Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 50

I rounded the corner to see a couple of men from the rescuing group trying various tools on the heavy chains while all three Enforcers were forced to wait impatiently to be freed. Will was close to losing it.

I dropped my mind shield and mindlinked him with humor in my voice, "Relax Will, they will have you free shortly. They are trying to help you, don't be so ungrateful."

His panicked and worried voice immediately responded, "Jade! Where are you? Are you alright?!"

I had been walking up silently behind him and put my hand on his shoulder as I spoke aloud, "I am right here."

He jumped with the contact and my voice. The sparks let him immediately know who it was, and he let out a huge sigh of relief. "Don't startle me like that. I was so worried about you. Are you all right?"

He craned his head around to try and see me. I walked to the side and sat on the ground beside him.

"I'm fine. I just shot two arrows and ran. Jisk was the only one to get close to anyone."

That got Will going again, "Why on Earth didn't you run away before then? You didn't stand a chance against any of them! What would you have done if they caught you?!"

I rubbed my hand on an unchained section of his arms to try and calm him.

"I know," I said. "That is why I only shot two arrows that were loaded with poison. Other than that, I ran and hid. You know how hard I am to catch and track if I put my mind to it. I pulled every trick out of the book, and I lost them within seconds."

It was probably best to let him assume that I was nearly impossible to catch. I was not about to mention the time that Phil had caught me; he still didn't know about that. For the safety of the four pack members who had originally chased me in no man's land, it was better if Will never found out.

Will took a deep breath, and I felt him trying to calm himself before exhaling gustily.

He grumbled, "I can't wait until these chains are off..."

The two men testing out various hacksaws and cutters glanced up. The one commented, "Honest, we are trying. You ought to be flattered that they used such heavy duty and expensive chains to bind you."

Will narrowed his eyes and growled faintly. I rolled my eyes and poked him in the ribs as I said, "Be nice, they are trying to free you. If they leave, I wouldn't even have a clue where to start."

Will pressed his lips together and refrained from commenting. I glanced up as Alpha Roland approached, along with Trevor and Mike.

I nodded a greeting at them. "Alphas, Beta, thank you for coming to the rescue."

Alpha Trevor nodded, dropping his disguise of Beta. He said, "I am glad we made it in time. Luckily, we didn't lose any men in the attack either."

"I am happy to hear that."

Roland bent down to touch and examine the chains binding Will. He glanced at the men trying to damage the chains and inquired, "Why are these chains so much more difficult to cut than the other ones?" He was truly curious and was not belittling their progress.

One of them responded, "Alpha, they are a specialty chain designed to hold Enforcers if they show signs of going feral."

Roland narrowed his eyes. "Someone obviously came prepared."

Tony was still tied up, and he watched us as another three men worked on his chains. He asked the Alpha, "Any idea what they were after? I have never heard of an attacking group simply chaining up Enforcers; they usually try to kill them outright. I am glad that I am alive, but it just doesn't make any sense to me."

Roland and Trevor exchanged a glance before Roland spoke, "This was actually a pack from the south; part of their plan was to come here to wipe out our pack and kidnap the women and children to boost their own numbers. The main reason that they simply tranquilized everyone was because they knew that there was one person in particular that they were after, but they weren't sure exactly who it was yet. They didn't want to risk killing the person they came for."

Tony looked confused as he asked, "Who were they after?" He sounded just as confused as I felt. Why would a pack attack another pack just to kidnap one member? Confusion was present in the minds of everyone else who was listening, except for the two Alphas and Beta.

Roland glanced at me. "They were after Jade, although none of them realized it."

I was stunned, and in surprise, blurted out, "Me? Why?"

Will gave a growl and shook as he battled for control. The fact that the chains prevented him from shifting into his larger wolf shape was probably the only reason he was still human.

Roland sighed before responding, "Greed. Somehow, they figured out that someone in our pack was able to scent truffles. Our pack has made nearly a million dollars with those truffles at various auctions since you came. We took care that no outsider would be able to figure out who found them, but apparently, it wasn't enough."

Trevor spoke up, "We interrogated a couple of the attackers, although it wasn't much of an interrogation since they freely spoke to us, and their stories all line up. The Alpha wanted the money. He planned on questioning people until he found someone who would tell him who was locating the truffles, even if he had to torture someone to get their mate to spill the secret. He planned on destroying this pack to hide his actions, but was going to take the unmated women and children with him. Many were only here because he threatened their mates. I sent my second son down there to take control until we figure things out. From what I hear, they will happily accept him since he would never threaten mates."

One guy came running up with a cutting torch and a shield to slip under the chains to protect Will from the torch.

Will eyes lit up. "About time. Get these things off of me."

I chuckled, and Will mock-glared at me for having the audacity to make fun of him in this situation.

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I hope you're enjoying the story so far! If you think others might want to read it, could you please add it to one of your public reading lists? I've found a lot of good books over the years by looking at the reading lists on other people's profiles. Thanks so much! 💖