Extinguishing Wildfire
Chapter 28: Preparations

Isaiah

We woke up to our wolves begging for a run. We had promised them a run but fell asleep after our night together. I’m not complaining though, as it was everything I expected from getting my mate. Rebecca and I headed out early this morning for a run, and our wolves enjoyed their trek through the mountains. Maximus was on his best behavior for Serena, but he did try to show off for her a few times. When we headed back to our room, we ended up making love in the shower before heading down to breakfast with Alpha Tate.

“I know you have to get back home, so I won't take much of your time. My guys have reported good things about your training, said they're learning a lot. We're a small clan and have only ever had to train for protection instead of combat, so having your pack's help has been invaluable.

“I'm glad to hear that, we wolves tend to be more aggressive with each other, so we have no other option but to train for combat.”

“Kedrick wants us heading west by the end of the week. My Beta will be staying here with my mate, and I'll be traveling with my Gamma. Most of my warriors are already at Harvest Moon, so we'll have a small group.”

“You really were serious about everyone coming together for this war?” Rebecca cut in, saying the words softly, almost as if talking to herself. She had an incredulous look on her face.

“Yeah, we've been working on this for months, since Cobalt Falls was attacked. It'll all come to a head in another week or two.” She swallowed hard as everything finally sank in for her. “When we get to Harvest Moon, it'll be all hands on deck with training and getting ready to move closer to Wildfire. Don't worry though, you don't have to fight, we'll need people to stay home to keep the pack safe. I know this is a lot all at once.”

“What if I want to fight?”

“Then you can, but I'll want you fighting right by my side.” She nodded at me smiling.

“Look at you, already wrapped around your mate's little finger. I like it.” Tate patted my back as he chuckled, but I didn't deny it, there was nowhere else I wanted to be than with my mate.

We finished our breakfast and loaded up to head out. I took my time on the drive and used it to get to know Rebecca better. We talked and laughed the entire drive. I even let her control the music for a few hours, and I didn't even mind when she played a few Taylor Swift songs. The drive took us even longer than usual as we had stopped to eat and mess around a few times along the way. I didn't regret it though as once we got home, I'd hit the ground running with getting everyone ready for this war.

I mind-linked Kedrick as soon as we arrived at the border. It was about a 15-minute drive to the packhouse, and he'd asked me to let him know when we arrived because Ellis and Clara had planned a little surprise to welcome their new Gamma female.

Jordan

Luna Ellis asked us all to meet at her apartment for dessert after dinner so that we could welcome Isaiah and his mate. They were excited to finally have their Gamma female, so they put together a little party for her.

“Come in guys, he's just a few minutes away. He said it went well with your pack, that they've got an in and they will be on guard should anything happen.”

“Thank you, Alpha. All of your help really means a lot to me.”

He patted my back, and we headed to their living room to wait.

“Jordan! Are you guys here to meet my new aunt?”

“Yeah, little man, are you excited?”

Oren nodded, “Mom says my Gamma can get here now, but I'm still hoping he's not a baby.”

I chuckled at his innocence, “That's right, you can't have a baby Gamma. Don't worry, he'll start out as a baby but he'll be as big as your Uncle Isaiah by the time you need him.”

“Are you sure? If you're wrong I'm going to tell you I told you so.” I rumpled his hair but before I could say more, the door opened revealing Isaiah and Rebecca.

Ellis was the first to rush toward them and greet Rebecca. “I'm so happy you're here, Isaiah's been waiting for you a long time. And, oh…you're already marked, that's so exciting, let me see!” Rebecca and Isaiah both turned their heads to show us their matching marks. It was a circle of intertwined leaves surrounding two wolf silhouettes that formed a heart with a big Harvest Moon behind them. It was nice and made me long for my own mate. I steeled my emotions though as I didn't want to bring anyone's mood down.

When Rebecca got to us, her eyes opened wide, and I could see she was trying to hold back tears. “You really are all alive.” She covered her mouth in shock. “Isaiah told me, but it hits differently when actually seeing you. We thought you were all dead.”

“Luckily, Alpha Kedrick helped us all stay alive instead of forcing us to go rogue. Thank you for helping get the word out about all of this to the pack.” I pointed at Isaiah who stepped up behind her, “You've got yourself a good one here with Isaiah.”

“Yeah, I do.” They looked at each other, and I could already tell how much they loved each other. We stayed another half hour eating cake and just relaxing. It had been a long day, and tomorrow would be another long one, so I wanted to get some good rest. Now that Isaiah was back, I'd be helping with the foxes and bears and I'd need to be in top form for that.

