Chapter 21: 21: The Great Getaway

MAX

I walk into my father’s office, the air thick with tension. Beta Jackson and his mate Amanda are huddled in a corner, their whispers barely audible.

My father is behind his desk, engrossed in a flurry of phone calls and a map spread out before him. My mother, the luna, is doing her best to comfort Amanda, her gaze never straying from the worried woman.

“Any news?” I break the silence. The last we knew, Jack was up a tree, keeping watch over our team in hiding.

His call ended abruptly when three wolves started heading his way. Since then, silence. At least, as far as I know.

My father sighs, hanging up the phone. “We’ve got a signal from the tracker in the phone. Last known location was here,” he points to a spot on the aerial map.

I move closer to the desk for a better view. “That’s near the river bank, where there are a lot of drop-offs,” I observe.

Looking up at my father, I can tell from his expression that the situation is more serious than I initially thought. “Come here, Max,” he beckons me toward his computer screen.

A satellite view is pulled up, with a pin marking the last known location of the phone. “If they ended up in the river, the phone can withstand a bit of water. It’s waterproof up to six feet. But I can’t say for how long.”

I walk back around to one of the chairs across from his desk, sinking into it. “So, what’s the plan?”

“We wait,” he says, his voice heavy. “I can’t risk more lives if there are warriors close by. They have a better chance of escaping in the river. It’s too far for us to reach in time, and they could have drifted anywhere downstream. It’s been an hour since we lost the signal.”

I stand up, running my hands through my hair. “I’m going to talk to Milo. With Connor on the mission, Milo will have to step up and give me some options regarding strategies for handling this. We might have a war on our hands.”

I rise from my seat, deciding to accompany him. “Let me help, Alpha. I need to learn these things too, if I’m ever going to be as good as you.”

He nods in agreement, and we leave the office together. Once we’re out of earshot, I ask him why he didn’t just have Milo come to the office.

“Max, I need Amanda to stay calm and Jackson can’t be of much help right now when he’s trying to comfort his mate. Hopefully, your mom can help her relax so that Jackson can focus on his job.”

As our beta, Jackson usually handles the strategy for our missions. We need him undistracted.

But with his son potentially injured or worse, and his mate on the verge of hysteria, that’s going to be tough. I just hope Beck is okay and we’ve only lost connection because of the river.

Losing him, not to mention Connor, would be a huge blow to Amanda’s family. Connor is also her brother and Milo’s son. This situation is far from ideal.

BECK

The river is freezing, especially in human form. We all shifted when we jumped because it’s easier to navigate the river and move around in our human forms.

It’s dark, and I can hear breathing around me, but I can’t tell who it is or how many of us there are. I try to clear the water from my eyes and focus.

I have werewolf eyesight. I just need a moment to get my bearings and focus my vision. “Beta,” a loud whisper comes from right next to me.

Turning, I see it’s Connor. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I think so. How many of us made it?” I ask him.

“I think we’re all here; I count four other heads bobbing in the water behind us. We need to get out of this river,” he says.

I scan the area. The river is moving pretty fast, but it’s only about thirty feet wide where we are. I know it widens a few miles downstream.

It would be best to get out before we have to swim too far. “Did anyone follow us?” Connor points to the bank above us.

It’s a good thirty-foot drop, but I can see several pairs of eyes. Looking closer, I see wolves running alongside us as we float down the river.

“How many?” I ask him. “I think just the three we see right now. I thought I heard the others turn around right after we surfaced.”

“All right, let’s gather everyone and come up with a quick plan. We can’t just keep floating down the river like this. If they come back with weapons, we’ll be sitting ducks.”

I try to slow myself down by grabbing a branch of a tree that was hanging over the river. After waiting a few seconds, I let go and drop back into the water, landing next to the others.

Looking at the other four, I notice one of the warriors is holding onto Jack. Jack has blood on his forehead and seems to be unconscious.

“What happened?” I ask. “He hit his head in the current. He got pulled under and knocked out. We almost didn’t see him,” one of the warriors answers.

This situation is getting worse by the minute. Now we have to carry an unconscious man while trying to escape. I can’t just leave him behind and hope they won’t find him.

The only good thing is that this is our territory, and I know it like the back of my hand. So does Connor. “Pssst. Pssst.”

I turn to my right and see Connor running alongside the river. He’s in his human form, probably to get our attention.

As soon as he has it, he shifts back into his wolf form. It’s just easier to run that way.

