Chapter 52 CLOSING IN
LOGAN
“I knew from the very beginning that Dylan was a turncoat. Something kept telling me to kill him, but then I was hesitant." Grog says, seething with rage. He's angry with himself after we have established that Grace and Dylan are missing.
I started having bad feelings when we waited for a very long time for Grace and she failed to show up. I started thinking, what if she doesn't come at all? What if she escapes? Right then Amelia came running to where Grog and I were seated, waiting for Grace so that the mating ceremony could start. Seeing her send shivers down my spine.
“My goodness, she's gone." I whispered to myself. Amelia looked at me with eyes full of remorse, before whispering something to Grog's ears. The ever composed Grog listened carefully then dismissed Amelia and continued looking forward. I wanted to ask him what was happening when he looked at me and beckoned that I should follow him and now we are in his office. He's uncontrollable.
“We need to pursue them, but not right away. Let's allow them to think that we aren't interested in them, but once they get near Samuel's pack then we strike. Dylan must die. He just signed his death certificate. As for Grace, I'll leave that to your judgement. We are going to attack Samuel's pack. Gather the troops, the time we have been waiting for is this. The provocation we have been yearning for is here. The months of intense practice, what we've been practicing for, is right here with us. We are going back to the ceremony, but for another purpose. To declare war on Samuel's pack." He says, then bangs the table for emphasis.
“Grog, why don't we leave right now? They can't be far. Also, Grace and the little girl can't shift. We will catch up with them easily." I suggest.
“We need to gather all our troops. Look at the bigger picture Daniel. You failed to convince Grace to mate with you. Now you want us to pursue them so that you can have her back but we don't work like that. What we are interested in is to revenge against Dylan for turning against us, and that we are going to do at our own pace, not yours. Now, let's get back to the ceremony and address the gathering. But if you want to pursue them on your own, I give you the go ahead." He says. I don't know whether to be angry at him or not, but I find myself obeying his command. I fall behind him as we walk back to the gathering.
We take our seats again. Everyone is looking at the main dais, awaiting for communication. Grog rises and clears his throat. Everyone goes silent and listens.
“This was supposed to be a mating ceremony. Logan here was going to mate with Grace this evening but that isn't going to happen because we had a traitor in our ranks." I see everyone craving to hear every word.
“Dylan, the person we thought was working for us, has betrayed us and taken away Logan's mate with him and right now they are running away towards alpha Samuel's pack. Now, if you remember properly, we have reasons to attack that pack. They once held one of our members prisoner without provocation. Now they have send a spy here. What does a pack like that deserve?" He asks an agitated crowd.
“Death, death, death!" The shouts are overwhelming. The members are baying for blood. The death sentence has been passed.
“Right." Continues Grog. We are leaving in the morning. I will be leading with Noah and Logan behind me. Every other fighter will come with us. Are you ready to fight for the dignity of our pack?"
“Yes, yes, yes!" Comes the resounding reply.
“Are you ready to die for the enhancement of our agenda?"
“Yes, yes, yes." The fighters respond unanimously.
“Get ready. Samuel's pack goes down soon. We are going to complete what we started." Grog says then leaves the dais. I follow behind him and so does Noah. We go straight to his office. He lays down a map on his expansive table.
“This is the route you took when you came here with Dylan, right?" He asks. He has changed drastically from the Grog I knew to another ruthless man, emotionless and commanding. I guess he is in war mode now. Noah looks closely at the map and nods his head.
“Yes. This is the way. I can recognize some features." Noah says. I don't know how to read maps so I keep quiet and listen.
“It's the most natural way they are going to take. No detours or anything. We'll follow them closely then attack just outside their packs boundaries. Then after we kill them we'll invade Samuel's pack and wreck havoc. I want Samuel dead and that I'll do myself, just as I killed his parents." He says.
“Now, go out there and gather all the fighters. We are leaving at day break. Go." He orders us.
For a whole day we do nothing else but gather our fighters, both male and female. Our strongest who have gone through our rigorous training. We remind them of our mission, that is to kill and conquer, to inflict pain, ta take away. The exercise goes on and I count around 60 good fighters, and if you add Grog, Noah and me, we are a good number. Grog joins us as we are about to finish the exercise. It's about six o'clock in the evening when we leave the pack grounds. Only a handful of fighters have remained, the rest are with us.
We all shift into our wolf forms and make a run through the deep woods. Grog is leading while I follow closely behind. Noah and the rest fall behind us. I can feel the scent of Grace, so I am certain that we aren't going the wrong way. We run for almost a whole day, then something strange happens.
As we continue running I continue losing Grace's scent. Sometimes it's strong and other times it gets weak. I wonder why this is happening but since I can't alert grog of this development, I just keep on following him. Finally I lose the scent altogether. The conclusion that comes to my mind is that she has completely broken all the links with me. I have no time to agonize about that though, and I keep my eyes focused.
