74. Leo

74. Leo
Warning: graphic content throughout this chapter (gore and blood)

It didn't take me long to track down Dima and their abandoned car. It was sitting in the forest, actually not that far away from the border of our pack lands.
I climbed out of my pick-up truck, with Teal and Bronwyn trailing after me. They were two of my finest warriors, and I had brought them with me just in case. There were many audible human heartbeats on that recording. And I could smell lycan blood in the air right now. A lot of it, actually.
I made my way to the driver's side, my stomach knotting as my gaze landed on a motionless Dima.
"Fuck." His clothes were torn, sporting small holes, and there was blood still seeping out of every wound. My heart grew even heavier with anguish, and my beast thrashed from within, thirsting for justice. He demanded that we catch whoever did this, and deal with them accordingly.
A small, hitching gasp sounded, and I refocused my attention on Dima, this time able to catch that faint pulse coming from his body. It was very weak, but it was there. Goddess. He was still alive!
"Quick! Get him out of here! I want you to use the car, and take him to Gansha as fast as possible!" I ordered Teal and Bronwyn.
I stepped away from the car door, and they didn't waste any time idling around. They gathered Dima's body carefully, and in less than two minutes they were already settled in my truck, ready to take him to our pack healer.
"Do we come back for you, Alpha?" Teal popped his head through the open window to ask, and I shook my head quickly, "No, I'll handle it,"
"Now go!" I ordered. Teal maneuvered the car around at the sound of that, and then they were speeding back to the castle.
I resumed inspecting the car after that, noticing all those bullet holes in the body. There were also some stray bullets lodged in the nearby trees. I walked around, letting my beast take some sample sniffs. We needed to gather as much as possible, as I evidently had no idea where they were right now, and Athos' and Calla's scents could be lost so easily in that sea of human odours. They could be literally anywhere in the small town neighbouring our lands. And I had better chances if we kept track of at least three other scents. My beast had picked up twenty-five so far, and the number managed to worry me a little. That meant that there were at least twenty-five human males armed with guns loaded with silver bullets. My beast growled restlessly. Athos was strong and very skilled in combat. The strongest lycan that I had ever known. Of course, I will never admit that to him, but his beast was even more skilled than mine. And yet, I knew that he wasn't faster than those human-made guns. None of us were. Not against so many at once.
With that thought in mind, I picked up Athos' clothes from the ground and then shoved them in the backpack I had brought with me. They were lying just a few steps away from the car, and they had been visibly discarded in a hurry.
I knew this rescue mission would require switching between forms, despite what I had planned initially. And it was easier for my beast to carry my clothes this way.
I put the backpack down, then started taking my own clothes off. I was going to let my beast roam free and track their scents for as long as he could. It was faster this way, and we needed to be as quick as possible. I needed to get to them as soon as possible.
I shoved my clothes into the backpack, and then I let my beast take over. He was out after a few pops and cracks, and I reminded him to fling the backpack over his shoulder before we started to track those scents through the forest. He grumbled in return, but he did pick up the small backpack nonetheless, with his large and clawed fingers, and then he shoved one bulky arm through a strap, settling it on his shoulder. He'd been complaining in my mind that we were going to look stupid ever since I left the castle. I knew that he was right, and that if we looked in a mirror right now I would laugh my ass off. But in this case, practicality came before fashion. We needed to get to her, and I wasn't going to present myself bare-assed there. No matter how much he would've liked that.
My beast started to move swiftly, going from mark to mark, and I let him do his thing while my thoughts lingered on her. I couldn't believe that I was going to see her again. And even if this was just about rescuing them, I still couldn't help but feel so eager. Excited. We yearned to feel her sweet scent again and lay eyes on her beautiful face. Maybe even touch her, if possible. My beast rumbled, in sync with my thoughts as a stronger mark of her scent hit our nostrils. It was relatively fresh, and that meant that they had passed through here mere hours ago.
I grew even more confident, knowing that we had a chance to catch up faster than I had initially predicted. And I knew that they were still alive and whole. I could sense it through our bonds. The feel of them was only getting stronger and stronger, with every fast leap that my beast took. It brought us immense comfort. Hope.
