Stronger

Goddess be

I could no longer stand the scent of pork. I had feigned working late every night it was served and if a whiff of it came my way I immediately threw up.

Thankfully the hunting season was well underway. My craving for venison was never ending. It was so bad Grayson was having to send out extra hunters. All he stated was that he wanted extra food for the winter but in reality I had eaten the doe he’d had roasted in one sitting.

I had to focus though this was the trade week. We were sending out all four packs at the same time it had taken a lot of preparation, and a lot of manpower.

The trade trucks had been armored, there had been new weapons ordered, multiple new trade routes had been chosen, and there were several decoys at play. The best way to weaken us was to destroy our imports for the year, and our

sources of income.

We wouldn’t last the winter and we would be forced to leave the safety of our pack to hunt and scavenge for food and

resources.

“They’ll leave at dawn,” Grayson told me.

Our tucks full of pelts, fabric, and food will ship out to our allies. The Crescent Mountain pack will send metal and armor in return; they have been working tirelessly since they’d been attacked to mine for more metal to build

weapons.

The Waxing Pride pack will send us large amounts of beef and pork and hides, broths, cheese, milk, eggs. The River Phase pack will send fish and lumber, Steven owes Grayson some men still and they’d be arriving as well.

“What do they know about our trade?” Grayson leaned back in his chair.

“They know your routes, they know who trades what, and they know you all rely heavily on this trade,” The prisoner freely gave the information, itching at the silver cuffs keeping him bound to the cell floor.

“What else,” Grayson pushed him.

This prisoner once blindly faithful now knew theordela Grayson asked for information and if he got it the prisoner ate, if he didnt the captured wolf would starve, or go thirsty, or be kept awake, or freeze.

“They’ll go for your trucks first, they know you have most of the food,” The wolf continued.

“How do they know all this?” Grayson stood and headed towards the wolf towering over his captive.

“I don’t know,” he looked down.

Grayson hadn’t laid a hand on the man and broken his will beyond repair.

My mate walked out of the cell and grabbed my hand as we left. A small portion of me felt sorry for our prisoner and

every time that happened I felt Grayson tense. They would do far worse to me if they had managed to capture me.

“I want you to start taking over archery defense, this way it appears like you’re still training,” He told me as we walked up from the Keeps dungeon.

“Sounds like a good idea,” I agreed with him.

“People have started whispering to your absence in the ring,” he whispered in my ear.

“I figured they would,” I responded.

We walked up to his office and watched the GPS of the trucks as they moved. They had left one hour ago, our tucks would enter and open area in a couple of minutes one of the risk areas.

“Time to wait and see,”

The one good thing about our trade is we had our harvest that went to humans picked up by humans. If this enemy attacked them then the human government would intervene, and they’d no doubt face serious charges.

We cleared open area one. Then two, but the second they entered a valley towards the mountain crescent pack…

“Landslide, repeat landslide, stop all trucks after checkpoint 17!,” We heard over the radio.

I clasped my hands together and began praying for the men and women in the trucks. We had fortified them enough so they should be alright.

“Evade and drive! Move fast!” Grayson ordered them, jumping to his feet.

I watched the tracking signals on the screen. They glitched and closed my eyes, unable to think of what I would say to their families.

“Truck 4 is down!,”

“Send out search and rescue!” I called and Matt got on the radio phone, the humans could get there before we could.

“Route 2, update,” Grayson called.

“Route 2 easy going,”

“Routes sound off,” He called again.

“Route 3..Route 4…Route 5…Route 6…” They all came back cleared.

“I want to see the top of that peak,” Grayson turned to Leon.

“Truck 4 can you hear us,” I got onto the radio phone calling out to them.

Na response.

“Truck 4,” I went again.

Static.

We wouldn’t know until search and rescue found them if they were alive or not.

“Route 6 road is blocked,” The copied of us.

“Change route take a right, go down 10 miles and then head west,” Grayson called back to them.

Route 6 was headed to the Waxing Pride pack heading west would throw off any trap they’d have set.

Routes 2,3,4 copy?” Grayson called again.

“Copy”

*Copy.”

“Copy,”

“Decoys 1,2,3 how are you doing?” Grayson called out. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“No trace of any wolves,” They replied.

“Seems like they’ve taken the bait,” I sighed in relief.

“For now I suppose,” He sat back down.

The rest of the trade did well up until we entered the outskirts of the Waxing Pride territory.

‘Shots fired! Shots fired!” They called out to us.

“How far away are you from the gate?”

“Twenty miles,” He responded.

Grayson smiled like the cat that caught the mouse. His eyes had that upper hand gleam in them.

“Trucks 2-8 on route 5 stop,” He ordered.

*Truck one drop the package, and book it,”

They had fallen for it completely. Grayson had rigged up the trucks to explode, their people had swarmed the truck happy to take our food and instead….

“Package delivered,”

I could hear the flames over the radio. We had them. They had taken the bait and were blown to pieces.

*Decory route 2 did you make it to the back entrance of the Waxing Pride pack alright?” Grayson grinned like the devil.

“Trade delivered Alpha making our way back tomorrow morning,” I could hear the happiness of our men on the other

end.

“Truck 4 on route 1 copy,” The radio phone signaled out to me.

“How is everyone?” I grabbed the phone like it was running away from me.

“All accounted for minor scrapes and bruises, they couldn’t get the truck out without a crane so we’ll have to detonate it tomorrow,” He told me.

“We’ll detonate tonight I don’t want them getting their hands on those explosives,” I looked to Grayson who nodded at

1. me.

“Decoy 1 we’ve delivered to the River phase pack we’ll be heading back in the morning,”

Decoy 37 Grayson called out.

Static noise.

“Decoy 3,”

*Decoy 3 in distress requesting aide of route 3,”

“Route three incoming,” We overheard. “I see you,”

They seem to have realized the trick. We sent out 2 decoy groups one taking the same path as the first group of trucks, the second taking different routes.

“Hold on to something,” the driver told them.

All I heard was a crashing sound I had no clue was going on then the line went dead.

“Decoy 3! Grayson called out growling.

“Come on. Come on.

“Goddess be he ran them over!” Laughing sounded from the other end “He used his truck and then oh in the name of moon that’s the craziest shit I’ve ever seen,”

“Ten miles out Alpha, the Crescent Mountain pack is meeting us as we speak,” They replied to us.

“Alpha our trade has arrived,” Aarron entered the room. “All three shipemtns from the allied packs are being unloaded.

as we speak,”

The phone rang. “Gray all trade has made it, those bastards missed,”

He looked triumphant as hung up the phone. He grabbed me by my hand and we walked out to the pavilion where a fire was blazing in the pit. We spent the night dancing and singing at the success of our mission. Our people rejoiced that we had pulled it all off.

I rejoiced because we had hit them. They now had wounded and dead just like us, I wanted them to feel the pain they