Page 11 of Knot All Is Ruined: Part 2

Chapter five

We’d assumed Lucian was working alone, but that was until we stumbled upon a group of Northern soldiers. Sorin decided that instead of killing them, we would follow the men. Keep out of sight, until we could determine if they were working with Lucian or possibly had another mission. After we’d seen them catch the trail of Lucian and Dani, we figured they were working together but must have gotten separated. The three men seemed to have a good handle on tracking the pair, so we let them do the hard work while maintaining our distance.

Sometime in the night, they must have figured out they were being followed since they’d given us the slip. Realizing we couldn’t catch up since we needed to rest for a short time gave them a bit of a lead. These lunkheads, though, weren’t as good at covering their tracks as the other two, so we weren’t worried about picking up their trail again. Tracking anything in the dark was hard, but these guys were like a herd of cattle paving the way for us.

“I think it would be wise to take another quick break to eat and drink before we catch up with them. Seems they’re also gaining on Lucian and Dani, so I want us to be ready for anything,” Sorin instructed as we came upon a small river.

We dropped in a heap on the ground, happy to rest for a few minutes. Last night I think I’d managed about three hours of sleep before the call to move out. Grabbing my water and a power bar out of my pack, I shoved the whole thing in my mouth, using the water to soften it.

“How is Lucian moving so fast?” Toma questioned. “There’s no way he could be this familiar with our territory.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Petru countered. “He knew it well enough to get all the way to that power plant undetected.”

“Yeah, but he had help,” Toma reasoned.

Cris settled next to Toma and grabbed his water bottle out of the Alpha’s hands. “He doesn’t now, and he’s moving through these woods like he’s been in them hundreds of times. Dani wouldn’t be able to tell him where to go, so it’s him leading the charge.”

“Whose side are you on?” Toma muttered, grabbing back his water.

“Look, I can dislike the guy and still be impressed with his skills,” Cris answered with a shrug. “Just like you can admire a deadly weapon, I see his value as a soldier. Honestly, I’m glad to see he’s a worthy opponent, which means we didn’t fail her as badly as we all believe we did.”

“When you put it that way…” Toma grumbled but didn’t finish the sentence.

Flopping on my back, I looked up at the sky through the trees, watching the wisps of clouds pass by. As much as I wanted to charge forward and snatch our Omega out of his grasp, we weren't just dealing with one guy now. If three were looking to meet up with them, there’s bound to be others. We needed to find a way to take the men out and get Dani without her being in the middle. Last thing we needed was for her to get hurt during the rescue. What kind of message would that send to my Little Spark?

Gunshots echoed through the forest, and I was on my feet faster than the others. Not bothering to shoulder my pack since all I needed was my gun in hand. If those bastards laid a finger on her, I would rip it off and shove it down their throat. No one fucked with what was mine, and that sassy Omega was ours. Branches whipped me in the face, but it didn’t slow me down as I ran. What did slow me down was the dead body hidden under a bush I tripped over. It sent me spluttering into the dirt as leaves flew into my face.

Shoving to my feet, I turned and found the body of a Northern soldier with a shoulder wound and a headshot. It looked as if someone tagged him in the shoulder and then circled back to finish him off. Taking a closer look, I found that the body had been searched. Anything that had been in his pack or pockets was now gone. Maybe Lucian wasn’t working with these thugs after all. The only reason I would take shit off a dead body is because I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to restock. That or it could just be what the Northerners do since they’re so poor. Either way, I was beginning to look at this a little differently.

“Two bodies over here,” Sorin called.

Grabbing my gun, I hurried off in the direction of his voice. “I’ve found another one back there as well.” I shared when I approached the others.

“Seems like we might’ve read the situation wrong,” Petru interjected from where he squatted next to the bodies. “These shots were made from above with the intent to kill.”

Looking up at the giant oak tree they were lying under, I guessed who might have done the deed. If my Little Spark killed these men, then there must have been a damn good reason for it. I know how Petru taught the soldiers he trained, and he wouldn’t have encouraged taking a life unless it was necessary.

“So now the question is…why the fuck are they hunting Lucian?” I murmured.

“Last we’d intercepted was that the commander had been summoned back to Stalhold City to report to the general,” Sorin shared. “Clearly, he didn’t do that if he’s here looking for Dani, and that makes me think maybe General Rasvan might consider that to be treason.”

“So he’d just kill Lucian?” Cris asked.

The Beta always seemed to find a way to keep seeing the world as a place where people acted rationally. General Rasvan has never been a man I would consider acting within reason.

“That bastard has more children than anyone alive,” I spat. “He can just pick another one of his brood to take over.”

“Yeah, but he’s trained the commander since he was a kid. Is it that easy to just switch him out?” Toma countered. “We all know his firstborn son ran away, which is when he started to mold Lucian into the perfect monster.”

“Clearly something’s changed, and if that’s the case, then what he was telling Dani about killing his father might have been the truth,” Cris said, giving each of us a challenging look. “I think it’s time we start wrapping our heads around the idea that Commander Lucian is trying to end this war.”

“Wouldn’t that just be a miracle,” I muttered. “Next, you’re going to tell me we should help him do it.” When no one said anything, I looked up at the others to find them staring at me like I’d just given them a brilliant idea. “Hey now, that wasn’t supposed to be anything other than sarcasm. There’s no way we could trust a man like him to keep his word about shit. We’d believe him and walk right into the lion's den. What better way to hurt the Southern army than to take out a group of their best people? This could be his plan to get revenge on us for destroying the outpost.”

Petru stood and shouldered his rifle. “I suppose there’s only one way to find out, and that would be to talk to the man.”

“Oh, I want to do more than talk to him after stealing Dani like that,” Sorin reminded. “However, I am going to order that no one is to kill Lucian, and if we can take him down without shooting him, I’d prefer it.”

“Yes, sir,” we all said in unison, acknowledging the order.