Chapter 223
I shut off the link as I step outside into the raging storm. Sure enough, after walking ten feet we run into the dense forest that borders alpha’s land. I can faintly smell where he and his security team have marked it out. I train my eyes to the ground as we start picking our way through the dense foliage. Madisyn changes from holding my hand to holding onto my pants pocket as I need my left hand to keep my balance working through the brush.
We’re picking our way through slowly enough that I know it’s going to take several hours for us to get anywhere. I’m struggling to maintain my focus, causing us to stop every few minutes. If it wasn’t for the girls calling my name, reminding me of why I fight, I likely would have allowed myself to go unconscious already.
‘Cole?’ I can hear Jamie call through the link as we step out into a small clearing.
‘Stay where you are. You’ve gotten off course but in a good way. You found the path that leads back to the pack house.’ Jamie explains in a hurry but I struggle to comprehend.
I look around slowly, trying to locate a tree to lean against as my vision blurs from the rain and growing pressure in my head.
“Cole, we have to keep going.” Madisyn’s voice pierces through the rain but I can’t do much more than whine.
“Cole please.” She whines as she tugs on my pocket.
I push myself up off the tree and start following the path we had found, completely forgetting what Jamie said about the path we are on.
“Hey there, you must be Cole.”
A feminine voice I haven’t heard before calls out to me. I can’t help my instincts and immediately grab hold of Madisyn who, in turn, grabs my leg.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just a better runner than Jamie is. My name is Micayla. I’m Jamie’s mate.”
She speaks easily through her breathlessness from running. I can hear another set of feet approaching before slowing down. The classic huffing and puffing of a good run catching up with my best friend.
“Damn, man. What the hell happened?”
Hearing his voice calms my nerves only to yelp harshly with the booming thunder that’s been silent since we left the cave. His hand barely touches my broken arm as he places his other under my nose.
“Breath Cole. I know you can hear my voice but I also know you won’t let me give the girls to Micayla without verifying my scent.”
I take several shallow breaths through my nose hoping it would be enough. Sure enough, he’s come to our rescue.
“Cay, I need you to come closer. We need to get the little girl off his back.” Jamie instructs, taking charge of the situation.
“Her name is Madilyn.” Madisyn corrects slowly.
“And what’s yours?” Micayla asks as her voice gets closer.
“Madisyn.” For the first time she speaks as if she’s afraid of the wolves she doesn’t know.
“It’s okay Maddie. If Micayla is Jamie’s mate then I have no problems with her taking you to the pack house. She will be faster than me.”
“No. I’m not leaving you. You want to sleep. Daddy says sleeping after you hit your head is no good. You have to stay awake. You have to keep going.”
I can tell that she’s crying, frantically trying to convince me I need her. Honestly, she’s right. I do need her but knowing that she’s safe is far more important.
“Jamie, I have a knife in my pocket. Just cut the coat from around her or just let me slide my arms out and put it on Micayla’s back.”
“That’s a really good idea, Jamie.”
Micayla’s voice is right in front of me but I’m in so much pain right now that I’m actively fighting blacking out making her nothing more than a talking blob.
“How much does she weigh?”
“About thirty pounds.” I answer as I slowly slip my arms out of the straps I created for carrying her.
“Her foot has a piece of glass deep inside it. She needs to go straight to Jessa when you get back to the pack house. Madisyn, I need you to be a big brave girl and help Micayla get Madilyn the help she needs. Can you do that?”
“No.” She whimpers as she sobs against my leg.
I blink several times, trying to clear my vision. I’m starting to focus better when Jamie turns back to me. I know my time with the girls has come to an end but Madisyn is being persistent about not leaving.
“Jamie, can you pick Maddie up so I can talk to her?”
He does as I request without question.
“Hey sweetpea. I know you’re afraid and I am too but Jamie is going to help me while Micayla gets the two of you back to the house.”
“No. I’m not leaving.” She whimpers.
I take her from Jamie, cuddling her close as I speak.
“We are right behind you. I promise, Jamie will keep me awake.”
“No, Cole. Please. I can’t leave you.”
“I promise we are right behind you. I’m sorry Madisyn. I am commanding you to go with Micayla. You cannot ignore a direct command from an alpha.”
I try to use the oldest parenting trick in the book.
“Please?” She whines again as I hug her tight.
“No. I need you to go. I’m right behind you but very slow. You need to get your dad moving on getting me to general.”
“Yes sir.” She finally hiccups.
Jamie gently takes her sobbing form out of my arms, walking her over to Micayla. He kisses her gently before speaking but I’m too far away to hear his instructions.
She nods easily as she takes Madisyn’s hand and starts walking quickly down the path gently tugging a very resistant Madisyn alongside her. Jamie waits until they round the curve of the path before heading back to me.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to make certain that Madisyn didn’t break away from her.”
I nod my head as I push myself off the tree I’m leaning on. Jamie walks around to my left side, wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Good thing I got a little taller. This wouldn’t work otherwise.”
He chuckles lightly as he grabs the waistband of my pants. I wrap my left arm around his shoulders as I take my first steps since his arrival. He stops each time I stumble through a step but it doesn’t take long for us to develop a working rhythm, something I don’t have to think about as the excruciating pain causes me to black out.
(Demetri’s POV)
It’s been five hours since I got a call from Jamie about Cole coming across something suspicious in the field bunks on the south western edge of the territory. It was as my security group was approaching that they barely saw what appeared to be a nude she-wolf darting into the tree line. Two of them tried to follow her while the other two continued to the cabins.
I was angry at their report. Not only did they fail to capture the she-wolf’s assailants but they failed to stop a brutal attack on Cole. They only figured out which cabin all the commotion was going on in after everyone left prompting me to write a note to implement testing and ongoing training for the security team.
I place my head in my hands in complete disbelief as to the failures, so many epic failures that occurred today. I can’t even begin to contemplate the discipline coming to the ones unable to track the three males and single female involved in an orgy.
Cole managed to find them first, only things had gotten a whole lot worse by the time Jamie got back to me with a new location, not that we couldn’t hear the brawl going on inside the pack house.
I used my broadcast link to lock everyone down. No one was to come outside until I gave the all clear and if you were outside you were to get inside. The growls, yelps and screams were deafening as we converged.
I arrived in time to witness Cole take two bad hits, one to the side and one to the back of his head. I honed my focus on them and made certain they were placed in my jail cells. I thought for certain he was dead until he rolled out of the way of me taking down his second assailant.
Even I failed today. How can I punish any of my pack members for their failures when I failed too? I failed to recognize my own daughters' voices. To recognize that they followed me out to the brawling male prospects and they ended up in the river. Shortly after their fall I’m helpless to watch Cole dive in after them.
By the time I subdued the wolf in my hands they were gone. I’m ashamed to say I took my anger out on the prospects that were left. There were three dozen prospects that got involved in the brawl. I hurt into submission the highest dozen before the rest finally submitted to my demands.
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