HUNTED

The two groups had separated on the motorway, and they were at least thirty minutes away from Qina now.  Damon struggled throughout the journey to contain his anxiety.  Everything about his stature remained the confident, mighty Alpha King, all except for his right knee occasionally shaking.  He stared out of the window, still remaining nonchalant and hoping that he was not affecting the members in the car.

Ex-Delta Darren was the one driving; he had been quiet and full of anxiety the entire time; Damon presumed it had more to do with the chance he had been given and nothing to do with his Luna, the Alpha Queen, Aila being missing.  Either way, the Alpha did not pay him any mind; maybe Darren wasn't as foolish as to speak right now.  Yet it may also be because the other Delta and Ajax had been surprisingly quiet in the back since they left the packhouse. 

Damon's trackers, Zeke and Jake, were also in a separate car, though they could fit in the SUV they were in; Damon wanted to take extra precautions and take two cars in case anything were to happen.  After Aila's coronation, Damon decided extra precautions were better than none; Cassius was a sneaky bastard, and he didn't want to see him running off with his mate again. 

The Alpha stopped shaking his leg and took his phone out of pocket after feeling his leg vibrate.  His eyes narrowed at the name, and a small growl vibrated from his chest and caused the car to shake along with it, snapping each member out of their thoughts and to the suddenly angry Alpha. 

"What?" He answered. 

"I believe people greet one another with a simple hello, or have times changed so drastically that you cannot even manage that?" Replied a certain sarcastic Vampire King.  "Why have your men stopped us at the gate?"

"I don't have time to deal with your bullshit right now.  Put up with the wait if your business is that important.  But I have to go now."

"Damon-"

Damon hung up on Gabriel, ignoring Finn and Ajax's glances.  He looked back at his phone and blocked Gabriel's contact before messaging a few Alpha's in the surrounding areas.  He alerted them about their plans to search Qina after getting a lead about the Alpha Queen, and now he had it confirmed in the small group chat he made that their packs were scouting the nearby areas.

When they finally pulled off the motorway, they drove past a worn-down sign, 'Welcome to Qina'.  The rest of the town and roads looked more promising than the sign they drove past, its streets and roads looking clean and without any potholes.  The shops and the bricked housing were to a high standard, each of them at least three storeys tall.  If the Blue Hounds weren't so peaceful with such a small territory, others would have tried to claim it.  The lands they did have had rich soil, and the housing and parks were pleasant, perfect for bringing up pups. 

They parked up in the centre of the small town, outside of a large grocery shop.  Everyone got out of the SUVs almost simultaneously.  Each individual had a job to do and set off to do it. 

Jake and Zeke were the ones leading the way, smelling the air for any trails of the strawberry scent Cassius would leave behind and Aila's.  Ajax shifted in the car, and Finn opened the door for the little black falcon to fly out to the skies above.  Damon followed after the trackers while Darren remained his close guard and Finn was further away, keeping track of Ajax's location and scouting their surroundings. 

As they started to go down different alleys, the faint scent of human blood could still be smelt.  This was to be expected from Chase's report about only two of his hunters escaping.  The weather over the last week had also been mainly sunny without any rain that would wash away any scents.  Luck was on their side so far.  As they followed the smell of humans down the alleys, Damon answered his phone to the Alpha of the Blue Hounds.

"Hello," Damon greeted in a clipped, authoritative tone. 

"Alpha King.  It is a pleasure to welcome you to my territory; if you need anything, please let me know.  I would have greeted you in person, but I know how urgent this is for you-"

"Thanks.  You didn't need to call me to welcome me," Damon replied.  He knew the Alpha was probably too scared to welcome him, but he didn't care.

Technically, he owned all of the Northern territories; the Alpha's were there as his subjects in charge of the lands he could not oversee in person.  "You said hunters were here and died but not by your hands.  Do you know why they were in your territory?  I thought they tended to stay away from the Blue Hounds pack."

"Ah, I am afraid not.  This is the first time they have made any efforts in attacking the pack.  In particular, they seemed to be after the children.  But luckily, we were going through a practice drill that day, whereby they were to escape and seek cover.  We have underground tunnels connecting to basements near the schools and houses, ready for children and the families for protection when the pack is attacked," The Alpha informed Damon of inside information that would never be discussed with others.  But Damon was the Alpha King and needed to know such things. 

Damon stopped after nearly bumping into Zeke, or was it, Jake?  The trackers were in their wolf forms and were almost identical with their brown fur and the white patch on their chests.  The wolves had stopped and were sniffing the ground.  One of them then hopped up onto a dumpster and onto a flat rooftop, sniffing the ground in a circle. 

Damon watched them and started to jog behind them as the other wolf hopped back down, and they set off down another alley.  They'd picked up on a scent, making Damon's heart beat quickly in his chest, and his hand grip the phone against his ear. 

"You did well to have these in place.  I'm not sure if their missions are still the same, but we have come across children in the hunter's compounds, most likely for experimentation.  You've searched through these tunnels and bunkers, yes?" He asked, rushing after the wolves but not breaking a sweat or getting out of breath. 

"Yes.  The hunters didn't know about them," The other Alpha replied. 

"Okay, thanks.  Send me the locations of these bunkers.  I want to search them myself," Damon ordered before hanging up. 

Jake and Zeke suddenly stopped at a dead end.  A dead end didn't mean anything; they could have used the rooftops just like how one of the werewolves proved earlier when he was smelling their scent.  But Damon's stomach dropped, and his eyes started to glow as two luminous full moons, Darius resurfacing and almost taking the reins when they realised the trail had gone cold.  The wolves were sniffing the ground and going in circles; they tried the walls and the air, but their ears started to lower, and they looked at their Alpha nervously. 

"The scent has gone, Alpha," Zeke mind-linked him sadly.

"But," Jake jabbed the other wolf with his snout.  "We still have half the town to search."

He was trying to remain optimistic.  But the hunters had been killed down these backstreet alleys.  "Keep searching," Damon ordered and remained in control, though it was hard as Darius was pacing against the fringes of his mind.  "We will check those bunkers out."

"You think they might have gone there?" Finn asked as he stepped forwards.

"If there are bunkers to help with attacks, then the tunnels would also probably lead escape routes to somewhere safe and far from the town."

Damon and Finn turned around to Darren's comment, surprised by his helpful input.  The ex-Delta looked down instantly when Damon rested his eyes on him. 

"That is what I thought.  Even if we do not find anything, maybe the route will reveal something." Damon looked back at the two wolves, who were starting to head off.  "Once you're done, if you don't find anything, meet us underground.  You might be more helpful there."

"Understood, Alpha," Zeke and Jake mind-linked instantly and started to jog down the alleyway, their wolves shrinking into the distance. 

Damon checked his phone for the locations and led the way to these bunkers and tunnels.  Even though the Blue Hounds pack were known for being peacemakers, they were still smart enough to have these tunnels set in place..  It reminded him of the tunnel that led out of the packhouse, but the only issue, if there was a tunnel that led away from the territory, was that if rogues or others knew of it, then it could also be exploited.