A Friend To The Elements

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

*Adam's POV*

We ended up creating a solid plan of attack over the next few hours. By time Noah arrived he only had a few small suggestions.

At 5 o'clock I sent everyone besides Josh and Noah to do their own thing for the evening. We would order food to the makeshift guest house as well as breakfast to make sure they were taken care of for tomorrow's campaign.

Jameson seemed more than a little put out that Josh made the cut for the final conversation instead of him, but this wasn't a normal situation. If this didn't directly involve Lily, then Jameson would have been in the room. I tried to explain that as much as I could with a slew of other ease dropping wolves in the room.

Ultimately, he settled for a meeting as soon as we rested from the campaign.

Noah and Josh headed with me to Henry's former house that Dad had taken over. We found him stretched out on the couch with a slice of pizza hanging from his mouth. His own box sat half eaten on the coffee table.

"Really Dad? You could have helped."

He just shrugged and sat up. "You guys had it under control, and a group of teenage werewolves after a day of crying newborn was just...too much for even an alpha." He threw the crust into the box and closed it up. Noah picked up the box to put on the kitchen counter while Josh laid out our plans in front of Dad.

He leaned forward following the lines we drew on the map. His eyes squinted as he tried to make out small markers and follow separate groups of wolves before comparing the lines with the piece of paper that listed who was in each group.

Noah sat on the floor directly across from the couch while Josh and I sat on the opposite sides. I imagined the whole scene was comical. Four exceptionally large shifters towering over this tiny cheap wooden table. If even one of us leaned on it too hard it would probably crumble.

Dad scratched his jaw and looked over at me. "It won't work."

Noah groaned and fell backwards sprawling across the floor while Josh dropped his head on the table.

I looked back at him with a clenched jaw. "You're shitting me."

He shook his head and pointed to where we split off into groups. "Your groups are too small. Splitting apart gives you the element of surprise, but you guys are scattered so thin with only one strong fighter per group. Maybe two in some of the groups. They would just pick you off. Combine these two groups."

He pointed to where two groups were splitting off at our pond checkpoint. Then pointed to the other side to point out another two. "Combine these two as well. Jameson is strong, but his job is to protect his alpha. He needs to be in your group. You can put his dad in that group.

I can hold down the fort here alone with Beta. Also leave Parker behind. He won't be as useful in a fight anyway. I think his mom would come after me if I sent all three of them."

He pulled the piece of paper close to his face. "Okay...Noah and Jameson with Adam now...Jameson's dad taking his place as leader of this group. Josh you will need to lead this group. The three men from Lily's pack will be split one in each group, but Cane and Harmony will be with you. Remember you don't have communication with us, so you'll use these two to communicate back with Adam. You'll be able to communicate with Harmo-"

Josh coughed and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't actually know if I can communicate with them anymore..."

Dad's voice deepened and his eyes turned barely darker. If I hadn't seen the subtle shift a million times growing up, I wouldn't have noticed. I had to had it to Josh though that he didn't even flinch as Dad turned his Alpha voice on.

"What did you do?" Josh looked at him then took the cue that he needed to look away, but he didn't seem truly affected by the weight of his tone. Noah on the other hand sat up and leaned on the table. His eyes were wide like a kid at a candy store. I had to admit it was nice to not have it directed at us.

"He tried to use Alpha force on me when I didn't agree on how he was managing the situation."

"Yeah 'cause he is the Alpha! You're not supposed to talk back when the line is drawn."

"He drew the line by not taking any responsibility for his lack of action over the last five to eight years. Lily and I have spent almost our entire life being outcasts because the future Alpha was scared of us, and he just watched. He refused to help out of fear that John would take over when he was showing a moment of weakness."

"Well, what's done is done. We will deal with that conflict later. You will still have Harmony and Cane to communicate back to the other pack members. "This plan seems workable now. Josh and Noah head back to your places for the night. Eat good meals and go to bed early."

Noah chuckled to himself. "So, we can get up bright and early for the first day of school."

Even though I laughed at the small joke, Dad cut his eyes at him. "This is your first fight. If you want to ever truly amount to anything I suggest you listen so you can come back alive. There's nothing funny about killing someone else or putting yourself in danger."

Noah's cheeks flushed a deep pink, and he dropped his head. I was the first to stand and the other two followed my example. "Adam, you stay a little bit. We need to talk a little bit longer."

I dropped on the couch across from him while Noah and Josh left. "Are you prepared?"

I looked over the maps and lists quickly and nodded. "I think we are as prepared as we can be. I wish we had some more numbers, but I think we can work with what we have."

Dad shook his head and leaned back on the couch. "I'm not talking about for the fight itself. I know you still feel that she is alive." I nodded urging him to continue. "It's possible she was kept on the brink of death for...a long time. Even if you rescue her then there's no guarantee that she will survive."

"I know. But even if she dies, she will die in the safety of our home. Not somewhere with a monster being the last person she sees." I had thought about his on occasion knowing there was always a chance she wouldn't be able to survive physically or perhaps mentally but saying it out loud was more painful than I anticipated.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to void my face of emotion. He knew me too well though and placed his hand on my shoulder. "If you see her and falter long enough to give someone an opportunity to lunge it could cost you and Noah or Jameson their lives. You have to get in the headspace of an Alpha before the morning."

I nodded and got up to leave. I needed to breath.

*Lily's POV*

My paws were so heavy. Everything was heavy, and dark. While the day had been warm and sunny the sun took the heat with it and a chill settled in the air.

I could still smell the she-wolf's scent leading me somewhere, but my ability to run was long gone. Every step was painful. When the moon was high overhead, the trees finally broke leading me into a clearing. The smells were familiar. The area was filled with something that seemed detached from my wolf brain. I only grasped onto human memories by a thread.

The area wasn't insanely large, but it wasn't small either. There was nowhere to truly take shelter except under a low-lying tree. Then the light from the moon caught something floating in the water. I hunched down and crawled towards it. I growled quietly, but the form didn't move. My paws barely touched the water when I realized it was the she-wolf.

I whimpered quietly as I waded in after her. The chilly water pinched my skin, but I kept going further. Thankfully, the water level was quite low, so it barely reached my chest. I had to lay flat completely submerging myself to dip my head underneath the wolf's body. She teetered on my back limp, heavy, and unmoving as I drug her out of the pond.

I walked her to the only semblance of shelter I could find. A small but full tree that hung low. The trunk had an opening at the bottom that would have hardly been big enough for a fox, but I dropped my head allowing the wolf to slide off my shoulders into a lump at the base. At least if it rained, she would have some protection.

I backed away from her and closer to the pond. The idea was to take a few sips of water, but I collapsed, and everything truly went dark.