A Long Trek

We had to go back into Silsden to get to Lothersdale. It was around seven miles away, but the easiest way to get there would be taking three buses, because public transport around here was terrible, or to spend most of the day trekking over. Moving as a large group was a good way to attract pack attention, so I sat down with my raiding team and we decided how we would split up. In an act of goodwill, Gwenna offered to split up from Ada as we travelled, though in return she wanted Ada to be part of the 'getting a taxi' group. That sucked, because I'd hoped that would be the way our trio reached the new camp.

But I relented, if only to try and wean them off each other. Instead, the three of us would walk the most direct route, cutting through some of the smaller villages as we went. If we didn't get too distracted, which we probably would, we'd get there before tonight. It'd be quicker if we could shift, but you needed to go over the moors for that, and it took you a bit too close to pack territory. It was really only worth the risk if you were going to actually raid them.

So, once we'd all packed up and shouldered our rucksacks, we scattered. Usually we broke camp once a month, and we'd stagger our leaving to draw the least attention, but now we were in a time crunch that only I knew didn't exist.

"I wonder how the alpha got loose." Nathan mused. I had hoped that Gwenna would take a guess, and the two of them could talk about it without involving me, but she was too busy pining to even hear him. I sighed and checked my mind was blocked off before I answered.

"I dunno. Maybe he knocked Theo out and nicked his keys." I suggested. Nate pondered it and shook his head.

"No, Theo was drugged, you smelt it in his drink, remember? Someone must have drugged him, and it couldn't have been the alpha unless someone helped him. No matter how you look at it, he had help."

"Maybe a pack wolf found out where he was and snuck in to help him." Nate snorted at the mere suggestion.

"Oh, come on, Natalia. If a packling knew where he was, they would have told everyone and we would have been swamped with fighters. Besides, how could they even get in without being found? Besides, it was a rogue move through and through, you have to admit it." I did, though I didn't want to. In an ideal world, I could pin it on a nameless, faceless pack wolf and leave it there.

"I didn't scent anyone in his cell or on the route he took." I mentioned. I had got a little whiff of petrol, but I should have covered that with my own smell, and I had a sharper nose than most.

"I mean, if it was a rogue, we can narrow down the possibilities pretty easily. Who was even in camp last night?" Gwenna asked, finally snapping out of her longing for Ada. I could have hit her for bringing it up; this was one mystery I didn't want answered. It had been the major downside of sneaking him out on a new moon; easier to do, but left far fewer suspects.

"I mean, da, the three of us, the alpha himself, Theo, Nat's entire raiding team, the elderly, the sick, the injured, the pregnant, the children, and the non raiders. So, all in all, about half of the entire camp was there. That really narrows it down." Nathan said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. There were about two dozen people included in that list. I blew out a loud sigh.

"Look, I've already had da on my back all morning because of what happened. Can we like, talk about something else? When we reach the camp we'll just have to go over all of this with him anyway, because he's gonna want our help finding the bastard who did this." I made my argument as we made our way across the bypass.

"Like what?" Gwenna asked, taking another look at something inside her pocket. I dropped back a few steps to have a look, only to see a crumpled picture of Ada. I rolled my eyes, but at the same time, I half wished I had one of- I shook my head suddenly to get rid of the thought. I was Natalia, for wolf's sake, I wasn't about to start pining. Besides, it gave me a topic of conversation.

"How about the chances that Nate will meet his mate at Lothersdale? The camp might not be empty, after all." I suggested. Rogues moved from camp to camp freely, not even staying with the same people most of the time. You had your teams and your immediate family that you stuck with, but aside from that you just went wherever the wind blew you. Now that the Silsden camp had been 'discovered', da would put out word not to go there anymore, but a new camp would soon be found and established for us to migrate to.

"You really think she might be there?" Nathan asked, visibly perking up.

"Course there is. And Natalia, your man, or woman, might be there and all." Gwenna said, bumping into my shoulder playfully. I forced myself to smile and nod. As if I could be that lucky. But if my actual mate was there, I was in a hell of a lot of trouble, so I suppose I should be grateful that I wouldn't see him again.

