Page 43 of Wolf Tormented
Rain pelts the ground and drips through the leaves of the tall pines as we move silently through the forest.
There is nothing left to say as I follow Patrick.
How the fuck are we going to handle the humans doing this?
Patrick stops abruptly, his eyes widening and his pulse thrumming in his throat with his anxiety.
“What is it?” I step next to him.
He points up at the tree in front of us with a trembling hand. “That’s not the same one we found. There is another one farther out.”
“We are only a half mile from the village. How the fuck are they getting so close?” I ask.
I clench my hand in a fist as I stare up at the tiny camera pointing down from the canopy of the trees.
I want to destroy it, but will that tip them off? How do we know there aren’t more planted in the trees all around the territory?
“I’m sorry, Archer. I didn’t see that one before.” Patrick hangs his head.
“We need to get the patrols all together for a meeting. I don’t want anyone else hearing about it for now.”
“Yes, Archer.” Patrick nods and turns to leave.
We need everyone in one place and on the same page. I want to know where every single piece of surveillance equipment is on my property before I show them my hand.
“No one is to shift, period. All it will take is for them to catch one person shifting and it’s all over for us,” I say.
I still don’t understand what they are trying to prove here. Is this about the investigation, or do they already know what we are and need proof before they can attack us?
I need to call the other regional alphas and find out if they have any missing pack members or have noticed anything, but it’s tough.
No one wants to be the one who outs our existence to the humans.
If I start asking questions and bringing up the possibility, it could be disaster for my pack.
“How do they know to look in our woods, and why would they think they would find anything on surveillance cameras?” I run my hand through my hair.
“I don’t know, alpha.” Patrick shrugs. “Did someone else out us to the humans and tip them off? Are we just collateral damage and another group to test on?”
Do they think we will be easy prey? Are they ready to rain destruction on my people?
How will we fight against them when we aren’t supposed to know they are there?
A weight sits on my chest. Can we fight against men with weapons we don’t understand, or are we doomed to fail?
11
Jara
Tears blur my vision as I lie in the bed for I don’t even know how long. Seconds turn to minutes that turn to hours, and all hope of a happy life dies a painful death in my soul.
My wolf howls mournfully, the sound in my head heartbreaking. The tears flow free as I curse every stupid decision I made to bring me to this moment.
Should I have turned Archer down from the beginning and gone rogue without question?
Would my life be better or just a different kind of brutal?
Archer employs rogues. Would I have been employed by him anyway? What would be different between us if I was a rogue and he an alpha?