We trekked through those woods for a while, but curiously enough, not once did we steer in the direction of the town. We did cross a road, though. And we had been careful enough not to be spotted by any of those passing cars. Their scents faded a little after that. We did not slow down, though, as the feel of Athos' presence grew stronger. We could feel him. He was out there, somewhere. I was almost close enough to get a taste of his emotions.
My beast pushed himself harder and harder, determined to get to our mate and our brother as fast as possible. I was going to burn the whole fucking town and everybody in it if something happened to them in this small window of time.
We conquered another few important pieces of forest land. The faint scent of blood reached our nostrils, and my beast snarled, sensing that hint of battle that clung to it. We moved faster and faster, and soon, our gaze landed on a large building nestled between the trees. Goddess. These fucking humans were even stupider than I thought. It was one thing to dare abduct a Royal Lycan, but to choose to have your hideout here, in the middle of the forest and so close to the shifter lands, that either had to be the bravest or the dumbest move ever.
We stalked closer carefully, hearing the unmistakable sounds of bullets being fired. Screams. We grew tense immediately, worrying for our mate's and our brother's safety. And then we saw him. Athos' beast. He was chasing a human male. He caught him fast, grabbing him by one arm and flinging him in the air. He grabbed one of his legs as he flew mid-air, and then he ripped him in half. Blood sprayed everywhere. Including himself.
We stalked closer even, and only now could we finally see what littered the ground around the premises. There were several human bodies. Limbs. Entrails. Blood. There was blood everywhere. On the ground. On the walls.
We approached him as he was pinning down another human with his clawed foot, using his gun as a bat as he struck him hard across the face. The human perished on the spot.
"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked from inside my beast. We could see now that he was sporting several wounds, all of them provoked by silver bullets as blood was still seeping out of them.
He threw away the gun, meeting our gaze.
"I don't know, what does it look like I'm doing?"
I pushed forward, and my beast relinquished control immediately, allowing me to shift back into human form.
I now stood bare-assed before him, somehow managing to keep that backpack secured on my shoulder during the shift.
"It looks like you're having way more fun with this than you normally should," I casually said with another look around.
"They hurt our little one. They all deserve to die," he growled, flexing his claws in one hand.
My stomach knotted at the sound of that. "Calla?"
As if able to hear my voice, a blood-curdling scream resounded from somewhere inside the dilapidated building, and we both tensed.
"Go. I'll finish up here," he told me quickly, but I was already making my way to the entrance. It looked like a garage of sorts. Or maybe an old warehouse. The door that led inside was pulled up against the ceiling, and I almost stepped in before remembering that I was still naked. Fuck.
I quickly shrugged that backpack off my shoulder, ducking away as another shot was fired out of nowhere. I hastily grabbed my jeans from inside and put them on, shrugging on my flannel shirt as well. I did not bother buttoning it up, as that urge to find her as quickly as possible was eating me alive.
I stalked inside, my gaze landing on the large silver cage that stood in the middle. What the fuck? What were these people planning to do to my brother? I grew angry, making a mental note to ask him about this later.
I resumed looking around, sniffing at the air as her sweet scent was so potent now. It clouded my mind with hazy yearning, making my mouth water. Fuck. No. I shook my head and blinked, clearing my head.
No, we're not here for this, I reminded my beast. He whined mournfully, receding at the back of my mind. A small whimper reached my sensitive hearing, and I walked in the direction from which it came from. My gaze fell on the figure huddled in the corner, partially hidden behind a large piece of metal furniture.
She whimpered again and I inched closer, momentarily stunned by the luscious sight of her. The memories I had of her weren't doing her any justice. I'd almost forgotten how beautiful she was. How perfect.
I let my gaze trail over her barely clothed body, drooling like a dumb pup. But she mewled again and I blinked, realizing that she was in some sort of pain. I snapped myself out of that reverie and then kneeled right next to her, tracing my fingers gently over her damp forehead. There were strands of hair that clung to her wet and feverish skin, and her eyes were closed.
"Calla..." I whispered softly. "I'm here, sweetheart."
She moaned in pain again. And when she opened her eyes, they were glowing golden.