“Hey man, Kedrick said you're with me today.” Isaiah and Rebecca were already on the field waiting for me.

“Yeah, did he tell you how yesterday went?"

"A little, but don't worry, we'll whip these guys into shape.” The foxes and bears still weren't getting along and had been causing all sorts of tension. They were great when separate, but a few of the foxes were a little hot-headed when they were around the bears. They obviously hadn't been able to let go of the past.

“Let's get started, we’re working in animal form today, so I thought it would be best to pair everyone up with a wolf as that's who they'll be fighting at Wildfire.” We divided everyone up and started to shift. This would be good practice for our wolves as well because they weren't familiar with fighting with the size disparity of the bears and foxes. Some of the cats were much more similar in size to the wolves so this was something new for us, too.

Things were going well so far, and we walked around giving everyone pointers and trying to learn how the bears and foxes fought. I quickly learned that the foxes were ruthless, and while they were small their speed made up for their lack of size.

I heard a commotion start up on the other side, and I saw a flash of red before I heard a loud growl. Everyone stopped to see what was happening, so I had to push through the crowd of animals.

Before I even got there Rebecca had brought out a whistle and had blown it to quiet down the crowd.

“What is going on here!?” Her authoritative voice cut through the chatter. “We're here to learn to fight our common enemy, not to fight each other. If that's all you're here for, then maybe we should send you all back home. Whatever hatred you foxes and bears have for each other has no place here. Keep your past in the past.

I've fought against Wildfire once already, and trust me, we will need each and every one of us working together if we want any chance of beating them. You don't want a world run by Alpha Marek and his soldiers, so cut the crap and get to work. If I see anyone else fighting against each other, you'll be sitting out the rest of the training, and we'll be contacting your Alpha. Now get back to work!”

“Damn,” I had made my way over to Isaiah as she talked.

“I know, I think I just fell in love with her all over again.” We both watched as Rebecca got everyone back to work and walked around guiding everyone as if she hadn't just laid down the law. She was Gamma material.

The rest of the practice went great, and there seemed to be a renewed sense of commitment among the group. Hopefully, this would continue to carry on, and everyone could set their differences aside from here on out.

The guys and I were hanging out in my room after dinner. I called them over for just a few minutes to discuss things. “Rebecca was really great at training today. I'm happy Isaiah has her.”

“What about you? How are you holding up?” Noah raised his eyebrows my way, and I knew he was asking about how I was doing without Aaliyah without him actually saying the words.

“I'm okay for now. I miss her and Neo’s a little whiny sometimes, but we know she's safe even though she's at Wildfire. We're lucky Gema made friends while she was there that can help us.”

“My sister is nothing if not resourceful.” Cristian agreed.

“Listen guys, not to get too deep, but it seems we'll be going into battle soon, and I want to make sure everyone is taken care of if anything happens to one of us. Jasmine and Jade have been doing great here, but if…” I took a deep breath before continuing, “If I don't make it back, can I count on you two to take care of them?” I felt a lump in my throat at my words. Even the thought of what I said was hard to get through, but I knew it had to be said.

“Nothing will happen to you, but just in case…we've got your sisters, just like I'm sure you've got my brothers and Gema. We're family.”

“Yeah, I do have them. Always.” I took another deep breath, feeling the tears threatening to come out. We had never been in an actual battle, so it was hard to know what to expect or how we'd react and fight when the time came. All I knew was that the three of us would fight with everything we had for our families, for our pack, for everyone who had ever lost anything to Wildfire.

“When we get to Wildfire, I want you two and Gema to replace your parents and get them out. My parents are gone, but there's no reason why you two need to suffer the same fate. I'll talk to Alpha and see if we can replace out the location of the cells from Marek's son.”

“If you want us to replace our parents, what will you be doing?” Cristian looked at me with his most serious expression.

“I'll be getting my mate back. She's my priority now…and once she and your parents are all safe, we can go directly after that asshole Marek. That is if no one else has gotten to him first.”

“He's on a lot of people's shit lists, I'm sure he won't have a shortage of people looking to get a piece of him, starting with his own children.” Noah shook his head in disgust at the thought of the bastard.

“I can't wait to finally rid the world of that trash. If only someone had done this sooner, then my parents might still be alive.” I couldn't help the bitterness from seeping into my voice. I usually tried to keep my emotions under control, but for now, I didn't care as I knew the feeling of rage would give me the strength to keep going and to do what I needed to do for my pack.

“Let's get some rest now. We have another busy day tomorrow.”