The silence continued and then I heard the slight movement as someone leaned close.
“Have you ever felt the skin being ripped from your body, the claws grating against your bone?”
I looked up as Perry spoke.
“Have you felt the blood rush from your body, and looked into the eyes of the one who struck you, watched them run, knowing you were going to die?” He didn’t blink as he held my stare. “Ihave,” he told me with quiet conviction. “Alpha, you’re not a monster for using your Will on a pack to find the ones who would betray us. How many are you going to be able to get to in time to force the shift?”
I closed my eyes against the truth.
“Okay.” I felt Axel and Brand straighten as I spoke. I opened my eyes and met Brand’s look, his eyes shining with approval. “But if I commit this violation, I do it once, and once only.”
“Alpha?” Brand asked cautiously.
“Tell Killian to bring everyone. I do this once, and I do it as one pack.”
“I’ll tell him now,” Brand said as he reached into his backpack for his phone. It would be a miracle if he got a signal out here, but I said nothing as we resumed walking.
My heart was heavy as we followed Perry to the pack hall, watching everyone to see if anyone was surprised to see him walking with us. If anyone was expecting to see us with a corpse.
In the pack hall, Perry ate three full meals; no one questioned his appetite. He was young, maturing into his full adult self. If anything, they’d be more curious if hedidn’teat three meals.
I sat back in my chair, my mindlink searching for a familiar scent. Lewis…where are you? I searched, but I couldn’t find him, and I knew he was gone.
“Wolfe?” Brand murmured, sliding the phone across the table.
Killian:We’ll be there before noon.
I swallowed as I stood. “Perry?—”
“Will stay with Axel and me tonight,” Brand said smoothly.
I clasped his shoulder, my gaze on the half-empty hall. “I’ll be on patrol.”
Axel stood. “I’ll come?—”
“I need the run,” I said clearly, my voice level. “You know how to reach me.”
I left the hall, slipped behind the trail Rowen preferred, shifted mid-run, and tried to run the rage out of my system, but I knew that even though the Hollow was vast, it wasn’t big enough to burn out my anger.
I stoodat the edge of the ridge, the wind cutting down from the peaks above me. It carried the scent of the ancient mountains, whipping it around my bare body—pine, smoke, decay—filling my nostrils as my feet cut on the rough stone beneath me.
Familiar.
Dangerous.
Home.
I looked down the ravine, the sheer drop, the darkness below. A bird called out a warning over the night, but I didn’t need a cautionary call. I was in no danger.
Not here. Not on Luna’s soil.
My head tipped back as I looked at the clear sky above me, the stars out of reach, the heavens even further.
“You there, Goddess?” I murmured as I stared into the ink black sky. “Is this what you wanted?”
My heart was heavy. The Will of an alpha was a gift.
Agift.
