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."

"What if the police here are loyal to the packs here?"

"It's not like that between humans. The police will know about the packs and the members, but they would never interfere. It's a part of our pact with humans. If we occasionally help out with their big problems, they'll let us live in peace and give us enough money to live comfortably. The police will probably be too scared of me to deny me anything. I might ask for a bandage too." Sid looked down to his arm, bruised, but no longer swelling.

"How fast do you heal?"

"Well, I broke my arm yesterday, so I wouldn't use it that much for a few days. It'll be a bit sore, but by next weekend, it should be fully healed."

"Would I heal faster now that I'm connected with Krey? When um, when Jordan hurt my fingers, I'm sure he broke them, but they healed in about five days."

"Being in Krey's presence that night must have awoken something in both of you. I don't actually know a lot about bonds. They seem nice though."

Pip nodded. "They're kinda weird, but..." Pip's eyes glazed over as he thought about Krey's intense stare watching over him. "But also, kinda perfect."

"Well Krey absolutely adores you. I didn't think he was capable of that."

Pip smiled wider than intended. "Why do you think I was chosen to be his mate? I-I would think someone like Krey would be better suited with a werewolf."

"Perhaps." Pip sipped his tea and scrunched his nose. "Imagine Krey's ego if he did bond with another powerful werewolf? He needs you to keep him on the ground. You're so calm. Krey's not used to being around people like you. It's good for him."

"It's a shame we meet while this fighting is going on." Pip sipped his tea. It tasted odd, like the milk was slightly off, or the type of tea was different.

He looked around the small room crammed with bookshelves. Pip wondered if he'd have enough time to look through some of the books. He wondered if he'd ever have time to read a book again.

When Pip put the cup of tea down, he felt slightly light-headed. When he looked to Sid, his vision wobbled. Pip looked back down to the table and it wobbled so violently, he nearly fell forwards. He steadied himself, feeling Sid's eyes on him.

"Are you alright?" Sid asked. His voice sounded slightly muffled.

The tea had left a burning sensation in the back of Pip's throat. "The... the tea," he said, his mouth turning numb. "The tea tasted... tasted strange." Pip's vision blurred and he felt an arm around him when he fell towards the table.

Pip's vision steadied enough to see Sid sniffed the tea, muttering, "Shit."

* * * * *

Krey charged behind the Omega's who continued their way through the open gate, down the long path and into Krey's Packhouse. Krey waited by the gate while other packs quickly crowded the back of the huge building.

Krey wanted to be one of the first to attack the Southern wolves, but his Omega's formed a neat half-moon shape around him.

When the first set of Omega wolves charged bravely into the building, Krey listened.

All the wolves by the gate sat still, staring eagerly at the house in the distance. They waited for a second howl for backup. The howl never came.

Krey was first to edge forward through the gate. He sniffed the air, taking calm and collected steps down the gravel path.

Suddenly, a wolf bolted from the doors. Krey's hackles were up in seconds. Then another wolf appeared, and another and another. They were enemy wolves, and Krey had the pleasure of breaking through his Omega wolves and running as fast as he could. He collided with the other wolf at full speed and slashed his claws across its face, then sank his teeth into its neck.

Warm blood filled Krey's mouth. He let it drip down his fur and dove on the next wolf. Other Alpha wolves seemed to enjoy themselves as much as him while joining him in the fight.

As the enemy body count rose higher and higher, revenge didn't taste sweet. Revenged tasted of copper blood and musty wolf scents and dirty fur.

Krey glanced behind him to see his mother, Mark, and Viktor's mate standing together by the gate. Krey could tell by the hard look on his mother's face that she wanted to fight. Makena wanted to avenge Roden's death. So Krey avenged his father for her and killed as many southern wolves as he could manage.

Krey was nothing short of savage as he flung scrawny Southern wolves into the mouths of other Northern wolves. Krey's huge black and brown wolf intimidated the others. His red eyes were terrifying even in daylight. When Krey growled, he looked like a monster of nightmares, especially with blood dripping from his mouth.

A white wolf was the last wolf to run from the building. The wolf was big, but not an Alpha. Krey hoped the Omega wolves had captured the Alpha and saved him for Krey and his mother to kill.

The other Alpha wolves stood back and watched as Krey galloped towards the big white wolf. Krey and the enemy rose on their back legs and their front paws slashed. Krey bit the side of the wolf's face and it whimpered in pain. The white wolf tried to slash Krey's side, but his fur was too thick and barely scraped the skin underneath.

Krey sank his large black claws into the enemy's neck. Red blood soaked white fur. Krey was strong enough for his claws to push far into the wolf's neck, and the white wolf weakened as blood splattered all over the gravel path. As the enemy fell, Krey stood over it, watching it gurgle each breath, listening to its whimpers.

Krey felt no remorse, only power pulsing through his body.

He soon sat by the corpse and stared blankly at the entrance to his Packhouse, waiting to know if it was safe. Krey wanted to charge into the building and fight until he no longer had the strength to lift his paws, but he had a mate now. Krey couldn't risk himself like that, not if it meant that Pip would die if Krey died.

Soon, Omega wolves who had returned to their human forms exited the house. Krey watched them glance at each other nervously until a woman stepped forwards with a harsh limp. "We killed all the southern wolves, but there was no sign of the Alpha."

Krey's heart sank. He was more irritated than disappointed. If the Southern Alpha was still out there, then the fighting wasn't over.

Krey shifted back into his human, thankful to have his Packhouse back. "What about the rest of my pack. Are they dead?" he asked.

"A few. Most of them are locked in your cellar and still alive."

Krey didn't wait to hear more. He hurried past the Omega wolves and jogged down corridor after corridor, jumping over dead wolves.

Krey leapt down the steps to the cellar. The dull room was thick with the scent of musty werewolves and warm bodies packed tightly. The look of relief when trapped werewolves saw their Alpha was enough to make even Krey feel all tingly with emotion.

Krey snatched the keys from the Omega who had fumbled clumsily with them for the past few minutes. Krey knew what key to pick immediately. When the door was unlocked, Krey was stunned by arms flying around him. Wolf after wolf hugged Krey and thanked him and expressed their concerns about not being rescued.

Krey didn't hug anyone back, but he didn't shrug anyone off. Deep down, Krey was thankful they were still alive. He had grown up with a lot of the young Omega's and knew the older ones mostly all his life. Krey would have struggled to bury them without expressing his sorrow.

"We have our Packhouse back," he said when the last Omega patted him on the shoulder with a grateful smile and teary eyes. "Go and get some lunch and some rest. If I see any of you still up after 3 o'clock, I'll send you to bed myself."

The Omega's hurried up the stairs, eager for daylight.

Krey looked though the metal bars and to the corner of the room, where he had first seen Pip. Krey pictured his mate with his knees to his chest and tears streaming down his face.

Krey shook his head when the thought made him queasy. He turned back to the stairs, but he suddenly felt so light-headed, he fell into the wall. Krey blinked a few times until his vision steadied.

Something wasn't right, and the ill-feeling wasn't to do with Krey. His mate senses prickled the back of his neck. Something wasn't right with Pip.