Chapter 20: 20: Gathering Intel

MAX

Today’s the day Beck and his team set off on their mission. They’re leaving at dawn.

We all gather outside the pack house, giving last-minute advice to the team. If they’re quick, they’ll reach the northern border of Canyon Ridge by noon, giving them plenty of time to gather intel and return by tomorrow.

I walk up to Beck, giving him a pat on the back. “You’ve got this, man. I believe in you. Just make sure everyone comes back safe and sound,” I tell him.

Beck looks down, taking a deep breath. “I just need to stay focused. I hope I don’t run into that alpha on this mission, because I might just rip his head off.”

I raise an eyebrow at him, whispering, “Stay focused. Keep your cool. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you. We need to do this right. Plus, if you kill the alpha, you’ll have to take over as the new alpha of their pack.”

Beck grimaces. “I don’t want that job. I belong here, leading with you.”

I nod in agreement and walk over to my father. “Are they ready, Alpha?” I ask Alpha Sebastian. I always address my father by his title in public. It’s a sign of respect, even if he is my father.

“Yes, I believe they are. One of the warriors will stay far enough back from the tree line to maintain a mind link with them. He’ll have a phone to contact us if necessary,” he informs me.

“And if the service is unreliable?” I ask.

My father grins, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Son, we’ve got that covered. It’s a satellite phone.”

I’m not surprised. My father always seems to have everything under control. He’s a truly remarkable leader, which is why he’s so well-respected.

Just then, Connor, our lead warrior, lets out a loud whistle, silencing the murmurs of conversation.

Alpha Sebastian steps forward, raising his hand. “This mission is crucial, but do not engage unless absolutely necessary. Remember, our goal is to gather information so we’re prepared for the attack. We don’t know how much Alpha Jason was told before his informant vanished. He might be suspicious. Be careful and make sure everyone returns safely. Beck, you may leave now. I expect you back here tomorrow.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Beck responds, and they all bare their necks to my father in submission.

Without another word, they quickly pack their clothes into bags to carry in their mouths. We watch as Beck and his team of six head southeast off the pack land. A hush falls over the group as we exchange glances.

“Now it’s in their hands to return safely. Tomorrow, you’ll pick up the warriors from Texas,” my father reminds me. “After that, you’ll head out with your team, but not until Beck has returned.”

I nod in understanding, then gesture for my team, who will be joining me on the mission, to follow us into the pack house. We have preparations to make.

BECK

We travel for a solid six hours without a break. Upon reaching a small creek, I mind-link the team to stop for water and rest.

While they do that, the tracker and I scout ahead, searching for the trail I know is there. After twenty minutes, we find it. Fresh scents of wolves, not from our pack, linger along the trail.

We return to the creek, quench our thirst, and shift back to human form to share our findings with the others. Sometimes, verbal communication is easier than mind-linking.

We realize we’ll have to be extra cautious and vigilant. It’s now clear that the Canyon Ranch Pack has been encroaching on our territory. Even if these lands aren’t directly connected to our main pack lands, they’re still ours, and this is common knowledge.

We form two lines, one on each side of the trail. We stay close to the tree line, partially concealed by the foliage as we advance toward the public land that lay between our territory and Canyon Ranch.

By the afternoon, everyone is expressing a need to stop and eat. We carefully veer off the trail to the north, hunt some small game for lunch, and resume our mission.

We reach the border of our pack lands and halt. The distance from our border to Canyon Ranch is roughly two miles. It’s no man’s land, so we could easily encounter wolves from other packs or rogues.

The landscape here is wide open, with few places to hide. We decide to wait until nightfall to cross this expanse of land. Even though the grass is relatively tall, our dark fur moving through the yellow grass would be noticeable. So, we wait.

As we spread out, covering all angles, my tracker approaches me. “Beta Beck, I’m finding a lot of evidence of recent travel through here.”

“How recent? Can you identify who?” I ask.

He nods, “Yes, it’s likely a couple of wolves from Canyon Ranch. I also picked up the scent of a rogue, but only one.”

“Traveling with them?” I ask. I find this unusual and unlikely, so I’m taken aback when he nods in affirmation. “Interesting.”

“We shouldn’t linger here too long, Beta. As soon as the sun starts to set, we should move. We might even encounter them, so we need to be extra quiet as we approach the Canyon Ranch pack lands.”

“Okay. Gather everyone up, let’s have a quick chat. We need to decide where to leave Jack.” Jack is our warrior who will stay behind with a satellite phone.

He’s smaller and a good climber, so he’ll climb a tree out of sight. We can’t be too careful.

In hushed whispers, we make our plans. Jack will cross with us and wait on the other side. We’ll find a tree with good cover for him to climb until we return to him.

I can tell everyone is getting anxious, eager to proceed and complete the mission. It’s always nerve-wracking stepping into the unknown, and knowing that other wolves have recently been here only heightens our concern.

