Chapter 467
Cameron POV
We fought hard into the morning. I’m not sure what the purpose was or what the body count on either side is. All I can think about is getting back to the packhouse to make sure everyone I care about is alright. My wolf is agitated. We all are. We have all gotten close and not knowing where they all are and not being able to mindlink is nerve wracking.
We haven’t heard from Sky or her team since we all split up. Nathaniel said she was close, but by the time we got to where we could smell she was fighting, she was gone and there had been too much going on to look for her. Mateo was going on about Jena being knocked out, but she was nowhere to be found. I hope it was minor and she was able to just get up and keep fighting or get to safety.
We are cleaning up the dead bodies now. Laying all of the rogues along our borders and setting a controlled fire. With magic involved we don’t know how dark the rogue king has gone, but I don’t want any of these guys coming back to fight again.
“Dad, has everyone checked in?”
“Yeah son. A few of Alpha Reggie’s warriors did not survive,
but so far we haven’t found any casualties from our pack yet.”
“DAD!”
“Skylar is with your mother at the packhouse.” He laughs, he knew what I was asking for. “There was an injury..”
“WHAT?! Is she okay?”
“Son, you have to cool it. You are not the only one worked up here. Her friend Jena took a hit to the head, I think, just before the second breach. Your girl is smart. She caught it before they crossed all the way into the peninsula. She went to help protect your mother and the pups. I haven’t had a check in from them in a while, but they had everyone accounted for.”
That both answers and doesn’t answer my question. I was able to track down Oliver, Mateo, and Dakota while we were cleaning up. We took the long way back towards the packhouse and caught up with Lil and Wyatt.
When we finally walk in the door I see Sam, Sierra and Nathaniel sitting at the coffee table pouring over computers. “What’s all this?” Kota asks.
“Midge had us put eyes in the sky last night and I have been following a couple of rogues who managed to get away, or they turned chicken and ran. We are trying to follow them, but they aren’t completely stupid and are running in different directions.” Nathaniel says without looking up.
“Is that the rest of my boys?” My mom walks in looking
tired, followed by Delta Gwen. She hugs us all, then steps
back. “Go shower and let us know if you need anything for your injuries.”
“Mom! Where’s Sky and Jena?” I ask, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice.
“They’re down with the pups, still sleeping. The poor things were so scared they couldn’t sleep. The girls took turns caring for them and telling stories. Come see”
She leads us down the stairs to the cells and dad’s gym. But, instead of heading right to the cells or left to the gym, she walks around the metal stairs to just behind them and pulls open a trapdoor.
It’s small, just big enough for my dad’s shoulder to get through. She continues down another set of steps.
“Mom, how long have these been here? Where do they go?” Kota asks the question floating in my head.
“Long enough. They go from here to the school for a quick evacuation in either direction. Thank the Goddess for Skylar’s plans or we might have been in trouble last night. Delta Gwen, Ramsey and I had to handle three rogues who did get through your lines. I forgot how much I love a good fight.”
“Mom, you are crazy. Just show us the girls please.” Kota practically whines.
She gets to another door that has a keypad, like the one to our third floor living area. She punches in a code and opens the door slowly. The dimly lit hallway, or tunnel had just enough light from strips along the ceiling for us to make out shapes from this distance.
We head down five steps to the metal ground and walk over to the mass of blankets and what I see smack in the center completely crushes me, I will never recover from this sight and I know my brother feels the same based on the force of his grip on my shoulder.
Sky and Jena are side by side, but it is our little blonde that has my attention. She is propped against the far wall with a blanket tucked behind her head for a makeshift pillow. Her beautiful blue gray eyes are closed but I would know the color anywhere and her full lips are in a small pleasant smile. There is a pup wrapped up next to her using her arm as a pillow. On the other side another pup is using her thigh as a pillow. But it’s the tiny, burrito wrapped pup in her arms, tucked under her chin with a chubby little hand holding the end of her ponytail that has my heart beating a hundred miles an hour. Why is that the source of my undoing? I just stare, burning the image into my core memories.
“I thought that might be the case.” My mom rips me from my thoughts with her mumbling. “We should get these pups upstairs, they are all going to be with us for a few days. I don’t want them seeing anything they shouldn’t. So until everything is cleared out, they are with us. We gave them all a quick check last night, but I have a healer coming over after all the warriors have been looked at. And Skylar and Jena, both need to be gone over with a fine toothed comb. Neither would let us actually treat them last night.”
I love that my mom is irritated by the fact that someone wouldn’t let her ‘mother’ them.
“Do you want us to wake them up or just carry them? I don’t want to scare anyone.”
“Use your aura to keep them asleep. Lenny, Gwen and some of the other girls have helped me set up the guest bedrooms for them. We’ll keep the siblings together as best we can. The teens with no siblings can move to the farthest guest room. Sky and Jena’s kids are littles with no siblings, they can go together. That should leave enough room for three sets of siblings to be placed in each of the last rooms.”
“Did you have to phrase it like that?” I ask.
“Just making sure you’re paying attention.” She pats my chest and moves forward.
We spent the next hour slowly carrying kids from the tunnels up to the second floor and organizing them to my mother’s specifications. We grabbed the kids on Jena and Sky last and they both jolted awake, tightening their grips like the protective wolves that they are.
“It’s okay, it’s over for now. Let us take you upstairs.” I brush a few hairs out of Sky’s face and wait for her to focus on me. Mateo is less gentle with Jena, picking her and her pup up, carrying them together up the steps. He’s never going to make it through the trap door, but that’s his fight.