Wolf's Pet Ch. 25

Thank you to everyone who has been so patient with my short chapters. I know it can be frustrating for some, but as I've said before, it works best for me. I hope you all understand.

I appreciate the wonderful comments. Please keep them coming. And don't forget to vote!

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Rhys watched the dust from the departing car. "He'll be back after she is at the compound safe and sound. There's time." He turned around and looked at the Alphas. "So now we wait?"

Carr slowly nodded as he listened to reports from his pack. They were deep inside the cave system. They knew when the Dire Wolves returned they would know something was wrong as soon as they got within scent distance of the caves. What they had to hope for was that they'd be stupid enough to enter the caves. If not, it would be a fight to the death with ten altered wolves twice as big, twice as strong, and twice as deadly as any normal Werewolf. Even minus the numbers they had sent back to the compound with prisoners they still had over one hundred here. But those Dire Wolves were far worse than any rogue he'd come into contact with. He'd seen the damage they could do first hand. Many would die.

Bryant carried a sack that held the wireless cameras. He tried to secret them away in any nook or cranny he could find. If they were noticed too soon it could be a disaster. His practiced eye spotted likely places quickly and after installing each, he radioed back to the monitors at the cars. "How's that one look Phil?"

"A little to your left." The earpiece kept anyone else from hearing the bodyless voice.

Bryant made a few small adjustments.

"Perfect, you got it."

Bryant scanned the cave face for another likely position.

"Bryant, Steve says they are in the middle of a killing spree out there. I still can't figure out the purpose of this hunt unless it was to get their blood lust up. He says they're killing everything in sight. For now we're still OK. Gary doesn't seem to notice anything off yet."

Bryant nodded to himself to acknowledge Carr's message. He continued to move along the walls in the main corridor.

"Craig, are you sure about these blasting caps? They'll work by remote but not get set off early by the wireless signals from the cameras?" Cole was a little uneasy. He knew Craig was an expert at these things but it still made him nervous to be around all these explosives.

"Hey if you're scared you can step out." Craig had a huge grin on his face. He knew Cole wouldn't bug out on him but he loved to make a few jabs anyway.

"I'll stick it out with you. But just remember, if you get me killed, Karen will come after you, and you've seen what she can do." Cole smiled at the face Craig made. He'd seen first hand the job Karen had done on Cheryl and didn't want to be on the receiving end.

"No worries, I'll get you out of here safe and sound. We need a single charge over here." He walked to the Y in the cave. "And a double charge over there." He pointed to the left tunnel that led to Paul's quarters. If someone made it through there they could get to an exit. But he had a detail setting charges there as well. But an integral part of the plan was to trap them inside the main chamber.

"You have the inside scoop on things Cole. Why don't we just set the charges to cave the whole place in? Why try to trap them at all?" Craig continued to work while talking. The answer didn't really matter, he'd do his job just the same. He was just curious.

"The Council decided since Kyle came out of it and was kind of forced into it, they had to give the same chance to the others. But I'm with you, I'd rather just let them die in here. Altered or not, I'm pretty sure Gary and Paul are psychopaths."

Craig was in full agreement with that. But theirs was not to question why. He pointed out another spot for a charge and continued on.

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Alistair's wolf was ecstatic. His mate was safe and under his protection. The wolf thought of how he would tear Gary limb from limb for what he'd done to her. Alistair had to remind him that in his Dire Wolf state, they would be at a great disadvantage. They would have to hope all worked well back at the caves. Then his wolf would have his turn. Alistair promised him that.

Jenna hadn't felt this safe while awake in who knows how long. Since being taken to the caves she hadn't had a moment's peace except when she slept and her white wolf would come to her. Now she was with him and knew she would never have to worry about Gary again. There were no words needed between them right now. She laid in his arms in the moving car and enjoyed the feel of his arm around her, his hard chest under her head, his hand stroking her hair.

Alistair held her tight as the car drove to the compound. He leaned in close and inhaled deeply. Her scent would forever be with him. It would be hard to leave her once he got her to the hospital, but he knew she'd be safe with Carr's pack until he returned for her.

