Chapter 73
Chapter 73
-Ignatius-
Knocking out the large Tally shifter went smoothly enough. The three of us crept through the tree line
out of sight until the very last minute. Carly then revealed herself only for Will and I to jump from the
trees to restrain the woman and press Valhalla leaves against her nose..
Angie had supplied me with every herb and plant in the book in preparation for any situation and those
leaves did their job well. The shifter spasmed in my grasp and then fell forwards with a loud thump and
a sickening crunch which I assumed was the sound of her nose breaking.
She would be out for a few minutes and hopefully not remember a thing.
I looked up
from the fallen woman to the wolf who was staring at us with immediate distrust. “Hi. We’re here to
help.”
I pulled the key from its place on the woman’s necklace and cautiously approached the distressed wolf.
“We’re going to free you, okay? But I must ask that you come with us. We don’t want to hurt you”
The wolf backed away from me at first but eventually allowed me to turn the key in the lock that held
the silver collar in place and irfell away from around the wolf’s thin neck.
I half expected him to bolt the second he was freed but instead, he gazed down at the collar on the
ground and then back at me as a flash of recognition blazed in its eyes.
We need to make it look like you escaped on your own. I need some of your furs”
The wolf allowed me to slice a chunk of hair from its neck and then slowly, and by the looks of it,
painfully began to shift. back to human form. As fur receded back into tanned skin and the wolfish maw
melted into a handsome human face. I too felt a flicker of recognition.
It was only after the shifter’s curly brown hair tumbled around his shoulders and he stood up straight
that I was able to place his features in my memory.
He was much thinner than the first time I saw him, and his eyes were heavy with fatigue but I
recognized the man as Plato,
Mavis true mate.
Plato clearly recognized me too because he raised his eyebrows in surprise and attempted a wobbly
smile. “Hey man, long time no see. Ignatius right?”
“You know this guy?” Carly stood behind me, peering over my shoulder while Will kept an eye on the
unconscious shifter.
“We should get out of here,” he mumbled quietly. “She’s going to wake up soon.”
Plato, who was stark n*ked where he stood before us attempted to take a few steps but doubled up in
pain almost immediately “I’ve been in wolf form for a while now, My b*dy isn’t used to this old form just
yet”
Will and 1 each slung an arm over our shoulders and escorted the weary shifter back through the
woods towards our base. but not before smothering him in Physalis leaves to mask his scent.
Before we left, Carly resealed the silver collar and put the key back around the unconscious shifter’s
neck. Next, she sliced Hato’s palm open to which he responded with a slew of m untered profanities
and held his list out to drop blood along the lining of the collar.
Finally, she added the tufts of fur that I had cut from his wolf form and dropped the collar to the ground.
It wasn’t the most convincing of faux escapes but it was all we could manage at the time
We led Plate on a roundabout route through the woods, having him hold his hand out to allow blood to
drip onto the dead Jeases of the forest Aher walking for about a male we decided it was far enough
and bandaged up his hand to turn and head) bark in the duection of our campi
G
The other soldiers were surprised with our new member and some of them eyed him with suspicion as
we sat him down in the small cleaning.
“Okay. Plato.” I crouched in front of him while Carly dug through our supplies to find him some food.
“Do you want to tell me how exactly you landed yourself captive in the Tally camp!”
He didn’t answer me at first, his eyes followed Carly as she hauled out the dried meat we had brought
with us. When she handed him a few sticks he dug into it with feral ferocity, wolling it down fast enough
to give me a stomach ache
After that he gulped down water from a bottle I handed to him and finally relaxed, wiping his mouth and
sighing like he had feasted on a gourmet dinner instead of musty hunks of beef and warm bottled
water.
“They had been hunting me for a while, he said eventually. “Around New Year, I got a call from my
brother warning me that there was a price on my head. His mate had been a Tally member until she
met him, she joined his pack when the Tally became more militarized. Before she left she caught wind
of a search going down for a shifter named Plato who met my description”
He examined his thin wrists and cracked his knuckles. All of his joints could be heard clicking and
tweaking as if his b*dy was settling back into the human form he had been denied for so long. By the
look on his face, it wasn’t a pleasant experience and I pushed another bottle of water towards him.
“Do you know why they were looking for you!”
really me
He shook his head and gulped down more water before continuing. “Not at first. I didn’t even believe
that it was re they were after. I thought they must have gotten me mixed up with some other shifter
But not soon after my brother’s warning, three shifters came after me in my apartment in the city. I
escaped but barely, and I went on the run. Everywhere I went they followed me. Eventually, I made a
stop at my brother’s house to get my hands on some food, they caught me pretty soon after that.”
