CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

It was a chaotic journey.

We had left in the afternoon and discovered that it was only Dante who knew the direction so everyone trailed after our vehicle.

There was a breakdown of basic services in the kingdom so we had not been able to inform the Royal Pack of our visit.

Also, Seth was tied up and placed with Blood Stone guards in one of the SUVs to avoid any form of rebellion. I'd come to discover that some people still felt a smudge of allegiance to him as he had been their Alpha for years.

We got to the first Pack on our path towards the Royal Pack and the encounter there opened our eyes to how bad things really were.

We had driven straight through their borders and no one had stopped us. This made everyone sit up on alert. I had secretly made some of the solution we used for ferals and gave it to Damian. This was in the event we were attacked and getting overwhelmed.

Dante didn't want to encourage anyone into thinking of what my blood could do so he said no to the idea but I was terrified. What if we were ambushed and kidnapped? And if we had not caught that rogue, we would have walked right into Jethro's trap.

This would, in the end, be a saving grace for us as we walked into the Red River Pack.

It looked deserted and for the most part, weeds had grown wild on the walls and the ground was covered in moss.

“This pack used to be so beautiful. It was on the path to the Royal Pack so they invested in real estate and hotels for wolves who needed to pass the night on their way. Now, it's looking like a graveyard.” Dante said out loud

“Jethro is really making true his promises of bringing down the werewolf kingdom. We really need to stop him before he succeeds” Taylor replied, fear creeping up her body. If they didn't succeed, everyone was doomed, she thought to her wolf

“Damian, check if there are any birds we can use to see ahead,’ Dante told him.

He connected to a bird and in a few seconds he opened them again but terror was written in them.

The moment he opened his eyes, he shouted incoherent words, expressing fear.

“Calm down!” I shouted, grabbing his hand leading to Dante growling as usual.

It took us a second to realize what he was saying.

“There's a massive ambush! It's big, very big and that rogue we let go is with them” he uttered, his chest heaving.

“Damn. His wolf no longer responds to authority, that's why the command wore off. Everybody, get down!” He shouted in the mindlink, “from now on, everyone uses the mindlink. Damian, get a hulk. They can carry the herbs we need to silence our movements. We can't attack them so we are going to use the river. Everyone, move that way!” He commanded.

Taylor increased her pace as Dante held her arm in a haste, and almost immediately a soundless hulk brought the herb to Damian.

He processed it and passed it around to everyone.

This gave them the freedom to shift and began running.

It took a few minutes before the wolves who lay in ambush realized nobody was coming. They sent a few men to check and they came back with reports of an empty car. This made them spread across the area in search of their targets.

“Master, come see!” One of the men shouted.

Jethro stalked over to him, and saw the herb he used to put the wolf kingdom in perpetual fear. He roared in anger. They could be right under his nose and he wouldn't know.

“Spread out! Follow their scent, they are not too far. You must find them or else!” He shouted.

But unknown to them, Damian had dropped Taylor's blood all over the place, confusing the wolves that were searching for them.

Meanwhile, Dante and his pack used the river to douse their scent and they were able to cross the pack.

They decided to stick to the river as a means of transport.

They ran consistently for the rest of the night, scared of stopping and getting caught by their enemies.

When they finally got to the Royal Pack borders, they were exhausted.

“Who are you to enter the Royal Pack without being invited?! Bare your neck or get ready to sleep in the dungeon with your mutts” A guard shouted at Black and his people.

The disrespect got him very irritated and he was about to react but Celia went to him, rubbing her scent on him which got him calm enough for Dante to take over.

“Get me some clothes” he told one of his wolves which they did.

By this time, more guards had come to the border. The massive pack was gated and the humongous gate where they stood was painted a gold and red color with the picture of a howling wolf drawn artistically on it.

Celia walked back to her pack members to stop them from getting agitated in support of their Alpha. They were not here to show strength but to show allegiance and even though these wolves were literally begging for Dante to tear them to pieces, Taylor knew they were under the cover of the Alpha King and could therefore address anyone in whatever manner they chose.

Dante walked up to the guard, anger radiating off his body in waves.

“Are you aware this kingdom is in jeopardy and you are obsessed with feeling like a king? I need to see the Alpha King urgently” he told them, holding back his anger.

The guards laughed among themselves before the audacious one walked up to Dante, staring him straight in the eyes.

“I promise you, you won't see anything but the dirt of the dungeon for the next week until all festivities are over!” He screamed in his face.

This pissed Celia off. The disrespect to her mate was grating on her nerves.

She commanded her wolves to attack and a scuffle ensued with Dante charging through the gate, his aura loose for anyone to feel.

“I demand to see my king! Is that a crime?” He shouted when he got into the territory, the lush green a contrast to the devastation in the rest of the kingdom.

Hearing the uproar from his throne, the King released his aura, forcing everyone but Dante to go down on their knees.

A show of power ensued and this forced the King to rush out of his throne room to see who is capable of resisting his power.

Only when Dante saw him that he finally bowed, bending one knee in greeting.

“Who are you?!” The King roared in shock.