Mate Massacres

Chapter 70

Pip soon grew tired of running along the cliff side. He was fast and had strong stamina for a human, but he had limits. Running in the snow was hard on his legs.

Sid noticed Pip was lagging and slowed to match his speed. Pip was clearly struggling but didn't complain once. Sid, marvelling Pip's strengths, soon stopped running and blamed the pain on his arm.

Pip was so out of breath, he could only nod.

Now that they had stopped running, the cold seeped under Pip's clothes like unwanted fingers made of ice. He didn't complain about the cold either. His words wouldn't make him warmer and complaining would only make him miserable. "Where are- we?" he breathed, seeing his breath against the blue sky.

"I'm guessing we're about sixteen miles south of Sea Claw Packhouse. I chose to run south because the snow won't be as deep. But I fear as we continue to move this way, we'll find less and less allies." Sid looked around the woods, then up at the placement of the sun. "We should find somewhere to hide, rather than running further away from Crescent Packhouse. I don't want it to take Krey days to find us."

"I-I guess if Krey struggles to find us, enemies might too."

Sid nodded and sniffed the air and pressed on through the snow. They soon found another beach village and wandered through the streets. Pip was cold enough to chatter his teeth and shiver until his joints were stiff. They couldn't stay out in the open the entire time they were on the run. Pip would get too cold, too hungry and too tired.

"Oh look," Sid said, pointing to a small building with a ramp leading to a closed green door. "A little library. Francis said that's where Krey properly met you. Shall we go inside for a few minutes? I bet it's warm."

They hurried across the empty road and into the library. The warmth on Pip's skin was as good as Krey's arms around him. Pip knew he was desperate to be out of the cold because after connecting the bond with Krey, there wasn't many things that were better than him.

The librarians greeted them with surprised smiles. "Braving the weather?" an old woman asked. Her grey hair curled tightly around the legs of her wide-framed glasses. She hobbled to Sid and Pip and peered over the lenses at Sid. "You're not dressed very appropriately."

"Actually," Sid said, "We're a little lost. Can you tell us where we are?"

"We can do more than that," a man said from behind the information desk, looking strangely at Sid's dyed red hair. "I'll make the tea. Mary, can you give these boys one of our small pocket-maps of England?" As the man wandered through the back, Pip heard him mutter, "Bloody phones, you can't trust them."

Pip and Sid found a couch near the radiator for more warmth. Soon, they had warm drinks and a map in front of them. Mary, the elderly librarian, pointed out exactly where they were. Sid circled it. When Mary was gone, Sid circled all the Packhouses in the north, naming each one. He then circled the Bedlam Packhouse and all the surrounding packs of the South. Only a few packs were in the Midlands, but Sid still circled those too. "So, as far as I'm aware, the Bedlam pack have no allies, so I'd imagine their Alpha is in Crescent Packhouse." Sid rubbed his chin with thought. "I hope they're all in there so Krey can end them once and for all."

"What if they have secret allies?" Pip asked with his shoes and socks off, trying to dry them.

"Then the fighting might get messier." Sid pointed back to where they were on the map. "We're just out of anyone's territory. "If we go East, we'll be in ally territory, but under the circumstances, I don't think it's a good idea to trust anyone. We might be best staying here until you're rested." Sid sat back against the couch, twiddling his thumbs. "I know that the police know about werewolves and surrounding packs. I wonder if we go to them, they'll give you food."