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Rune tried to talk me out of it. Erskine strutted like a peacock, as if I’d chosen him rather than doing my Alpha duty with a small side of compassion. Ignoring the crowing from one brother and the disappointment from the other, I accepted the fragment of Faery—what looked to me like a hunk of fool’s gold, but one that shone with rainbow sparkles when I looked at it out of the corner of my eye. Then I clambered onto Erskine’s human back with Kale on mine and Rune’s hand wrapped around my ankle.
We could only hold the position for half a second, but that’s all we needed. Erskine burst through an invisible wall, hair turning to mane and arms to hooved forelegs as he drew us back to the human world. There, he ditched us atop a pile of sticks that was far less comfy than the mossy sward we’d landed on the last time. Still, I would have been glad of thorns for the smell that surrounded us—my familiar forest, not far from pack central.
Meanwhile, Erskine’s tail flicked in my face. “Yes, I remember what I owe you,” I called after his retreating butt, only to have my promise strangled by dozens of pings overwhelming my brain.
They needed me. Not just one pack mate but everyone. They were desperate. They were fighting. I was Alpha and I needed to fix this. Now.
“Take care of Kale,” I told Rune, words garbling in my mouth as I thrust the chunk of Faery into his hand while shedding clothing. Then I fell to the ground on four paws.
For his part, Rune’s face twisted, his eyes averting. Something about my wolf disturbed him, or maybe something about wolves in general? Either way, he nodded. And that was all the reassurance I craved.
So I turned away from my Consort and my buddy and back to the pack who’d floundered in my absence. More information flowed in as I ran between familiar trees, my pack mates fighting beings so strong that the word fighting didn’t really apply.
Instead, in my mind’s eye, our enemies’ dominance froze my pack mates one by one. The reason the invaders hadn’t just slapped down everyone in the first place became clear as a scarred and twisted visage pressed into Willa’s face, our bond allowing me to see and hear as the enemy spat out: “I want my mate returned to me. Where is she?”
His pure rage knocked Willa back a step, but she managed to force out words that only slightly quivered. “Your mate trespassed on Whelan land just as you are trespassing. If you don’t remove yourself, you will be removed.”
Moss and flowers tore loose beneath my claws, but I didn’t pause to placate the Guardian. Instead, I arrowed for the edge of pack central. Arrowed for the source of danger to my family and friends.
There, I wiggled between pack mates, frozen and otherwise. Leapt for the invaders...only to fall onto my nose as someone more dominant than I was barked out a command.
No, not someone. Lupe. I recognized the frigid strength of her voice, even in wolf form. Clawing my way back to my feet, I peered up at our enemies, the ones I’d assumed were unknown invaders.
They weren’t. It was the Samhain Shifters—Lupe, Ryder, and a scar-faced stranger. The ones Rune trusted with his true name.
And I trusted Rune’s judgement, which meant words rather than claws were called for. So, even though the gesture seemed counterintuitive, I shifted upward into my naked human skin.
Now I was weaponless, defenseless, and facing down werewolves who’d proven their superior dominance. Still, my voice was even as I told them:
“I am this pack’s Alpha. Whatever happened, I will make it right.”
***
“MY MATE....” THE TWISTED-face shifter lunged at me.
Lupe’s voice, now human, froze him just like she’d frozen me. “Tank, stop.”
He stopped, although he didn’t fall onto his face the way I had. Instead, we eyed each other, two naked Alphas. Then Tank spoke again, this time without moving. “I want Athena returned to me.”
Athena? The name rang a bell. Wasn’t she...?
Sure enough, Caitlyn’s voice pinged in my head, desperate yet focused. “Alpha! I tried to tell Willa that Athena had your permission to be here, but she wouldn’t listen.”
So that’s why the situation had gone south so fast. “Where is Athena?”
“Locked in the holding cells.”
Where we put out-of-control werewolves. The walls were embedded with metal bars.
Alright. So this would require groveling. I was willing to grovel, but better to do so without the entire pack watching.
“Willa,” I snapped, “lead a full retreat then tend to injuries.”
Her nostrils flared. For a split second I thought she’d argue. After all, before my father’s death, she’d been stronger than everyone but the Alpha. She’d been easily able to bark me into line.
But now I was the Alpha. And, after a moment, Willa bowed her head then ushered away the rest of our pack mates.
Which left me alone with the Samhain Shifters. Slowly, the sounds of crickets rose back around us. Slowly, I forced my head sideways to bare my neck.
Total submission on Whelan land wasn’t the gesture of an Alpha, but I was prepared to do whatever it took to protect my pack mates. Keeping my voice low, I spoke the words that matched my bodily show of weakness.
“I humbly apologize for the misunderstanding. Athena will be released immediately. Caitlyn will lead you there.”
Because the teenager had circled back around to wait in the shadows. At the sound of her name, she stepped out, appearing bolder than I would have been at her age when facing down so many dominant wolves.
She even had the gumption to remind me of the point I’d forgotten. “I can’t open the holding cell without the code.”
A secret that only Willa and I were privy to. A code that unlocked not only the holding cells but everyone’s personal quarters and our emergency arsenal as well.
And...I trusted Caitlyn with that secret. So I recited numbers silently even as I eyed the Samhain Shifters. Tank appeared placated, Ryder was smirking, but Lupe’s face remained stony.
“You and I have matters to discuss,” the leader of the Samhain Shifters observed.
“And we will,” I promised. “As soon as I check on the safety of my pack mates.” And made sure Kale was okay. And set a force fire into motion.
For a long moment, the air turned electric between us. Then Lupe turned on her heel and stalked off.