Return to Wisteria (Book Three of the Wisteria Chronicles)

CHAPTER 8~Spring Creek~

Autumn 

      “Canceled again.” Penelope said in dismay. We were standing in front of the gym waiting to get inside for our evening. A huge sign posted advised that all classes and training have been postponed until further notice. For the past two weeks the Council Headquarters has been in absolute chaos. The number of rogue attacks has increased and the Council was drowning in requests for assistance.  

    The Council wasn’t just sending in the advanced teams anymore, but were requiring a mix of intermediate and rookie teams to assist. Summer was growing restless with nothing to do and wanting to help. August was trying to make ends meet to ensure the pack was safe. Cylis and Dj called every day to keep him updated. We were under a lot of strain from our allies requesting reinforcements as well.  

      So far, our people have been able to provide assistance without casualties, but who knew how long that would last. August had requested to go back home to check on the pack but his request hasn’t been processed. Every day that passed the more frustrated August grew. I walked back with our group and we piled into Summer’s room. She still grumbled about the amount of people invading her space, but went the extra mile to provide extra chairs to accommodate us.  

     August’s face softened as his phone rang. He put the call on speaker, our mother’s soft voice flowed through. “My sweet babies, how is everyone doing?” she asked. We murmured our greetings and waited for her to state her business. “I wanted to let you know that we received another request for aid.” her voice sad. “From who?” August’s tone was serious. 

      “From Spring Creek. They’ve had rouge sightings these past few days. With each encounter, the number of rogues has increased. We think they are going to be hit tonight; they are already preparing.” she explained. I bit lip, Spring Creek was a small pack of thirty some members, only ten of them were warriors. “How many are we sending out?” Summer asked. Mom was quiet for a moment.  

     “We have no one else to send sweetheart. Our warriors are spread all over the state. If we break off any more, our pack will be unguarded.” Mom sighed. I frowned, “So what’s going to happen to them? Who’s going to help?” “That’s why I’m calling, love. I need you to put in an official request through the Council. They’re our last hope.” Mom announced. Summer huffed in annoyance. “We’ll go right now.” August promised. Mom said her farewells then disconnected. 

     August stood up, “Come on. We need to speak with Thaddeus.” I followed him to the main office while Summer dragged her feet behind us. August led the way into Thaddeus’s office. I was surprised that he was here; since the start of the attacks, he’s been out on the field.  “Frost triplets, how can I help you?” he asked. He was seated at his desk shuffling through papers. “We’ve come to request aid for the Spring Creek Pack. They have an alliance with Crescent Woods, but we are unable to send help.” August stated. 

    Thaddeus sighed and took off his glasses, “Have they submitted a request?” Summer scoffed, “That’s what we’re doing now." Thaddeus looked through his paperwork again, "The closest team will respond in five days."  August shook his head, "That's unacceptable. We believe they will be attacked tonight. They need help now."  

    Thaddeus rubbed his face in annoyance. "If we had someone to go now, someone would be there! We have no teams available. Can't you see that we are barely keeping our head above the water?!" He shouted. I flinched; I've never seen him get so upset before. "You do have a team, right here. Send us." Summer said.  

     "Your team is not ready. You've only been here for two months and from the reports your instructors have sent none of you are prepared." Thaddeus hissed. August clenched his fists, the vein on his neck throbbed. "What about my request to return to help my pack?" His voice was cold. Thaddeus threw up his hands, "Alpha Frost, I have no idea if or when it will be approved. The last thing the higher ups are worried about is approving someone's home leave. Unless Crescent Woods is being attacked, there is nothing I can do for you."   

     "This is bullshit!" Summer growled. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Now if you'll excuse me." Thaddeus put on his coat and strolled out of the room. I followed my siblings back to the dorms; their silent fury was radiating off of them in waves. The gang was still lounging in Summer’s room, she was too pissed off to comment on their presence. “I’m assuming they said no.” Ziva murmured. I sat down on the bed, “What are we gonna do?”  

     Summer began to pace, her gaze focused. “We’re going to help them. I’ll have to make some calls to see if any of our other allies are willing to send warriors.” August said, his fingers already busy texting away. “No, we are going directly. We clearly can’t depend on anyone else’s help.” Summer stated. “We can’t leave, we haven’t been cleared.” August growled. “They need our help! We made a vow to protect them when we entered the peace treaty.” Summer argued. 

    “I know what I promised. But if I’m not allowed to leave then I will do my best from here. You can’t go around breaking the rules just because you don’t agree with the situation.” August countered. “For f***s sake August. How long are you going to hide behind the rules? Some rules are meant to be broken! Spring Creek needs our help and all you want to do is make some phone calls! This is the second time that you’ve rolled over to people you owe nothing to. You’re the Alpha, act like it!” Summer shouted.  

      “I AM! I’m making sure that reinforcements will arrive! We don’t have any details about what’s happening down there. You want to just march on over, but you have no plan!” August shouted back. “I don’t need one! We will show up and fight!” Summer declared. August chuckled, “You haven't learned anything. There’s more to being a leader than fighting. The decisions you make could mean life or death for those who follow you.”  

    August shook his head, “Fine Summer, have it your way. I won’t fight you on this and I’ll go willingly. You want to be the Alpha, fine. But don’t look to me for help when your plan goes south.” Summer frowned at his sudden compliance; I was getting a bad feeling about this. “So, it sounds like we are going to Spring Creek.” Penelope smiled. Summer started to pace again while August crossed his arms.  

