Chapter 199: Grace
The week passed quickly. Every day was jam packed with things. Every morning, I spent time at the school. I went to all three training sessions. And then every evening I spent with the crew in Rhys’ office. We were slowly building a plan. We needed more manpower to get Leon and Caleb back. The Alpha King pack was strong, but we needed to be smart too. We had limited resources. We couldn’t be everywhere. That was what they wanted. Or were hoping we would do. We had to find a way to protect the city and the other packs. Rhys had an idea for where to go first, but I had a hard time trusting anyone who wasn’t Rhys. But we needed to start taking chances. Leon and Caleb were in danger, enduring who knows what, we needed to get them back in a way that wasn’t a suicide mission, and we were close to figuring it out. But tonight, tonight was not the night for it.
We had all agreed to take the evening off. We were all working our minds and bodies to the max. Training had picked up a level or 5. I was so sore in places I didn’t even know could be sore. And maybe I didn’t have to go to all three sessions, but it seemed necessary, and it made me feel like I was actually doing something. Tonight though, I wasn’t staying for the last two. I had one more thing to do before I could relax. We might have cancelled our meeting, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything left to do.
“Ready?” I asked Michael as he walked out of the school and toward where I was standing waiting for him.
“I don’t think you should come with me, Grace.” Michael said for the hundredth time.
“You aren’t going alone.” I repeated the same thing I had been saying since he received his father’s summons.
“But-”
“No.” I cut him off. “Maizie and I will stay hidden. He won’t know we’re there, just like last time. You remember the plan?”
“Yea. Rhys and I went over it last night after everyone went to bed. Does he know you’re coming with me?”
I gave Michael a small smile. He really was trying his best to talk me out of coming, but my mind was made up. “Rhys knows that I would never let a child face a mission like this alone. Even if I can’t be super helpful, I can give moral support. I know this isn’t easy for you.”
“Ready?” Maizie called out as she and Sawyer approached. This was the group that was agreed on to go protect Michael when he had received the message from his dad. There was definitely some level of magic that was used, but how we weren’t quite sure. The letter was for visible for Michael’s eyes only, which was cool, but it made it hard to know if Michael was telling the whole truth or not. It’s not that I necessarily think he is lying, but desperate people do desperate things, and if he didn’t think we could save his siblings, then he would still play right into his father’s hands.
I nodded. Kate had extra eyes on the meeting area. She had setup cameras which were supposed to be practically invisible, and they were supposed to be all over the pack, just in case someone did notice them, they wouldn’t think it was just the meeting spot. And Rhys, Heather and Arlo would be watching the cameras from their tech room, which was really the conference room on the office floor. He, of course, wasn’t thrilled that I would be in the field, but we had come to an understanding. My phone would be on me, and I would text him every 5 minutes as well as be in the view of a camera.
Michael swallowed hard as we entered the woods. I knew that he was terrified of getting caught, and I didn’t blame him. We were all going to give him and his dad a wide berth. I knew that I would probably not be able to hear anything going on from my spot, but I would be able to keep an eye on things, and that was enough for now to help ease my anxious heart.
We each dispersed in different directions as we entered the woods. That way if anyone got caught, we could claim plausible deniability. That we were just out on a run, or that I was worried about Michael or something. Or on patrol. We each had a role, and Michael had a keyword to use if he needed us to get him out of there. We were not just going to feed a child to the wolves. That was not the plan.
My heart raced as I crawled into my hiding place. The waiting would be the worst part. Michael’s dad wasn’t due to show up for another hour or so. I wasn’t sure if he would be early or not.
“In position.” I texted Rhys.
“Be careful.” He replied immediately, and then a second text bubble popped up. “And don’t do anything stupid.”
I smiled at his texts. I wasn’t planning on doing anything stupid, but I guess no one ever plans to do anything stupid, they just plan to do something, and it tends to end up being stupid.
I wasn’t waiting very long before Heather sent a text in our group message.
“Target is in sight. Stay vigilant.”
I wasn’t sure if he was near or not, but I immediately felt myself stiffen. He was definitely early. I wondered if he had hidden for a while too, or if he truly just waltzed on in whenever he wanted.
I tried to look toward where I knew Michael was, but the brush was so thick in this area, it was hard to make out much more than his body shape. He appeared to be plucking at grass, and I assumed he didn’t know his dad was close, he looked too relaxed for that, at least, in my opinion.
I knew the moment that Michael’s father had arrived when he stiffened in only the way you ever did when you had something to fear. I trusted Michael. He had gone over the plan with Rhys. He had been lying to his dad for even longer than we knew, now it was just controlled. At least, as controlled as it could be.
I didn’t so much as breathe until Michael was on his way out of the woods with a new manilla folder. The plan had gone flawlessly as far as I could tell, and we were hopeful that we with the help of the cameras would be able to figure out exactly how this man was getting in. But that was not a today problem. Today, we were done, and it was time to have some fun.