It only took a little nudge to get Gwenna gushing about Ada, and after that I had Nathan talk about what he wanted his mate to be like. I had heard it all before, of course, but it kept the conversation in a nice safe area where I could just zone out and focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, we reached the small, posh village. We stayed on the outskirts, striking out across the fields as soon as we could. From a distance, we looked like hikers, but if they got closer they'd think we were travellers and call the police. This place was full of snobs.

Luckily, they were all too protective over their kids to let them anywhere near the caves, so we were usually left unbothered. Da's car was parked in a lay by a little way away, and he had emptied it out in the time it had taken us to arrive.

"So, I know that da only lets us and the raiding team leaders and the vulnerable use the caves as dens, but do you reckon I can have Ada in there if we take one of the smaller caves?" Gwenna asked as we trekked towards the abandoned mine. I shrugged. Most of the caves were flooded, and only a few were close enough to the surface to get even a little light, so there wasn't much space under shelter.

"I dunno. I wouldn't ask him, he's in a bad mood. Just move her in and hope he doesn't notice, because that's the only way you'll get away with it. Come on, let's go and find which den we want." I recommended as we hoped over a gate to reach the camp. From here, I could see a few spindly spires of smoke, scattered to the wind before anyone further away could spot it. We passed a few signs that warned that the ground and caves were unstable, weaving our way between the three raiding teams that were currently setting up shop. There had been double that at the old camp, but this one was smaller and a little closer to humans so we had to tone it down a bit. I glanced around, taking everyone in. No one new, so the camp had been abandoned before we arrived. There went the chance of Nate finding his mate here, he'd already vetted everyone in our old camp three times before we left.

There was a certain etiquette that came with setting up camp, and I far preferred moving into an abandoned one. Unless you were da, you were expected to find your own, already unoccupied space to set up camp, even if your usual den was taken by someone lower in the hierarchy than you. I hated that; it made my wolf pissier than usual, and in general I hated being kicked out of my own space. But now that we were all resettling, it usually ended in a few brawls to figure who got the best place. My team were settled near the cliff face for some protection from the elements, nice and close to the food tent without being too close to where the latrines were being dug. They had clearly won the brawl; that was the best spot outside the caves.

But now we needed to get our own spot, preferably before da called us into the cave he used as an office to try and squirrel out the rat. I turned on my torch and then immediately turned it back off when the other two began to whine about me ruining their night vision. Sure enough, our eyes adjusted quickly when I shut off the light, our wolves helping, only for it to be destroyed when we came across one of the caves that had an electric lantern lit up in it.

We had a favourite den; a crumbling cave that was colder than the others but got some natural light. It also allowed a quick second exit from the den if the packling's attacked, with the third being through the half flooded caves. It was the first den we had after we stopped sleeping curled up next to da, when we were about seven years old, so when I noticed that someone was in there, I was a little annoyed. I walked in, slinging my pack down on the ground and staring down Sadie, who was leant against the broken cave wall looking out over the camp. If it hadn't been her, another raiding team leader, I would have walled them up. But I liked her, and I respected her, and I wasn't certain I could beat her in a fight, so I just cleared my throat.

"Ah, Sadie, you know this is our den." I objected playfully, keeping my wolf in hand. She turned around with a grin.

"I figured now Gwenna is shacking up with Ada, you two would want to downsize." She answered, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. I raised my brow and shook my head.

"Nah, I'm happy in here. Now, are you gonna clear out and let us set up shop, or are we gonna have to scrap?" I asked her, hoping that she'd just leave. Sadie grinned at me.

"Ah, as though you actually want to scrap. I'll tussle with you later, pup, but for now I'll let you have your den." She said, clapping my shoulder as she passed as I mentally tussled with my wolf, who didn't appreciate the implication that she had 'let me' keep our den. Gwenna set a hand on my shoulder.

"Easy, Nat." She murmured, just enough to help me rein myself in. I threw down my sleeping bag, fancying a nap before da linked the three of us.

'If you're done having a pissing contest with someone who could kick your arses, come to my den. We need to talk.'