Page 91 of Mated By the Pack
But it doesn’t matter now. I’ve found my mate.Ourmate. I don’t even feel jealousy toward my brothers, like I did the times Jace ran off with the girl I had been buying drinks for all night. Being with Calla feels natural. Sharing her feels natural.
I also feel validated. I’m not the crazy brother who talks to plants. I’m not the weird one. I was literally hearing lost souls screaming from The Aether, because The Tangle is a scarred extension of it.
“Maybe they’ll start trying to listen too, instead of laughing at me,” I mutter to myself as I descend the stairs.
The peace officers are awake. Some are fighting with their restraints. Others scream into their gags. I can understand enough of their muffled words to know they’re begging for help and demanding to know what has happened to them.
I feel bad about leaving them down here. They were just doing their jobs. But letting them go is too much of a risk. If they try, they can find their way to the stairs. At least one of them can get outside and find help. I’ll make sure we leave the door unlocked, just so they have a fighting chance.
“Alright,” I sigh as I walk back up the stairs. “Let’s go home.”
My brothers are in the process of dressing when I get back upstairs. Caleb and Calla are talking, so I give them their space and gather my clothes. I’m happy Caleb is talking to us again and talking to our mate. He’s been closed off for so long it’s hard to remember how different he was before Silas died. I’m finally seeing it again, and I’ve missed it. For the first time in a while, it actually feels like we’re a pack. A pack with purpose.
“We’ll check the tunnel we used to get in first,” Gideon says. “If there’s any sign of trouble, we’ll look for some of the others. I still have a general idea of where they should be, even if they’ve built something on top of them.”
“You remember a lot more about this place than I do,” Jace grunts. “I’ve tried to forget everything.”
“I designed the wall, using some old blueprints from before the Great War,” Gideon says. “The tunnels were supposed to be filled in to secure the city, but I guess they were more concerned about getting people out than protecting them.”
“Now it’s probably their entire economy,” Knox mutters. “But what the fuck are they spending the money on? It’s not like there are any trade routes.”
“No idea,” Calla says, shrugging her shoulders. “It doesn’t seem like there’s anything to buy. Haven North produces everything people need. I didn’t see anything at The Outpost they couldn’t make here.”
“We’ve been here long enough,” Caleb grumbles. “Let’s go.”
It would be faster to call our wolves and run to the closest tunnel, but it’s better to travel on foot. Especially after earlier. We subdued the peace officers who saw us, and I don’t think they were able to sound any sort of alarm, but we should still be careful. If anyone happens to see us, they’ll notice we don’t look like everyone else in Haven North. But if we’re wolves, they’ll run screaming.
We make our way to the warehouse we were at earlier. My pulse quickens when I see it is surrounded by peace officers. Same uniforms as the ones we fought earlier. Similar rifles and handguns. You don’t see much weaponry outside of NewChicago, but guns are easy to produce if you have the resources and equipment, which Haven North definitely has access to.
“Take them out, or move on?” Jace asks.
“My vote is we go right through them,” Caleb answers, sizing up the peace officers. “No way they can stop us.”
“It’ll be a massacre, brother,” Gideon says, shaking his head. “Let’s check the next tunnel.”
We don’t even have to get close enough to the next one to pick up the scent. More peace officers standing like armed guards. We stop beside a building, and I can see the frustration bubbling in Caleb’s eyes. He’s losing his patience.
“If they’re all guarded, we’re going to have to go through a group of them eventually,” Caleb says. “Let’s stop wasting time.”
“They’re peace officers because that is the path they were assigned,” Calla mutters, glancing nervously at Caleb. “They’re just following orders. It wouldn’t be fair to kill them for it. Slavers are one thing, but they’re innocent. They haven’t done anything wrong.”
“We know what it is like to follow orders, brother,” Gideon says sagely, putting a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “We may not get involved in human affairs anymore, but I don’t want to start killing innocent men and women because they’re in our way. They can’t have all of the tunnels guarded. There are too many of them.”
“Fine,” Caleb says begrudgingly. “Then let’s stop wasting time here and find the next one.”
We check tunnel after tunnel and find the same resistance waiting for us. One of the women we helped must have saidsomething. Maybe not about Calla or the wolves, but enough for those in charge to want the tunnels covered.
“Notice they’re outside and not inside,” Knox says when we stop again. “They’re not concerned about anything coming in. They’re trying to make sure nothing gets out.”
“I’ve noticed that,” Gideon mutters.
Footsteps echo on the street behind us, and we’re all caught off guard. We spin around in confusion, seeing peace officers approaching. These peace officers look a lot different from the others. They’re wearing riot gear like SWAT teams used to wear before the Great War and carrying heavier weapons, but they don’t look like they’re designed to shoot bullets.
“What the hell?” Jace mutters. “I can’t even get their scent.”
“We have to move!” Gideon says, urging us forward.
We close in on Calla, making sure she’s in the middle, and take up formation as we rush through the streets of Haven North. It’s darker now, and we really haven’t seen any people, which is a little unusual. There was a lot of activity last night.
