Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 46

I silently dropped onto the branch beside Jisk as we both watched the invading group hauling unconscious people to various locations along the town's main street.

"I have never seen anything like this before." Jisk's murmur was barely audible.

I replied equally as quietly, "I couldn't remember anything like this in any of the stories anyone ever told me. Do you see how they are splitting up the groups by gender, age, and fighting ability?"

He hummed lightly. "Yes, those three Enforcers are very heavily bound and being kept separate too."

"Yeah, don't remind me," I growled faintly. "If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't even lift those chains in either form, I probably would have attempted to free them. The mate bond is giving me more than a bit of grief at this point in time."

He also gave a faint growl at the situation and his frustration with it. "I am somewhat handicapped in this situation as well."

My eyes moved to the one group of tied up people who still hadn't woken up. "That group is well to the side, and I can always untie them later so you don't have to go near her."

With a grunt, he replied, "Doesn't surprise me that you noticed. How long have you known?"

I rummaged around in my backpack and passed him a small sealed ziplock baggie with a small handful of leaves in it. "About two weeks after arriving, I finally connected the dots."

He examined the leaves. "Thanks. I might need them."

I nodded without comment; those leaves had a potent scent. If rubbed beneath the nose, they were actually powerful enough to prevent one from even detecting the scent of their mate. If he used them, this also meant that he wouldn't be able to smell anything else either. It was more of a last resort thing if he had to go near her.

Second chance mate bonds relied more on looking into each other's eyes, and they didn't always pick up one another's scent until after eye contact. Although how she had missed his scent as it crisscrossed the land was beyond me.

Jisk was watching the massive scar-covered man in the middle of the town who was barking orders at everyone. He said, "I think if we can remove the guy in charge, this group might just fall into anarchy. Most do not seem to be here willingly. He may be holding their mates hostage."

I said, "I was thinking that as well, but first, we need to find the guy in charge."

Jisk gave me an odd look. "You are thinking the demanding loudmouth down there isn't the one in charge? No one else has dared contradict him."

"I know that he is not the one in charge," I said, once more looking at the town. "He is a second in command - look at how he pauses occasionally when a decision needs to be made. He isn't just thinking; he is mindlinking."

Jisk growled lowly as he quickly came to the same conclusion I had. He said, "He's a decoy in case someone wants to take out the leader..."

"Exactly. Now we just need to find where he is, and he can't be far since there doesn't seem to be any strain when those two are mindlinking. I explored this half of the forest already, but my senses can't reach the other side from here."

Jisk smoothly rose into a crouch. "Let's go."

I rose and followed him as we traversed the forest highway without a sound.

~

       Jisk glowered at the stand of trees in the middle of the large meadow as he told me, "I do not like this plan."

With a shrug, I said, "There isn't any way for you to get across the grass unnoticed. You have your own part as well, and it is riskier than mine."

He snorted. "If I thought that you actually believed that last sentence, I would tie you up and take both of them out myself."

"Unless you have an alternative plan?"

He sighed and shook his head in frustration. "No, this is the best we have been able to come up with. I just don't like the thought of sending you off alone." He turned to face me, and his dark eyes stared into mine. "Do not take any risks. You aren't a match for any of them. Do what you have to do and run. Whatever you do, don't get caught."

I nodded before shifting and scampering out of sight in the sprawling thorny bushes. How lucky for me that the Alpha had chosen to camp in a small stand of trees that stood in the middle of a big meadow just east of town. There were lots of sprawling thorn bushes in this area and numerous large trees as well.

I eyed up the tall grass before leaving the shelter of the thorns to crawl through it towards the stand of the trees in the middle. I had previously cloaked my scent to match this clearing perfectly. Even Jisk couldn't pick up my scent. I crawled through the grass that was barely tall enough to hide me. I hoped that no one would detect me.