Jeff and Trina waited for the first casualty to arrive. The report from Carr was that she was in pretty bad shape. Jeff saw the headlights and readied himself for what he'd find. The car seemed to be moving so slowly. Get here already. "Dammit, I forgot something, I'll be right back." He ran back into the hospital. Of all things, how could he forget a stethoscope.

Trina pulled open the door before the engine was even off. "Oh my God, Carr wasn't kidding." She quickly assessed the dire situation. Luckily the tranquilizer had worked and hadn't killed her yet. But the damage done was so severe. Just a cursory glance told her that. She looked up to see Becky and Gina in tears. "We'll do what we can for her. Why don't you clean yourselves up and go to where the other women will be brought?"

They silently nodded and held hands for support as they got out of the vehicle and back to their quarters to throw water on their faces. They had to get it together before they saw the human females again. Becky stopped and turned around. "Oh her name is Sheila."

"How is she?" Jeff was running to the gurney but stopped in his tracks. He looked shocked. He tried to compose himself as he looked over the woman. She was so frail looking. Her heart was barely beating. The first thing they'd have to do is counteract the tranquilizer. Luckily Lila had only used a one quarter dose. Even that might have been too much. Trina was looking at him strangely. "What? Let's get moving." He turned away from Trina and back to his patient.

Something was wrong with Jeff. He was never flustered. He was trying to act like nothing was wrong but she knew him too well. They'd known each other forever and had worked side by side for over one hundred years. A trauma case never had him acting like this.

They moved Sheila into the trauma room. The team had worked together for decades. Hardly a word was spoken as they each did their job. They wouldn't have long before they had more patients. Carr had told them the women were on their way. Most had minor injuries. And Alistair was bringing his mate.

Jeff couldn't take his eyes off her as they worked. He had to save her, he had to. "Did you clean those wounds completely?" He looked over Trina's shoulder as she carefully dressed the infected wounds.

"Seriously Jeff?" She rolled her eyes. He was acting like she didn't know how to do her job. If she didn't know better she'd think...oh crap! "Jeff, what does she smell like?" She looked up into his anxious face.

He didn't look at Trina as he answered. He looked at Sheila, her dark brown hair fanned out across the pillow and spoke softly. "She smells like nutmeg and gardenia."

She gently laid a hand on his arm and spoke quietly so only he could hear. "I'm sure we got to her in time Jeff. Her vitals are already stronger. We'll take good care of her." She hoped she wasn't just wishing.

Neither noticed the person waiting patiently for them outside the door.

"Um, Doc, sorry to interrupt, but could I get more tranquilizers for the rogues?" David hated to bother them. It looked like a serious discussion, but if any of those rogues woke up there'd be hell to pay. "I want to make sure we have plenty on hand. We've got almost thirty males. We don't know if any of them want to defect or not, but we can't take a chance on them waking up and alerting Gary."

Trina whirled around to answer so Jeff could worry about his new found mate and the other patients.

"Thirty? I thought there were closer to fifty?" She seemed puzzled. Did Gary lose more in the last few days than just Jackson and Adam? She reached for the vials and handed them to David.

"Quite a few of them still held allegiance to their former Alphas and wanted to leave Gary. So they helped us. They're back at the caves. Thanks Trina." He stuffed the vials in his pocket, flashed a smile and made his way back to the security cells.

David walked in and heard moaning from one of the males. "Damn, good thing I made it back before he was all the way awake." He loaded the dart and jabbed it into the arm of the rousing rogue. "We need to keep a really close eye on these guys. We can't let any of them wake up. Got it?" He scanned the faces of the security guards who all nodded. If anyone screwed up it could mean injuries or worse for their Alpha and the others. David shivered for a second remembering back to his run in with Paul in this very room. He closed his eyes for a second and relived the horror of it. He could still see Isaac's surprised look as he died.

He opened his eyes and saw Nathan staring at him.

"Are you OK David?" Nathan looked worried.

