Chapter 71

Today is my Wattpad Anniversary! I joined 4 years ago on this date, and I'm forever thankful that I did. Here's an extra quick chapter update for my readers who have given me nothing but kindness and support. For that, I am forever grateful!

- Sian

Krey regained his composure and left the cellar, slamming the door behind him. His Omega's were already piling the deceased wolves up outside. There were two piles, their allies and their enemies. The Southern wolves pile was a lot bigger, though Krey recognised some of the wolves as his own. His jaw tightened. The Southern wolves had caused him so much pain, and still, the Alpha hid like a coward.

Krey found the rest of his wolves in the dining hall. "Where are the other packs?" Krey asked, storming up to his mother and Francis who handed out cups of tea to the wolves who were trapped in the cellar overnight. Krey stared at the cups of tea. His stomach twisted in knots.

"They've gone back to their Packhouses. One of the Delta's suddenly freaked out about leaving their Packhouses alone because the Bedlam Alpha could be anywhere. They all left in a panic."

"Stay close to your phone then, Francis. If they need help, we have their back." Krey sat down and rubbed his temples. He couldn't shake the feeling of absolute exhaustion. "Something's not right," he mumbled.

Makena quickly ushered other wolves away and sat next to her son. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, checking for wounds. She hadn't seen anyone hurt Krey in the fighting.

"Something's up with Pip. I need to find him."

"It's not safe out there with the Alpha still loose. Nobody knows how big the Bedlam pack really are. We don't know how many Beta's overthrew Northern Alpha's. There could be packs on their way here to fight right now. You have to stay here to protect your pack."

Krey sat up and stared at his mother. Makena then saw his fatigue in the deep circles around his eyes, and the way he struggled to glare so hard. "Do you expect me to sit here and simply hope that Pip makes it back alive?"

"No. Send wolves out to look for him and Sid. Sid had an injured arm and Pip's human. They couldn't have gotten very far in the snow."

"That's what worries me. The Southern Alpha was probably watching Sea Claw Packhouse when they escaped. They knew we were there because their traitor Beta was there, probably feeding them all the information." Krey climbed to his feet. "We need to get to them. Now! Francis, phone packs that didn't answer us last time. Ask them to spare a few Omega's to look out for Pip and Sid. If I can't go and look for him, send as many Omega's out that you think we can spare. If Pip isn't found within the hour, I'll go myself."

Francis was gone for almost half an hour, phoning as many Packhouses as she could. Only two Packhouses picked up, but they were Packhouses on the North East. Sid and Pip would still be West.

When she returned to Krey with the news that only two packs picked up, he was pacing the canteen, making everyone around him very anxious.

"Then go and ring again!" Krey yelled. His presence was just bearable when he spoke. His shouting made everyone want to run and take cover.

Francis knew she would be just as on edge if she had a mate that was missing, and something bad was happening to them. "Please be okay Pip. Please be okay Sid," she whispered and ran back down the corridor.

When she reached the Packhouse home phone, Krey had followed her and was looming right behind her like a dark cloud, wanting to hear what other packs had to say.

* * * * *

Pip's mind surfaced to one of the worst headaches he had ever felt. For a while, he wondered if something was banging against his head with every heartbeat. As his mind rationalised his situation, Pip was soon aware of a dull pain in the back of his neck, then the throb of his heart in his face.

Am I upside down? When he lifted his head, it rolled back and hit something hard behind him. Pip groaned and fought against his heavy eyelids.

His surroundings were dull, and hard to make out at first. Pip blinked and blindly looked around. He couldn't move his hands no matter how hard he tried.

Pip thought he would still be in the library and surrounded by books and light. Instead, he smelt damp, and dust, and saw very little in front of him.

Shapes soon formed and Pip could tell that he was in some sort of basement. Though unlike the institute's basement, which looked like an eighteenth-century dungeon, this basement was full of unused furniture.

Pip tried to look behind him. His hands had been handcuffed to a radiator and to Pip's disappointment, the radiator wasn't on.

He tried to pull on the handcuffs a few more times. Metal clanging metal was loud enough to make him cringe. Pip gave up and looked around again. Only when his eyes adjusted, Pip saw Sid a few metres in front of him.

The Delta wolf laid on his side with hands tied behind his back and feet tied together. Sid's face was bloody and bruised. In the silence, Pip heard his own panicked heart and Sid's wheezy breathing. He's still alive. Good.

