99 - Ben


    I don''t have tim to process ra''s question. We both turn and run, Dev and Jax following. We are on the opposite border or Red Fang, I don''t know how much help we are going to be with an hour run ahead of us. The attack could be over by the time we get there.


    I push harder, not needing to look to see if the rest are keeping up. ra paces me easily and her friends are used to keeping up. No matter how often she questions herself in this role she is a natural. There is no hesitation in hermands as she delegates patrols to the Red Fang border and spreads the rest out along our borders in case this is a distraction for something else.


    I know we were all born into these roles, but I feel bad for Ma and his team, they can''t seem to catch a break. Even seasoned Alphas don''t have this much consistent trouble. His pack has been a target since his dad was killed in an attack, and I think he''s right, his dad being killed was part of a bigger n for someone to challenge him and take his pack. Copyright ? 2025 Miss L Writes and Ember Mantel Productions


    With that thought, I push harder. I don''t know if I could live with the guilt of knowing he needed help, but was too stubborn to let us all stay and back him up, and we didn''t force the issue.


    Out of habit, I am constantly feeling for magic too. My wolf knows what he is doing so I can focus on a potential ambush.


    "Do you feel any magic the closer we get to Junior?" I ask ra.


    “No. Is it bad that that makes me uneasy? Like we are being set up.”


    "I was thinking the same thing. I''m just waiting to get smacked in the face with some invisible force. Have you been able to contact him? We should be close enough for you to reach out."


    "He''s not answering. We actually feel a block, which is strange. Why call for help, but not keep your mind open so you know when allies are close?


    “He''s blocking me too. It feels like a trap. Who''s closest or there now?


    "Trevor, Mark, Simian, and I just reported in. They see nothing in the location they were given when the call came in."


    "It''s a trap," Jax confirms. "They are waiting for you and Ben."


    "Now the question is...Is Ma in on it or a victim, trapped in his mind again?”


    Dev asks, and I''m worried for a whole other reason.


    a''s head was messed


    What if Ma''s


    with so badly that he is susceptible to magical suggestion or


    possession, or whatever is goin


    on? He wouldn''t be fit to lead he''s easily captured. And an Alpha doesn''t step down from their


    position willingly, unless it''s to pass


    it on to their heir.


    "We need to get to Ma!" ra says to me. A worry in her voice I haven''t heard since the cave.


    Heart pounding and legs throbbing,


    our wolves carry us thest few minutes as we make an arc toe up from the South of the position we were given. I see and hear nothing, feel nothing in the air, No new sounds or scents There''s no way anyone was being attacked and we wouldn''t catch a scent of the foreign wolves, blood, sweat, anything to indicate a fight has taken ce.


    I shift to my human form, ra staying in her wolf with Jax and Dev.


    "MALCOM! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" I shout into the forest. We''ve tried mindlink and subtlety. Now it''s time for outright questioning and hostility.


    "I''m right here! Why are you yelling at me?" He saunters out of the forest without a care in the world. What the f*ck?


    ''Seriously?! We got a call for help. That you were being attacked. What''s going on, man?” I feel ra move next to me, she''s shifted and I can feel the anger radiating off of her.


    “It was a misunderstanding. We don''t need help.” He stays on his side of the border line, pacing back and forth like a caged animal.


    "Then why not call off the assistance?” ra asks, barely containing the anger now.


    "I was a little preupied." He smiles in a way that makes me uneasy. It''s this little half-smirk, but it isn''t yful or sarcastic, it''s...menacing.


    "This might still be an attack. Don''t show it, but be on alert for anything suspicious. Something isn''t right." link out to our group"I can''t exin it so don''t ask, but don''t cross the borderline, if you can avoid it He''s pacing it for a reason."