Greykin Valley

| 13 | The Mission Begins

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| Damon |

Damon was glad to see his pack were fine. They shot a flurry of concerned questions, relieved greetings, and assuring sentences his way as they headed through the hospital halls. Lalo joined them, and everyone was just as glad to see that he was doing okay, too. Now, it was time to head back out into the forest and get the job done.

But no matter how much he tried to focus on the mission, he couldn't escape the worry and thought of the half of the pack who left with Aysel and Elias. He'd never stop blaming himself; it wasn't safe out there, especially not for the kids, but there was nothing he could do. Wolf walker law prevented him from seeking them out and trying to convince Aysel to change her mind. He rejected her claim, the once-united packs split, and there was no way to bring them back together again.

A part of him hoped that some of Aysel's pack might leave and try to find their way back to him, but he also hoped that they didn't. A lone wolf wouldn't last long out there, not with all the hunters, cadejo, and the hostile pack. Alpha Kane's pack.

That was something else he needed to be cautious about. Kane sent several wolves to try and stop his pack from getting to Silverlake, and he was positive that Kane wouldn't let them get away with murdering his wolves. He looked over at Julian, who was walking on Jackson's right side. "Will your old Alpha be looking for us?"

Julian gawped at him. "Uh...I mean—"

"Is he going to be a problem?"

"I can't say for certain. But...judging by what I know of him, it's likely that he will send more wolves once he finds out you guys killed the last party. So...maybe."

Damon snarled quietly to himself as the guards led them through a pair of double doors and into an elevator.

"Wouldn't he have lost our trail after we got picked up by the Venaticus, though?" Jackson questioned, looking at Damon and then Julian.

"His trackers are really good," Julian said.

"Even if we disappeared into thin air and reappeared elsewhere, a good tracker would still be able to follow the scent," Damon grumbled. He didn't want to have to deal with Kane or his pack; he just wanted to get to Greykin Valley, find the lab, and settle into a new home. But if hostile wolves showed up, the mission wasn't going to be so simple.

"We're like...days ahead of them, though," Julian said as the elevator started moving down. "Maybe more. And I've never seen Kane pursue something or someone too far outside his territory, so maybe everything will be fine," they said nervously.

"You don't sound too confident," Lalo said.

Julian glanced at him. "N-no, I am. I'm just...I've never been involved in a mission like this before."

"Just stick close to someone at all times," Tokala told them.

They nodded.

What if Aysel's pack ran into Kane? What if they'd already run into him? There was no way for him to tell. He wasn't connected to any of them anymore.

Had he done the right thing? Was rejecting Aysel and mating with Jackson selfish? Should he have put the packs before himself? He was miserable with Aysel; he hated her for what she'd said and done to him and Alaric, but staying with her meant the packs stayed together, and the more numbers they had, the safer they'd be. If he were stronger, then maybe he would have chosen to stay miserable for the sake of his wolves.