Red {Wolf Rebellion I}

Chapter 9~A Danger Unforeseen~

A danger foreseen is half avoided.

-Proverb

Chapter 9~A Danger Unforeseen~

I don't know how long I stood there, my body frozen in horrified realization. We hadn't see the extra wolves with our messed-up contacts, and they hadn't been there when we were upstairs. They had to have appeared while we were in the stairwell, but from where?

Our intel had been wrong. There were at least a dozen wolves in that room. It would be impossible to take on that many wolves, we'd need a massive team.

Our intel was wrong.

I looked at Carmine with wide eyes, silently telling him we needed to get the hell out of there before they figured out we were there.

Carmine nodded his agreement and I slowly turned around. I had no idea how we'd get back to the stairwell without them hearing us, but the further we were from them, the happier I'd be. If we could make it upstairs, we had a better chance.

Adrenaline made my heart pound and I had to focus on each step I took. I forced away the sudden instinct to run. That would only make things much worse.

Carmine's sudden grip on my arm stopped me in my tracks a few feet from the door. When I glanced back at him, his expression was enough to scare the hell out of me. I strained my ears, desperately trying to hear what had spooked him so bad.

An older voice broke through the chatter after a few moments. "Remember the plan, and don't deviate from it." The words were extremely muffled, and I could barely decipher them in my head. I continued to listen, but nothing more was said of their plan.

Until one of them said something that made my blood chill, and had me cursing myself out incessantly.

"Do any of you boys smell that?" A younger voice questioned, and I could almost hear their collective inhale, nostrils flaring like a predator who'd caught scent of a hunt. There was only one reason-

The pheromones.

Stupid! I silently cursed, realizing my mistake. I must have gotten enough of the mist on me before Carmine had stopped me in the bathroom. I'd never given a second thought to it. I'd made a novice mistake in my haste, one that was going to cost us dearly.

Carmine's breathing increased rapidly as the unmistakable sound of chairs scraping back and feet began to grow louder.
I looked at him, too startled to immediately act. He reached around me, nearly shoving me over as he yanked on the door.

It didn't budge.

In the back of my head, I vaguely realized that something was terribly wrong here, but I didn't have time to dwell on it. The fear was overwhelming and I had to fight not to freeze in my panic. My palms turned slick as I gripped my dagger tightly.

I glanced down the dim hallways leading away from us. It would be stupid to try, we'd be almost blind, but faced with the alternative...

Two wolves would've been a death wish for us, but twelve. We were already in hell.

We should've run for it, but there was no immediate way off this floor other than the elevator or other stairwell. On the other end of the floor. Never mind the fact that the elevator wouldn't stop here tonight.

"It smells close, Jared." The voice paused, "I think it's a female, boys. On our floor." Overly loud groans and guttural growls sent a shudder through my body that I couldn't control.

Carmine suddenly pushed me, drawing my attention back to him. "Take your shoes off," he urged me, "quickly!" He grabbed the dagger from my hands, and as I ripped my shoes off, he drew a line down my side.