Page 67 of Pack Captive

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Ryden

My pack'sexuberance was infectious after a successful raid on Fenris's shadows.

It'd been months since we'd had such a night, the kind where we tore through his forces and not a single one of our people was brought home to a funeral pyre.

I felt the thoughts of the wolves running on either side of me, like threads connected to my brain.

Calian's thoughts, unlike the rest of the pack's, were cool and assessing. He was calculating the odds of a massive victory against Fenris during the full moon.

If this was what we could do during a dark moon...Ayla could light up the whole city when it showed its face again.

Ayla herself was a ball of mixed emotions. She ran evenly at my side, keeping pace, but I felt the tangle inside her.

She was happy, victorious, but she missed her pack...and there was a thread of disquiet under the rest of it.

As the Alpha, I could've forced her to bow under my commands and reveal what she was thinking, but that would only drive the wedge of suspicion deeper. I was on my absolute best behavior for her.

What's wrong?I asked, giving her shoulder a nudge.

She glanced at me, the runes emblazoned against her dark fur still glowing blue.I thought...I thought I heard something out in the woods. And the behavior of the shadow wolves isn't right.

My stomach tightened, but I kept a tight leash on my emotions.What do you mean?

They didn't attack me.Ayla ran harder, her breath panting.It let me kill it. I've never seen that before.

Calian's thoughts flared with alarm, directed solely at me. I saw in his thoughts that she’d already asked him.

Maybe Fenris is changing his tactics, I hedged.

There was no need to frighten her now. Not while she was slowly gaining confidence. I'd felt her happiness at how easily she blended with the pack, and I wasn't going to ruin that for her when she needed the boost.

She fell into a thoughtful silence as we ran, and soon the pack was streaming over the bridge into Lykos.

The Guardians manning the walls opened the gates, but something was off.

There was an air of tension in the city. My fur stood upright as it washed over me, and several Warriors who had remained behind shifted, sending their thoughts to me.

Alpha.The hair of the one in the lead was quivering on end.There's been a security breach.

Calian slipped close to them, his ears pinned back.The Bloodfang?

The Warrior licked his lips nervously, his sharp teeth flashing.Yes. The Lunar Guardian did not send out a warning. When the prisoner's last meal was delivered, the prison was discovered to be flooded. A breach was found in his cell on further inspection. He exited through the lake, and we lost the trail at the rear of the Palace.

Calian snarled, a vicious sound that would've been cursing in human form.Ryden, send the Claws. I'll go ahead and see if anything was missed.

With that, he raced off, moving so fast he was a blur.

Ayla watched the exchange that was inaudible to her, her own ears flattened against her skull.

Her eyes flicked from me to the Warriors, reading the tension in all of us.

I needed to get her back to the Palace immediately. It was the most warded of the buildings in Lykos, though if the Bloodfang had really escaped, it was unlikely to stop him.

If he was smart, he would've bolted from the city while we were gone.

I quickly snapped out orders to the rest of the Warriors. The Claws went after Calian, and the Warriors immediately spread out, moving in pairs and trios to search the city.

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