Ch 11 River Search

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:::content warning – Violence, death:::

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In less than five minutes, they stood in four teams. One would keep the camp looking busy, one would search the forest for Polly and Lindie, two would search along the Iron River for Camillia and Gabe's sanctuary. They camped by the river as close as they could to the coordinates, but they didn't know which way Camillia headed, upriver or downriver, and they couldn't reach her to ask her because neither she nor Gabe were responding to their siblings.

Trin, Beta Paul, and Jay, the delta from Silver River, in their wolves, stood still while Cassie adjusted their wolf packs. Trinity's silver swords were hidden in a waterproof tent pole bag. If they needed to fight, she was stronger with her swords than her claws. Each pack held clothes, a first aid kit, and a large foil survival blanket to keep the sun off Gabe. The three other teams left to search the riverbanks and cross country. Callen and Coen would go upriver with Trin while Benji and his cousin Rance from Iron Forks would go south with Jay while Paul and Bradley went cross country. Trin and Benji led them to the place the rogue wolf watched them from. The wolves sniffed the ground where the rogue laid so they too could detect the scent of the rogue pack. Coen barked once and they split up.

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'We've got the girls,' came Paul's angry voice through the pack link. 'We're getting Lindie and Polly back to camp and driving them out. They said the renegades sold everyone else a few days ago.'

Coen growled and they scrambled over the rocks, he looked across the river at Callen who had a scowling expression. 'What else, Paul?'

Bradley answered stiffly, 'Marion is dead, and the rogue leader killed our sister.'

'Not Sharon!' Trin grieved as she leaned against Coen's side.

He nuzzled her neck, 'As soon as we get Cami and Gabe, I am going rogue hunting.'

'You can't, we're off pack lands,' she whimpered, 'They'll accuse you of murder.'

'Trin, they took what belongs to the Darkwood, and killed our pack-mates. If the Guardians want to accuse me let them, they are as responsible as the rogues for those who have died.' he huffed and scrambled ahead of her.

She was shocked by his vehemence and glanced across the river at Callen. They stared at each other for a moment, Sharon was their friend but they shared their worry and fear over Coen's reaction before they began searching again. Sunset was still an hour away but the lay of the river canyon was starting to shadow the southern side.

Coen yipped and Callen jumped into the river, swimming rapidly across and Trin scramble over the rocks. Callen nipped at her tail, trying to pull her into the frigid water, she growled. There was a tiny opening in the cliff face only a few feet from the water's edge. Trin wriggled and Callen helped her pull off the backpack. She shifted into her mortal and crawled into the hole. The smell of bat guano was overwhelming, it made her feel lightheaded. Her vampire eyes peered through the darkness.

"They're here," she ducked and muttered to him when she saw them huddled to one side. She whispered their names but neither moved. Carefully, she made her way to them. Both were unconscious but breathing.

"Sissy, wake up. Camillia, come on." Trin shook Camillia, then linked, 'Coen, Callen, they aren't waking up, I think the air in here is bad. How much time?'

'Ten or fifteen minutes before we're in the shade, thirty till sunset. Trin. Can you get Cami to us?' Callen answered.

Ten minutes later, Benji's voice came to them, 'Coen, we're heading your way, but there are rogues everywhere. We're going to try to draw them away from the camp. Brad, Paul, take all the girls and get outta here, now.' They could tell he was fighting while linking.

Trinity dragged Cami to her feet; she was groggy and staggered. They almost fell, but Trinity got her to the opening and lowered her out to Callen. He cradled his sister and carried her toward a wider area of the bank. Coen's giant brown wolf paced protectively on the cliff above the cave.

'Cami is awake,' Callen announced, but his voice sounded strained in the mind-link and Trinity wondered what was wrong. She could see Cami's bruises, even in the darkness, and worries about how badly injured she was.

'Take her and go,' Coen ordered.

'No!' Camillia snapped, 'I'm not leaving Gabe. We go together.'

'Cami, please,' Coen begged, 'Obey me just this once.'

Cami growled instead of answering, refusing. 'I am not leaving Gabe.'

Coen patrolled around them in a wide half-circle above them all while they waited for the sun to set. The next twenty minutes passed agonizingly slow. Trinity was starting to feel like she would pass out from being in the bad air in the bat cave.

Callen popped his head in the hole, "It's time, Trinity. Ugh. What a smell."

She carefully lifted her little brother's thin body, trying not to think about what tomorrow would bring. She lowered him out to Callen then scrambled down through the hole. The bats were stirring and starting to leave the cave. They carried the sleeping boy over to where Camillia sat by the river, washing her arms and legs. Trinity jumped in the freezing water and rinsed, quickly she pulled on leggings and loose tank top. She gulped the fresh air, and she rubbed Gabe's chest trying to help clear his lungs, by forcing him to breathe deeply. Callen wiped his face with a wet cloth.