He rubbed at his eyes and ran a hand through tousled dirty locks Tve been held captive with them ever
since. They locked, mein wolf form and transported me in some dingy van of theirs
“All I managed to gather of why they kept me alive was that I was valuable to someone named Johan. I
think it could be the same Johan I met the same day I met you. Maybe you know something about
that? About why he wants me!”
I was about to speak but held my tongue for a moment. I had no idea how Plato would react to hearing
about the death of his true mate. It was a topic that would have to be approached carefully.
“It is the same man. Johan lost himself after everything that happened that night. It’s possible that he
wanted to find you to exact some twisted revenge.”
“But why? I barely had anything to do with that drama. Mavis was stringing me along just as much as
she was him, surely he understands that. And I rejected Mavis pretty soon after that anyway”
I hadn’t been aware that he had followed through with the rejection of Mavis. That made things a little
bit easier.
“I don’t think Johan is thinking very logically, I murmured. “He fueled by hatred and a desire for
revenge. He started by murdering his father. Then he took down Mavis too. Currently, he’s trying to
attack my pack and his ex-mate. It makes sense that he would also factor you into the equation.”
Plato opened and closed his mouth a few times in complete battlement. He blew out a breath and
buried his face in his hands. “Great. That’s just great. Dragged into a war because of someone else’s
vendetta. I should have never gone looking for my mate in the first place.” C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.
“You couldn’t have known it would come to this” I put a hand on his shoulder. Tm sorry your life got
uprooted in the process. But right now we need your help.”
“What kind of help could I possibly offer you?” Mato’s tone was disheartened and weary. “Look at me,
I’m not exactly functioning at peak performance?
“Don’t worry about that right now I brushed has words away. “I need you to tell me everything you can
about the Tally
Chapter 73.
shutters. You’ve been with them this whole time. I need to know what you’ve witnessed”
“I don’t know if there’s anything you would find useful. I spent most of my time tied to that post?
“Look, we know the Bielke are uning witchcraft to strengthen their soldiers, we’re trying to find out who
exactly is behind that. And those animated corpS**, do you know anything about that?”
A shadow passed over the man’s features and he grimaced “The dead guys I traveled with them in the
back of that van I mentioned Before they were, you know, brought hark
sade me sick to my stomach
Tally were
tallen enemies as popper soldiers. It was beyond twisted and it
“And The
And what about the other shifters Do you know anything of who’s behind the magic
me to look up to her
Plato scratched at his chin. They’re always mentioning somerne alleel Larly Tally. It’s possible that
she’s the one pulling the
s some kind of göl Shafters will come into the camp all bedraggled and sickly and then suddenly I
would see them walking around looking better than ever
“Have you seentilus Lady Tally:
“Only fromridan. And I can only assume that it was her. There a woman here who doesn’t look like the
rest of the Tally She’s small and kinda sir kly-looking but everyone gives her a wile berth and Ive seen a
few sh ither, bow when she panes.
always wears these long white dresses and I’ve even seen herrlimbing around in the trees
Something in his next wonds made my heart clench like a cold for had closed around the beating
muscle
“Her most defining feature is her long white hair. She always leaves it down and flowing around her. I’m
surprised the dors trip on t
Aballowing sundresa. Bate fert Long white fur streaming behind her as she ran further and further away
from me
Plato was stall talking, but his words were mullied and inaudible like he was somewhere far away. I was
alone in my foggy thoughts, enveloped in memories that I had stowed away a longtime ago…
Tenatus”
cas calling my name. Her voice was light and hilting but there was sadness underneath that facade.
She was looking for me, following me through that big house that seemed even larger in my child mind.
She told me she had to go away. She wanted me to go with her. I thought it was a game. I crawled
under the bed to hide, waiting for her to
“Ignatius
Her voice got more desperate, pleading. I was confused. I thought it was supposed to be fun Then my
father came home and it wain la game anymore
Trexall the parting sound of glass shattering more pleading, heavy furniture scratching across the floor.
After hearing her scream I pulled myself out from where I was hiding I rushed out of the front door to
my father’s side. Just in time to see her
Trave
Running through that open field to the sun as at set beyond the valley. So baight that I had to squint If
she had looked back I dali ser at Only the flowing, allowing material of her dress Her bare feet Her
white hair streaming out behind her
Ler and further away from me
teklatt”
man and silent for so lange had picked up his maling all over again