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“Quartzite and Rhyolite pack, we have called this meeting as we have received disastrous news.” The murmuring picked up again as Sawyer gazed over our pack and Nolen’s. He held up his hands again, quieting the wolves before us. “This morning, we found the Delta of the Rhyolite pack trying to free the captured Dolostone wolves. He admitted to being a spy for them, and we need to decide whether we attack now, today, or wait until tomorrow. We know you all are tired. We are too. But if you want our lives back the way they were, we need to take action and fast. What do you say?” The wolves before us stood there in silence. Some spoke quietly to their neighbor. We all waited for the answer. Many were unsure, I could see it on their faces. A younger wolf from Nolen’s pack stepped forward, determination set on his face.
“Alpha Nolen, Alpha Sawyer, I will stand with you to fight to take my home back the way it was when Alpha Nolen was still in power. I’m not going to let my sisters and brothers starve because I’m too afraid to stand up to a tyrant. I vote we go today! The sooner we defeat Alpha Wade, the sooner I can see my siblings again.” Wolves from both packs seemed to be taken aback by the bold young wolf, but a few others from the Rhyolite pack waded through the crowd and came forward, kneeling and bearing their necks. Quartzite wolves stepped forward as well, and my heart swelled with pride at them.
Nolen stepped forward, a smile on his face. I could sense the pride he held for this rag-tag part of his pack, and it seeped through to the others. “Thank you, Zac. Rhyolite, Quartzite, we leave now. Grab what you need for battle and be prepared to leave within the hour. I appreciate each and every one of you. No matter what pack you are in, we are all family!”
The pack of wolves cheered after his comment, and the wolves going with us began to hug loved ones and go to their houses to obtain what they needed. I stood, going up to Nolen. Linking my hand in his made him glance down with a smile. “We should head up and grab our stuff.”
“I want you to stay here, Amora. To help protect the pack here and protect Danika.” Furious, I jerked my hand from his and took a step back. I knew he was not trying to sideline me.
“No. I refuse to stay here. The Rhyolite pack will be my pack as well when WE defeat Wade. I will not stay here with my tail between my legs while others fight! I’m an alpha too, and I will go.” Stomping my foot on the stage shook the floor under us; a few of the wolves that stayed in the big hall turned their attention to me. Nolen glanced over to Sawyer, and I saw him shrug from my peripherals.
Nolen sighed and then ran his hand over his face. He glanced back at me, and I could see a slight smirk begin on his lips. “As much as my wolf demands me to lock you in your room. You are right. You will be their Luna, and you are also an alpha by blood. But if you come, you have to stay close to Lucas. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you!”
Chapter Twenty-Two: Taking Back Rhyolite Pack
The packs were assembled in the front of the packhouse as Sawyer and I stood in front of them, dividing them into regiments. We left one to defend the pregnant she-wolves, pups, and older wolves, who had gone back into the underground safe house. Danika was not too thrilled that she was back in there. But with her carrying the heir of the Quartzite pack, she had no choice. Once we had everyone where they needed to be, we shifted and made our way to Alpha Wade and my territory.
Amora’s wolf ran beside us, and Lucas ran at her left flank. Sawyer was on my other side; I would have enjoyed this if we weren’t running to our possible deaths. Her wolf was as beautiful as she was, and the way her coloring spread it made me believe we were really made for each other in every sense of the word.
Where Sarge was black, she was grey and the same with my grey and her black. Her eyes were amber, just like in her human form, and she was bigger than most she-wolves. But she was still not as large as Sawyer or me.
Getting closer to the pack border, our unit’s right and left sides split off, skirting the edge to flank the Dolostone wolves, while Sawyer and I took Amora, Lucas, and my new friends onward. Glancing over my shoulder, I nodded to Hannah and Harley. They both had a particular job to do since they were the fastest, and I hoped we weren’t too late.
They both broke off and ran ahead, weaving through the trees and underbrush until I could no longer see them. Fin, Olli, and Markus continued with us as we slowed and made our way stealthily over the pack border. It had started to turn dark, and everything was quiet as we tramped on further into the pack land.
Blood and decaying flesh floated to us just as we made it to the wood line. Sarge snarled softly, making Amora’s wolf come up to him and nuzzle him. We will make Wade pay for what he has done to our pack!
No sound reached us; the territory was eerily silent. Which made me worry about the pack members here. Glancing over to Lucas, I tilted my head; we couldn’t actually communicate in wolf form until I took the pack back from Wade and became alpha again.
