John felt the situation with the wounded and the casualties was under control, he went over to the barn where the interrogations were held.

“Speak up!” Warren bellowed after breaking the nose of one of the prisoners, tied up to a pole. “Where's your hideout?”

The man looked at him defiantly before spitting at Warren’s bare feet, not saying a word.

John and his allies had all got dressed fairly quickly when things had calmed down after the hunt, but for some reason Warren had forgotten to put on his shoes. He didn't seem to care though, at least not until now, when his feet were covered in saliva and blood.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" Warren roared, his claws elongating as he grasped the prisoner's neck with his hand, squeezing it to the point that the prisoner was almost suffocating, his red eyes looking like they were about to pop out.

"Father...." John intervened. "I don't think we'll get any information out of him if he's dead."

"I might as well kill him, he's useless anyway," Warren growled, but slowly let go of the prisoner's throat.

"Maybe you should take a break?" John suggested. "He's not going anywhere. Neither of them are..." He eyed the other prisoner, a skinny woman with frizzy blonde hair.

"Hello handsome," she smirked, tilting her head. "Seeing something you like?" She wasn't wearing a single thread on her ripped body, tied up to a wooden chair, and she parted her legs slightly, looking at John with a daring stare.

"Not really," he quirked up a brow. "Tacky is not my thing."

"This little... lady... thinks we're stupid," Liam was seated on a chair, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He was leaning forward, leisurely resting his elbows on his knees.

"Let's get out of here," Warren muttered. "Let them sit here and rot."

"You stay and watch them... Make sure they don't escape," John addressed two members of Silverstreak pack who were standing by. They nodded in reply as Warren and John left the barn.

"I have to admit, I'm a little rusty at this," Warren sighed. "I used to be able to squeeze out every little piece of information out of bastards like these..."

"These seem quite hard-core," John nodded. "I'm sure they'll break. Eventually..."

"I can bring them back to Moonvalley," Liam suggested. "We have dungeons. They won't be as cocky after a few nights there."

"That's not a bad idea," Warren nodded. "Those dungeons were pretty useful during the Northern Pack Wars."

"Sounds good," John picked up his phone. "We can't keep them here anyway. But you two can go to the main house, I think there is food. I have to call Chloe, but I'll join you later."

John had texted Chloe earlier, making sure the River Valley maintained the high alert protocol. She had texted him back, saying everything was calm and quiet. There was no sign of Nolan and his gang, and John was relieved. Nolan's attempt to take over Pine Ridge had failed, and it didn't seem like he was going after River Valley. He would be stupid to try something like that, of course, River Valley was way too powerful to be overturned by a gang of rouges!

However, one never knew what such maniacs could end up doing. The man was clearly insane. John would probably have to hunt him down, somehow... But for now, the most important task was to strengthen Pine Ridge pack and keep them safe. John had already sent one car of his own fighters back home to River Valley to make sure their pack was kept safe, but the others would have to stay behind and help Pine Ridge back up on their feet.

“John! Finally, I get to talk to you! Are you OK?” Chloe’s voice was full of concern.

“We’re alright. Is everything OK back home?” he asked.

“We’re on high alert, don’t you worry about us,” Chloe sounded confident. “Are you coming back tonight?”

“Mother and father are, and they will bring some of our warriors back home with them. Me and Luke will stay here, with a few members of the other packs. We need to reinforce the Pine Ridge pack so they can protect themselves better from now on.”

“And how’s Joanna?”

John glanced at Joanna who had cleaned herself up, wearing jeans and t-shirt. It was hard to believe how badly she had been injured just a few hours ago, all that was left was a few bruises and scars on her arms and neck. Zack hadn’t left her side since they met, and John could tell his friend was already madly in love with his mate! Joanna seemed as infatuated as Zack, she was constantly placing herself in his arms as if she had always belonged there.

Looking at the two of them was bittersweet. John felt a sting of envy as he found himself thinking if only he could hold Isabel one more time in the same way.

“I think she is doing way better than you can imagine,” John smiled.

“What do you mean?”

“I think maybe she should tell you herself,” John grinned, walking over to the couple.

“Errhhmm,” he cleared his throat, interrupting Zack and Joanna who were engaged in a hot embrace, making them look at him in surprise.

“My sister wants to speak with you,” he handed over his phone to Joanna.

“Hi! Chloe! I’ve found my true mate!” Joanna squeaked as soon as she got hold of the phone. Zack and John exchanged amused glances.

“I’m gonna go and check on my patients,” John left the happy couple and headed towards the main house where the whole Pine Ridge pack was gathered.

“How are you doing?” he asked Ralph and Amelia, who were sitting on the front porch, holding hands. Amelia was resting her head on Ralphs shoulder, looking tired.

