“Shoot them!” I heard the Wolfsbanes shout in the distance. “Take them down. Come on. This is our chance.”
It really wasn’t. The Wolfsbanes didn’t realize it yet, but they’d signed their own death warrants when they’d dared to come here.
Shifting into my wolf form, I howled, summoning my Firewolves to me. They instinctively complied, gathering around me in an organized formation. We didn’t stay in one place, since that would have made us the perfect targets. Instead, we started running, heading to the shores of the lake.
Normally, I wouldn’t have tried something like this. Alpha Clayton was many things, but he wasn’t an idiot, and he knew I wouldn’t retreat from battle. But right now, his vision was clouded by the chaos, and I was relying on that to blind him to the obvious.
From here, I could perfectly see the undisturbed, crimson water of the lake. The Wolfsbanes were following us, just like I’d known they would, and we had to zig-zag a lot so we wouldn’t get shot. It was a tedious process, but fortunately we didn’t have to keep the ruse up for too long.
Once I was satisfied that we were in the right place, I let out another sharp howl. This one was a message, one meant only for the Firewolves. And my troops understood. They emerged from the water like one being, their fur covered with dripping crimson liquid.
It had been difficult for them to hide in the lake, since they had to keep their heads above water so they could breathe. Fortunately, there were enough plants around the shore to cover them and to hide their scent. The Wolfsbanes never saw us coming. My team and I stopped running and faced them dead on, while our reinforcements hit them from the back. Even with their guns, our opponents had trouble taking us down.
As expected, they directed their hostility at me. With Rowan gone, the Alpha bloodline of the Firewolf Pack was broken. If I died, the leadership of the Firewolves would wither away. Someone else would take over the pack in my place, but it would never be the same. And I was close enough to them that their bullets could do significant damage.
But the chaos vibrated dangerously through me, and my bloodlust flared even brighter than before. Despite my brief silver poisoning, my instincts were sharper than ever, and the Wolfsbanes couldn’t hit me.
As I jumped on one of my opponents and tore his throat out, I thought about my brother. Soon, Rowan and I would meet again, and when that happened, I would finally punish him like he deserved. It would be his blood—and Luna Clayton’s—that I would taste. But in the meantime, I’d have to content myself with the deaths of the other Wolfsbanes.
Maybe this was for the best. The Wolfsbane Pack had been a thorn in my side for too long. It was time for them to be destroyed. The chaos had given me a sign on what I had to do.
It was a shame that my determination to protect my pack kept me from pursuing my true goal, from finding my mate. But I had to believe in the chaos and in my fated other half. I had to believe she would wait for me. If I didn’t, I would lose myself to the madness, and that was something I couldn’t afford.
Eight
Chapter 8
Rowan
For the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t know what to do. All my life, ever since I’d started to mature, I’d helped my brother organize our pack. We’d been through some tough moments, but I’d never felt lost or anchorless.
But now, if the Bone Crushers were to be believed, my plan to keep my mate safe had failed. In this situation, I really didn’t know where to go.
I’d never been a quitter, though, so as soon as the Bone Crushers left, I started working on an alternative. “We have several potential solutions. We could take refuge somewhere in the Badlands while things die down. Or we could try to find another route, maybe go into one of the human towns. If we’re careful, Rufus might lose our trail there.”
Sam hummed thoughtfully, assessing my suggestions. “I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve never been in the human towns.”
“I have, but I was much younger. It was a long time ago.” I looked at our female. “What’s your take on this, Luna?”
She had already shown herself to be perceptive, far more than I’d expected. She’d sensed the Bone Crushers before we had. Maybe she had a suggestion about this too.
“I want us to have a lair together,” Luna blurted out. “I think we can be safe here, in the Badlands.”
Her insistent tone confused me. We’d already established that we wanted to have a home together, but Luna’s words suggested something had changed.
Nate’s eyes widened. He and his twin seemed to understand her a little better than I did, where it came to this incident, at least. That might have made me jealous, except for the fact that I had a bond with them too. And through it, I sensed and I knew what worried them.
“A pregnancy? Fuck.”
I didn’t know much about the way females dealt with their pregnancies. In the Firewolf Pack, females tended to be reclusive, particularly after mating, and the topic of pregnancy wasn’t brought up without the permission of both partners.
It was very early still for Luna to be sure that she was carrying a litter. But the possibility was there, and we couldn’t discount it.
We had to do everything in our power to make her comfortable. If she wanted a lair in the Badlands, that was exactly what she’d have. “Any thoughts?” I asked Sam and Nate.
Nate grimaced. “We have a few extra places, but nothing we could turn into a permanent safe place.”
I quickly revised our options and came up with an idea. “All right. We’ll retrace our steps and take cover in the female bear’s lair. Badlands bears like to live in bigger caves, so we should check it out.”