"Sid?" Pip whispered. The Delta wolf didn't move. "Sid?" he said a little louder and stared a little harder. "Sid-" Movement to Pip's left startled him so much, he gasped and attempted to wriggle away. The handcuffs made his escape impossible.

A light was turned on, so bright that Pip's head felt like it cracked in two. He scrunched his eyes as someone said, "Get the Alpha. The human's awake."

Pip watched another tall person weave between the furniture. They had sat so still in the dull room, Pip hadn't noticed that he and Sid were not alone.

The other man, who Pip assumed was a werewolf, sat back down on a chair and stared at Pip without an ounce of emotion.

Pip didn't dare speak a single word, despite having many questions about tea, librarians, and why their basement was so hectic. He was so terrified that by the time more people entered the basement, he trembled with terror.

A woman with fiery red hair weaved through the furniture. She stopped a few metres from Pip with a stern frown. She crossed her arms, lightly tapping the heel of her pointed black shoe. When Pip braved to meet her gaze, her face was bruising underneath her eye and across her left cheek. The left side her lip was swollen and cut.

Pip glanced from face to face. Each person looked at him like he was a bug they were figuring out how to squash.

"Tell me where the Alpha of the Bedlam Pack is. If you don't cooperate, you will not get out of here alive."

Pip's eyes widened, and he pushed himself against the cold radiator. "I-I I don't- I'm not with southern wolves!" he squeaked.

"Hm, so you do know who I'm talking about." The woman's dark eyes flicked to Sid. "Is that your mate? Do you know what happens to werewolves if humans die?"

"H-He's a Delta wolf. I-I'm just a human. I can't be his mate."

The woman narrowed her eyes at his knowledge. "Then what the hell are you and a Delta wolf doing on our territory, the same day my bastard Beta wolf tries to kill me? Hm? What do you have to say for yourself, human?"

"T-That's Sid, um, I don't know his last name. Um, he's Krey's Delta wolf!" Pip couldn't remember Krey's last name either. "From the Crescent Pack!"

The woman's thin lips curled down disapprovingly, not believing Pip. "Then who the hell are you?"

"I'm-" Pip glanced to the two men on either side of their Alpha. He suddenly Remembered Krey's last name. "I'm Krey Graymer's mate."

The woman looked him up and down once, and snorted. "Bullshit. The Bedlam Alpha told you to say that if you got caught. Krey Graymer doesn't have a mate and if he did, it wouldn't be you."

Pip felt a pang of annoyance.

A phone suddenly rang, and Pip's annoyance was quickly overshadowed with fear.

"It's Crescent Pack again," one of the guys said, showing her the phone screen.

"How convenient." She smirked. "Let's ask if Krey Graymer has a little human on the run. He's probably looking for his traitor Delta." She took the phone and answered, interrupting Francis immediately. "I have a question for you."

Pip heard the pause, then a "Yes?" Pip wanted to scream at Francis that he was there, but his tongue was frozen. He could barely breathe.

"Does Krey Graymer have a mate?"

"Yes! I'm phoning about Krey's mate. We were wondering if you could spare a few Omega's to watch out for him and Krey's Delta wolf. They had to run from Sea Claw Packhouse after their Beta turned on Viktor." Francis' voice was soothing. Pip felt himself relaxing.

"What were they doing at Sea Claw Pack house?" Francis was turned off loudspeaker, but Pip could still faintly hear her explaining about what happened at the annual meeting and so on. The longer the woman listened to Francis, the more her face twisted with displeasure. "Yes," she eventually muttered, "my Beta turned on me too."

Pip glanced to Sid when he rolled onto his back, coughing.

"What's the name of Krey's mate?" the woman asked. She then held the phone to her chest. "What's your name?" she asked Pip.

"P-Pippor Monty. They call me Pip for short," he whispered. The woman tensed her jaw. Pip knew the names matched.

Annoyed at being proven wrong, she turned the phone back to loudspeaker and said, "Krey's mate is here, and he trespassed, so we'll do what we like with him, and your Delta too." She tapped her foot on the hard ground, expecting Francis to offer something in return for Krey's mate. She expected too much.

There were a few noises from Francis's end, almost like she had dropped the phone. Then a deep and familiar voice came through, and Pip shivered from head to toe.

"Start fucking running, I'm coming for you," the voice growled before the phone line went dead.