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Chapter 24 – Everglades
“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” I felt like I was going to lose my mind. Apollo was howling with rage, he wanted his mate and pup, and he was ready to scorch the earth to find them.
“We’ll find her.” Zeus tried to reassure me, but I wasn’t sure where to start. My blood was boiling and the need to inflict pain was pulsing through me.
“Do we go after the lab first or the camp?” Mateo asked.
“Alpha, we’ve secured a helicopter,” Conner informed me.
“I can fly it.” Chris said.
“So can I.” Zeus offered.
“The lab set sail about two to three hours ago, is that correct?”
“Yes.” Chris nodded her head.
“How fast does the fastest cruise ship go?” I asked.
Without missing a beat, Wylder answered, “Queen Mary, the second, is the fastest cruise ship in the world at thirty knots. That’s about thirty-five miles an hour.”
“How do you know this?” Zeus gave Wylder a questioning look.
Wylder shrugged, “I watch a lot of Jeopardy.”
“Okay, that means they can’t be more than a hundred miles away from Miami. We just don’t know the direction it was sailing in, Bermuda or Puerto Rico.” I said, thinking out loud.
“So we get another helicopter and fly two. One in each direction.” Zeus answered. “Chris did you by any chance take photos of the ship?”
“Of course I did.” She pulled out her phone and showed them to us.
It was a smaller cruise ship with two levels between the main deck and the captain’s bridge. It looked to have three or four levels below the main deck. The ship was gray with a big black smokestack or funnel as they’re called. On the bow of the ship read the name, Tears of The Moon.
“Zeus and Wylder take the helicopter. Chris and Conner, see if you can get another helicopter or seaplane. Mateo and I will go check out the camp.” I instructed.
“Wait, you’re going alone?” Wylder asked.
“I’m not going alone, I’m taking Mateo. Don’t worry, the way Apollo is feeling, no one will be able to get close enough to me. We’ll be back before you know it, Ginger.”
“Let’s get this Crow in the sky!” Zeus called out.
Mateo and I took the motorcycles Chris and Conner had rented and followed the directions to the camp located deep in the everglades. The camp was set up on an old government missile site. The property was abandoned and there were no records of any sale or lease of the property.
The road was dark, and the only glimmer of light came from the motorcycles. I could see the glow of lights coming from the large compound-like camp in the distance. If we could see their lights, they would also be able to see us approaching. I immediately slowed down and came to a stop, turning off the bike and killing the lights. Mateo followed suit and tucked the bike on the side of the road.
“How do you want to do this?” He asked.
“We shift and slip closer. Try to locate the building they could have my mate in. I’ll pull in some cold air over the warm surrounding waters, it will create a thick fog.” Mateo wasted no time shifting.
I focused on the air and the cool breeze blew in, within moments the fog started to rise from the moisture in the air and waters nearby. We took off into a run and I struggled to keep Apollo from rushing in there and burning everyone at sight. I reminded him we needed to make sure our family was safe before we burned this entire portion of the everglades to hell.
This was one of those moments I wish I could mind link with my mate. It would make locating her much faster since I was near. Like a silent killer in the dead of night, we reached the compound and stalked closer. Four buildings, two large, two small, and a dozen large military-style tents. Two guards sat on stools at the entrance gates, both clearly hunters. My eyes swirled silver as I quietly pulled the air out of their lungs and they dropped to the ground gasping for air.
I mind linked Mateo, “stay here, I’m going to run along the backside of the buildings. Apollo should be able to sense Lukas’ aura. If they’re not here, I’ll start burning everything and everyone.”
“What if they’ve separated them? If Dora is in one of the buildings alone, you won’t be able to sense her. She doesn’t have a wolf aura and the new pup won’t have a strong enough aura yet.” Mateo had a point.
“I’ll make the fog thicker. You sniff around the tents, her scent is coconut and sweet vanilla, but she should smell more like me with the new pup. I’ll clear the buildings.” Apollo moved like a ghost in the darkness.
I reached the first small building and lifted up on my hind legs, thankful that Apollo was a Theodorus-sized wolf. I was able to look into the window. It was a large mess hall where the hunters ate. I moved to the next building, and it was a large building. I peeked through the windows, and it looked like a sleeping barrack. I moved to another window at the opposite end and noticed dozens of sleeping hunters. It took all of my control not to light them up just yet. I needed to finish checking the other buildings first.
Silently, I sniffed around the second small building. I didn’t pick up the scent of my mate or the aura of Lukas. Rising on my rear legs, I looked through the window. It was a gym with a fighting arena and weapons on the wall.
“Ares, I scent a female wolf inside one of these tents, but no sign of Dora or Lukas.” Mateo linked me.
“I still have the large building on the end to check out. Finish clearing all the tents.” I linked back and moved to the last building.
One of the windows on the lower level was propped open and I moved beneath it. Inside I could hear the sound of several different snores. I moved closer to the open window and lifted my nose up, catching dozens of scents, all human hunters. There was no sign of my mate or pup.
“Ares, the tent on the far west end also has a male wolf inside.” Mateo linked back.
“Is it Randall?” I asked.
“No, definitely not Randall.” Mateo replied.
I decided to investigate the tent with the female first. I sniffed around and didn’t pick up any other scent or aura inside the tent. Apollo recognized the scent, but I couldn’t seem to remember who it belonged to. I shifted back quickly and willed the fog to grow thicker as I moved to the front of the tent.
“Stand guard out here.” I mind liked Mateo and Manolo nodded his head.
I pulled the flap of the tent open and slipped inside, ready to confront the traitor she-wolf. I looked closer and realized it was Mitza. The she-wolf from Alpha Romero’s old pack we met at south beach. She was tied to a big metal chair in the sitting position. Her eyes were closed, and her head hung low to her chest. She appeared to be sleeping, but she also appears to have been tortured and beaten. I reached my hand out and placed it on her shoulder. Her head stirred and she let out a soft whimper.
