Chapter 83: The Standoff
By now, the sun had completely set beyond the west rim, but Reika and Ileus pressed on with their men. The cold gleam it cast upon them now turned into dewy morning air, carrying in its wake little undercurrents of foreboding. With every step deeper into chaos, this growling in her stomach became one she hadn't gotten rid of all this while-partly afraid, most instinctive.
Kael, ever the strategist, rode up beside her. "The scouts report there are about fifty of the warriors of the Dawn family. Armed to the teeth but holding position for our move."
Reika narrowed her eyes. "Test us, see we cower and retaliate. A diversion."
Kael nodded. "Agreed. But we cannot abandon hostages to them.
Her jaw flexed. "Then we won't. We'll save them and send a message while we're at it."
Daisy skipped along beside them; the bounce of her walk belied the tension which had thickened the air between them. "I don't get it," she chipped in. "The family of the Dawn says it wants to take control-so why don't they just attack us directly instead of playing these games?
'They're not games," Kael replied grimly. 'It's strategy. They're wearing us down, making us question our strengths, spreading our forces thin. They want to divide us before delivering the final blow."
'Then we'll show them we're not so easily broken," Ileus said, his voice firm and unyielding.
As they gained the top of the rise, hostile camp came into view: a line of warriors just the other side of the treeline; their weapons glinting in the morning sun. A half-dozen figures lay bound and on their knees behind these, their heads lowered to the earth.
Reika stepped forward, and her wolf surged to the fore-razor-sharp eyes scanning the scene for faces of hostages that were rather well-known inside her pack.
Out came, from the ranks of House Dawn, a man who almost stood confidently, his lips pursed in an irritating smile. "Ah, the famous Reika," he called as he bowed low over-formal. "I hear so much about you-in truth, an honor to finally meet the queen of wolves.
She snarled then, her lips curling back to show her teeth. "You will find I am far less accommodating than the stories suggest. Release my people, and I may consider letting you live."
A deep cold laughter brayed out. All the sound did for her was get right under her skin. "So, bold words for someone to be as outnumbered as you do not frighten me, queen-your reign will soon end like the others before it."
"Then come and end it," she spat, words cut as fine as any lash.
No sooner were the words off her mouth than Ileus charged ahead, his face dark as a tempest. "Enough talk. You can either fight us or stand down. The choice is yours."
It had seemed cut and dried until his smirk faltered in tension-filled air, the man raising a hand to back down his warriors. "We shall see each other again, Queen. This is only just the start.
With that, the forces of House Dawn retreated deep into the forest, abandoning the hostages to whatever awaited them.
Reika knelt beside the hostages, working at their bonds with swift, sure strokes. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice softening.
One of them-girl, Lila-nodded, her lower lip quivering. "Y-yes, my queen. They didn't hurt us, but they said… they said this was only a warning."
Reika's eyes hardened. "A warning they'll regret.
The hostages were escorted back toward their territory as Ileus turned to Reika, "This was too easy. They wanted us to take the bait.
She nodded, and behind her eyes, wheels cranked with what this actually might mean. "We prepare for next: double patrols of the border and call in the council. The Dawn family is far from done with us."
Tonight, having packed back into something bordering on normal, the pack sat while Reika was outside her rooms, head wracked over today's occurrences, weighing the decisions thereof within.
Instinctively, her hand fell upon her stomach, reminding her of a secret life within. Indeed, she had kept this news unto herself; this secret in her like hot coals glowing silently on, doggedly determined to consume her whole.
A knock came through on her door.
"Come in," she replied.
Kael came into the room; unreadable emotions masked his face. "Reika, we need to talk."
She waved him onto the couch. "What is it?"
Nervous, though much less confident than he appeared, he tried, "I've gone over the reports from the scouts. Something doesn't add up."
"What's wrong?"
Kael leaned in closer, his voice barely above a whisper. "The movements of the Dawn family are too coordinated. They've got someone feeding them information-somebody close to us."
Reika's heart sank. "A spy? In our pack?
Kael nodded grimly. "It is the only explanation. They have just known exactly where to strike, and they are behind this all of the time, one step ahead."
A seething pot, she bubbled over in anger but willed the coolness in. "Find them for me, Kael. That mole, whoever, would not live past dawn."
The night was well utilized, but here Reika was pacing to and fro within her room, her head churning like a maelstrom as one of those many acts of betrayal found a home in the four walls of her pack-right to the beat of her heart-and now a fully aware person at that. Fully knowing she could not let that hurt overpower her.
The wolf stirred inside her, its comforting presence within the tempest of rioting emotion.
She squared her shoulders, her mind made up as stone would set. "Whatever it takes, I'll do to protect this pack."
A dark form flashed outside her window, and she turned to it melting into the woods.
A hard light cut into her eyes. "Kael was right. The traitor is closer than we think."
In one swift second, she turned into a wolf and leaped from her window, launching her great strong legs into the night.
The hunt was on.