Chap 27:Many plans a-foot
Alpha Xavier, why are the Royal Family so interested in our pack business? They have never cared about us before. So what is it that has changed suddenly?" asked Reagan looking expectantly at her older Alpha as he walked towards the centre of the room where his two sons were standing
Markian turned towards his approaching father as he too wanted to understand the sudden presence of the Royal family on their lands." It doesn't make sense Dad. Why did the Royal Envoy want? Why the sudden interest in whats was going? What do they think is going on?" he said looking anxiously at his father.
As the Ascension ceremony for the pack had yet to be done, the twins were still not considered to be the true Alphas of their pack by the Royals nor by the neighbouring packs so they were not allowed to sit in the meeting between the Alpha and the Envoy which had just gotten over after three long hours.
Alpha Xavier wiped his face wearily. His eyes showing the exhaustion that he had been feeling since the last two weeks when his daughter in law - the future Luna of this pack- was kidnapped.
"The Royal envoy wants to know about our war plans. They heard from our allies that we are planning on going after Alpha Thomas and rescuing Alisha. They have prohibited us from waging outright war against Alpha Thomas's pack as there is no proof that Alisha was taken by them"Xander admitted in defeat. The glow in his eyes dimmed at the prospect of losing his sons' mate to the evil Alpha Thomas.
"HOW DARE THEY! We cannot accept that! They have no right to tell us not to fight !! Do they know that Alisha is our mate??!!"Markian shouted in horror as what his father said sunk into his brain. He looked at his defeated father who was standing in front of him. Alpha Thomas was going to rue the day he touched Alisha! They couldn't allow the insult to go unaddressed.
Brian, Alpha Xander's beta who was quiet the whole while during the meeting spoke "Actually Alpha....there is still a way! The envoy said that we cannot wage an all-out war...He didn't say that we couldn't use a few men and mount a rescue operation to get our Luna back" he said grimly knowing that by suggesting this plan of action they were treading a fine line of being traitorous to the King of Wolves or fighting to get back what was theirs.
Markian looked at Brian beseeching him to continue as he had yet to find a way he could get his mate back without waging full-on treason on the royal decree as he knew that that would be detrimental for the whole pack. Mitchell and Markian had been slowly going insane with worry for their mate as they could feel her pain through the mate bond since the day they found that she had been kidnapped.
Grayson, Markian's Beta chimed in furiously."Alpha Xander...How can they say that we have no proof? We know it was the Black Raven's vehicle that ran the Lunas off the road! We have the proof from the bumper that was broken off. What did they say to that, Alpha? What did they say about Debra's murder? Are they not going to allow retribution?" he said angrily as he saw Samuel wince in misery at the thought of not being able to revenge his mate's death.
Alpha Xander grit his teeth in frustration. He turned towards Brian who has voiced the idea about using a few wolves and rescuing Alisha." What is the plan, Brian? How are we going to get Alisha and not risk wars with Alpha Thomas and the Royals" he asked hopefully as he clenched the edge of the desk in front of him.
Beta Bryan's eyes flickered with nervous energy. He was the master at subterfuge and had taught the elite squad and his son Grayson everything he knew. He was certain that they would be able to infiltrate Alpha Thomas's pack and find Luna Alisha posthaste."Alpha Xander...You need to leave it to us so that you will be able to truthfully tell the Royals that you did not know about any plans to rescue Luna Alisha"
"And kill the slime responsible for Debra's death!" interrupted Samuel with his eyes turning black denoting that his wolf was fighting to surface. Reagan walked towards Samuel and put her hand on his shoulder." We will get him and drag his entrails around Alpha Thomas's packhouse before strangling him with it" she grounded out with anger as she felt her wolf responding to the fury in Samuel's eyes.