    “No. You, Hudson and Samuel are staying here.” Summer announced. “Why?!” the trio demanded. “Because you’re here to get clean and make connections. I don’t want your names thrown into this if things go bad. We will be fine but you won’t. I’m thinking about your futures.” Summer explained. The Solomon brothers frowned, clearly not likely her reason.  

   “Are you sure?” Penelope asked. “I’m sure.” Summer confirmed. “Alright, what’s the plan, boss?” Ziva chirped. 

Summer 

     We arrived at Spring Creek an hour before sundown. The territory was on the southern border of Colorado and New Mexico, its lush green forest was peaceful. The newest Alpha, Michael, welcomed us with grateful tears. “Thank you so much for coming. Please follow me to the pack house.” he said as he led the way. All of the pack members were huddled inside the small dining hall, I counted forty in total.  

      Michael introduced us to his ten warriors who stood tall and proud. Although Spring Creek had few warriors, they were some of the fiercest fighters in the nation. We started discussing our battle formations, August was silent the whole time. I wanted to be happy that he was finally seeing things from my point of view but his silence made me feel uneasy. 

    “THEY’RE HERE!” a man shouted from the doorway. The building began to shake, loud howls sound off in the distance. The pack began to panic, their screams filling the small room. The man ran towards us with terrified eyes. “How many?!” I shouted over the noise. “Sixty.” he whispered. My hands began to tingle. “Why are there so many?” Autumn squeaked.  August answered with a grim voice, "To make sure there are no survivors.” 

     The howls of the rogues sounded off again, they were getting closer. “What do we do Summer?” Autumn asked. I shook my head, my breaths coming in with uneven puffs. “Alpha Summer? What do we do?” Michael demanded. I was becoming overwhelmed; the screams of the crowd made my skin crawl.  f**k, August was right. I should’ve prepared a plan, I should’ve waited for more details. There were only fourteen warriors against sixty, we were gonna die.  

     I looked around at the expectant faces of my group, my reckless behavior has brought us all our deaths. August walked up to me and gave me a hard slap on the back. “Summer! Get a grip! Focus, tell us what our priority is.” he growled. I shook my head, “What?” “Who are we here for?!” he shouted. I looked around wildly, my chest heaving. The crowd was terrified, the elderly and children were crying. I took a deep breath. “The people. We need to evacuate.” I said, earning an approving nod from August. 

   I looked over at Michael, “Do you have safety bunkers?” “No, but we have an old underground storage unit.” he answered, his hands shaking. “Can everyone fit inside?” Autumn asked. Michael began to stutter, “I-I don’t know.” “CAN EVERYONE FIT?!” I shouted. Michael blinked rapidly, “It will be a tight squeeze but we should fit. It’s about a mile away.” I nodded, trying to put a plan together.   

     The howling was getting louder, we needed to slow them down. It would be a mistake to move everyone one as a group; they’d just pick us off and we’d be defenseless. “We need to split up.” I announced, everyone focused on me. Autumn held my hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. “What’s your plan sis?” she asked. “We need to split up. I need the warriors to slow down the rogues while we evacuate. We will have to travel in groups of ten.” I spoke.   

   August nodded his head, “Protecting the group in smaller numbers will be easier and will allow us to move quickly.” He looked at me with approving eyes, slowing the wild beating of my heart. “Exactly. The rogues have the advantage of the surprise but we have the advantage of the home field. We also have a special weapon.” I motioned to Ziva. She grinned and started to stretch, “Oh hell yeah. I haven’t petrified someone in months!”  

    I watched the array of emotions from the group as I further explained my plan. “That’s f*****g crazy.” Autumn squealed; her voice laced with excitement. “It’s definitely risky but worth a shot.” August gruffly replied. “Will it work?” Michael asked, his face was growing paler by the minute. “It has to. We don’t need to defeat them all, we just need to hold them back. Our plan is survival. So, get up there and get control of your pack, they need you.” I ordered. 

    Michael nodded and turned to his people. “SPRING CREEK, SILENCE!” he shouted in his Alpha tone. The frantic room calmed, allowing the howls of the intruders seem louder. “We need to evacuate. I want three groups of ten. The first group will be the young, the second group will be the elderly and injured. The last group are the healthiest. We are under attack, but we will survive! Follow our allies' instructions, your safety depends on it.” he finished. 

       The crowds’ eyes focused on me; my panic was making me dizzy. “Get into your groups now!” my voice carried across the room. The people of Spring Creek divided quickly, ready for the next order. I turned to my allies, “Good luck.” Ziva kissed my cheek before leaving with the warriors. August gave me a fist bump and joined the others.  

    Autumn and a warrior named Jeffrey stayed behind. We needed him to show us where the unit was for the first round. The Luna was going to stay behind with the remaining groups while we ran the others to safety. Autumn continued to hold my hand as we walked to the group of children. The oldest seemed to be twelve while the youngest was a few days old. We divided the group and had the older children hold the infants. Once situated, Jeffery led us out the back door. The rogues were three to four miles out but their sweet rotten smell was thick as the wind carried it over.  

    I gave the signal for us to shift, letting the children climb onto our backs. Royal held her head up high and tilted it to the side, listening. A lone familiar howl sounded off, making Royal sprint off into the night.