Chapter 55: Chapter 55

Elijah

“I came as fast as I could.” Nirmana spoke between ragged breaths. “I came to find you in the pack house, Alpha, but you weren’t in your office, or the meeting rooms, or anywhere–“

Face flushing bright red, she cut herself off. “My apologies, Alpha.” She bowed.

“Thank you for finding me so promptly.” Elijah squeezed her arm and stood. Waves of fear crashed over his head. “Please, Nirmana, would you gather my Beta, Gamma, and…” he thought quickly, chewing on his cheek as he considered which members of his pack would be most useful. “I’ll need six Warrior Wolves: Haile, Conall, Valens, Jared, Nethia, and Lafey.” He selected a mixture of older, more experienced warriors, and younger, brawny wolves.

“Of course, Alpha.” Nirmana bowed again. “I shall prepare one of the meeting rooms for you also.”

“Thank you.” He offered her a tight smile, and then she was gone. Alone with his thoughts, Elijah let panic consume him.

* * *

The only thing keeping Elijah together was the second heartbeat thumping alongside his own. The Warrior Wolves surrounding him were discussing tactics, discussing their options; he should have been leading the conversation, but he could scarcely focus beyond the fear clouding his mind.

Lily was alive. He could feel her still. Elijah took a deep breath.

Every beat of her heart alongside his renewed his longing. His own heart thudded out an oath, promising to find her, to keep her safe. She was his mate, his love, and he would not see her harmed.

Ithia and Caslein were yet to arrive. He glanced nervously at the door for the hundredth time since he’d sat down. Part of him didn’t want them to arrive. While they were gone, there was still hope. While they were gone, there was still the chance that they might return with Lily in tow.

It was easy to make oaths in his own head, in his own heart. It was not easy to wait for his fate to be bestowed upon him.

“There are four nights until the full moon,” said Conall, sitting back heavily in his seat. His black hair was peppered with grey, and though crow’s feet lined his eyes, they were sharp as he assessed the others in the room. “If we take it that Blood Moon will be here to fight us that night, then we must deal with Red Ripper before then. We cannot take them both on at once, and we cannot face Blood Moon with exhausted warriors.”

“But,” interjected Valens, another of the older wolves at the table, his muscles rippling as he folded his arms across his chest, “we have all heard the rumours that Red Ripper can shift without the full moon. We have also all heard the rumours that their use of magic is making them stronger. Even in our wolf forms, to fight against them and win is a long shot. And, should they truly be able to shift, if we fight them before the full moon we shall be taking on werewolves in our human-like bodies.”

“I say we take them both on at once,” said Jared, a young, eager Warrior Wolf with bulging biceps and a bright grin. Even in the face of such adversity, he was practically bouncing with excitement in his chair. “We are a strong pack. Red Ripper is made up of loners and runts.”

At this, Haile snorted. “Those loners and runts have taken two of our wolves, you know.” She tightened her ponytail and levelled her green-eyed gaze at Jared.

Elijah’s gut tightened. Haile’s hair was dark blonde and streaked with gold, and even the weakest of similarities to his mate hurt while she was missing. He looked again to the door.

“We can’t underestimate either pack,” sighed Lafey. He scrubbed a hand over his face.

Swallowing his unease, Elijah finally spoke. He needed Lily like he needed breath in his lungs, but his pack had to be his priority for now. “I know you are all eager to fight. But we must consider alternative routes to make it through this time of unrest.”

Nethia’s blue eyes flashed. “We’ve kept our true might hidden for months, Alpha. Perhaps we are being converged upon because we have demonstrated weakness in remaining here.”

Elijah sighed. “Perhaps. And I will not stand down from a fight – should one be necessary. But defeating two packs – arguably the two strongest packs in Eldda – in one night is no mean feat.”

“Then maybe we surprise them,” said Haile. “After our last few months of inactivity, they’ll surely expect us to stand our ground here.” She traced the outline of her fingernail with the pad of her thumb, and her eyes glazed over in thought.

“It’s not a bad idea, Alpha.” Nethia’s voice was level, but his cheeks were flushed and his eyes shone. “We could catch them out.”

“It would subvert their expectations,” murmured Elijah. He looked around at the Warrior Wolves he had assembled. “The patrols are still tracking Red Ripper’s movements, I take it?”

“Yes, Alpha.” Conall nodded. “The last report I received said they were attempting to close in on the farthest outskirts of the pine forest.”

Jared frowned. “But it’s so densely packed a single person would struggle to get through.”

Lead settled in Elijah’s stomach. “What if they don’t need to get through? What if their magic expands beyond the realms we have anticipated?”

Valens shook his head, white-blonde hair spilling across his temples. “To move the earth itself… it is not feasible.”

Had Elijah been wholly werewolf, he would have also thought such things to be an impossibility. But he could command fire with his hands, and he knew faelen with an earth affinity would easily be able to bend trees – or uproot them completely. They could carve pathways through solid rock. Getting through the pine forest protecting his pack would be but an inconvenience.

