Raised Among Alphas

61 - Tunnels

Ithax POV

I ordered my warriors to stay put as I dragged Jathred by the neck to the edge of the hill. I didn't even need to pretend that I wanted to kill him, I truly did. I'll never forget he was the one who dragged Alora out there with him.

Jathred didn't take my kindness too well and he pushed me off the edge and shifted to his wolf. Finally, a face-to-face with the Mighty Wolf.

I released my wolf too and allowed the ferocious beast to take over. Now more than ever Dolus needed this. An outlet to release some of the pent-up fury that was eating us alive.

Regardless of the fact that this fight was a ruse, neither Jathred nor I held back. I'm sure he had more than enough motives to hate me as well. After all, I had not only lied to him by pretending to be Becker, but I also disrespected my mate's bond with the girl he sees as his sister.

We went at each other's throats ready to inflict pain. Drawing blood and leaving bruises and scratches on each other.

It must have been a hell of a spectacle because eventually Thierot and Mathias stepped in to break us apart. And it was indeed perfect timing. I could feel my energy fading away again. A fact that gave my wolf a sense of pride since in a way he knows he's feeding Thana, he is providing for her in a way. For wolves it works as a power dynamic, our mate can find security in us and we feel happy to provide it.

I stumbled on my way up the hill going straight for the Doctor to get another shot and ask him for extras for the mission. I am sure I'll need them.

Jathred had an elaborate plan. After our fight, he was taken away by several of his warriors for 'protection'. They were going to give him cover to reach the entrance of the tunnel we would be taking. Beta Mathias, Kasthor, and the vampires went with him. I stayed here with Beta Thierot keeping an eye on the border and going over war strategies with Mikah the commander of the Shrubland pack, since he was going to be left in charge of the border while we were gone.

Hopefully, he won't need to engage in battle. If everything goes according to our plan, we will be back here with Alora before sunrise tomorrow.

It's been six hours since my mate was taken. Six excruciating hours that felt like days. Funny thing about how time works, right?

She still felt far away from me. Somewhere my mind couldn't reach. Her wolf remained dormant, the only thing I could feel was her gathering energy from me. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me to know she was still out there, fighting in her own way.

I stayed put for another hour, almost tempted to fall asleep. Not because I wanted, but because I was drained. I've had three adrenaline shots already, and I could tell I'll be needing another one soon.

"Just hang in there baby. I'm coming." I reached for my mate again, hoping she could hear me even if I couldn't hear her back.

As we reached the eight-hour mark since the moment of the abduction, I was enjoying the effects of the latest shot. Beta Thierot was with me in the guard post getting ready to take our leave to meet the others at the tunnel. The moment I walked out of the wooden room I felt a new wave of pain.

It was cramping around my legs. It started on my right and slowly made its way to my left. It felt as if I had two snakes wrapped around each of my legs suffocating my blood flow. Burning, silver snakes... Alora.

They are torturing her.

"What's happening?," Thierot called for my attention inching closer to me as I rested my knee on the floor taking a moment to adapt to the new feeling.

"Her legs. They chained her legs." I coughed out as I recovered my posture.

A new rage forced my steps. I need to save her. I am going to save her. With every passing minute, I make up a new fantasy in my head of different ways in which I'll make every single rogue pay with their blood for her pain.

"We'll get her back." Thierot tried out his encouraging tone on me.

"I know," I growled out as we made our way through the vast Desert.

"We are all here now," Jathred said as he saw us reaching the entrance of the tunnel.

"We'll be teaming up as soon as we leave the tunnels and stick by our partners throughout the mission. Alpha Ithax and I will lead the squad, behind us Roger and Beta Mathias you'll be our center. Kasthor and Beta Thierot will guard our back. Do not engage in a fight unless it is absolutely necessary. Might I remind you this is a rescue mission, we go in and out. We'll have our chance to kill them all once we can regroup with our army. All of us in here have more than enough reasons to kill them all, but I am not putting my sister's rescue in jeopardy to satisfy any blood claims you feel." Once again big bad Alpha Jathred claimed the lead of the group.

While I am not fond of giving up control to others, these are his lands and he knows them better than me. As long as his plan goes well I won't step in. But if things go sour, I'll be making my own decisions to get my mate back.

"Let's go then," I said walking up to Jathred and taking the lead of the march in the tunnel with him.

It was a quiet jog, not much was said, but there was no need for words to tell the tension in those tunnels. Rage and vengeance clung to us. 

By the time we reached the end of the tunnel, the sunlight was slowly starting to fade. According to Jathred, we were still about half an hour away from the caves since we were taking the long way to avoid being seen.

There's no denying we were on the right track. With every step, I could feel Alora closer and closer. Maybe it was the reduced distance or the fact that Thana had gathered enough energy, but now I could feel her better than before. 

Thana was staying hidden from Alora, resting, but she was full of courage. She was ready to put up a fight. 

We decided to stay inside the tunnels until darkness fully governed the sky. In the meantime, I took another shot of adrenaline since the last one had already started to wear off. 

Now, we just had to wait. 

Wait for the night.