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“Yes, I’m ready.” Her stomach was in her throat as they got into his SUV. “Thank you.”
He let out a gruff noise as they sped out onto the highway. “I hardly see any reason for you to thank me, given the circumstances.”
“You made sure Annie was safe,” she pointed out firmly. “She might not be alive right now if it hadn’t been for you and Kane getting there when you did, and of course, I never would’ve known what the bite would do to her.”
Bennett was silent for a time. “I’m glad she’s okay.”
He didn’t want to take any credit for it, and Stephanie decided not to push him. Bennett had put up some sort of wall between them sometime at the packhouse, though she hadn’t been sure why. She definitely felt the distance there, as though he’d pulled back from her as soon as he knew Annie was going to live.
He turned off the highway and onto a side road. “Remember everything Rex told you,” he said, his eyes fiercely on the road ahead. “On two legs, you’ll be like a beacon to the Bloodmoon Crew. The rest of us all know that and will be doing everything we can to defend you, but make sure you don’t get yourself into a bad position. And actually….” He trailed off as he rubbed his hand over his mouth.
“What?”
“I’d like you to stay near me,” he finished. “You were the one who volunteered to do this, but I still feel a certain amount of responsibility for you.”
It was hard to think of anything as being sweet when they were heading straight into the jaws of danger, but she still did. “Sure.”
“Here we are.” He turned up a driveway not so different from the Glenwoods’.
This one was closer to town and had a more modern feel, with hard edges and oddly placed windows. Several cars were parked in the driveway, and Stephanie noticed they were all high-end.
Bennett screeched to a stop as he spotted the rest of his pack members come streaking out of the woods. “It’s time.”
“I’m with you.” Her mouth tasted like copper as she commanded her body to do what they’d discussed. Stephanie jumped out of the truck. She ran at Bennett’s side, sticking close and paying attention to everything around her. She opened her mind, willing herself to allow in any psychic energies that could be found. They’d only had a little time to experiment with this new revelation before it was time to head out, not wanting to give the Bloodmoon Crew any further chances at retaliation. It’d worked well in the comfort and safety of the packhouse, but what would it be like out there?
Bennett transformed as he ran beside her. It looked like he was stumbling for a moment, but the awkwardness of the shift lasted for only a fraction of a second before his hands touched the ground as paws. It was quick, far faster than what Annie had been able to do, and he was soon another one of the Glenwood wolves speeding toward the Silvergrove packhouse.
They must have been expecting them. The doors opened. Wolves burst out with their teeth bared. Others, still in their human forms, were right on their heels, making their transition as they ran forward to clash with the Glenwoods.
Stay focused. Bennett’s voice was gritty in her head. Just see what you can pick up, and make sure you let me know.
I’ll try. I don’t know if I can talk to this many people at once. She’d hardly had any time to get used to this idea, much less understand how it all worked. What had been dismissed back at the packhouse as things they would work out on the battlefield now seemed like much more than minor details.
You can only do what you can do, and no one expects more of you than that. It’s the same for all of us. We just have to use our talents the best we can. Bennett joined the Glenwoods at the back of the pack as they moved up into the expansive lawn.
Right. They both had their secrets, and now it was time to put those secrets to use.
She opened her mind. It didn’t feel the same as reading a dachshund's feelings or reaching out to her daughter. It wasn’t even the same as touching the minds of the Glenwood women in the safety of the packhouse. It was complete chaos.
There! Over there!
Kill them all!
Don’t let them get around the back of the house!
Stephanie relayed this last one to Bennett. It was the one that stood out amongst the noise inside her head, the one that seemed relevant.
Good. Keep going, he encouraged.
The mayhem inside her mind was nearly making her dizzy. Everyone was speaking at once. She heard the Silvergroves as well as the Glenwoods, and it was too much. Then there was the sheer horror of what was actually happening. Wolves pounced on one another, ripping with their teeth and claws. Blood soaked into the ground and matted into fur. Her instinct was to stop this whole thing and patch them up, to get them on her exam table and fix them. She’d spent her entire adult life training to keep these kinds of horrible wounds from killing animals, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. Stephanie had been warned that people would die, and it was already happening. She wasn’t going to be able to do this.
Yes, you can.
Stephanie hadn’t realized she’d let that part outside of her mind. She put a hand on Bennett’s shoulder and steadied herself. He was right. She’d done plenty of other things in her life, and some of them were damn hard. She was doing this for Annie’s future as well as that of anyone else under the crushing control of the Bloodmoon Crew. She had to make it work. The scene in front of her would only keep happening unless she did.
She lasered in her focus, drowning everyone out as she concentrated on one wolf up near the Silvergrove garage. Wolves were fighting all around him. Blood was flying and teeth were flashing. He was bobbing his head up and down as he tried to figure out where to enter the fray. I don’t want to do this. But he’ll kill me if I don’t. I literally have to kill or be killed. This is horrible.
That one. He doesn’t want to fight. Stephanie fixated on the hesitant Silvergrove, hoping she could successfully explain who she meant amongst a sea of gray fur. He’s only doing it because they’ll kill him otherwise.
