C + L – Chapter 8
••• Lucas’ POV •••
“Lucas, please be careful,” my mate told me as I opened my car door to go to the Night Shade Pack.
I released my hold on the car door and turned around to take my mate into my arms. “Don’t worry, I will, my love.”
He blushed when he heard me calling him my love. I seldom used that kind of words, but today, I felt like doing so to make him feel at ease.
I kissed his forehead, lips, and finally, his huge, bulging pregnant belly.
“I’ll be back in no time. The Beta and Gamma couples will stay with you. If you feel uncomfortable, just let them know, alright?” I traced his cheek and jawline with my finger.
I was actually nervous to leave him alone with just the Gamma couples. Even though there were still two weeks until his due date, I was afraid something would happen and he would deliver our pups without me by his side.
But no matter how nervous and reluctant I was to leave him, I had to do it. This matter was important to my mate, and I had to save those enslaved rogues.
Furthermore, nothing could happen in just a few hours, right?
And the doctor was ready to help in case my mate felt uncomfortable. I had asked everyone to mindlink me if anything happened.
“Okay. You have to mindlink me if anything happens,” he said.
“Alright. Be good at home,” I told him and kissed him again before getting into my car and going to the Night Shade Pack. My warriors followed behind with their cars.
Reaching the Night Shade Pack, I saw Alpha Zane, Witch Lily, Aleena, Kyson, their Betas, Gammas, and their warriors already gathering on the training ground.
Their warriors, plus mine, made a considerable number. This made me wonder how the plan would work. It looked like we were going to a war instead of sneaking into the Reckless Banes Pack to save the rogues. But then there were around a hundred rogues to be saved; then our numbers were justified.
I walked toward them and asked, “Wouldn’t the Reckless Banes Pack notice with so many of us?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Aleena was the one who replied.
I wanted to ask more, but seeing how confident she was, she must have had a plan, so I decided to keep my mouth shut and just follow and see what she would do.
“Have you had lunch yet?” Kyson asked me.
“Yeah,” I nodded. I guessed only Alpha Zane and Witch Lily hadn’t had lunch yet since they would have lunch with Alpha Tobias.
“Alright, let’s go,” Alpha Zane said, and we went to our respective cars and followed him.
We drove toward the Reckless Banes Pack but stopped a short distance away from the pack’s border.
I saw Alpha Zane, Which Lily, Aleena, Kyson, and their warriors got out of their cars, and I had no choice but to get out of my car too. I mindlinked my warriors to do the same.
I went to them and asked, “What’s going on? Did they find out?”
Aleena shook her head. “No. Dad and Mom will continue forward. But we’ll walk from here on.”
“Walk?” I was surprised and confused.
“Yeah. Let’s all gather in front of Aleena and Mom,” Kyson said.
Even though I was confused, I still followed Kyson’s instructions. I gestured for my warriors to step closer toward Aleena and Witch Lily.
Aleena and Witch Lily began chanting a spell, and a warm yellow glow blanketed us, just like every time they cast a spell. The spell’s casting didn’t take long, and soon the yellow light disappeared.
I looked at my body and the others but found nothing unusual.
“What was the spell for?” I asked out of curiosity.
“It’s an invisibility spell,” Aleena said.
Invisibility spell? I was shocked that she had that kind of spell.
“Mom just taught me yesterday. We need it to save those rogues,” she said.
“We do not want to go to war with them. With the invisibility spell, you guys can move easily and save them,” Alpha Zane added.
“We can see each other, but they can’t see us. The rogues will also be able to see us,” Aleena explained.
That made sense…
“Alright. We’ll go to the pack now while you guys save the rogues,” Alpha Zane said, and he and Witch Lily went back into their car and drove away.
“Let’s go,” Kyson said, and he started walking toward the Reckless Banes Pack’s border. We all followed him, and as Aleena had said, we passed the guards easily as if they couldn’t see us, thanks to the invisibility spell.
The Gamma of the Night Shade Pack led us to a garden at the back of the pack. It was evident that no one tended the garden, with the grasses and weeds being tall and untidy.NôvelDrama.Org holds © this.