"Come on, little brother, deep breaths, wake up," Trinity begged as quietly as she could over the sound of the river. Gabe groaned but doesn't wake.

Coen rushed down the ridge, he shifted and hugged Camillia, then a look of horror crossed his face and quickly it shifted to rage. "Who hurt you?" his words were an almost unintelligible growl. Camillia tried to pull away from her eldest brother but her held her firmly. "Cami!"

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to go home, bleach my body, and forget about it all," she whimpered. Gabe stirred slightly at the sound but didn't wake.

"Cami, please tell me," Coen begged in a softer but still insistent tone, the alpha tone resonates in his chest.

"Stop it, Coen! It happened, I don't want to t-talk about... about it. Polly and Lindie had it worse."

The other three gasped then Camillia started to sob, blurting out, "They took the children to sell them as feeders and pets because I couldn't protect them."

"We know." Coen' expression shifted to one of sorrow and grief, as he hugged his little sister tightly, shushing her. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

Trinity looked at Callen, who shared his brother's expression, 'What happened to Cami?' she mind-whispered to only him.

A tear leaked from the corner of one eye as Callen responded, 'The rogue alpha tried to force a mate bond on Cami.'

Trin's eyes widen in horrified shock. Forcing a mate bond had been illegal since before the Second Great War. She ducked her head to hide her tears. Callen squeezed her hand, 'There's more... Cami said he tried the same thing with Hana Thorne a while back, and she killed herself.' Before Trin could respond a wolf howled.

Coen growled, "They're coming. Let's move."

Callen and Camillia shifted into their wolves; they scrambled up the rocks. Trin slung the pack with her swords on while Coen picked up Gabe. They climbed to the top of the river ravine. She stopped as Coen draped Gabe over her shoulders and clutched Gabe's hands and they started toward the camp as fast as they could.

Trin held herself back from going as fast as she could, but Camillia, Coen, and Callen still fell behind. She felt Benji and Jay heading toward them at an intercept angle. There were howls and the sounds of fighting wolves echoing all around them in the darkness.

'Cami, come here, there are shadow walkers coming,' Trin mind-linked. She didn't dare speak aloud, least the sound of her voice draw them faster. Callen nudged his sister to Trin, she shifted to her human skin, took a deep breath and put her arms around her best friend.

'Don't stop, don't look back, my angel,' Coen sent the thought to her.

'Just keep up,' Trin responded desperately.

Coen chuckled mirthlessly in response, 'Sure, last one back to camp makes dinner.'

'Don't let them catch you,' Callen added.

'I won't.' Trin glanced back at the panting, twin alpha wolves both running at full stride, then she left them behind. She blurred ahead, carrying Gabe and Cami. She was getting tired, but they couldn't wait for her to rest. The waning half-moon shone down on them. Suddenly something collided with Trinity. She, Camillia, and Gabe rolled into the grass. Trinity jumped up first, standing in front of them as Camillia picked up Gabe. In the distance, the echoes of a warform's roar, reverberated in the silence.

Pushing himself up, a powerful shadow walker grinned at them with pure evil in his aura, "Going somewhere, princess?"

Trinity placed herself between the shadow walker and Camillia and Gabe. Camillia pressed something into Trinity's hand, the tent pole bag.

Trinity shimmered and glowed, shifting into her immortal shadow. "I won't let you hurt them."

The shadow walker smirked. "What are you going to do, little sun-walker? Hide in a tent?" he laughed, then his expression turned mocking, "You should submit now. My master is..." His words cut off sharply and he looked down to see the blades of two silver swords sticking out of the end of the colorful nylon and into his chest.

"Tell your master, that the last daughter of Darkstone will never submit before you die," Trinity's shadow hissed then she yanked the swords free and swung hard, removing his head.

Camillia turned away holding Gabe, she looked down at the sleeping child in the moonlight, then whispered painfully, "Promise you'll kill them all, Trin."

"They will be punished, my sister." Trinity's shadow promised. She started to pick them up when two wolves and another shadow walker found them. "Run, Cami." Trinity turned and blurred attacking the renegade. In moments, the walker tried to flee and Trin pursued. She found Bradley fighting against a group of four and joined him.

"Why didn't you go with Paul?" She snapped looking around at the dead rogues.

He shifted, growling, then declared, "They killed my niece and my sister after killing my older brother and his mate in the attack. I wasn't about to leave."

Huffing, Trinity shook her head, "You sound like Coen. Shift and I'll carry your wolf back to Cami." He did and she blurred through the forest.

