Ghost of the Alpha

Chapter 23-Poppy

The drive to the Blue Ridge Mointains was the longest of my life. It would have been quicker if my forces and I had been allowed to take a squadron of helicopters, but my fellow Alphas need them more. Another bout of rebellion has sprung up on our southern border. The second time in the last month, and the wolfen body count is soaring higher than should be possible.

Throughout the eight and half long hours it took us to get to the outskirts of the mountains, I could neither sleep nor relax. All my attention was on the laptop Charles's gave me, the precious device held between my hands, the screen showing our location and the blinking red dot of my troop's final destination. I was only able to gather five soldiers from each division and one highly esteemed Tracker. But it will be enough for us to find one little satellite server and perhaps even its diabolical owner.

Soon, the main highway changed to a side road, and then became so impassable by car, my soldiers and I took the rest of our journey on foot. As we set off into the forest, an assigned tech worker courtesy of Charles tracking the faintly pinging server signal, I slowly began to feel that there was something off about the trees, the brush, and the other natural parts of this wooded landscape as we treaded on further.

Sure, there was the usual silence of animals scurrying away from our presence. Even in human form they recognize us as predators. They know best to flee and hide, lest they meet the unwelcome sight of our claws and fangs. However, even with the calm late summer wind whipping through the tree limbs, wrustling the grass as we treaded through river banks, over logs, across unsteady terrain, and along the narrow edge of a ravine choked with fast running river currents. There was a sense of being watched.

It did not feel comforting in the slightest, it made the hair on my neck stand on end. Made me stay on high alert, all of those in the thrown together unit uneasy. Made all of us suspicious of every shadow, snapping branch, and falling rock. Once or twice, from the corner of my eye, I thought I caught the silhouette of something humanoid, but not. It appeared to have limbs of wood, with willow branches sprouting from its arms and legs. And then, there were its eyes, deep orbs of oil black ringed with moss, red as blood.

But such thoughts as that are ridiculous. My soldiers would think me mad to even think of having seen something so unimaginable. So unnerving that it could only be the maddening thoughts of my mate being stolen that could have conjured up such a sight. For how could a being told only around campfire tales on the darkest of nights, really exist? Has my mind truly been so altered by her absence, that I have started to see Dryads in their true horrifying forms?

I shook such foolish ideals away, focusing on the task at hand. I had my men fan out in a v-shaped pattern once we got to far more manageable terrain. Our tech man out in front where I could keep an eye on him. The Tracker was out in front as well, in wolf form sniffing the air, an old blanket used by my mate tied around his throat.

The five Hunters walked beside him, guns at the ready, eyes and ears pricked for the sight and sound of trouble. The Elite soldiers, my personal unit, the Silver Squad, trudged on behind, with me centered in the middle. Our trek waned long into the afternoon, the hot sun beating down on our backs through the tree branches, the humid breeze doing nothing to stop the sweat dripping down everyone's brow.

But, the slight inconvenience is well worth it. At last, the Tracker catches something just as the tech's server transmitter starts to go haywire, beeping with impudence towards an abandoned cabin that has seen better days. I head to the front, signaling everyone to stop, and then proceed towards the building with caution. I head into the cabin first, the Tracker right behind me. The soilder sets to sniffing, looking for the trace scent of my mate he picked up. I asses the single room, only big enough for a couple of wood rot bookshelves, a table, chair, computer server box, modem, monitor, and a timer ticking down with thirteen hours and twelve minutes left. Curiously, there are no evident wires or packets on the tiny box. Interesting.

The rest of my perusal is nothing but the broken window and trash. I have the tech get started on hacking the computer, and perhaps to ascertain if this is Keres' personal hideout, or if he might have another location all together. My attention turns from the tech to our Tracker, his nose leading him to a small pile of dirty, blood specked clothes. The very same dress and dainty shoes my mate wore the day she was stolen from me. I fight the urge to touch them, swiftly allowing one of the Hunters to open a hazard waste bag and tossing the contents inside. Perhaps there will be something to identify the lying son of a bitch that has led me to believe that he in fact did not take my mate. Well, he won't fool me again so easily.

"Alpha Sir," the tech utters, drawing my attention over to the monitor, flash drive already downloading everything off the computer, scrubbing away any trace of potential viruses. "I got a bit of a nearby server location not far from us, it has the same signature as the server here, but is also much harder to break in, but still able to be tracked. It's located three miles from here, possibly underground."

"Good work solider," I mutter, patting his shoulder firmly as the last bit of data is transferred to the flash drive. He pulls it out, stuffing it away before standing up. At that precise moment, the timer begins flash, the countdown changing immediately to ten seconds. I don't have time to holler, I yank the tech by the back of his shirt, grab the Tracker and barrel out just as the Hunter with the evidence bag clears the doorway.

"Everyone get clear!" I roar, throwing my burdens far from me as the little black box hits zero, and the entire floor of the small cabin explodes.
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🌼I'll have another part uploaded sometime this week, I got really busy this weekend, celebrated my birthday, yippee!! So stay tuned y'all, and I should get most of my home work done mostly this week, so I should be able to get back to the usual weekly update. Enjoy loves!!!♥️🖤