June 10, 2004 – 15:00
"Blue, are you home now?" said Sonylla over mind-link.
"No, I'm at the flyball stadium. I have a game tonight. Why?"
Coralis stood in the middle of the flyball field, staring into the middle of nowhere. Their coach was talking, but she wasn't listening to him. Sebastian gave her an odd look.
"S?" said Sebastian, and Coralis nodded.
"I'm with Zahir, searching Clara's apartment. I think Emery's right, she was a traitor and she wasn't killed that night. I also think she's searching for you as we speak."
"Meaning she's either circling my London flat or the flyball stadium, hopefully. The game schedule is publicly known, so if she is searching for me right now, odds are I'll have another capture party like I had 8 months ago."
"Can you port your ass back to your apartment after your game?"
"No. The only fix portal I have there is between a closet and the rooftop which is intended for my panthers to use when they're home on full moon and you know how my wards are."
"You, flyball people! Of course, you don't."
"When I portalled my ass to Dallas at the beginning of the witch hunt, I opened it from elsewhere. Don't worry, I think I have an idea. Pray to our gods and goddesses that humans won't call animal control on me. Thanks for the tips, I'll keep us alive and kicking."
Coralis blinked and looked around her. Her coach was still talking, but Sebastian was staring at her.
"I got worried for a minute until I saw a smirk growing on your face," said Sebastian.
"I should be worried, but I'm not. Not this time, at least, but it will involve taking a pack up to their words."
Sebastian frowned and Coralis chuckled.
"I'll tell you more after practice," continued Coralis.
When practice ended, the team members headed to The Wooded Tavern to eat. Coralis and Sebastian stayed behind. Once everyone was out, Coralis activated a mute-ball and told Sebastian about what Sonylla told her over mind-link.
"AGAIN? Was it her the last time?" said Sebastian.
"I don't know, but it there is a possibility that she was involved. I don't know what Sonylla and Zahir found at Clara's, but if she is searching for me, she won't find me," said Coralis, pulling her phone out.
"I hope you aren't planning on doing what you did the last time again."
"No," said Coralis, glancing at Sebastian before searching for Alpha Collins's phone number in her contact list. "As I said many times, Frank made his point, and I can't exactly run from him now, can I?"
"All right, what's the plan then?"
"I'll let you know in a minute," said Coralis as she pressed to call.
"Alpha Collins," said the Red Crescent alpha after the first ringtone.
"Blue Thunder on the line. Is it still okay if I hide within your pack land for some time?"
"Yes, of course. For you, anything. Will you mate come with you?"
"I need to confirm his plans for tonight and coordinate some things, but he probably will."
"Let me know what time to expect you and just meet me at the packhouse when you get here."
Coralis ended the call with Alpha Collins and pulled Frank's number. Before pressing to call him, she sat on a bench and looked at Sebastian, who was frowning.
"Hiding at Red Crescent pack is a good idea if the people hunting you don't know you're there, but if she'll be circling the stadium, watching you, how will you lose her crew before you get there? If Frank picks you up here on his way there, that would get eyes on him, so that must not be your plan."
"Frank is supposed to be working with Liam right now. Liam recently found his mate in the Red Crescent pack. I can easily get him to give a ride to Frank there. Clara and her crew will be looking for Blue Thunder leaving the field on a stick, or possibly walking to the parking lot. They won't be looking for Cheetah sneaking to the back woods through the tunnel entry."
Sebastian laughed as Coralis pressed to call Frank.
"Hey luv! What's up? Why do I hear Seb laughing behind you?"
"Two questions. What are your plans for tonight, and is Liam going to his girl tonight? As for Sebastian, he's laughing at my plan, as usual."
Sebastian laughed louder, still standing.
"No plans so far. Stephanie works tonight, so I was planning on checking with Mom if she wanted to pass by to watch the game tonight. Liam is going to see his girl after work, yes. Why?"
"You remember Emery telling us about Clara being still alive?"
"Yes, is she after us?"
"She is after me, so I'll go hide at Red Crescent pack for a couple of days. Think you can get a ride with Liam there tonight?"
"Yeah, we can drive to the apartment, to leave my car there and grab some stuff, and then yeah, sure, I'll meet you there tonight. If you think they'll follow you after the game, would it lead them to your hiding place?"
"You sound like Sebastian, hun. Red Crescent pack isn't far from the flyball field. I plan on leaving here as Cheetah, casually following the people exiting through the back tunnel entry leading to the back woods. Once I'm far enough, I'll change into my panther form and run there."
"Yeah okay, I get why Seb was laughing. Of course, you had a genius plan."
Coralis ended her call and left the stadium with Sebastian to join their teammates. She felt eyes on her, from afar, but she didn't change her trajectory.
"Thanks for taking me to the Red Crescent pack," said Frank to Liam when they got onto the highway.
"No problem at all, I was going there anyway to see Sarah."
Liam was a member of the Moonlight Pearl pack, located near Lachute. His parents lived on pack land with his younger sister, but he rented an apartment in Montreal. He met Sarah a couple of times when they were kids, but she left to study abroad soon after turning 16.
She returned to her pack at the end of December. In March, she got injured in a fight involving rogue wolves. She got taken to Healing Moon while Liam was there to pick up his mother, Jessica, before going to their family house for dinner. He felt the strong pull to her as soon as she entered the clinic. They marked each other soon after, but she didn't want to move in with him just yet, as she wanted to spend a little more time with her family.
A little bit after 20:00, Liam turned onto a dirt road leading to the pack. At the end of the road, there was a gated fence. Liam parked his car between two large shrubs so it wouldn't be seen from the road. They jumped over the fence and were stopped by two guards soon after.
"You need to go back, sir," one of them said to Frank.
"He's fine, Paolo. He won't go back," said Liam as he mind-linked Sarah.
"He's human."
"He's Blue's mate. You want problems with her and your alpha?" said Liam while Paolo glanced at the other guard.
"We'll take him to the dungeon then, alpha can decide," said Paolo, taking a step toward Frank.