Samuel turned to look at Reagan in surprise. It was as if he just realised that she was here as if the blinders had just been pulled off his eyes. He had not been able to feel anything since the last two weeks but was glad that the first thing he could feel was the fervent promise of revenge and retribution by Reagan's wolf
Xander stood awkwardly and nodded. He realised that what Grayson had said was true. He had to think about the pack as well. He turned to Bryan, his Beta, and said softly"You stay here and keep both of my sons safe, you hear!"With that Alpha, Xander walked out of the room and banged the door behind him.
Bryan inhaled loudly as he looked around the table."Whoever doesn't want to be here, leave now. There is no turning back after this. If we are caught, we will be treated like rogues and killed. There must be nothing linking us to this pack. So speak up now! Many of you may not make it back but if we are successful, we will get rid of that scum Alpha.... and we will get Luna Alisha back!" he growled as his canine lengthened menacingly.
Grayson looked around the table. He saw the same determination in the eyes of all the wolves present around the table. Alpha Thomas had picked the wrong pack to mess with. They were going to get their Luna back and they were going to make Alpha Thomas pay for killing Debra. He looked straight ahead waiting for what his father was going to do next. His heart missed a beat as he suddenly guessed what his father was up to. His eyes narrowed as his wolf rose to the surface in anticipation of what was coming next.
Bryan took out his knife and drew a thin line over his palm. He stared at the cut on his palm as he placed the knife on the table in front of him. Blood welled up from the edges of the cut and accumulated on his opened palm." As this blood leaves my body, I renounce my position as the Beta of the Starfall pack. I have no more loyalty to its Alpha and Luna and I sever all bonds to this pack" he said loudly and as he bowed his head, he squatted to hit his palm on the ground in front of him smearing his blood on the floor.
Mitchell and Markian gasped as they realised that they too were going to have to renounce their position and their ties to the Alpha and Luna of the pack. It was going to break Luna Melody's heart as she would surely feel the breaking of the bonds that held her family together. They knew that she would understand why they were doing this but it would not reduce the hurt that she and Alpha Xander, their father, were going to feel as the ties to their group of wolves got severed.
One by one, the wolves around the table picked up the knife and cut their palms as they got ready to effectively cut their ties from their pack and from their Alpha. This would make every one of them rogues and so if they were to be caught during their rescue attempt, the royals wouldn't be able to pin the blame on Starfall pack and Alpha Xander.
Bryan looked at his son proudly. He knew that Grayson was a strong and capable Beta. Since he was a cub, that was all Grayson had wanted to be so now, making him renounce his position would be painful and torturous. Bryan knew though that Grayson was not only loyal to his future Alphas but he loved both of them like his brothers. He would go to the ends of the earth for Mitchell and Markian as long as he knew that his Alphas needed him to do so.
Bryan wanted to make sure that the rest of the wolves understood that this could be their final mission as if they were caught, Alpha Xander wouldn't be able to save them nor would he be able to admit that they were part of his pack. As of tonight, the entire group were effectively rogues!
Well into the night, the members of the elite guard lead by Bryan and Grayson discussed every possible way to enter the Black Raven's domain. They had sent many scouts in the last two weeks to get information about the location of the various defence strategies that the Black Ravens possess. Their intel had come back to show them where the dungeons were and they knew that they had only had a small window of opportunity between the changing of the guards who were positioned around the dungeon which thankfully was miles away from the Black Raven packhouse.
Mitchell and Markian knew that they were going to kill Alpha Thomas but they did not want to unnecessarily kill the others in the pack as they did not know if the entire pack actually knew how evil their Alpha was. They were going to make sure that Alpha Thomas and the wolf that had killed Debra pay for their actions with their lives but they also knew that many a time the pack were oblivious to the actions of their Alpha. Mitchell and Markian were thankful that the packhouse was not in the vicinity of the dungeon as they refused to spill the innocent blood of children and young wolves of the Black Raven pack.