~“Beta, up ahead on your right is a spot where the embankment is only about two feet high. If you all start moving toward the bank now, you can easily get out there. Since we’re wet, our scents will be well covered for a short time. But we need to hurry before those other wolves figure out what we’re doing and try to cross the river,”~ Connor mind-links me the plan.

I mind-link the rest of the group as we start to swim toward the right side of the river. Connor has run ahead, probably to help pull us up.

Our biggest problem is going to be getting Jack out without drowning him or ourselves. We’re all getting tired.

We’ve been in this cold river for quite a while now, trying to keep ourselves afloat and avoid hitting any rocks. This is our best chance of getting out and away from the wolves that are stalking us.

Yes, we can all fight, but we haven’t slept since yesterday morning and we’ve been running and swimming for hours. Our last meal was lunch yesterday, when we chased down some small rabbits.

We need to get out of here, and fast. I spot the place Connor pointed out. He’s standing there, in his human form, extending a long branch to help us climb out of the river.

We’re huddled together in the water, keeping Jack afloat. I reach out and grab the branch. Connor almost topples in as I pull, but he digs his heels in and manages to stay on the bank.

“Jack first,” I direct. I’ve wedged myself against a large rock in the river, using it for support. The water is still up to my chest here.

There’s no gentle slope leading into the water. It’s as if a massive trench was dug here ages ago and filled with water, leaving no easy way to get in or out.

With the support of the rock, we lift Jack high enough for Connor to grab his arms and haul him up. Once Jack is safe, Connor removes his backpack and starts searching for the satellite phone.

The others are now struggling to climb up the bank. They help each other, almost slipping back into the water several times.

We can hear the wolves on the other bank, growling and snarling at us. We need to move quickly before they decide to make the thirty-foot leap.

I’m the last one to climb out of the river, using the branch Connor extended to hoist myself over the edge of the bank. I pull myself up and collapse onto my back to catch my breath.

I stand up and look back across the river. The three wolves are pacing and snarling. I wonder if they have backup on the way, but we don’t have time to worry about that.

“The phone?” I ask Connor. He shakes his head. “It seems to be dead. Maybe it needs to dry out. Let’s get moving.

If you can find something to tie him to me, I can run with Jack on my back.” Connor is digging through the pack that Jack had been carrying, looking for anything useful.

He pulls out a damp rope that’s about ten feet long. “This might chafe, but it’s all we have. I’ll shift and you guys can get him on my back.”

Connor shifts and we manage to lift Jack onto his back. He’s still unconscious. Even though he’s one of the smaller guys, he’s still solid and heavy.

We lay him across Connor’s back and secure him as best we can. It’s going to be a risky ride. I send our tracker ahead and the rest of us shift.

We’re running on fumes now, but we have to keep moving. I can just about see a pink hue that signals the sun is about to rise.

We’ll be too exposed in the daylight and we need to put distance between us and the Canyon Ranch Pack. I take up the rear, ready to catch Jack if he falls, and follow behind Connor.

We’re not moving as fast as we usually would, but we’re still making decent progress. After about three hours of running and with the sun now high in the sky, we decide to stop for a break and check if the phone is working.

I take the phone from Jack’s pack and switch it on. The battery is almost dead, but there might be just enough juice to make a call.

I quickly dial the alpha’s number and wait for a response. After two rings, someone answers. It’s Luna Serena.

“Hello, this is Luna Serena.” Her voice is barely audible through the static. “Luna, it’s Beck. We need help. We have a wounded warrior.”

The static continues and I’m not sure if she can hear me. Suddenly, my father is on the line. “Beck, where are you?”

I look around, unsure of our exact location. “Maybe a three-hour walk Northwest of the river.”

“Can you repeat that? Hello, repeat please.”

The static is getting worse and I fear the battery is about to die. “Three hours Northwest of the river. Ping the phone. The battery is dying.”

I hang up, praying he heard me. We need to keep moving. I signal to Connor, who is still in his wolf form, and he starts to move forward.

As we continue toward what I hope is the main road, the tracker circles back to me. ~“Beta, we need to pick up the pace or get ready to fight. I think I picked up some fresh rogue scents. Are we in any condition to fight? We’re all worn out.”~

I sigh internally. This has turned into a complete disaster.

~“I’ve called for backup. We can hope for reinforcements, but we have to keep moving. Run ahead and push everyone to go faster. I’ve got the rear. Connor and I are the strongest fighters here. We’ll handle it if they come up from behind. I need you to run ahead as far as you can and try to get us some help.”~

He nods at me and takes off at a sprint. I hope he has enough energy to get close enough to relay our location. I can’t wait to get home and just sleep.

But right now, I’ve got bigger fish to fry.