Chapter 886 Chapter 886
“Ena.”
It was Foster in the earpiece. She turned but couldn’t see him. Her heart started beating harder.
Kash walked by with a man slung over his shoulders. She paused and watched him go toward the other vehicle and then turned and looked into the fog. Walker came out of it with a tall man. He was leaning on him but walking without guidance. She turned to see Gia helping Madison and took a few steps. Foster came out of the haze with Orson leaning on him. She sucked in a breath and hurried toward him. He was so dirty she was a bit taken aback. He was walking hunched over, his hand over his ribs.
“Hang on.” He gasped. “Catch my breath.”
Foster stopped and stood there holding onto him.
Ena rushed over. “Orson.”
He lifted his head and gave her a smile. His lip was busted and swollen. “Oh, my girl.” He took a breath. “I knew you would get them here.”
She went over to his other side and put her arm around him. “Where are you hurt?”
“Nothing is broken. Sore and bruised up a bit.” He nodded and then started moving slowly again.
Kash came back and stopped and looked at him.
Orson paused and looked up at him. “Thank you.”
Kash nodded and then went back in the direction of the house.
Leyton came up behind them. He had a man slung over his shoulder. He nodded to her and then walked toward the other vehicle.
“Morley. There’s a lot in here to go through.” Luka said.
“Mister Kamble is cuffed to support beam in the kitchen when you get a second, Madison,” Deacon said.
“Kash, Slater is on his way to you. He’ll be there by tonight. You two will escort the offenders to a location. I will call you within a few hours.” It was that Raymond Hardy man again.
“Copy, Boss.”
When they reached the van, they helped Orson sit in the open door. Madison was busy with the first man that Leyton had brought over.
“I’m going to need a halfway location,” Madison said. “Three can’t do a long trip to the center.”
“Zain and Oaklyn now have a medical wing set up at the US headquarters. You can stop and spend as much time at a hotel as you need until you reach it.” The woman with the soft voice said.
Ena squatted down and looked at Orson’s face. He looked so tired and like he’d aged several years. “What can I get you?”
He opened his eyes and gave her a half smile. “I could really use a coffee.”
“Coffee will have to wait,” Madison said as she went around to check on the other man.
“Has anyone seen Creed?” Gia asked.
“I signaled him to come down,” Andi said.
“Maybe he’s lost in the fog,” Nox said.
Foster walked out away from the van and looked up. Stretching his arms above his head, he waved them back and forth. Touching his ear, he kept looking up. “He’s up there circling.”
“Probably keeping watch for a few more,” Leyton said.
“Templeton and I are at the end of the lane. Bring your man down. No one is coming to visit today.” Kellen said.
Ena turned back to Orson. “Aunt Heidi isn’t happy with you.”
Orson snorted. “I didn’t plan to get trapped.”
She looked at his legs.
“Not that kind. It was a pit.”
Foster came back over. “They have pits dug?”
Orson nodded.
Foster touched his ear. “Orson was caught in a dugout pit.”
“Shit. I’ll call Jesse and tell him to make sure the rest of the clan don’t go out alone.”
Ena hated to keep making him speak, but she needed to know. “Where is it, Orson?”
He opened his eyes. “Out by the old hide factory.”
She gave him a startled look and then looked at Foster. “I can show you on a map where it is. It’s not near clan lands.”
Foster’s brows went up. He touched his ear again. “Orson told Ena where it is. It isn’t near clan lands.”
“We can stick around and help locate them,” Kellen said.
“Appreciate that, Kellen. Whether they’re there for shifters or wild animals, they need to be dealt with.”
“Agreed.” Raymond said. “Leyton, Luka, I want you to help Kellen find these and do some local searches, we may have another clan nearby.”
“I’m going to ask them where they’re from,” Gia said. She got back in the van and spoke to the girls.
