Page 109 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“East,” he says promptly.
“Then, head there first. I will take half of our men and come with you. The other half goes to the Northern border.”
I can see her eyes glossing over, and soon I feel the mind link to all of us coming through with all of our orders. Our warriors outside start running into different directions. Blaine’s men seem to have received a similar mind link, because they already run towards the borders, a grim expression on their faces.
“What about Tynan and me?” I ask Ita. “What do you want us to do?”
“You need to make sure that everyone here is evacuated,” she says.
“I will lead them to the bunker and-"
“No,” Ita exclaims and tosses a bottle towards me that looks like one of Kilah’s perfume sprays. “You need to grab them and make sure to lead them towards the mountain path. I will send two elites with you. Hide away there and diffuse your scent with this spray. If the bears break through the border, they will find the bunker and kill everyone inside.”
“Got it.”
“Ty, head out of the pack, take the south exit. You need to reach the witch that lives close to Blaine’s old pack grounds. We need her! It’s a royal order now.”
“Got you,” Tynan blurts out and rushes away. He disappears between the houses for a moment, but when my eyes catch him again, he is in his wolf form. I decide to get right to work, too. I want to lead the defenseless pack members out of the pack as fast as possible, to get some distance between us and make sure to diffuse our scents, so that no one can track us.
“Alana!” Ita grabs my hand before I leave.
I look at her, surprised.
"Please, stay safe."
I nod at her, not able to hide my gentle smile. Not to dwell on my feelings any longer, I focus on the task ahead of me though. I hurry to find Caitlin, bumping into her only a few steps further. “Caitlin!” I call out. “Where are the children, elderly, and those who can’t fight?”
“They are at the meeting point in front of the bunker,” she says.
“Change of plans. Chances are high it’s not safe there,” I tell her. “We need to hide them somewhere else.”
She nods, relief flashing in her eyes. I assume she had similar fears. “What’s the new plan?”
“We collect everyone and lead them to the mountain path.”
“The mountain path,” Caitlin muses. “I know a good route. It will lead us over the Western border and through a forest. We can remain hidden there until we reach the mountains. There is a cave a bit further up the mountain.” When I look at her curiously, she just shrugs. “I grew up here and my father was a hunter. I went hunting with him a lot.”
“That comes in handy now,” I say.
We both hurry to work, and make sure to gather everyone as fast as possible. Caitlin sends out a joint mind link to her pack members to ensure everyone knows of our change of plans. In the distance, I can already hear battle noises; roars and yells.
My chest aches painfully at the thought of Ita being out there, and in such grave danger. But, I need to have faith in her abilities. Caitlin and I work fast, making sure to grab a few supplies. There are two pregnant she-wolves with us, and a lot of children. I spot the group of kids I talked to earlier.
“Dalene!” Caitlin calls out in relief.
“I’m here,” Dalene waves at us. “I got us some blankets… you know, for the babies.”
Dalene is just a kid, yet she is already prepared for such an emergency. Something about this reality fills me with sadness.
“You did well, thank you, Dalene,” Caitlin praises her.
“You can help us, too,” I tell her friends. “Thanks to you, we now have an idea what’s attacking us, so maybe you can help us another way.”
The boy who told me about their secret first, beams with pride. “Yes, Princess.”
“What can we do!?”
“There are some elderlies. Make sure they have some support while walking.”