Cami dropped Gabe and shifted into her wolf in the momentary distraction afforded by the fighting walkers. Her large caramel she-wolf jumped on one of the rogues ripping its throat out, before attacking the other fur flew as the red wolf bit at her, but being of alpha stock, Camillia matched him in size and ferocity. Three more rogue wolves bounded into the small clearing, and surrounded Camillia only to be tackled by two wolves, Benji's large gray alpha and Jay's tawny, leaner delta. Camillia bit down hard on the back of the red's neck and flipped it hard onto the ground, with a twisting jerk she broke its neck.

Benji grinned, teasing in wolf-speak, "Remind me not to get on your wolf's bad side." He gave her a lick on the side of the nose. Camillia rolled her eyes at him; she had never been so grateful to see her brothers' annoying friend. His cousin, Jay held a dirty tan she-wolf in his massive jaws, he spat her on the ground in front of Camillia .

"Speak, rogue, or die," Jay growled making the small wolf shudder.

"I'm sorry... p-please don't hurt me, they said they'll kill us all if we didn't bring the luna and the two walkers back," she whimpered, baring her throat in a sign of submission.

Trinity shimmered back into the clearing, with Brad. "There are more coming, we need to get moving."

"How many more are there?" Benji snarled. "How many in your group?" the she-wolf shuddered in terror but refused to speak.

"If you don't tell us, we'll give you to the vampire," Camillia growled. Trinity poked the rogue with a silver-plated sword, and she yelped. Brad sniffed her and bared his teeth.

"P-Please, there are thirty-odd wolves and nine walkers... P-Please let me go... they k-killed my brother, he was just trying to protect us," she whined. "We just wanted to belong to a pack."

Camillia narrowed her eyes, "Who was your brother?"

"H-his name was Rolland, Luna," the little tan wolf seemed to grow smaller.

Camillia took a breath, "She comes with us. Rolland is the one wolf who was nice to us."

Behind them, Gabe moaned and stirred. When he sat up, his eyes were dilated black. He hissed then he jumped on one of the shadow walker corpses and began sucking the blood from it. Camillia shifted to her mortal form as she and Trinity rushed over to him. He hissed at them.

"Gabe, little brother, don't do that," Trinity said softly, pulling at him gently but he jerked away, growling.

"Little brother?" Camillia reached out her hand, but Trinity stopped her.

A stranger glared at them, a predator, a shadow walker. "Cami, you need to back away slowly," Trinity whispered.

But when Camillia moved, Gabe's eyes flashed dark and he leapt at her, fangs bared. Trinity caught him and twisted his arms behind his back, holding him so he could not bite her or shimmer away. The other wolves watched in horror as they struggled to contain the starving shadow walker.

Camillia grabbed Gabe's head, pulling it to the side as Trinity sank her fangs into his neck, biting him, "Obey!" she hissed around her fangs.

The venom pulsing from her fangs felt and tasted different than when she healed only a few days ago. The healing venom tasted sweet, this time, it was pungent. Gabe's head lolled to one side, and he looked up dazed.

Trinity held his face as she looked into his eyes. "Gabe, follow Camillia as fast as you can, when she tells you to, you are to go to sleep until Grandfather, Prometheus, or Metheus tell you to wake." He nodded and collapsed to his knees next to Camillia, who was wiping her tears. Much closer now, they could hear Coen and Callen's warforms fighting and snarling. Trinity reached out with her vampire senses; she could feel them. There were still two dozen enemy coming and a fourth were shadow walkers.

"Benji, get them to safety. I'm going back for Coen and Callen." Trinity said, standing.

"I'll go with you," Bradley offered, "They're my alphas."

"No, Bradley, I can't shimmer carry three. I'll get them and catch up. Leave the keys in one of the vehicles. The sun will rise soon and then it will be just us versus the rogues. You have to get Gabe to a dark place before sunrise. Hurry! Go!" Trinity ordered.

"Don't die, bring my brothers back." Camillia hugged her and shifted quickly, she licked Gabe's face and he stood to follow the caramel-colored Luna. Jay picked up the tiny rogue in his mouth like a pup and they bounded away leaving Trinity alone.

'Mate needs us, hurry,' her wolf insisted.

'Drink our brothers's blood, we need their power,' her shadow demanded. Trinity hesitated looking at the two dead shadow walkers, she didn't want to but the hunger was pressing on her.

'Do as our sister says! Mate is hurt!' yowled her wolf.

Swallowing hard, Trinity fed first from one corpse then the other. The power in the blood made her dizzy, but the memories she saw in the blood made her want to cry. These witnessed her brother's torture, and in her heart, she was glad they were dead. The shadow walker blood tasted tangy, yet smoky, and, as it hit her system, it felt good in a euphoric way. She stood up, and blinked her eyes a few times, and thought the only thing in her life that felt better was Coen's kiss. She wiped her lips on the back of her hand. She was desperate to save him so she could have another, her immortal shadow glowed, and she blurred toward Coen and Callen.