One of Runts

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two: Always Watching (Do you get the reference?)

        Azreal...? I think to myself, not even able to finish the thought. It makes sense, though. Azrael's parents died when he was really young, so he wouldn't have known they were actually the queen and king.

        Azrael's uncle most likely got the throne because he was next in line and his grandparents allowed it. If they are alive, that is. But now... Azrael's actually emitting the power of a king.

        I can feel the shock running through the squadron at the growl, though they don't show it on the outside. Azrael bares his teeth at the wolves and by the fogging in their eyes, they're linking with wolf-bond.

        I keep an eye on them but mainly focus on the forest around the clearing. I squint towards the forest as I see some movement to my right. I cock my head to the side as I see a little more movement and close my eyes to listen more closely.

        The snarling from below and various birds chirping is the first thing that I hear. The rustling of the leaves is next, though I try to push my senses out more. My eyes snap open as I finally hear it. Wolves walking. And it's much more than one or two. I scan the forest from where I sit and I can see numerous other flashes of fur. Brown, gray, and red are the dominant colors.

        "Azrael..." I trail off. "We've got incoming." Azrael doesn't show that he heard me, though I know he did.

        "How many?" he asks me, his voice showing a little worry. I suspect that he doesn't think it' a lot of wolves.

        "More than twenty," I tell him, eyeing up the increasing flashes of fur. "He's got a large pack coming."

        "How close are they?" Azrael asks me as he walks closer to the two wolves in the center. The rest of the squadron circle around them.

        "Extremely close. If they were to start running, it'll take them about ten minutes to get here." I watch their movement and sense them coming from the front and sides of me. "You might want to wrap it up and take them as prisoners. Once they catch us, we're done for."

        I see Azrael nod very slightly before pouncing on the wolves. He grabs the larger one's throat and pins him to the ground. Surprisingly Conner doesn't attack and helps pin down the smaller wolf.

        My heartbeat spikes as I see the flashes of color more frequently. "Azrael, we need to leave. Now." My voice is extremely commanding as I speak, an odd power coming from me. And by the way the squadron glances towards me, though the rogues don't, I can tell they sense it.

        I ignore it for now and drop from the tree, putting my bow and quiver of arrows on the bag and grabbing my rope. I swiftly sprint towards the clearing, looping the ropes into nooses. I don't care to make sure they won't choke the wolves as we're on a very tight time crunch.

        Azrael shifts too and holds the wolf down while I slip it over his head easily, his struggles not affecting the ease of the motion. I slip the second noose on the other wolf before raising an eyebrow at Conner. He just pins his ears to his skull and allows me to put the third noose over his head.

        He doesn't struggle as I leave the rope on the ground and shift into my significantly smaller wolf, slipping on my bag, and grab the rope. I don't look at him as Azrael nods at me and we sprint off.

        My ears flick backward as we run as fast as we can, catching the no longer silent padding of the wolves. Everyone else senses it and we all speed up. The wolves held custody attempt to struggle against the ropes but immediately run as the nooses and the two wolves holding the rope tug on them.

        "Have you contacted the other squadrons?" I ask Azrael, speaking through our shared mind-link. I make sure to block Conner from it, though.

        Azrael doesn't bother to answer me as he tells me he did with his emotions. It's odd. We don't exactly have to say anything and our emotions can say what we want. Like the emotion implies what we're saying.

        Within an hour the two wolves in the center are panting and tugging on the ropes. Not more out of defiance, but out of exhaustion. We slow down our pace, though don't stop as some wolves are still running after us. By the sound of it, more than half of the pack running after us have stopped, though there are a select few still following after.

        Surprisingly, Conner's catching up fine, though I suspect that he's tiring. I've spent enough time with the gray wolf to know if he's becoming tired or not. And instead of running behind me, he's running beside me although I'm still in front of him.

        Out of the corner of my eye, I spot him sending a few glances towards Seth. I cock my head slightly, wondering why he's looking at him, though I keep running. I feel pressure on my walls and I know it's not Azrael as he would be using our mate bond.

        I lower them slightly and feel a consciousness slip into my mind. I surprised to learn that it's Conner. Before I can shove him out of my mind, though, he speaks to me. "Wait!" he shouts at me, knowing that I'll shut him out. "I have to tell you something!"

        I glare at him out of the corner of my eye. "We have nothing to speak about," I snarl slightly. "Who knows how long you've been working with the rogues."

        "Only for a year," he tells me, his voice quiet. "And I'm no longer working with them!" I snort at the statement but allow him to continue. "Honestly! The only reason I was working with them in the first place is due to the fact that they have my sister."

        I fall behind slightly, the statement catching me by surprise. "I thought that Erin's been in another pack with her mate for the past seven years..." I trail off, a frown pulling my brows down. "They aren't mated, are they?"

        "No, they're not," Conner snarls. "I didn't find out until after she moved to his 'pack' that he has been threatening her to give out information about our pack. Turns out that his pack knows that Alpha Quill is a Sentry."

        "Then how did you get caught up in this?" I ask him, still suspicious of his intentions. "Why were you working with the rogues?"

        Conner lets out a puff of air through his nose, mildly annoyed by my questions. I give him a stern look to which he looks away from me. "I found out when I went to give a surprise visit to Erin. One night I found out that the two of them were fighting about how Erin was to get information from the pack out of me. She said she didn't want me caught up in her mess."

        "But you did," I say softly, coming to terms with the fact that Conner didn't really want to work with the rogues. What he did is bad and he most likely will be punished for it, though there is a reason behind it.

        Conner nods his head at me. "Yes," he tells me. "I had actually been tasked into getting into your squadron since the rogue pack actually knows how close you are with the higher-ranking members of the pack. They wanted me to get close to you and get information that your father or Alpha Quill may have told you."

        My ears pop up in shock and I have to stop myself from growling again. They've been watching me, I hiss into my mind. Who knows how long they've watched me.