David looked up and smiled. He was glad Nathan had joined their pack and mated with Lila. He was going to be a good addition to the pack. He was sure Brett was going to try to talk him into joining the Police Department. "Yea, I'm alright. Just had a flashback. Keeping busy will help. Let's get these darts loaded so we're ready. And make sure the restraints are tight on everyone. I don't care if they're unconscious. One mistake and one of them can alert Gary."

"Jackie, you do intake, I'll do triage, and we'll funnel them into Jeff and the interns." Trina took charge as the women were starting to arrive. The ones with the more serious injuries would go to Jeff, the rest would be meted out to the interns and more experienced nurses. She knew that when Alistair arrived with his mate, she would be sent straight to Jeff.

Trina looked in quickly on Sheila and saw Jeff gently cleaning her face. She knew every minute of downtime he had would be spent with her. The slamming of car doors got her attention and she made her way to the entrance where the first of the women was being led in. Their faces were streaked with tears but most of them had managed to calm down enough that they were able to answer questions. The female pack member who was sent with each car load had already bonded with her group. Trina saw how carefully they were treating the humans.

Lee arrived with the pack's human females and assigned one to each incoming group. That way there were two women to help acclimate the group, one pack and one human that would soon be pack. She had already decided she would assign Katy to Alistair's mate. Lee went from female to female and introduced herself. She immediately memorized the name of each woman and where she was from. She wanted to make them feel they were safe and among friends.

Lee, Becky, and Danielle were standing with a group when one of the women who was crying stopped and stared at Lee. Lee was a little taken aback when the woman slowly brought up a hand and placed it on Lee's flat belly. Danielle and Becky were speechless. Lee spoke gently, "How did you know?"

"I can sense them. I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend you." The woman dropped her head and looked ready to start crying all over again.

"Don't be sorry. Tracy is it? You're home Tracy. You're with family. And if you can sense when the females are pregnant, you will be a very popular guest in everyone mated female's home." Lee smiled and gave Tracy a long hug. "You said them. Are there two?"

"Three." Tracy managed a smile. "There's another here that has two though."

"There is? Who?" Lee scanned the room to see what mated females were in the room. She spotted Jessica who had just arrived. "Jessica, can you come here please? Just for a sec." She whispered to Tracy. "Is it her?"

Tracy looked at the approaching woman and smiled. "Yes, she has twin girls."

Lee and Becky were practically jumping up and down by the time Jessica made across the room.

"What's up?" Jessica looked at the smiling faces surrounding her and looked totally confused.

"You're pregnant!" Lee was smiling ear to ear.

"What? How could you know? I just barely went out of heat two weeks ago. It's too soon." Jessica was excited but thought this must be some kind of joke. How could they possibly know?

Lee put an arm around Tracy. "Tracy knows. I don't know how, but she does." Lee gave her a motherly smile and squeezed tight. Tracy winced and Lee realized she'd better lighten up. She was still human. "Sorry about that." She hugged her with a little less force but no less enthusiasm.

"Oh my God! I can't wait to tell Brett. Are you sure? How can you know?" She was so excited but afraid to believe it. But if Lee believed, then Jessica would too. She held her breath when Tracy reached out to touch her stomach.

"Yup, two girls." Tracy had forgotten her earlier tears. This was the first happiness she'd felt since she met Gary months ago. Maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad.

"Lee." Lila interrupted politely. "Alistair is pulling in."

Lee nodded and gave Tracy a final hug before going to greet Alistair and his new mate. "Katy, would you come with me please?"

Katy fell into step with Lee and walked out to the driveway to wait to meet Alistair's mate. She knew her assignment. Especially since Alistair would be heading back to the caves, she would be his mate's constant companion until his return.

They waited for the car to come to a complete halt before moving close. James immediately got out and opened the door for Alistair who in turn helped the beautiful woman who slid across the seat and extended her hand to him. In spite of her injuries, her movement was fluid and graceful.

Katy thought they looked like they had known each other forever. They seemed to know what the other was thinking. They didn't even need to speak. She stood in awe of such a deep bond for two who had only known each other less than thirty minutes.

