Page 53 of Pack Ruin
Five hours to get twenty-nine women out of this dorm, across miles of guarded packland, outside the fence, and underground. It would take a miracle.
I glanced up at the sky outside. The clouds were obscuring the moon, keeping everything dark. I could see some lights on in one of the houses, and in the Pack House. I closed my eyes,trying to think of a plan that didn’t end in death for me, Glen, Luke, or these brave women.
The answer came in a flash.Grigor.He was here, somewhere. He’d been weak; I’d felt it. Maybe even dying. But now, I didn’t feel the weakness, that diminishing of my power. My wolf was strong, like she was ready to emerge. Except for the place where Finnick was connected to me, the bonds—even the ones I hadn’t completed with Luke and Grigor—felt steady for the first time.
I set my hands on the metal of the window frame, closed my eyes, and focused on that place inside me where I’d felt him, heard him. He’d sent words to me. Could I send them back?
Grigor, help. Help me.
Of course there was no answer. How could there be? I wasn’t some powerful witch wolf. Or was I?
I was connected to Brand, who was moonblessed and could hear my thoughts, or at least he could when I was back at Mountain. And I was connected to Glen.
Glen!I focused on the bond there, pressing against it.
It felt… odd. It had felt strong before, but not like this. Now it had a strange texture, like it was a braided rope of spirit. I repeated Glen’s name in my mind, and felt a surge of affection that was undeniably him. But the staticky whisper of a voice that replied wasn’t my Northern mate.
Yes, my queen?An odd shiver ran down my spine at hearing his voice in my head, almost like an invisible hand was stroking me.
I have to save the girls here.I tried to think of all the things that had happened. How I needed Grigor’s help to find Luke and Glen, and get them out to join me and the others, and what I needed to do next.
Grigor’s reply was a wave of confusion. I let out a shuddering breath, focusing on Delia. Blood was leaking from the edges ofher bandages, and her sleepy whimpers tugged at my heart. I had to get her out of here.
His voice was faint, and I felt a strain on the bond, but heard,Peace, little queen. We will come. No. Not here.
Where?I got a sudden mental image of pink flowers. The bouquet he’d made for me. I felt my cheeks heat up, and hoped the thought I sent back was gratitude.
Perfect for me. For us.
My blush deepened, and the sensation of a hand stroking my spine returned, stronger, lighting up all my nerves. My wolf whined, and I opened my eyes when a cracking sound at the window got my attention.
I’d broken the weld. I had no idea how. It almost looked melted, allowing the window to slide open noiselessly.
“Whoa,” Iris whispered. “I guess we’re going out the window after all.”
“I guess so.” I filled her in on the worst plan in the history of plans. So much could go wrong. But I had to hope it wouldn’t.
Iris and Courtney volunteered to sneak into the other rooms and bring the other girls to this one, since the window was unlocked. “How do we get down?” Deb asked. She and Tami had wrapped Holly’s body in a sheet and left her in the shower.
“We go up,” I said. “I left rope and leather up there. As long as the wires have held up for the past few months, we can slide down. I know every single way out of this pisstrap of a pack. I’ll get us out.”
I hoped I wasn’t lying.
It only tookan hour to get every one of the females in the dorm onto the roof. So many of the faces I’d expected to see were missing. When I asked Iris where they were, she just shook her head. I used a sheet to tie Delia to her back, and they were the last ones to go out the window.
The others had already filled everyone in on our plan, though a few of the women shook their heads. One of the older women whispered, “It won’t work. They’ve got guards patrolling every street, all night long.”
I took a moment to ask where the patrols were, and how often they passed. “Do they have cameras?”
“Yeah, but only a few that still work. We’ve taken out the ones we can with rocks.” She described where the remaining ones were, and I rethought the escape route.Shit.Going around those would take a lot longer.
“All right. There’s no time. We’ll just do our best.”
“With no weapons? Torran’s guards are all armed. Some have silver-edged blades.”
I shrugged, thinking about the pure silver blade in my pocket that Verona had given me. That was a weapon I’d only use as a very last resort. “I killed Van Blackside with a steak knife. Use anything you can find. A branch can be a staff. A sharp rock can take out an eye.”
“We’re not trained to fight like you,” a younger girl said with tears in her voice. “We’ll just die.”