As the sun began to push its tendrils of light through the horizon, the former Starfall pack members who were now rogues started to phase into their wolves. It was going to take them at least half a day of running to reach the Black Raven's territory. The wolves turned to look at Damon and Markian. Their larger wolves still commanding the respect from the others. With a long howl, Damon lunged into the thicket closely followed by Apollo who was flanked by Grayson's and Bryan's wolves on the right while Samuel's and Reagan's wolves followed them on the left side. The other wolves fell into step behind them. They wasted no time carrying additional clothes and supplies as they were not planning to turn to their human selves to negotiate with Alpha Thomas. They were going into the Black Raven territory to get back their Luna. There would be no negotiations as each wolf knew that they would sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Luna. Mitchell and Markian were unable to speak to the other wolves now as they were not officially in a pack but they could feel the brotherhood and loyalty of each and every wolf who had left their mates, their families and everything they knew to become rogues so that they could help the two young future Alphas get back their Luna.
It was well past six o'clock in the evening when the wolves entered the boundary of the Black Raven territory. The wolves were panting hard as they reached the small clearing which was the rendevous point just inside Alpha Thomas's territory. Damon turned back to see the wolves around him, their feet barely bending the grass as they silently moved through the thicket. Bryan and Grayson were still in their wolf forms as they stood close together and mind link each other as they were father and son. The other wolves nervously walking around the clearing, waiting for Apollo's predetermined signal.
The sky darkened as the sun slowly set behind the horizon as the group of wolves waited anxiously for the inky darkness of the night to envelope them, giving them even more chances of entering the dungeons unnoticed. Bryan's wolf who had been in the lead since they left Starfall territory, turned towards Damon and Apollo. He bowed his head and flattened his ears close toward his skull, indicating acceptance of Damon's and Apollo's dominance over him for the rest of the rescue plan.
Damon softly growled as he slowly gathered the wolves around him. He prayed to the Moon Goddess that their plan would work as this was the last trick in his bag. He knew that failure was not acceptable. They would bring Alisha back home to Starfall, or die trying. With a flick of his tail, Grayson and two other wolves from the elite squad slunk away using the darkness to hide them from prying eyes. They were supposed to find and neutralise any guard who came toward the entrance of the dungeon. Damon wanted to make sure that no one raises an alarm that would bring the entire packhouse down on the group that had come to rescue Alisha.
Samuel, Reagan and Ben who made up the rest of the elite squad followed Bryan's wolf. They would follow Damon and Apollo into the dungeon and help fight the wolves guarding Alisha. Apollo's ears were the most acute in hearing so it was no suprise as he was the one who heard the soft grunting of the guards being overpowered by Grayson's Beta squad. He then heard a soft yip made by Grayson to signify an all-clear to continue their plan.
Damon leapt into action and lead the Alpha group into the dungeon. Apollo saw Grayson walk towards them in his human form, he had a large metal key in his right hand which he inserted into the padlock which was hanging from the metal door. Damon snarled on hearing the whine of the metal door being pushed open. He lifted his head to sniff the air praying that no one heard the metal door's squeaking hinges. Damon stepped into the dank dungeon hoping to be able to find Alisha and Heera before anyone noticed that they were gone. Samuel's wolf followed Damon closely making sure to defend his Alpha's back as they walked through the long corridors of Black Raven's dungeon.
The smell of blood assaulted the sensitive noses of the twin Alpha wolves. They heard Reagan's wolf retching as she saw the bloodstains on the wall of the first room she enter. It was the most disgusting sight the wolves had seen in their lives. The wolves sidestepped the silver chains that were lying on the floor as they split up to continue searching for their Luna.
In the distance, they suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream. Damon stiffened as he recognised the strangled voice. With a loud growl, the group of wolves rushed towards the source of the screams. As they reached her cell they saw that Alisha was strung to the ceiling by silver chains attached to her neck, her wrists and her ankles. There were two men in the cell with her. One of them holding a whip and standing beside Alisha while the other was leaning by the door smugly observing his companion torture Alisha. Damon snarled as he launched himself onto the back of the large man standing by the door.