Trifecta: Ice [Complete]

Ch 27: Depleted

Serge's POV

I ran through the forest, my paws hitting the frozen ground, my claws helping me find purchase when I might have slipped on frozen puddles.

I knew the moment I was certainly out of range of Elise. I could not feel it, but I could imagine what she was experiencing. I had seen it up close when she had gotten too far from me with Karen.

And I could not remedy the attacks of the curse on her right now. All I could do was focus on what was before me.

Destroy the invaders. I pushed on. Two of my fighters, Patwin and Brock, joined me and ran in pace.

I heard the sound of static crackling in my ear and heard Sierra's voice come in over my headset. "Serge, we're falling back to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. There's more than normal."

I did not stop. My scout knew I was running and that I would not waste the time it took to respond.

It had been fortunate that my patrols had stumbled upon this new attack just as they breached my territory.

My low growl and my rhythmic footfalls were the only sounds that broke the silence around me. Though the forest was frozen, my anger at the eastern king as hot as it had ever been. His forays into my lands made the wolf in me want to bring him to his knees. The only thing that would satisfy the feral part of my nature would be to see him cowering in submission before me.

I barred my teeth as I continued pounding through the forest. That was a dream I had little hope of seeing come to fruition, but I felt new determination spark within me. There were other ways to strengthen our defenses. Surely we could install cameras, sensors, or invested in a fleet of surveillance drones?

Perhaps drones were the answer. Budgets were ever tight, especially with the downturn of the economy and fewer of my pack members working south and bringing money back to the territories, but perhaps we could manage it by pinching pennies elsewhere.

Besides, such an investment in such technology might pay off in the long run. It would give weaker members of the pack a way to contribute without putting them in the direct line of danger. Patrols would still be necessary, but perhaps some of the weight could be shifted.

Maybe I could get Nicholas and Austin on board, although it seemed unlikely. Austin might be convinced, but Nicholas had only just upgraded to a satellite phone.

He was also understandably still silently infuriated when forced to deal with me.

That was a problem for another day. We were getting closer.

The crackling sounded in my ear again. "Austin's reinforcements are here, Dan's engaging," Sierra's voice came through steadily.

I grinned wolfishly. We would make it in time to engage the enemy before Austin's forces combined with mine to finish them off.

Though it was never far from my mind that the whole mess with Elise was unforgivably my fault, there was one other villain in the scenario and if I got there fast enough I could vent my frustrations on some of his forces.

* * * * * * * * *

We passed Sierra, crouching in her human form tucked under branches of an evergreen tree. Besides her headpiece, she was wearing only leggings, a t-shirt and sandals. She was peering through a pair of binoculars with one hand and hugging her midriff as if to retain what little heat she could with the other.

She was likely freezing. I appreciated her dedication and barked appreciatively as I rushed past.

"They're up ahead," she called. "Fighting's split into three groups."