“It’s not just that,” I said. “Even if the wraith doesn’t realize what she can do, she’s going to be in danger.”
It was something that had worried me for days now. The wraith would inevitably want to go after the luna. Few things would cause as much despair to an entire pack and its alpha. In other situations, I would already have her a thousand miles away with two bodyguards.
“I don’t think it would kill her,” Sam said. I didn’t know if he was saying it to placate me or because he genuinely believed it. “The wraith would love to have the luna in its clutches. It could probably feast on the despair over that for weeks.”
That did soothe some of the anxiety rippling through me. Not much, though. The idea of her being in the wraith’s clutches set my wolf on edge. He snarled, claws flexing, imagining tearing into the wraith.
If only it were that easy.
“Putting Emma aside for the time being, we need to figure out what to do with the rest of the town,” Sam said, pushing things forward. “Because if the wraith attacks the town, they’re all going to be in danger. We need to put safety protocols in place.”
I didn’t respond right away. I had given this a lot of thought over the last few days, trying to figure out what was best for the pack and the town. I had to balance protecting everyone with not seeming weak. After a lot of thought, though, I had come to an unpleasant conclusion.
“Evacuating the town might be our best option,” I said.
A ripple of disquiet flitted through the group. Not necessarily alarm, but surprise.
“We’re giving in?” Oz asked. “We can’t just let the wraith take our town.”
I shook my head. “Of course not. But I am also not going to let it kill our town unnecessarily.”
“We at least need to get the females and children out of town,” Danson said.
“Getting the women and children out is part of the plan,” I said. “Any female who can shift is welcome to stay if she wants, though we’ll discourage it. Elderly, too. But we need to figure out how to do it quickly and without raising too many alarms. We also need to figure out where we’re taking them and protocols.”
“Adobe Creek, surely?” Danson asked.
I drummed my fingers. “I’m not sure. Adobe Creek doesn’t know about the supernatural world. If we bus in a bunch of our people, they’re going to notice that something is wrong. The same goes for any other place around here.”
“The nearest pack is, what, an hour away?” Danson suggested. Already, though, Sam and I had started shaking our heads in unison. But it was Oz who actually answered.
“We’re not going to another pack and showing them our problems,” he snarled. “We’ve already got the sand wraith hunting us. We don’t want another pack knowing that we’re weak. They’d try exploiting us.”
“But—” Danson began, but he fell silent when I raised my hand.
“Oz has the gist of it,” I said. “We can’t give any pack leverage against us. We’ve warned the nearest couple that we’ve spotted a sand wraith, but we’ve left it at that. We’re not telling them our weaknesses. Not unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Danson gave a begrudging nod. A couple of the others looked a bit uneasy about the decision, but seemed to understand.
“What I’m thinking is that we spread our pack out over a few towns,” I said. “I’ve spoken with Sam, and he’ll take charge of planning the evacuation. Any male who can shift is required to stay, and any male who can fight is strongly encouraged to do so as well.”
A knock on the door interrupted the stream of murmurs that had rippled around the room.
“Enter,” I said.
A scout burst into the room. He panted heavily, eyes wild and a little wolfish, as if he had only recently shifted back to human. The second he emerged, everyone’s attention locked on him. I stiffened, taking in the fear scent mixed with sweat, his panic as his gaze swiveled to everyone until it locked on me.
“We’ve seen the sand wraith north of town,” he said. “It looks like it’s coming toward us.”
More rumbles of shock and unease flickered through the group. I raised a hand, and everyone fell silent, all turning toward me, looking to their alpha for direction.
“We knew this would happen eventually,” I said. “That’s what this whole discussion has been about. It means we’ll be putting plans in place a bit faster than normal, but we’ve been preparing for it.”
I turned to the scout. “Any thoughts on how long it might take?” I inquired.
The scout shrugged, rubbing his shaggy head as his eyes swiveled around. “A few days, I think. It’s hard to tell.”
I nodded, digesting the information. “In that case, we need to plot out the evacuation as quickly as possible,” I said. “I want a plan by the end of the day. We’ll finalize the detailstomorrow and then announce it to the pack once we’ve settled everything.”
