Lexie rolled into the barracks, gaggle of soon to be full-fledged fighters in tow, about 3 in the morning. Running extra circuits to search for Lulu and Brice left the pack spread thin. Increased patrols to watch for the shadow alpha and his creatures compounded the need for more squads. Senior pack members were assigned groups of green fighters for regular patrols or, as in Lexie’s case, the best trackers were sent to search for their missing pack members. Each day that passed since their disappearance increased the chance the pair would not be found. A few days felt like weeks. Exhaustion tugged at her as she sent the group of bleary-eyed soldiers off to their quarters.

Watching the recruits drag their feet down the hall to waiting beds, Lexie leaned on the wall then turned towards the mess hall. She tucked a stray lock of dark brown red-streaked hair behind her ear. There was still work to be done before she could bed down. Hopefully, Cully their cook, had a pot of coffee waiting for her. The double hinged doors swung loosely as she shouldered her way into the quiet kitchen area. The pungent odor of freshly perked coffee hit her nostrils. Lexie sighed gratefully. The light on the coffee pot blinked slowly indicating the coffee was no more than 15 minutes brewed. A giant mug sat upside down on a towel next to the pot. A plate covered with a bowl next to it held a note down to the Formica surface.

“Lexie,

There’s a treat under here for you.

Try to get some sleep today.

You still owe me a day of shopping in Indy.

~Cully “

She vowed to make time for her best friend as soon as this cluster fuck was squared away. Cully never failed to leave Lexie a pick me up after a long shift.

Lifting the bowl off the plate, Lexie smiled. A pair of croissants swirled with stripes of chocolate lay beside thin slices of an aromatic cheese. Flipping the double fist-sized coffee mug, Lexie poured the dark brew into the cup then tromped to the main mess with her snack. Illumination in the mess hall was low except a few safety lights along the far wall. She settled in before noticing the figure lounging in the shadows of a far corner. Damn, she was tired. How had she missed him? The broad shoulders and heavy boots propped on the table immediately told her who sat there even though his features were obscured by the darkness.

“You going to come talk to me old man?” Lexie called towards the figure. “You know Cully will skin you if she sees those shit kickers up on her tables.”

With a muffled grunt the boots slid off the table. Grinder’s salt and pepper head swayed forward into a beam of light. “Cully can get in line. Seems everyone wants a piece of my hide these days.”

Lexie narrowed her eyes. “Feeling sorry for yourself?”

Grinder rose, making his way over to her. His haggard appearance made the male appear every day of his age plus a few years. “No. Just worn out. Frustrated. Tired of not having answers.”

Lexie shoved her plate over to him. “Have a croissant.”

Grinder sat down across from her and eyed the bakery good hesitantly.

“Come on. You know it’s good. When was the last time you ate anything?” Lexie asked as her gazed scoped the War master. He looked thinner. She could smell a hint of whiskey on his breath coupled with a stronger than normal musk indicated he probably needed a shower as well.

Grinder picked up the flaky creation shoving half of it in his mouth. Lexie laughed as he chewed. Bits of bread clung to his mustache. He brushed them off and took a smaller second bite. He eyed her coffee.

“There’s more in the kitchen. You want a cup?”

“Where? I checked when I came in and there wasn’t any.” Grinder replied.

Lexie huffed, shook her head. “Like you don't know how to use a coffee maker. Wait here.”

She returned a few moments later balancing a coffee carafe, a second cup, and a plate heaped with croissants. Grinder furrowed his brow. “Where did you…”

“Ah ah uh. We aren’t talking about my scavenging skills at the moment.” Pushing the coffee and plate now heaping with croissants toward him. “Now spill.”

Between bites of pastry and gulps of coffee, Grinder began venting his frustrations to her. The Selene and Arch were on him about Lulu. Where did she disappear to? How had she kidnapped Brice? At the end of a lengthy interrogation, Cungr opted to temporarily relieve Grinder of his position. “Just until we can locate Lulu and Brice. Take a break Grinder. You are too close to this to be subjective.” The Arch Alpha counseled. Grinder's wife, Alice, was furious about their daughter. Blaming everyone except Lulu. Raging at Grinder for not being out there looking for Lulu. Finally, Alice kicked him out when he laid the damning facts out about their daughter. Now he was bunking with Alex. Alex, who when not in an extremely grumpy mood was performing nightly gymnastics with one of the visiting witches.

Lexie grabbed a croissant off the plate and bit into it. Pointing the baked good at Grinder. “So. I was right. You are moping.”

Grinder huffed throwing his hands in the air. “What am I supposed to do? I have been relieved of duty and kicked out of my home.” Angry at himself, he clenched his fists then pressed his knuckles into his temples.

Lexie hummed and took another bite of buttery goodness. After a swallow of coffee, she spoke. “Well, it’s not like you are a tactical genius and special Ops adept. I mean… come on. The Arch Alpha can easily interchange any jug headed solider as his War Master.” She flicked a bit of crust off her fingers. “Not one of your soldiers is loyal or willing to follow you to the world's end. I mean, shit old man. You are completely on your own. You aren’t friends with a flipping blood tracker or anything.”

Grinder’s gaze narrowed to slits at Lexie’s sarcastic tone.

She sighed. “Yep, completely hopeless. Nooooo options. Might as well hide away until everything is over while the rest of us bust our tails trying to get shit done.” With that, Lexie stood up. “I’m off to finish a few reports then try and get a few hours of sleep.” Gesturing to the plates and mugs. “Clean up, will you?” Then zeroing her focus on him. “Take a shower. You stink.” Grinder grunted. When Lexie turned he pulled his collar out and took a questioning sniff.