"Jenna, this is Lee, the Alpha Bitch. Lee, this is my mate." Alistair was presenting his mate formally.

Lee understood. Jenna in effect outranked her. She was the mate of the Head of the Werewolf Council. She smiled. "Hello Jenna, I wish we weren't meeting under these circumstances, but please accept our hospitality and any assistance we can offer you. The Doctor is waiting for you. The other women have been attended to, and you are his final patient."

"Did you find Sheila?" Jenna was concerned for her friend. She knew she'd been taken to Paul's cave and had heard her screams for the last few days. She didn't want to think about what he'd done to her. Just the thought made her want to cry.

"Yes, she's here. She's in good hands. They have her stabilized and Jeff, our Doctor, is fairly certain she'll have a complete recovery. To be honest, he will be seeing to that personally since she is his mate."

"Thank God. Thank you so much. I've been so worried about her." Jenna looked like a weight had been taken from her shoulders.

Lee was amazed. Jenna had been through hell. She had been brutalized and raped over and over and her first concern was for her friend. She would be a fit mate for Alistair. She would be a wonderful role model for any female in the North American packs. Lee would be honored to look to her for guidance in the future.

"Jenna, this is Katy. She's going to be with you every second while you're here." Lee gestured for her to step forward.

"Katy is the mate to my closest friend, Rhys. I'm sure the two of you will become close friends." Alistair was so proud of Jenna. He could tell she would not have to prove herself to the Alpha Bitches. It was like she was meant for the position she would hold in the packs. Maybe it was her destiny, their destiny. "But I'm afraid I must leave you for now my dear." His hand reached up to stroke her cheek and lingered.

Jenna closed her eyes and felt his love for her so strongly. She knew he would be back. He would never leave her for long. And she would be safe here. She was among friends. She opened her eyes and smiled at the man she would spend the rest of her life with. She reluctantly walked into the hospital with Katy, but turned at the last minute to look at his face one more time before she walked through the door.

"James, let's go before I change my mind." Alistair got into the front passenger seat and stared at the hospital door as they drove out. He had never felt the urge to disregard his duty before. But with Jenna so close it was hard not to give it some thought. He would come back to her, after he took his revenge on Gary.

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Steve was shocked at the mayhem he saw going on in front of him. The Baxter pack normally hunted only adult animals. They never killed pregnant or nursing females. The rogues were indiscriminate in their massacre of every animal they came upon. If they were allowed to remain here for much longer there would be no game for anyone to hunt. He watched, dumbstruck, as the wolf he assumed was Gary crossed paths with a Grizzly Bear. He wouldn't confront the bear would he?

Steve didn't move as he witnessed the most brutal attack he had ever seen in his life. Gary faced the bear from the front. His lips curled back into an ugly snarl with saliva dripping. The bear stood on his hind legs and roared. This was his territory. He would defend it with his life. He moved forward and swiped at the wolf who leapt out of the way with an agility that wouldn't be expected from an animal so large. The brown wolf ducked under the large paw and came in low, grabbing the bear's belly with his sharp teeth and ripping with all his might. The bear bellowed in pain as he was disemboweled on the spot.

The giant gray wolf jumped onto the bear's back and bit into the thickly furred neck, ripping into the poor bear's jugular vein. The bear died within minutes.

Steve could see the glee in the wolve's faces. He'd never seen Werewolves as evil as Gary and Paul. He noticed the rest of the pack hanging back. Were they scared? Or as stunned as he was?

Steve checked the wind and thought it best to move slightly west to avoid any of his scent wafting over anywhere near the Dire Wolves. If they found him, he wouldn't live long enough to get a warning out to Carr. The brown wolf was half the size of Gary. He made his way through the rocks to a good vantage point. He filled Carr in on everything he had seen so far.

Gary shifted and stood to look at the pile of carcasses his pack had amassed. This was good training for the fight to come. His wolves weren't afraid of anything or anyone. Carr Baxter would learn the hard way. His puny wolves would die. And he would die last.