And if Red Ripper had truly found a way to break the moon cycle, there was no telling just how powerful they were.

“We know nothing of their magic,” Elijah argued. He could not give away the truth of who he was – of what he was, of his own innate power – but he would not give up so easily. To think they were safe because of the forest was foolish.

“If that is the case, then it seems we have no choice in the matter,” interjected Conall. “They are closing in. If they can travel straight through the forest, it will not take them days to reach us. It might not even take them hours.”

The door to the meeting room swung open.

“Alpha,” panted Caslein. At his side, Ithia inclined her head in a hasty bow.

All Elijah saw was the empty space beside them. He had opened the box, and the cat was dead. He gritted his teeth.

Neither of them spoke. He stood, and their eyes told him all he needed to know for now. Lily was gone.

“Please, Beta Ithia, Gamma Caslein,” he said, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. “Take a seat.” He felt detached from his body, as though it was going through the motions with his soul no longer within it. He could think only of Lily, even as he welcomed Ithia and Caslein to the meeting and caught them up on their discussions.

His heart pulsed and ached, though his mind was an empty cavern. None of this felt real.

The temptation of fire flickered down his wrists and across his palms, but he held it in. His fire had caused this. It would only make things worse.

He was fortunate that his kitchen was at the rear of his cabin. Had Nirmana seen the flame damage, he was certain that tales of the fire would spread in a rushing wave throughout his pack members.

“Has there been no word on Blood Moon’s movements as of yet?” asked Haile, cracking her knuckles. She, like Jared, seemed anxious to be moving out of the meeting room and into battle.

“The last correspondence we had came from the White Oak pack,” said Caslein. “Their Luna wrote to us to make us aware that they had left – and their whole pack was marching with them. A group of their Omegas went to deliver a ration of food. When they arrived, there was nobody there. Of course, Atticus – the idiot – had sent a letter ahead. But the confirmation allowed us to begin planning.”

“White Oak are renowned for being a peaceful pack, and it seems they are valuable allies to have at a time like this.” Ithia tucked a lock of golden hair behind her ear. “But the information we need now would have to come from the packs closest to us as the full moon approaches. The scouts and runners we’ve been sending out have seen nothing as of yet, but they can only go so far.”

“So we fight Red Ripper before we get word that they’re near.” Jared said it as though it was abundantly clear. “Once Red Ripper are dealt with, we focus on Blood Moon. We’ve been training without battles for months now. Everyone is invigorated, full of energy. We can do this, Alpha.”

His confidence was reassuring, but Elijah was fighting a war of his own. Clenching his jaw, he nodded. He could not reveal the truth of his turmoil. Unless…

Vulnerability was not a weakness. He trusted his pack.

“Lily is missing,” he said, before he had a chance to second-guess himself. “She was last seen just before sundown.”

There was a beat of stunned silence. Conall and Valens shared a look of understanding. And, of course, it was not beyond the realm of possibility that they had noted her absence as unusual.

Then it was Ithia and Caslein’s turn to glance at one another. Ithia sighed. “We have searched the breadth of our territory. Lily is not one to hide. With Red Ripper at our borders, I fear…”

Elijah’s pulse racing in his ears drowned out Ithia’s words. He hoped that Lily had run. He hoped that she had got out safely, past the packs converging on Sea Pine.

“A wolf without his mate is weak,” said Valens, his gaze severe. Pale lashes shadowed his blue eyes, and his mouth pulled down into a grim line. “What are the circumstances surrounding her disappearance?”

In that moment, Elijah realised his mistake. They did not, after all, know that Lily was in danger. Valens was right. He was weak without her.

A frantic knock on the door interrupted his flailing thoughts.

“Enter,” he called out, giving Valens one last look before he stood to face the door. Valens nodded, though his mouth and eyes tightened further.

“Alpha.” A young boy that Elijah recognised as Ieun, with wide yellow eyes and a dusting of ginger freckles, bowed deeply upon entering the room. He kept his hands behind his back as he straightened. His cheeks and ears were flushed, and though he tried to maintain his composure, his eyes darted from face to face around the table. “I bring word from the north-eastern patrol.”

Born an Omega, Ieun had volunteered as one of the pack’s runners in the hope that he could prove himself, thus pushing his rank from Omega to Warrior Wolf in the future. Elijah would have made him the Alpha right there and then if he brought good news about Lily.

“Thank you, Ieun.” Elijah approached him, terror and hope racing through his veins. Tremors ran up his spine as Ieun at last removed his hands from behind his back.

“Red Ripper were seen retreating. The patrol split to follow them. And then… they found this,” he said, pressing something small and hard and circular into Elijah’s hand.

Holding it out under the light, Elijah’s heart plummeted.

Lily’s garnet ring was nestled in his palm.