“Much better, thank you,” Amelia smiled faintly at him. “I’m not sure I would have survived if it wasn’t for you.”

“The werewolf body is amazing,” John nodded. “But some things it cannot heal by itself. Your collapsed lung was suffocating your heart. How's your head?” He kneeled by Ralph, examining his pupils with a flashlight. “Your pupils are responding correctly now.”

“The headache is gone,” Ralph nodded. “But I’m dead tired. And my arm is still painful.”

“That’s normal,” John reassured him. “You’re not in your twenties anymore.”

John stood up and went to check on the other wounded. Almost everyone had healed from their physical wounds already, but their mental ones would take longer. Many years had passed since The Northern Pack Wars, and most of the younger wolves had never experienced fights like this.

As one of the front warriors and the upcoming leader of the Western tribe, John had been in a few battles, fighting off rouges alongside his father, but this was the first time he had led their warriors in combat outside of his Alpha training. Nevertheless, he had been doing similar life-or-death decision-making in his profession as a trauma surgeon, and he was thankful for these experiences.

“Your son is amazing,” he heard Amelia tell Rebecca, as they were standing at the porch, discussing the events. “You’re so lucky to have such a skilled heir to your pack.”

“Yes, we let him decide for himself what to study at college,” Rebecca smiled sweetly and winked at Warren, who was looking at her, one brow arched. “I always thought studying medicine was a great idea. And the fighting skills he’s been taught by his father and the Alpha training. We’re very proud.”

“You should be,” Amelia glanced at her daughter in the arms of her newfound mate. “And it seems like I just got a son-in-law,” she smiled. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s the Moon Goddess herself who is putting us in these situations.”

“Maybe,” Warren mused. “I think we have become a little too comfy, fooling ourselves that the Northern Pack Wars belong to the past and that it won’t happen again. But there is something going on, I can feel it, and this might be the Moon Goddess' way of preparing us to fight.”

“Joanna and Zack finding each other today could hardly be a coincidence, as well,” Rebecca nodded.

“It’s truly a blessing,” Amelia sighed. “And I’m so relieved most of our pack got out of this alive. It didn’t look good there for a while, but then you showed up for our rescue.”

“We are forever in your debt,” Ralph joined them. “Now, how do we move forward?”

John walked over to join them.

“Me and some of our warriors will stay here with you for a couple of days," John stated firmly. "We will train your fighters, and we will allocate one warrior from each of the packs in the Western tribe to stay here and keep you safe until we can be sure you’re no longer under any threats."

“That’s too much,” Ralph flushed, seemingly embarrassed. “We should be able to defend ourselves.”

“And so you will, when we’re done with training,” John reassured him. "But now, you need help to get back up on your feet."

“And we need to discuss whether to merge our packs,” Zack and Joanna joined the conversation, holding hands. “I am already Alpha of the Silverstreak Pack, so normally Joanna would come back with me and be my Luna. But I’m sure we can find a solution.”

“There’s nothing I would like more,” Joanna smiled at him, her eyes glittering. “But I cannot become your Luna until we know Pine Ridge pack is safe,” she continued and looked at John. “Thank you for helping us. We sure need some training. And more fighters. I agree with my father, we should have been able to handle this by ourselves, but we were simply not prepared.”

“You will never have to handle this kind of stuff by yourselves anymore,” Zack held her tight. “You will be members of the Western tribe now. And Silverstreak Pack will always be at your service, no matter if we merge our packs or not.”

“You two, get a room!” a loud voice groaned behind them.

They all turned to see Liam walking towards them with a large grin on his face.

“Congratulations, my friend,” he gave Zack a friendly blow on the back. “I just spoke with my mate and she is absolutely thrilled.”

John followed Warren and Rebecca to their car that was parked behind the house.

“Are you sure about this?” Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest. “You want to stay here for a couple of days? You don’t want to come back with us tonight?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” John affirmed. “Me and Luke will stay here, and you will go back home. You will have all of our warriors with you, you’ll be safe.”

“We’re not concerned about our safety,” Warren objected. “Such little coyotes could not harm our pack,” he wrinkled his nose. “We’re more concerned that something would happen here tonight. Wouldn’t it be better to bring the Pine Ridge pack back with us? They’re not so many, they could easily fit in our guesthouses.”

“And take away the last of their dignity?” John smiled wryly. “I think my plan is better. We will take turns patrolling tonight. And I’m sure some of the other packs will leave some of their warriors as well.”

“OK, but let Randall and Electra stay here with you as well,” Rebecca pleaded.

“Those are our best warriors,” John objected. “They should go with you.”

“All our warriors are great,” Warren patted John on the back. “We’ll be fine. Now oblige your mother, or else none of us will be able to sleep tonight."