Grog suddenly comes to a halt, and everyone follows suit. He takes a few sniffs around then proceeds ahead. It's testimony that we are on track. No one knows these woods better than him. I heard that he spend years upon years in the woods when he was forming this pack.
We finally come to a small hillock and he stands on top of it, then he shifts to human form. Some of us shift too while other wolves lie down to rest.
“They are nearby. We must get them now. I can feel their scent. We'll rest for only ten minutes then proceed. I know some of you are hungry but you must persevere." He says. His eyes look deep inside my soul. “Logan, the time to get your mate back is now. If you get her I will excuse you so that you can take her back. The rest we will proceed and attack Samuel's pack." He says. I nod in appreciation even though I wanted some action. I can't complain now that I have been excused. He shifts again and the journey starts again.
After running for about an hour we spot them some meters away, like two hundred meters away. They see us too and they continue running. We run after them, closing in the distance. The young girl has done them this disservice, if they had left her behind we wouldn't have gotten them this easily. It's a mistake they'll live to regret.
Grog shifts again as we get near them and we follow suit. We are just a few meters away from them.
“Quickly, go down or we will kill you. Surrender now. You are outnumbered." Grog shouts and his voice echoes through the deep woods.
SAMUEL
We have been going through the route Dylan and Noah took as they went to Grog's pack. We discreetly send someone to trail them, and our man Dominic didn't fail us. He painstakingly followed them from a great distance and marked the way and now we are following through his marks. So far we have been away for days and we are ready to take down the whole pack and kill everyone we find there, male or female everyone is going to die. Grog has inflicted enough pain on everyone around here. I have received backing from neighboring packs and with me are more than eighty fighters, most of them battle hardened.
Most of the time we advance by running through the woods in our wolf forms and we make great strides.
After about five days I get a scent. It's a familiar scent and Immediately I know that Grace is nearby. Quickly I shift and call Dominic.
“Dominic, why do I feel the scent of Grace yet you told us that Grog's pack is another day away from here?" I ask him.
“Maybe she escaped. This explains why I can feel Dylan's scent. If you concentrate you will get it too." He says. Does that mean that Grace is nearby? Then we must find her first and abandon the journey to Grog's pack first. She takes first priority.
I order all troops to be on the lookout as we proceed, then we slow down so as to look properly. The scent gets stronger and stronger, then I get this feeling that I am being pulled towards the direction of the scent. I increase my speed, and after about an hour I see them. She is running, holding a small girl while screaming. Behind her is Dylan, shielding her, then a small distance away are advancing wolves.
“Quickly, shift. Grace is under attack." I give the order and all my troops shift to their wolf forms. Then we all run to meet the advancing wolves. I can identify Grog, a large wolf with glimmering fur. This is the day, either one of us lives. I am prepared to kill, or get killed.
Grace and the girl run past us, and we join Dylan then approach Grog and his pack. All I can see are fangs that have been bared, paws ready to tear into flesh and howls as the battle cries are intensified.
I get to Grog, and it's like he was looking for me. All the anger I have against him is awakened and I remember the anguish of growing up without my parents. I remember the sorrow I went through, crying over their dead bodies. Then the abduction of my mate caps it up.
He jumps at me and I duck. He misses my neck but his huge body knocks me down, sending me sprawling on the forest floor. I get up hastily, just as he launches another attack. This time I am less prepared and he takes a good bite on my hind leg and I feel the pain going up on my spine, but I turn abruptly and sink my fangs on his backbone. He lets go of me then tries to set himself free. I know I am inflicting great pain on him because of the whimpering.
Quickly I let go off and balancing myself on my three legs I execute one of the moves I was taught as a kid. I roll on my back and go under him, then steadying myself I go for his neck.
He doesn't see it coming.
Quickly I grasp his neck and before he notices it my fangs are deep inside his neck. I pull hard as he tries to get at me. Suddenly I am being showered by blood. I am certain I have punctured an important artery because blood is splashing out every other second.
He goes limp, but I still have him on my tight grasp. Then slowly he goes down. Grog is dying. Just then I am ambushed by two of his fighters, trying to rescue him but when they see the state he is in they run away. To be certain that he's dead I tear away his neck, and I witness as he dies.
Further away I can see Dylan struggling with Noah. I limp towards them, to save him from the huge monster but I am too late. Noah tears into Dylan, sending him down just as I arrive.
One look at me and Noah jumps up to get at me, and I use the same method I have used against Grog. I roll on my back and meet mid air. My front legs grasp his neck and I tear into his chest with my fangs before he reaches me.
The force I have applied is so strong that I rip the chest open and render him immobile. I don't see the reason for fighting him beyond that point and I disengage my grip just as he breathes his last.
The battle is over, but I can't see Logan. That's someone I wanted to see dead. I am so sad because of Dylan. He has died too but there was nothing much I could have done to save him.
After I have shifted I look through the crowd and see Grace, and she sees me.
“Samuel." She shouts as she runs towards me. I also run through the crown and when we meet in the middle she jumps at me and I grasp her in a tight embrace..