Chapter 36
Rafe
The element of surprise was gone. We had to act quickly or Damian would probably send backup. That was the last thing we needed. Yes, we were technically outnumbered and didn’t know the layout of this building at all. But Guardians were the elite of the elite. They were the best fighters and the best trackers. They were some of the most dangerous wolves around unless there were wolves enhanced with magic. At the thought, I looked over at Tracey. She had been grumpier than usual since using magic but it was all so new and I couldn’t blame her for that. I would have been just as grumpy. All of our worlds had been turned upside down.
I had been pretty grumpy after I had found out Jade was my mate. A human. I had only gotten grumpier from there.
The guard at the front of the castle-like building was knocked out cold already, thanks to Archer. The door was unlocked but as soon as it swung open, men in ski masks filed down the stairs while their guns went off. We managed to work around the bullets and the Guardians were practically dancing with glee as they took each man down. This was like child’s play. They had trained for far more than this. Tracey didn’t even have to lift a finger.
Each man was down and dead. We couldn’t risk one of them coming to and contacting Damian, if they hadn’t done so already.
I put my hand on Tracey’s shoulder. “You’re going to have to help with the kids. I don’t think they’re going to trust the blood-covered idiots.”
She swallowed hard and nodded her head. She was great with kids. If anyone could do this, it was her. “We have to hurry.”
Up the stairs, we went two at a time until we came across one door. Tracey gritted her teeth together as she swiped her hand over the door. There was something there I couldn’t see. The door opened a second later and a little girl around the age of four stumbled out. Her purple hair was piled up on her head and her little fists were raised, ready to fight.
“Which one of you is the witch?” Her courage was inspiring. Her voice didn’t shake or waiver either.
Tracey took a step forward. “Hello, little one, one of your mothers sent us. We are here to get you out.”
“Which mother?” A few little children popped out behind the one with purple hair.
“Her name is Sheeva,” Tracey’s voice was calm and collected. It also helped that she wasn’t covered in blood and gore like the men below.
The little girl lowered her hands. “That’s my mother.”
Tracey grinned. “You’re powerful, ya know that?” Tracey held up her hand to show that the leather had been melted away at the little girl’s magic she had swiped through. I hadn’t noticed it.
“We have to hurry,” I whispered. There was no telling what was waiting for us outside.
The little girl nodded her head and all of the children followed out behind her. She grabbed Tracey’s hand and we ran down the stairs. It was a long chain of children. My mother was going to have the best time with this. She loved children and I was bringing her an entire school of them.
Gabriel met us outside. “Good thing you’re moving into your own home. The manor is going to need every bed and every room.”
There was no way we were going to get all of these kids into the cars. I looked at Tracey out of the corner of my eye. “How are we going to transport all of them?”
There had to be at least fifty kids, maybe more following behind us into the woods. Tracey shrugged as she held two children’s hands. “I’m going to have to figure out how much magic these kids know.”
Sheeva’s daughter grinned. “We know a lot more than you do, blood witch.”
Tracey cocked her head in surprise but laughed all the same. “You know how to fit all of you into my SUV like a clown car?”
The little girl grinned. “I would love to.”
The drive back to the Pack Lands was a cramped one. Somehow their magic had gotten all of them into each of our vehicles. We drove for hours too, just in case someone was following our trail. It didn’t matter though. Unless the children could help Tracey figure out how to put a cloaking spell over the Pack Lands, they would know exactly where all the children went.
Getting all the children out of the vehicles was a different kind of difficult as they adjusted to being outside of the magic. One of the kids bent over at the waist to barf into the bushes. Another fell over complaining he was dizzy and a few others said their heads hurt.
Archer clapped me on the back and grinned. Tracey wrinkled her nose. “Why do you smell like a dumpster fire?”
Archer wrinkled his nose at her. “First, you always have to destroy evidence. I burned the building and the surveillance room. Most of the video cameras in the building were extremely outdated. They weren’t being fed over wifi. I would imagine it was done that way so the kids couldn’t be tracked over an IP address. But all the same, super stupid and overly confident on Damian’s part. He will never know who took the kids.”
Tracey shook her head. “I managed to mask our scents on the way out, thankfully.”
Sheeva’s daughter looked up at us. She was sitting on the front porch of the house. “We have been waiting for someone to rescue us. I’ve been sending out magical beacons for the last few months.” Her shoulders fell. “I can help you cloak the entire property. I’ll need a few ingredients and then we can walk the perimeter.” As she spoke, I got the distinct impression she wasn’t under the age of six. She had to be small for her age. She was entirely too smart. Tracey put her hand in the little girls and they walked toward Granny’s.
What the hell was I supposed to do with all of these kids? They all watched me with their bright hair and wide eyes. No pressure.
