[Busy protecting pups,] she replies shortly. I sigh, knowing she’s safe, and look at my aunt. With a silent agreement, we push ourselves to our limits, racing over fallen trees and tall bushes. I pass by the cottage, relieved to see nothing has been disturbed, and pray to the Goddess that Kaylee is safe, still sleeping soundlyin our bed. I head towards the flower field to find Jenny and the pups.
The sounds of fighting have grown louder, and as Aunt Amelia and I burst through the tree line, I see how strong Ivory Fangs truly is. Surrounding the five pups is a circle of warriors, both in human and wolf form. Jenny leads their protection, her auburn wolf taking out an enemy that got too close to the scared pups and tearing their throat out. She notices me watching, and I give her a quick nod before joining in the fight.
[Try to keep one alive. We need to know who these wolves are,] my aunt orders through the link, a ‘Yes Alpha’ chorus sounding in response. Taking a deep breath, I scent out ten wolves who don’t belong to Ivory Fangs or Growling Heart. These are our enemies, and I waste no time tracking them down.
More wolves join the fray, and I spot Simon still unshifted. In his hand is a strange-looking gun, and it isn’t until he shoots it at an enemy and they fall to the ground, quickly shifting from wolf to human, that I realize it’s a dart gun. Each dart must be a tranquilizer holding some form of drug to knock our intruders out immediately.
With Simon and his gun in hand, the fight ends just as quickly as it started. Three of the ten wolves I’d scented were captured alive by me, Simon and three other warriors. The aftermath revealed that a total of twenty wolves had crossed our borders, though, and two had managed to escape. The rest had been killed before my aunt could send out her order to keep one alive.
“Take these men to the dungeons and the others to the morgue. I want to know who sent them and what their aim was,” my aunt, now shifted and wearing a baggy shirt, orders.
Everyone is busy cleaning up the mess of blood, fur, and bodies. Some are off to the side receiving medical treatment—a few intruders had wolfsbane on their claws.
Off to the side, I find Jenny still in wolf form. She carefully circles the pups, her eyes watching them as she whines reassuringly. They smell strongly of fear, and my heart breaks to know that these pups, who can be no older than nine years old, had to go through such a frightening event.
[Are their parents on their way?] I ask her, Jenny stopping her circling to look at me.
[They are. Two were actually part of the circle protecting them,] she links, nodding to a pair of warriors that stand to the side, arms crossed as they scan the now trampled field of flowers.
[Who would do such a horrible thing? Attacking helpless pups in broad daylight?] Jenny continues sadly. I find myself sighing and moving to nudge her with my snout.
[Ramos is behind this. He’s after my family’s lives,] I answer in a private link. I know I can trust Jenny. I’ve watched her interact with Kaylee since joining Ivory Fangs. I explain what Ramos is planning and that Kaylee and I plan to take back Oak Fur from him. Jenny is silent, her eyes watching me with fear and hesitation before she turns to look at the pups.
[I know you two will succeed,] she finally says, her trust in me radiating through the mind link. Taken aback by her blind trust, I just nod and thank her before making my rounds to check on everyone.
Ramos crossed a line today by sending wolves on a preemptive strike. Part of me knows he’s testing the waters, testing Ivory Fangs’ strength. But going after pups is just diabolical, even for him.
[We need to have an emergency war meeting,] I finally link my aunt, reaching her side after my final check.
[I know. It seems like our attack will have to move up another few days,] she agrees, her eyes staring into my own.
54
Amelia
Slamming my office door shut, I link everyone not to disturb me while making my way towards my desk and collapsing into the soft leather chair. So much has happened in the last two weeks that I feel Ivory Fangs is slipping out of my control as alpha, and now, with this attack just at the borders of my pack, it feels like the world will crumble down on top of me.
I knew that leading a pack would be a lot of work. I knew that my misogynistic, power-hungry bastard of a younger brother would feel inferior when he learned I was an alpha, a wolf on equal footing to him. I never thought he would let his hatred and views on women cloud his mind so much that he would attack innocent pups to satisfy his own ego and pride.
What’s worse is knowing that Kaylee and Lucas plan to leave the safe home I’ve tried so hard to build for them to take down Ramos. I know for a fact that Nathaniel is too busy with thenews of his heir coming to be too involved, but how long will his attention be diverted before he decides to take revenge on my pups for them killing Ramos, Marilyn, and their unborn pup?
“Love.”
Looking up at David’s voice, I watch my mate slowly close the door and walk towards me. I push off the chair and rush into his arms, letting his scent and warmth wrap around me as I finally cry out all the pent-up anger, frustration, and fear that has been building inside me, thankful that my office is soundproof.
“Shhhh, darling. Everything will be alright in the end,” David says soothingly, rubbing my back.
I just cry. Cry for the pain my pack will face soon. Cry for the fact I feel useless right now and couldn’t stop enemies from sneaking into my borders, cry for the fear of losing Kaylee and Lucas to a war my brother caused due to his own ego. I cry and cry and cry until I can no longer cry and am left breathing in David’s scent, my mate just holding me lovingly and peppering kisses atop my head.
“Feel better?” he asks when I have calmed down.
“A little,” I admit, wiping away the remaining wetness on my face with my sleeves. David hums, tucking my head under his chin. Somehow, we’ve ended up on the sofa in my office with me curled in David’s lap.
“Want to talk about it?” he asks.
I mull over the question, unsure if I want to. So much has happened since Kaylee was kidnapped. My worry for her hasgrown, and somewhere along the line, I stopped thinking of her as my goddaughter but as my actual daughter. She’s such a bright young woman, and for her to endure so much pain breaks my heart.
I love Lucas. He’s my nephew, and I will always see him as such, but Kaylee is the little girl I looked after long before I became a mother. Her parents left her in our care, and watching her be a target in all this mess hurts.