Ena leaned down and rested her head on Orson’s knee and then she remembered about Jesse and his mate. Lifting her head, she looked at him. “There’s a man from the Alliance at home, Orson. He’s helping get the houses fixed and bringing in supplies.”
Orson lifted his head and opened his eyes. He hissed out a breath. “I knew it.”
She smiled. “Yes. You were right.”
He smiled. “I can’t wait for Harland to say that to my face.”
Creed landed a few feet away, and Orson sucked in a breath. “He’s one, isn’t he?”
Ena nodded. “That’s Creed.”
Foster turned and looked at him. “Your clothes are on the back bumper of my van.”
Creed took to the air again and swooped down over top of Foster’s head and then veered and went toward his van.
“That’s something,” Orson whispered.
Madison came around and sat beside him. “Okay, let’s take a look and see what the damage is.”
Orson sat straighter. “I could use a nap.”
Madison smiled. “You can have hours of sleep later.”
“Yes, ‘mam.”
Ena stepped back to give Madison room.
“Alyce and Tisha are from a mountain cat clan in South Dakota,” Gia said.
“Cougar clan,” Kellen said.
“They’re sixteen,” Gia whispered.
Ena glanced in the van to see Gia wrapping blankets around them.
“Piers is from a bobcat clan in Iowa,” Morley said.
Gia looked at the man sitting in the passenger seat. He really didn’t look well.
“Mathias is from a grizzly clan in Wyoming,” Walker said through the earpiece.
“We’ll get more details from them when they’ve had a chance to rest,” Raymond said. “And then we’ll contact their clans.”
“Your ribs are bruised, but I don’t think anything is broken.”
Ena turned back to look at Madison.
“We’ll get you hydrated and see how you feel.” She touched her ear. “I’d like to take them back to the safe house to bathe and rest for a few hours.”
“Go ahead, Madison. There should be some clothes in a red bag in each vehicle.” The woman said.
“I’ll look when we get back to the house.” She reached in and pulled the kit out to put an IV in Orson’s arm.
Ena looked at Foster and smiled. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “I’m glad he’s okay.”
Her eyes teared up. She nodded, afraid that if she said anything, she’d cry.
Foster reached out, pulled her against his chest, and hugged her. Ena rested her forehead against him and wrapped her arms around him. It felt good just to do this for a minute. She’d been scared for the last week.
He ran his hand down her hair.
“I’m going to call Jesse and tell him. Do you want him to tell the rest of your clan?”
Ena lifted her head and looked at Gia. “Please.”
Madison turned from helping Orson into the van. She closed the door. “There’s nothing major that I can see, so he can go home later if that’s what he wants.” She glanced at the van. “He’s tough.”
Ena stepped back from Foster. “He still shifts at his age. My aunt says it’s too exhausting.”
Madison shrugged. “That’s probably what saved him from broken bones. They beat him pretty bad.”
Ena looked into the van and saw Orson leaning against the door. She couldn’t wait to take him home.
“Foster, give me a hand moving the men to your van, and then Ena can ride with me to the house.”
Foster nodded.
“Deacon and I will ride back with you.” Gia walked away.
“Good work, everyone. Morley, I want pictures sent.”
Morley walked by. “I’m going to assess now. Creed is going back with Cy, and then they’ll bring my truck back.”
“Copy.”
Ena heard a click in her ear. She took out the earpiece and tucked it in her pocket, then looked around at the others. This is what they did. They worked together, found their kind, and helped them. She smiled. It felt pretty good.
“Ready?”
She turned. The passenger seat was empty. She debated on sitting with Orson but wanted him to rest. “Yes.” She glanced to see Foster standing beside his van, looking at her. He nodded and then went around where she couldn’t see him. She was going to have to tell Orson about him. Which meant she was going to have to think more about what having a mate meant to her. Getting in, she glanced back to see the girls and Orson all looked like they were sleeping.
Madison smiled at her and started the van. “Feels good when we find them.”
Ena nodded. “Yes.”