Watching Lexie walk through the swinging double hinged doors Grinder realized he had been moping. She was right. Sitting here feeling miserable helped no one. It was time to launch his own hunt for his daughter and Brice. The sun would be up in a few hours. Cramming the last croissant into his mouth he swept the plates and mugs up. His first stop would be the showers and then the secluded cabin on the edge of pack lands. Who knows, perhaps Salem and Garrett wouldn’t rip him to shreds for what his daughter had done to their mate.

*

Lulu woke to realize she was in wolf form. Her wolf must have risen causing the shift while she was knocked out. Good thing as the cave was cold. The chill could easily cause hypothermia. As her head cleared and vision sharpened she remembered Brice. Making her way to the water-filled depression she was at first relieved to see him still lying face up in the shallow pool. The fire in the cave had long gone out and now she could just make the trickle of sunlight from cracks in the rock above her. The scant illumination was barely enough to allow her wolf to see the walls of the cave and Brice.

Closer inspection revealed Brice’s respiration was shallow, a slight shiver wracked his body between labored breaths. Lulu nudged the male with her nose. He mumbled incoherently but did not rouse.

Crap, Lulu thought.

With some effort, she shifted back to human form and began to check Brice over. The bite of the cold cave air uncomfortable on her skin. Damn, he was cold. Dangerously so. At least now she could touch him. 

Lulu resumed trying to wake Brice.

His eyes fluttered erratically. “Come on big boy.” Lulu coaxed, tugging at his shoulder. Her fingers going numb where the fridged water from the underground spring touched her. “Brice!” She yelped. His eyes opened, but his gaze was unfocused. “You need to sit up. It’s too cold here.”  A bit more cajoling and pulling got Brice up enough to shift him out of the water. After a considerable struggle, she managed to drag Brice’s muscular 300+ pounds of dead weight out of the water and onto a dry section of rock near to the fire pit. Lulu rubbed his arms and legs vigorously. The whitish cast to his deep brown skin dissipaited changing to a reddish hue as he began to heat under her ministrations. Brice’s eyes slid closed again with a deep groan.

She scavenged about for more debris, delighted to find a few coals still smoldering in the fire from the previous night. Bits of dry leaves helped to stoke flames again and the twigs lit along with a few bits of wood stripped bare of bark like they were driftwood. Suddenly Lulu got an uneasy feeling, something the survival classes all the pack cubs took in the summers niggled at her. Why were such large pieces of wood this far into a cave? Damn she should have payed closer attention. She was more of a carpet kitten than a feirce shifter. The survival lessons never seemed like something she would need in real life. 

Searching the cave for more wood she looked up. Above her stalactites glistened with a light sheen of water. Among the hanging bits of rock and on small rocky ledges that ran along the sides of the small cavern were lodged bits of debris. Leaves, twigs, and larger chunks of debarked wood. If she jumped they were just in reach. She pulled down more of the driftwood and some twigs. Smacking herself in the head with one particulary large piece when it came loose. When she had what she felt was a suitable amount of fuel she stacked it off in a dry section of the small cavern.

Once the fire was crackling the cave began to warm. Eventually she’d need to figure out how to move the male out of the cave if he didn't revive. A few feet was one thing. The long cramped passage they entered by was a different issue entirely. Her werewolf form was stronger than her human but with her mixed human blood, unlike her father who was pure fey, it meant she could only shift to that form during a full moon. And the full moon was a week away. She wasn’t strong enough as a human to move him easily and her wolf couldn’t move him without biting into him. Her previous experience with his blood made it clear biting Brice was not a viable option. Her throat was still raw from the previous experience. Plus with his weight, she was more likely to pull a chunk of flesh loose than to move the massive male. 

Deciding she’d done all she could for him at the moment, Lulu began searching the lower sections of the cave for the tunnel where Brice initially drug her in. She found 3 possibilities. Becoming lost in a cave system didn’t seem like the best idea to her. Shifting back to her wolf form, Lulu hoped her enhanced senses would prove helpful. Also, it was nice not to be freezing her naked bits off. Sniffing about she caught Brice’s scent on the tunnel that led out of the cavern. She sighed in relief. Her stomach chose that moment to protest its empty state.

Crawling back into the cave with Brice, she checked the fire, then nudged him again. His skin was slightly warmer, but he still mumbled deliriously. Not good. After dragging a few more pieces of wood over to keep the fire going, Lulu turned back to the tunnel that would lead back into the woods. She was never the best hunter. At this point, there wasn’t a choice. It wasn’t like she could go to the grocery naked and penniless. Plus, she truly had no idea where they were.

The crawl out of the cave system took longer than Lulu remembered. The water in the passage swept away Brice’s scent in a few areas and she ended up going down side spurs that were, thankfully, short dead ends before returning to the correct route. By the time late morning sunlight graced her fur Lulu was a nervous wreck. How in the hell had Brice found that cavern? Goddess. What if she couldn’t find her way back through that twisted mess? There was a small tugging in her chest, a drive to go back into the cave system, back to Brice. Trusting that her instincts would bring her back to Brice, Lulu set off into the woods. She wasn't big enough to take down a deer. That was supposing she could even stalk up on one. Rabbits, she needed to find a few fat little bunnies. 

It hadn’t rained in a few days. She was wondering what the weather would be like. Looking up at the sky Lulu's unease increased. There was something she wasn't considering. Perhaps a meal would help. She prayed Brice would be coherant enough to eat something when she got back. She needed him lucid and mobile or niether of them would make it.