Unexpected rivals

Sophia’s gaze was focused on a spot about a hundred yards away. She had already shifted into her wolf form, as everybody else had, ready to ambush the hybrids when they appeared. They had separated into four groups divided among her, Miller, Henry, and Ethan. From her spot, Sophia had a direct view to one of the spots Eleanor had mentioned for Grace’s benefit. If the hybrids took the bait, Sophia and her group would spot them the moment they made a move. So far, they had been waiting for about half an hour, but there was still no news or instructions from Eleanor. “Any news from Alpha Eleanor?” she asked Miller through their mind-link. “No,” he replied back. He sounded way more calm than she felt. “If anything goes wrong, she’ll let us know,” he added. Sophia just wanted to know whether Mia was present or not. But she did not say that out loud. She knew Eleanor was not the only one who worried that she might forget the plan if she caught sight of the woman. The last thing she needed was Miller keeping an eye on her. “I hope Jonathan did not find out about our real plan,” she said. “We’d be doomed.” They’d taken caution to ensure Grace did not get wind of the new plan, but what if there was another spy they weren’t cautious about? “Only the warriors know about our new plan,” Miller told her. “What if he did not take the bait?” That was another possibility. If Jonathan did not send his warriors to attack them, their entire plan would have been for nothing. Even worse, they would not be able to make it to the meeting spot in time if Eleanor needed their help. “You are worrying too much,” Miller told her. “We went through this many times. It’ll be alright.” Just as Miller finished speaking, Eleanor’s voice sounded in her mind. “Sophia?” “Yes Alpha?” she replied immediately. “Is everything alright?” “He took the bait,” Eleanor informed her. “Are they there yet?” Sophia fixed her eyes on the spot she had been observing for the past half hour. “No…” she trailed off as her eyes picked up movement. A few moments later, she could clearly make out a bunch of wolves and men, presumably hybrids. “Yes. They just showed up.” “Have they spotted you yet?” Eleanor asked. “No. We have them surrounded but they don’t know it yet.” “Are they hybrids or rogues?” “Both.” “Launch the attack before they realise it’s a trap,” Eleanor instructed. “Yes, Alpha.” Finally, it was time for some action! But before that, she needed to confirm something. “Are you doing okay? Is Mia there?” “I’m okay,” Eleanor replied. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this side covered. Go ahead as we planned.” Sophia noted that she had not confirmed whether Mia was there or not, but there was no time to ask any more questions. Eleanor was right. They needed to catch them by surprise before they realised it was a trap. “Got it,” she replied. The faster she dealt with the clueless bastards waiting down below, the faster she could go after Mia. Back at the meeting point, Jonathan’s smugness was rising with every new second. As far as he knew, his men had launched an attack on Eleanor’s unsuspecting warriors. Soon, he’d be able to get whatever he wanted on his terms. “I’m so disappointed in you,” he told Eleanor, shaking his head as he gestured towards Thomas. “Of all the males in the world, why did you settle for him?” He clasped his hands behind his back and paced in front of her. “I have to give it to you, though. You might have a horrible taste in males, but you are smart. It’s alright that it took you a while to realise he was the wrong match for you. What matters is that you did.” “What do you want from me?” Eleanor asked, ignoring his speech about her love life. He stopped pacing and narrowed his eyes at her. “You realised he was not worth you, right? A star that shines brightly like you should not be obscured by mediocrity, after all.” He stepped closer to her. “Now you can fly as high as you want. With someone like me, you’ll have whatever you’ve always wanted.” Eleanor scoffed at his words. With someone like him? Was he hoping to make her his partner or something after abducting her? “I don’t recall asking for your help,” she told him drily. Before he could answer, his phone started ringing. “Excuse me,” he said, reaching for it. He received the call and pressed the device to his ear. “Yes?” Eleanor watched as his face tightened up as he listened to the other side. She managed to catch a few words before he turned away and walked a few metres away. His men were reporting the little surprise she had prepared for them. A stormy expression took over Jonathan’s face as he listened to the heavily breathing warrior on the other side. “What do you mean you’ve been ambushed?” “It was a trap!” the warrior claimed. “We are surrounded and under attack. They have a lot of werewolves.” “What are you talking about?” he seethed. “They were not at the locations you told us about,” the warrior explained. “When we got here, there was nobody. Before we could survey the area, they came out of hiding. We were caught by surprise and could not restrategise before they were on us. We have already lost a lot of men!” Jonathan gritted his teeth. His hand gripped his phone so tight it was a miracle it did not crumble under the pressure. “Fight, dammit.” “We are outnumbered,” the warrior cried. Jonathan kicked a rock lying in front of him and sent it scuttling across the ground. What on earth was going on? Had Mia’s source lied to him? This was all Mia’s fault! She had assured him that the allies she had made at Blackstorm were trustworthy and capable of sourcing crucial information. He had trusted her, but now it appeared he had been the fool to rely on her again. He was about to scream to the warrior to grow a pair when he sensed movement from his right. His eyes flashed red as he scanned the bushes. A few moments later, huge grey wolves emerged. Their scent carried to him and he recognised them right away. They were werewolves from the Western Mountain Pack! “Retreat,” he snarled into the phone as he counted ten humongous grey wolves. He had not received any information about Eleanor sourcing help from the Mountain King! “And don’t lead them back to the pack!” “Yes Alpha,” the warrior replied. The moment Eleanor saw the grey wolves, she linked her hands together and jerked her arms over her shoulder. She caught one of the hybrid warriors on the nose. He yelled and grabbed his nose, letting go of her. She whirled around and kicked the other one in the leg. On the other side of the clearing, Thomas jumped into action, running towards his sister and her captors. Jonathan shouted at the two hybrids, ordering them to take Nessa and flee. Thomas initiated his shift. They were hybrids and could only flee on foot. It would only be a matter of seconds before his wolf caught up with them. One of the captors threw Nessa over his shoulder as they ran away from the scene. Thomas had almost closed the distance when the other one flung his hand towards him and a cloud of white powder spread in the air. Thomas’s wolf took a large gulp of the powder while some of it fell into his eyes. His eyes stung while his throat felt as if it was on fire. It disoriented him enough that he could not figure out which direction to go. He could hear his sister crying for help, but her voice grew faint with every passing second. As the poison took effect, he grew so weak that his wolf fell to the ground, struggling to breath. On Eleanor’s side, the grey werewolves helped her attack the two hybrids that were left behind. The hybrids were no match for them and were killed in only a matter of minutes.