“Mitza. Can you hear me?” I whispered.
“Alpha?” She questioned and looked up.
The side of her head and hair had crusted over with dried blood. “What happened?”
“That night, after I met you. I finished working the rest of the night and when I left work, hunters picked me up. There’s a man, actually an Alpha here, he’s working with the hunters. They knew you were in south beach, they know you met Tymber, and they wanted to know what you spoke to me about.” She continued explaining while I untied her.
“That other Alpha, he’s been trying to force me to talk. I told him that you sensed my wolf and realized I was a lone wolf. That you only invited me to join your pack, but he didn’t believe me. He brought me here to torture me.” She cried and I realized he had cut half of her right ear off.
“Did he do this to you?” Apollo seethed as she nodded yes. Mateo was a healer, but I don’t think even he would be able to replace or regrow anything.
“Ares, a light came on from the last tent.” Mateo linked me. I knew he was on the other side of the tent and could hear what Mitza told me.
“I’m bringing Mitza out, she’s in no condition to run, I’m going to need you to take her back to the bikes and wait for me while I burn this place to the ground.”
“Tell her to hop on my back.” Mateo replied.
“My Zeta is outside this tent, I’m going to put you on his back and he’s going to get you out of here while I take care of a few things. Trust him and wait for me.” I instructed and helped her out of the tent and onto Manolo’s back. They disappeared in the thick fog and I shifted back into my wolf.
Apollo wanted to double-check the tents again, make sure our mate and pup weren’t here. He ran from tent to tent, scenting the air, and found nothing. We reached the last tent and I wondered if I would find another tortured wolf or the mystery Alpha who was torturing Mitza. My question was answered when I saw the weasel step out of his tent with a lantern in one hand and a gun in another.
“Ahh, Ares. There you are. Nice touch with the fog.” He smiled.
Apollo let out a low growl and the earth shook beneath our paws. It was Miller. The other missing council member. A friend of Randall’s. Apollo was urging me to roast him on sight, but I wanted to hear him talk. I needed to hear if he had Eudora.
“I have a surprise for you, I think you’ll like it.” He told me and I considered shifting to human form so I could speak with him.
“These aren’t just silver bullets anymore, no, we had to take our game to the next level. Azazel created the death draught that his grandson, Magnus, used on Alpha Lukas.” He said as Apollo released a raging snarl. 
He smiled and gripped his gun closer. “It’s called, Tears of The Moon and it’s very potent. The bullets have been dipped in it and they should work on you as well.”
So this was their secret weapon. Silver bullets dipped in poison. The same poison that killed my grandfather. They could have used darts, but dart guns didn’t have the range that bullets did. I was hoping Miller would say something about my mate, but he didn’t. I wasn’t worried about the weapon in his hand because I could incinerate the bullet before it reached me.
“Mate is on the ship with our pup. Let’s burn this place and get out of here.” Apollo snarled at me.
“POP. POP. POP.” Bullets fired off from somewhere behind me in the blanket of the fog. I turned and unleashed fire as Apollo rolled out of the way. The light in Miller’s tent went out and I instantly set the tent on fire before he could escape. The sound of his screaming was music to my ears.
The commotion stirred the hunters awake and several heavy footsteps rushed towards Miller’s tent. I pulled the water from the surrounding marshlands to me. In an instant, the water hardened into frozen glass-like shards and I hurtled them at the hunters like an explosion of shrapnel.
“That worked better than when you practiced it with Alpha Dimitri! Now light this place up so we can go find our mate.” Apollo urged me.
I kicked up the wind and used a stream of hot air in combination with my fire element to spray a steady stream of fire to all the tents, buildings, and vehicles. A few hunters escaped from the buildings, and I stomped my paw on the ground, allowing the marsh to swallow them up. The trucks and jeeps they had parked near an open field started exploding one by one as the fire reached the fuel tanks. The night sky over the everglades lit up with the biggest bonfire it had ever witnessed. I willed the fire to burn hotter, ensuring no one in the buildings survived.
When I was satisfied with the destruction, I started running back towards the bikes to meet Mateo. Apollo let out a low whine and I looked down, noticing a bullet had hit me in my upper leg. Silver did not affect me, and I continued running. I would need to have Mateo dig the bullet out later.
“Something’s wrong.” Apollo said, feeling a burning sensation through my leg. I recalled what Miller had said about the bullets dipped in poison. Victoria had been able to spell me with a potion, so I wasn’t sure if I was immune to poison. I needed to find Mateo quickly and started running on three legs as fast as I could.
“Mateo!” I called through the mind link as I loped up the dark road to the motorcycles.
“Ares, what’s wrong?” Mateo hurried to me.
“Silver bullet dipped in poison.” I panted feeling my leg burn. “Miller called it tears of the moon, the same poison used on my grandfather. It’s burning.” I dropped to the dirt road as Mateo took my leg in his hand.
“Does it feel like it’s spreading?” He asked and probed my leg.
“No, it’s just in my leg.” I linked him, feeling my heart race.
“Don’t shift back, Apollo’s blood runs hotter and might be able to burn off the poison. You’re a Demigod, so it might only weaken you instead of killing you. Stay with me, I’m going to try and remove the bullet before I give you a healing.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Mitza’s worried voice asked.
“Can you flip the headlight on the motorcycle and point it in this direction, I’m going to try and remove the silver bullet with my pocket knife.” Mateo reached into his back pocket for the knife, and I could feel my vision swirling.
“Mateo…” I tried to speak, and Apollo dropped his head.
“Ares? Stay with me Ares!” I heard his voice ring from the end of a long tunnel.