The Alpha King (Kingdom of Askara #1)(60)
Luca thanked the fates for Christoph and his men at least three times every day. They knew where they were going, and how to avoid anyone who might see them. In return, when they stopped to camp, the humans ate well from what the werewolves had caught.
“I’m sorry about Nial,” Sam had said as he rode next to Luca. Luca had unchained the other gamma who Nial had paid and set him free. He was weak, but had shown remorse nearly instantly. Luca would never fully trust him again, and had wished him luck starting a new life.
Luca shrugged. “We expected problems. I am just glad it’s over.”
Just before he had gone to sleep last night he had remembered Kit’s reaction to him riding the stallion back in their pack land. He was supposed to be going out with Nial that day. He was convinced he wasn’t supposed to come back. Kit had been right about everything else.
“Have you ever seen the weapons that fire missiles?” Sam asked Christoph later that night.
Christoph looked puzzled. “Missiles... Oh, you mean guns?” Sam shrugged. “Yes, the human guards have them. Some of the gammas. They are outlawed though, and not easily hidden. It is an immediate sentence of death if any human other than the guards carry them.”
Luca watched as Kit reached out to fill his mug of tea. Taheesha quickly passed it to him when he struggled to lean forward. Luca gaped and stared at Kit’s bulging stomach that was so big he couldn’t bend forward. When had that happened? Luca swallowed his panic down and fixed a smile on his face as Kit glanced back at him.
Kit lifted an eyebrow. You’re not fooling anyone.
Luca took in the big blue eyes, cheeks flushed from the fire. The smile. The whole gorgeous package. You’re beautiful.
Kit’s smile widened. I’m the size of a barn.
You, my gorgeous mate, are stunning. You know it, so stop fishing, Luca teased, mainly to cover up the panic in his head. He was trying to do the math. Molly had thought Kit was around four to five weeks when they’d left. Cubs were born at just over eight and they had been on the road for nearly two. They had one more day to get through to reach the capital. If they had more horses, he could push on and do it today. They were barely ten days from the birth, if that. It was too close for comfort.
Luca stood. “I need to go talk to Sam and Christoph. We need a plan.” He looked pointedly at Taheesha. She took the hint and moved close to Kit. Darrin and Asher were brushing the horses. Gabriel and Sascha were checking all the tack. He glanced at Christoph as he walked past him, and the man got up and followed him. Gabriel and Sam left their tasks and joined them. Luca looked around at them.
“We need a plan,” he reiterated. “Is there anywhere we can get more horses from?”
Christoph shook his head. “The only place we can stop before Neira is Jareth, and Jareth is one of the poorest villages there is. It’s one of the places the children are bred to work in the boiling pits.” Sam made a sound of disgust. “They are barely able to feed themselves,” Christoph continued, “never mind animals.”
“Christoph?” Sam hesitated. “What about amassing the humans? We need a big entrance and we have no idea how many wolves will follow Luca.”
Christoph eyed him. “I must be mad, but I was thinking that myself. I was wondering about leaving you, and me and the lads pushing on ahead tonight. We can set something up.” He sighed. “If this doesn’t work, if you cannot do what you promise, the massacre at Torren will be the least of my problems.”
Luca met Christoph’s gaze unflinching and the man just nodded. “What about the guns?” Luca asked. “How many gammas do you think the Alphas have, and what about this beta-commander?”
“We have assumed all along that we were dealing with an Alpha who would have an imperative to submit to you. He will have no choice but to submit to his King,” Sam said.
“And surely, a beta-commander would be the same?” Gabriel added.
“In theory,” Luca said slowly. It sounded too easy.
“But this has been the whole point,” Gabriel said. “Every wolf will submit to the power you two wield together. It’s hard-wired, and when the humans see that Kit not only is a human, but has Christoph’s support, the change should be seamless. Nial only got the drop on Kit because you weren’t there. Whenever you are together my wolf goes nuts.”
Asher scoffed and then looked apologetic. Luca huffed. “I just hate betting lives against assumptions.”
“I can get guns,” Christoph said, “and people who know how to shoot them. We’ve just never bothered because of the risk if we get caught.”
Sam got out a map and he and Christoph poured over it, deciding where to meet up.
“Jareth.” Christoph pointed to the map. “Every human would shelter you if I give my support. I just need to get there ahead and organize my people. It’s barely a quarter mile from Neira.”
Luca looked up as he felt his cheek grow wet. It was snowing again and the flakes were coming thick and fast. Christoph looked up at the dark sky as Sam folded the map. “I think we should get going.” He looked at Luca. “The horses need to rest for a couple of hours but then I think you need to push on.” Luca agreed and Sam and Asher quickly packed Christoph’s men some food to take with them. Christoph refused the horses. “It leaves you with no spares, but I think you’re close enough to leave the extra cart here. If the temperature keeps dropping, you’re gonna have to keep everyone moving. Even slow, you should make the village in around six hours.”