As we wait for the sun to set, we begin to creep out into the open grass fields. In our wolf forms, we can stay close to the ground and move silently.

Once it’s dark, we stand and move as quickly and quietly as possible. It takes us less than twenty minutes to cross the two-mile stretch of land.

Once we cross, we stop to assess our surroundings and find a suitable tree for Jack to climb. Once we’re sure he’s safely at the top, we creep into the woods just a short distance away.

Our goal is to time the patrols, nothing more. We can only hope the wind doesn’t change direction and give away our scent. We each find a hiding spot in a ravine or bush and wait.

I’m tucked away under a large bush, the dense overgrowth providing a decent cover. The land of the Canyon Ranch Pack stretches out before me.

My nose twitches, picking up unfamiliar scents. I can distinctly smell the presence of unknown wolves. It’s enough to make my hackles rise.

We’ve been waiting for about two hours when one of the warriors sends out a mind link. ~“Two wolves are heading your way. I’m sure they didn’t pick up my scent. They passed about ten feet from my hiding spot. They don’t seem to be on high alert.”~

I’m not entirely convinced. It used to be just one wolf patrolling this border, now they’re in pairs. They could be pretending to be relaxed, even if they’re on high alert.

I tell everyone to stay put and not move. The two wolves circle us twice before heading south of our location. We have to stay put.

We need to figure out the interval between patrols, otherwise, this mission is pointless.

***

Just as I thought, not even fifteen minutes later, the same two wolves return. They stand as if waiting for something.

A few minutes later, another wolf joins them. The three of them circle back toward the edge of the forest where we had entered.

They must have picked up a scent. From my hiding place, I watch as they pace the border, sniffing. We outnumber them, but this is their territory.

I’m sure they could call for backup in no time. I send a mind link to my team, telling them that if necessary, we’ll have to kill these three wolves quickly.

It’s the only way to stop them from calling for help. They must have picked up a scent, because I watch as they circle the tree where Jack is hiding.

I creep out from my hiding spot, watching as the others do the same. I watch as the Canyon Pack Patrols shift into human form and look up into the tree.

“Who can climb this?” one of them asks. We all freeze. Jack, perched in the tree, must have been spotted.

I can’t see him from where I stand, but somehow, they know he’s there. Jack tells me through our mind link that he’s climbed as high as he could, but he thinks one of them saw him.

I watch as the three of them argue about who will climb the tree. I signal to the two warriors nearest to me and we shift into our wolf forms, claws ready.

We quietly approach the three wolves from behind. One of them turns slightly, exclaiming, “What the hell!”

Before he can say another word, I swipe my claws across his throat. His blood sprays across my face.

I step back, looking at my comrades who have silently taken down the other two. “Damn. We’re going to have to either bury them or haul them out to the public land,” I say, wiping the blood from my face with the back of my hand.

“Beta, we can’t do that. Their scents will be everywhere. We should just stash them in the bushes for now and wait for the next patrol,” one of the warriors suggests.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s dump them in a ravine for now. We need to get out of here ASAP.”

I grab the nearest body and start dragging it toward a ravine. Technically, they could heal if we didn’t rip out their hearts and they didn’t lose too much blood.

Maybe we’d get lucky and they’d wake up, confused about how they ended up in a ravine. It’s a long shot, but one can hope.

***

We roll the bodies down a steep slope and retreat back into hiding, trying to figure out the frequency of the patrols. It’s probably another hour before we spot the next patrol.

They don’t come anywhere near our location, unlike the previous group. Once they pass, we crawl out of our hiding spots and start heading back toward the border.

We reach the tree where Jack had been hiding. He climbs down, careful to avoid the fresh blood from earlier.

We do our best to avoid stepping in it as we cross the public land. We’re about halfway across when a loud howl echoes from behind us.

They must have discovered the bodies we left behind. I tell my team to run as fast as they can back to our territory, and we take off at a breakneck pace.

As we cross into our pack’s land, another howl rings out, answered by several more. Reinforcements are on their way.

We can’t afford to stop; we have to lose them. If we can find a river, we can jump in and they would lose our scent.

I veer off our trail to the North, heading for the canyon where I know a river flows. We run as fast as our legs can carry us, knowing they’re hot on our heels.

***

Upon reaching the canyon, we pause to catch our breath. Jack shifts back into his human form and contacts the alpha, informing him of our location and plan.

He ends the call quickly and shifts back into his wolf form. I look at my team, nodding at each of them.

We peer down at the river below us. It’s a good twenty feet drop and the bank is steep, almost vertical.

It’s risky, but we have no other option. As we brace ourselves for the jump and the icy water below, I hear howls closing in on us.

The water will be freezing, and the night is pitch black. Praying I won’t hit any rocks, I leap off the embankment, silently pleading with the Moon Goddess for our safety.