Page 30 of Mated to the Pride

This part, at least, was a dance we’d taken part in many times. Granted, we were usually better appraised of what lay inside the encampment walls and how we’d deal with it once we got there — but right now, the process was the same. It felt like muscle memory at this point, barely worth thinking through.

That left a lot of space for my mind to run wild, thinking of all the terrible ways they might treat her in pursuit of information. I cared about Jess from the moment we met, but ever since we slept together, it had stacked up to something much more intense. It was as though that act of love had confirmed every suspicion, I had about who she was, and what we could be together. It felt like we’d been together for decades in those few short moments.

I gritted my teeth, covering the body of the guard in case another should come by. We were here for her now. Maybe she didn’t know it yet, but the ordeal was coming to an end.

Guard out on my side, said Blake.Hale?

Clear for me.

And here, Preston added.

Alright,said Blake.Move in closer for observation and bunker down. We’ll wait until nightfall, unless she’s in imminent danger.

I’d follow my alpha’s orders, of course, but the thought of waiting just within her reach for hours as darkness fell, hurt me. I couldn’t imagine how frightened she must be down there, trying to hold up the front that she didn’t know what they were asking her. Every now and again they came back to the spot they were keeping her, and they’d try again — pushing and pressing in various different ways to try and get her to talk.

So far, they hadn’t touched her. For their own sake, they’d better hope it stayed that way.

* * *

Once night had finally fallen, the glow from the campfire was the only thing to illuminate our surroundings. It cast long, flickering finger-like shadows through the trees and the palisade walls. Eerie-looking, but shadows had always been our friends. Tonight was no different. As the night sentry finally took over, I stirred from my position in the tree. It was nearly time. I could feel it in my joints, watching the casual arrogance of those nighttime guards — expecting nothing, and prepared for nothing.

Human form, said Blake.Arm up and shoot to kill. We don’t have the intel or the backup to handle this situation if things turn out bad. Everybody prepared?

I felt our collective readiness. It filled up my limbs like electricity as I shifted back into human form, stretching my shoulders and my arms. A moment later, I had my pistol in hand. Heart pounding, I waited for the signal to come.

It felt like a lifetime before Blake finally said those words.

Alright. Move in.

Our movements sometimes felt like an out-of-body experience. We trained so carefully that when it came to performing a task, all of our physical movements were second nature, and we could dedicate the bulk of our thinking to strategy. As such, when I reached the thinning lines of the trees outside the encampment, it felt almost like I was watching myself — distant, somehow. When I reached the guard on the gate, there was no fear to prickle at the base of my spine. Nothing but the cool understanding of what I had to do — and the hot, raw anger that motivated all of us.

After a split second of action, the first guard was down. To my right, I saw Preston flooring another on the other side. At the front of the encampment, where the palisades parted, Hale and Blake would be closing in.

Preston ran up beside me in his human form as the first shots rang out. It took only a mere glance between us to agree, and we moved forward in unison — stepping carefully and quietly over to the now-unoccupied guards’ gate. Now that the firefight had begun, this could turn into a numbers game fast. It would be our job to keep the others from being swarmed, ideally before the enemy realized we were inside.

They had certainly noticed Blake and Hale. Shouts rose up around us as we ducked behind a tarpaulin, picking off a couple of stragglers from the edges of the pack. After all this time they spent evading us, I’d expected them to be more organized than this. Sometime since they settled here, they must’ve grown complacent.

Any survivors wouldn’t make that mistake again.

However, all thoughts of the foot soldiers around us soon evaporated as our eyes fell on a cage of wooden pikes. Half-shrouded by a tarpaulin, it lay close enough to the campfire to illuminate its sole occupant.

I took hold of Preston, his wrist tight in my hand. The urgency must have spoken to him; his gaze followed mine, and we both stood for a moment in silence as we recognized the huddled form of our mate inside this cage.

We didn’t waste another moment. After a quick check to make sure we wouldn’t draw attention, we slipped across the encampment square and reached her side. Our footsteps were light on the approach, but she still raised her eyes as we came near — first afraid and tired, and then wet with relief.

I lifted a finger to my lips as she made to speak, shaking my head.

Don’t speak. You’re okay, but we need to get you out of here.

Of course, she couldn’t hear me like Preston could, but I hoped the meaning came across to her somehow. As the firelight reflected in her eyes, brow furrowed and jaw firm against the fresh onslaught of tears, I saw something braver and sturdier appear.

I squeezed her hand through the wooden bars, only retreating to help Preston as he discovered the door. Our first attempt to spring the lock was quickly foiled; instead, after a glance at each other, we realized what plan B had to be.

You ready for gunfire on our side?Preston asked.We need to spring Jess out.

She’s safe?Blake asked. I felt Hale’s mind hovering right over us, eager for the answer.

Frightened but seems unharmed, I answered.She’ll be better once she’s out of here.

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