Ch 7
1694 Words
Lauchlan
They saw the fighting going on at the junction where two trails met, and there was an elite warrior from his pack defending himself against half a dozen rogues. The trail head he was on was narrow and only one or two wolves could be on it at a time. There was a steep drop-off on the right side of the trail and his pack's warrior was defending and holding the line, so to speak.
It was a curiosity and when Theo put his nose to the breeze to pick up how many of the pack were out here further down that trail he supposed, he could smell two more of the pack’s wolves down there, a male and a female. He let it go, because the fight was here and now, he could discuss everything else when the rogues were defeated. Find out just what was going on.
Theo and his unit’s wolves launched themselves right into the middle of the fight that was going on. Those rogues were not expecting themselves to be attacked from behind, the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for the rogues to have picked them up.
Lauchlan connected himself to the warrior they were now helping. ‘Need some help?’ he asked as Theo and Mac, his Beta’s wolf, took on a rogue between them, separated it out and attacked it together until they killed it.
‘I would love that,’ came the man’s voice. ‘It’s good to have you home, Alpha Lauchlan.’ He stated right back, recognising his own Alpha’s heir. ‘Good timing for me.’
‘It’s good to be home,’ Lauchlan commented. ‘What’s your name, warrior… sorry to have to ask, I’ve been away awhile.’ He apologised.
‘All good Alpha, it’s Tony.’ He stated as two more rogues were taken down by Dante and Baue, his Gamma and Delta’s wolves. The fighting continued as more rogues appeared out of nowhere.
‘Why so many rogues out here?’ he asked.
It was unusual to him; that was seven now they’d seen, and only one elite warrior, but he was highly skilled, and nothing had gotten past him, though he was sporting a few wounds now.
This warrior not only knew how to handle many wolves, but where to fight them. There was no way around him on that path. It was blocked by a wall of rock on one side and a steep cliff on the other.
Finally, the fighting stopped, and the last two rogues fled away from the fight. Theo’s eyes were on them as he watched Dante and Baue give chase to them; he knew it was to make sure they were going for good and not coming back.
Theo turned his eyes to look at Tony as the warrior stated “Thanks for the assist, and there are many because we’re transporting a she-wolf to the kingdom. They can smell her, it’s nothing unusual out here, and she’s back there down the trail, in the camp with Varn to protect her.”
‘Do you want assistance with getting her to the portal? My unit and I aren’t due home for another week, so we got the time to help you. No one is actually expecting us inside the pack,’ he offered. ‘Who’s the girl?’ he asked curiously a second later, wondering why a she-wolf would be going to the kingdom.
“No need, but thanks for the offer, Alpha… the pack will be happy to have you home. Varn and I can handle it. We transport things to and from the kingdom all the time and are used to it. This is actually our job within the pack.” He stated calmly as he looked at the wounds on his arms. “We got a full med kit to patch wounds as well, it’s all good.” Tony smiled at him. “My wolf is already healing me too. I’ll be right as rain in a matter of hours.”
‘The girl.’ Lauchlan prompted when he realised Tony had not answered that question.
“Oh, yeah, sorry… she’s a warrior-class she-wolf, but we prefer she stays put in the camp, and let us handle the fighting, safer for her that way. No risk of harm or any of them rogues getting a hand on her.” Tony nodded to him.
‘Fair enough.’ Lauchlan could understand that. It would only take one of the rogues to latch onto her and drag her away, to harm her while the others kept her escorts busy. ‘Why is she off to the kingdom?’ he inquired as he waited on his Gamma and Delta to return, not many she-wolves headed off to the Wolfen Realm, it was actually safer here in the human realm for them.
“I don’t know,” Tony shrugged. “We were just told to take her to some meeting place. It’s not my place to ask why. Varn and I just escort is all… though she’s likely off to study in Nightingale, I would think that would be the logical thing.” Again, Tony shrugged. "Will be a member of the Nightingale pack once we get her there, that’s all I know Alpha, sorry.” Tony stated.
‘Alright, if you’re sure you don’t need or want assistance? We’ll be on our way back to the pack.’ he offered once more. It wasn’t often that one would decline help with an escort. But he’d been handling those rogues on his own and, as Theo breathed in, he could pick up the other warriors. There was also another elite bloodline out there, and that she-wolf with them? Tony hadn’t lied; she did scent of a warrior bloodline.
“We’re all good, get on home for a well-earned rest Alpha, we’ll catch you up when we return ourselves.” Tony waved his wolf off and turned to go back down the trail.
‘Alright, safe travels.’ Lauchlan stated as Theo turned him in the direction of the pack, and he and Mac headed off once more, Dante and Beau caught up with them after some time.
‘You think that she-wolf is off to study? Or being mated off?’ Caleb asked him.
‘It could be either, he did state she was going to be part of Nightingale, could be going to study to be an archivist, or it could be the Matchmaker saw she has a Mate in Nightingale. Amora does specify what realm one’s mate will be in sometimes, if she thinks it will be difficult for them to pair up.
‘And those to be mated into the Wolfen Realm do get to go there in order to help them find their Mate from my recollection,’ Lauchlan stated simply, it wasn’t such an unusual thing that he’d not heard of it before.
They ran all night at full wolfen speed and got to the border of the Silver Sable Pack just as the sun was rising in the east. They’d made good time, had really stretched out his and unit’s wolves legs. Only about 16 hours from the portal to home. He wondered if they’d beaten the pack's record of the fastest time to or from that portal.
They all trotted through the pack, in wolfen form, it was still cold, the winter had crossed the mountains and there was a flurry of snow falling around them, lightly dusting the ground. It could well be the first snow of the season, he thought absently. The pack, he thought, was the prettiest in the fall with all the coloured leaves on the trees.
He could feel his mother hurrying towards him, coming through the packhouse as he and the boys shifted back to and pulled pants on in the packhouse mudroom. She burst through the door as he pulled a clean shirt over his head, and she stood staring at him for a moment as tears welled up in her eyes.
Then she rushed over to hug him, “You’re finally home, my son. I have missed you, and worried every day about your health and safe return.”
Lauchlan chuckled as he hugged her back, just as his unit’s mothers all rushed into the room to hug their own boys as well. They’d all been gone for a long time and clearly been missed by their mothers.
Lauchlan could feel his father strolling this way at a much calmer pace than his mother had done, and he met him as they walked from the mud room. His father, Franco, smiled right at him. “Welcome home, my son.” He clapped him on the back and then pulled him in for a hug before releasing him once more. “There were no issues coming home from the portal?” he asked, “And in a heavy snowfall too.”
“No, we did stop and help an elite warrior you have on an escort, offered to take them all the way to the portal. They were dealing with rogues, half a dozen of them. But Tony declined, said he had it under control,” Lauchlan told him as they walked through the packhouse.
“Ah, yes, that would have been Varn and Tony, just doing their regular job. They’ll be fine son. They are two of the best we’ve got. Two of six that I have for transporting items to and from the kingdom by the portal. It’s nothing to concern yourself with.”
“Items?” Lauchlan questioned now. “It was a girl from my understanding.”
“Ah, yes. She’s off to study in the kingdom. Her Mate will also be in Nightingale, so a win, win for her,” his father smiled at him.
“Amora?” he asked.
“Yes, she told her to go there. She wouldn’t find her Mate if she didn’t go to the kingdom, and she was going to study there anyway. It was pre-planned before she met with Amora, so kind of just all fell into place for her. Nothing to concern yourself with. I’m certain she’ll be happy.”
- Writer
