The wolf captain studied them. “There are vespis and weavers among them,” he noted, his voice holding a note of surprise despite what his cub had revealed.
“We rescued them at the same time as we retrieved your pup,” Mack said, and the wolf leader’s eyes narrowed.
"That mission was supposed to have one purpose only,” he rumbled.
“We weren’t going to leave them behind,” Mack declared stepping closer so that it was obvious their heights matched.
The Hunt Master’s gaze dropped from Mack’s face to mine. “Who wasn’t going to leave them behind?” he demanded, and I’d stepped up to him faster than Rohan could lock me down.
“I wasn’t,” I snarled back, “just like I wasn’t going to leave any of the other cubs and children behind when I found yours.”
His ears cocked in surprise. “There were others?”
“Yeah,” I told him. “You wanna see?”
This time he flicked a glance from me to Mack and then to Tens. “I would very much like to see those my son has brought under his protection.”
So, he really was good at guessing. Mack nodded, and Tens shifted cameras once more, this time showing the captain’s son supervising the other youngsters at lunch, his she at his side. Every now and then, his hand shifted to stroke the head of the big black dog walking beside him—and, every now and then, Cascade would lick his face.
Each time he did, the cub would smile and push the dog’s head away. It was entertaining to watch the captain’s expression. It was a mixture of parental pride, love and consternation. His eyes stayed on the screen for longer than a quick assessment would take, but Mack waited in silence, and I didn’t want to spoil the moment.
In the end, the Hunt Master gave a heartfelt sigh. “Show me your forces, again,” he ordered, returning his attention to Mack.
Tens obliged, and once more the screen showed the waiting vespis, weavers, humans and wolves. This time the Hunt Master seemed to notice the wolves. His ears pricked.
“Whose pack are they?” he asked.
“They are under my protection,” Mack replied, daring him to demand more.
I couldn’t see the point in hiding Angravine’s request, but trusted Mack knew what he was doing. After all, I wasn’t the one who knew the lupar best. Both Mack and Tens had been doing a shit ton more research than me on the subject.
The wolf captain gave Mack a long, contemplative look, and then let the subject lie. “They may fight,” he said, and turned to Tens. “Prepare your troops. I want us transported into the rear of Barangail’s forces.”
“You don’t want to be set down in the middle?” Tens asked, but the wolf captain shook his head.
“No, I know the caliber of mercenary he can afford. We’ll need to take them apart one squad at a time.”
It was a relief to see he wasn’t going to risk us for the sake of swift revenge.
“Understood,” Tens told him. “Let me know when you are ready, and who you want teleported with you.”
The wolf leader cocked his head. “You can track me?” he asked, and Tens flushed.
“I can monitor your movements and see who is around you,” he admitted.
The Hunt Master gave him a happy grin. “Good. Then come this way.”
He turned to Varian. “Muster the strike force.”
“Yessir.”
Varian headed for the door, his squad moving on his heels.
The captain turned to us. “Come with me.”
Mack and I waited as he rounded the desk, and then followed him out of the room.
Five minutes later, we were standing beside him as Tens wrapped us in silver and teleported us into the battle.
27—Battle Joined
“Tens, get her out of here!” Mack roared, pushing me to the ground and covering me with his body.
Case and Stepyan bracketed us, taking down the mercenaries who’d turned to face us.
Being in the front line with the wolf captain might have been an honor, but it was a disaster if you happened to have been teleported sans weapons and armor. I wondered why Tens hadn’t picked up on it sooner, and figured it had something to do with the dealing with the wolves.
That didn’t mean I wanted to be pinned to the ground as silver licked around me and then faded.
Mack and Tens swore in chorus, as the teleport failed.
“Stim me!” I demanded, figuring the wolf captain wouldn’t be happy with us for the delay.
Mack caught that thought and decided not to argue.
He slapped me with an autoinjector with the stars knew what inside it and bounded forward. The wolf captain hadn’t waited. As soon as he’d materialized, he leapt forward, catching the mercenary rear guard as they began to turn.
Like he said, Barangail could afford to hire the best, and these guys were good. If Tens hadn’t taken the precaution of setting us down under shelter, we’d all have died before we could close the distance.
The mercenaries reacted to the slight jolt in the air as we came into being, turning and firing toward it. The first barrage hit the stone wall bordering the building we’d set down in front of, as the wolves returned fire.
“Mack, incoming. Don’t let them get killed”, Tens instructed.
“Captain, my forces are arriving.”
“Relayed.”
That brief communications through the comms was accompanied by a sharp yip and a brief howl that carried over the battle field.
And then the vespis joined in.
Somewhere, either during the flight, or during the time we’d been ‘negotiating’ with the wolves, they’d found harnesses and weapons suitable for their unique style of battle. I wondered what Stepyan would have to say about them raiding his armory.
“Who do you think organized it?”
Well, that answered that, then.
I scanned the battlefield. I couldn’t go in from the front, but I sure as shit could create some havoc from the sides. I slapped Mack on the shoulder.
“Go!” I told him, and broke to one side.
My skin shivered and electricity burst through my body. Mack hesitated, but I was gone, seeing Case and Stepyan move to flank Mack, catching
