Chapter 229: Rhys
Alpha George had given us access to a small house on the border, at least for the 6 of us. The rest of my warriors that had come would be stationed in the barracks with their own warriors. This would help them acclimate quicker and be able to spot any flaws in their systems. The house we were in was not usually meant for visitors, but it was at this time unoccupied due to the unrest, making it the perfect spot for us to set up shop.
Everyone had gone inside to get some rest a little while ago. I had several warriors on patrol on the border where the Red Blood pack met the Golden pack, and I just stood at the edge staring out. I hadn’t moved in hours. My eyes were bleary, but I’ll be damned if I missed the first glimpse of my mate. I would be here when she needed me. I had no true idea about what she had been through, but I would be here for her, through whatever she needed to deal with.
“Alpha King?” Someone asked from behind me.
“Yes?” I grumbled, annoyed at this person for interrupting my watch.
“Kate reported in that the first part of the plan has officially be enacted. They have successfully drawn attention to their border.”
My heart skipped a beat. If Kate was in position, then Grace wouldn’t be far behind. There was a very small window for this to work, and it had to work. Or else I’d be going in after Grace and potentially getting stuck in whatever trap they had laid. We still hardly knew what we were up against, but it was becoming clearer that we really didn’t have a clue at all and were more outmatched than we originally thought. But we would figure it out, there was no other choice but to succeed.
“I can keep watch, sir, if you want to get some rest.” The messenger commented after I nodded.
“No, but thank you.” I could sleep when Grace was in my arms again or I was dead. “Just keep me updated if you hear anything else from Kate.”
I glanced over my shoulder and the guy nodded before turning back toward the barracks. I probably should have known his name, I had been on multiple missions with him, but I couldn’t make myself care as I stared at the endless field in front of us at the tree line that I could only assume they would eventually come out of on the other side of the border.
I have no idea how long I was out there, but I was bleary eyed by the time someone else came out to check on me.
“Any sign of them?” Heather’s familiar voice pulled my attention away from the trees.
“Not yet.” I sighed. “I just want to run that direction and go meet them. I thought they’d be here already. That we would barely get here before they did.”
Heather sighed too, placing her hand on my shoulder, comforting me in a way that only someone who truly understood this feeling could. She had made the difficult decision to leave her kids at home. It was dangerous both places at the moment, we were spread a little too thin with our resources, but this could be considered the frontlines. And she didn’t want her kids to have to deal with that and the possibility of their father not coming home and get their hopes up. I highly doubted Grace would leave Leon behind. That wouldn’t be like her, but if it came down to saving herself or saving Leon, I hoped she’d pick herself... Even if that meant I’d lose my best friend, but I also really didn’t want that for Heather...
“They’ll make it.” She said just as much for herself as for me. “They have to.”
I gave her a small smile, and returned to staring at the tree line, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement, and I did. I almost didn’t trust my eyes. It was almost as if Heather had spoken it into existence. I couldn’t see well enough to know who was running toward us. Another body tumbled out of the tree line at a full-on sprint, and then another.
Oh gods, she had actually been successful.
I stood up and motioned for them to run this way. That we’d keep them safe. Then one person stumbled, and I mindlinked Sawyer to get his ass out here immediately.
Another 3 or 4 people stumbled out of the woods. I couldn’t see well enough to know if any of them were Grace, and it took everything I had in me not to cross the border and meet them where they were as someone lifted the fallen person off the ground.
My eyes found their way back to the tree line as mindlinks came in about preparing for battle, but I tuned them out. They didn’t need me. At least not yet. At the edge of the trees, I saw someone almost guiding people, and my heart stumbled. I couldn’t be sure, but the way he was directing runners, made me realize it was probably Caleb or Leon.
The first man crossed the border, and stopped immediately, gasping for air like he had never breathed before. A warrior, helped him up, and began to ask the essential basic questions... What’s your name? Where are you from? Are you hurt?
We had had so little time to prepare for this, I wasn’t exactly sure what we were to do with the other prisoners once they got here. We had gone over a basic protocol of what to ask, but after that, it was just simply, get them food, water, a blanket, and into somewhere warm, which right now was the house that the 6 of us were in.
“There are more people running out a few miles south of where you are, Alpha King,” A cadet mindlinked.
I shook my head. That was weird, but it was entirely possible they split to keep from being followed.
“Come on, Grace.” I muttered to myself, but I had no idea where she would be coming out as more and more prisoners crossed the border into our space.
The man at the tree line was the last in the group to make his way toward us as a single young lady ran just in front of him. But as they got closer, my heart sunk a little. The man was Caleb, but the young lady wasn’t Grace.