He stopped at one corner of the garden, and I saw a door on the ground. It was made of metal but wasn’t rusty, which was in contrast to the surrounding unattended garden.
If one heard closely, one could hear whimpers from the other side of the door, even if the sounds were muffled and very soft.
Kyson gestured to two of his warriors, and they lifted the metal door easily. The odor of blood immediately assaulted our nostrils.
Kyson went down the staircases first, followed by Aleena, me, the Betas, the Gammas, and the warriors at our back.
The closer we got to what I could summarize as a dungeon, the stronger the smell of blood was.
“Lucas, have you guys arrived at the Reckless Banes Pack yet?” suddenly, I heard my mate’s voice through our mindlink.
“Yeah… We found the hidden door and are currently going down to the dungeon,” I replied.
“Okay, keep me updated,” he said.
“Sure,” I replied simply.
It surprised me how long and winded the staircases were. The Reckless Banes Pack seemed to have thought about this carefully. They had prepared a dungeon way below underground. They definitely had a mind for torturing and enslaving rogues. This thought angered me.
“Lucas, Lucas, are you okay? Are the rogues okay?” Colton’s hurried, concerned voice sounded through the mindlink again. He must have felt my anger through our matebond.
I calmed myself down and answered him, “I’m okay. We are still moving down the stairs. It’s longer than I’ve anticipated.”
“Oh, okay. I thought something happened to you and them,” my mate sighed in relief.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we saw another metal door. Just like before, Kyson asked his two warriors to open it, and I was shocked to see a lot of rogues being chained inside the huge dungeon.
Ada was right. There were around a hundred of them here.
Some of the rogues looked at us with vigilance when they heard the door opening, while most of them stared blankly as though they had no soul.
I felt my heart being twisted looking at their conditions. They were dirty and injured. All of them were just skins and bones like Ada.
But surprisingly, the dungeon was not as dirty as I thought. There were only faint scents of pee and feces. The Alpha must have asked someone to keep it clean so the odor wouldn’t distract them when they were raping these rogues.
At this point, I felt lucky Colton didn’t come with us. If he saw the rogues’ conditions, he would go berserk and challenge Alpha Tobias, which would disturb our plan.
Aleena looked around and said in a soft yet powerful voice, “We are from the Night Shade Pack, the Crimson Blood Pack, and the Spirit Shadow Pack… And we are here to save you.”
Those who at first regarded us as enemies started to move, and we could hear the clanging sounds of chains as they tried to stand up. The vigilance in their eyes was replaced by hope.
But there were still those who sat still and silent with blank eyes.
“Lucas, have you found them?” Colton’s voice sounded again.
“Yes,” I replied.
“How are they?” he asked anxiously.
I moved toward one of the chained rogues. “They are fine. Chained, but only with minor injuries. We’ll free them now.” I lied and reached toward the chain but felt a burning sensation when I touched it.
“Shit,” I cursed. These chains were laced with Wolfsbane and something else.
“Lucas? What happened?” Colton’s voice became more anxious.
Before I could answer him, we heard a mocking voice from behind us. “I didn’t know the Night Shade Pack loved to stick their noses in other pack’s business.”
I turned around to see a man and a witch standing beside him, with many warriors and guards behind him.
“Beta Neil, surely you won’t want to go to war with our three packs,” Aleena said lazily.
“We won’t if you could just leave us alone,” Beta Neil smiled as though he was being gracious and giving us a way out.
Looking at their numbers, I smirked. I even saw Kyson smirk from the corner of my eyes. Who gave them the confidence to say those words to the Alpha Queen?
Their numbers were less than half of ours, and we still had warriors stationed upstairs in case we needed more help.
“I have to admit Witch Lily’s ability is great. She could use the invisibility spell. But unfortunately, we also have a witch on our side,” Beta Neil said, and his smile turned malicious.
I nearly laughed out loud. Few people outside our packs knew of Aleena’s ability to use magic. They were in for a surprise, then.
“Bring it on,” Kyson taunted and smirked at the clueless Beta and witch.