Lucas’s eyes glazed over for a few seconds before he gazed back over to me. He shifted back to his human form and kneeled beside me, his hand on my massive shoulder. “The pack is there but are unsure if Dolostone is still here since they told the others to get in their homes and not come back out.”
Sawyer shifted, and then I did. I glanced over at Lucas and then at Sawyer. I didn’t like that the land was so quiet, I turned to Amora’s wolf, crouched low in the bushes. “Sawyer, ask the wolves that went to the rear if they have seen anything. I don’t see Wade running back here and not trying to fight to keep the territory.”
Sawyer’s eyes glazed over as he conversed with someone from his pack. We all waited, watching for anything that might force us to shift. Sawyer turned to me, his eyes back to their usual color. “They haven’t seen anything on their end either. We need to take a few wolves with us and scout the inner part of the pack territory.”
I nodded, turning to search for Olli, Fin, and Markus. Finding them, I motioned for them to come to me. I glanced around at them, trying to figure out what needed to be done. “Alright, you guys. I need you all to come with Sawyer and me. Lucas stays here with Amora, and I’ll signal when everyone needs to attack.”
Lucas nodded, and I was pretty sure Amora rolled her eyes at me, but she kept quiet. Turning to Sawyer, I gave him a brief nod before shifting back to Sarge. Sawyer and Lucas shifted back as well. Lucas went to Amora and stood beside her, while Sawyer and I, along with the other three wolves, snuck out of the wood line and into the clearing where the training fields were.
This field was once beautiful and lively as pups trained on it. Now it held decaying bodies and bones from my pack. The stench alone masked our scent as we stalked further inward. Each rustle of sound stalled our progress through the territory. The town’s stores were closed, but I noticed a curtain move back into place at the top of one of the store’s apartments.
We were almost to the packhouse when I caught mother’s scent in the air. It was faint and masked with the smell of urine and feces, but I could tell it was her. When we rounded the corner, I spotted Alpha Wade standing at the top of the steps, my mother on her knees as a warrior wolf held her by her knotted and matted hair at his side.
Tears streamed down her face as she spotted the group of wolves at my side and me. A cruel sneer held its place on Alpha Wade’s face. I wanted to claw this wolf to pieces for what he had done to my mother! Her face was cut and bruised as if someone had been hitting her, and I would find out who.
I nudged Sawyer, and he slunk back, and Fin took his place. His lips were drawn up away from his teeth, but no sound came from the reddish-brown wolf. Wade kept his gaze on me. I was hoping that Sawyer would be able to reach the wolves that were at the edge of the territory without alerting Wade that he was mind linking them. “So, you thought you would sneak up on me? Too bad one of your little omegas saw you in town and is mated to one of my warriors.”
So, some of my people have mates in the Dolostone pack. That could prove problematic for me. Especially if the Dolostone wolf was extremely loyal to their alpha, I didn’t know what I would do but keeping them apart was not something I would consider. Staring back at the old wolf, I tried to keep my gaze from going to my mother. That wolf would pay for hurting my mother. I felt the nip to my tail and began to shift back to my human form. “I can’t help what a mate does for their other half. But if you think that I will just sit back and let you take packs, you are wrong.”
The old Alpha laughed and went over to the warrior holding my mother, a sinister smirk on his lips. He grabbed hold of my mother’s arm and forced her to stand. The other wolf stepped back away from his alpha. “Tell me, Nolen, what do you think will happen to your mother if you try to take back these weak wolves? As we speak, your dad is hanging by his wrists in silver chains.”
My mother whimpered, which made me even angrier. A cold, wet nose pressed into my palm, I glanced over, and Sawyer’s eyes met mine. Nodding to him, I brought my gaze back to my mother. “Wade, you’re going to wish that you had never come across our packs. Because today you will cease to exist.”
Letting Sarge back in control, we shifted in seconds and quickly ran to my mother. I spotted Hannah speeding toward us on my right side. Alpha Wade had his full attention on me and didn’t realize Hannah was on him until she ran between him and my mother. My mother was knocked free and grabbed hold of Hannah’s fur, and she took off to the woods.
My jump landed me on top of Wade, and I grabbed him by the arm between my teeth, throwing him as wolves poured out of the woods and packhouse. Massive bodies clashed against each other as Wade shifted in mid-air, staggering as he landed on four paws.
I rushed him as he came toward me, brandishing his fangs as saliva ran down the white ivory bone. He had years on me, but I was stronger in my youth. Using my massive paw, I swiped at his face, knocking him to the side and off the porch. He got up quicker than I thought he would, but I met him in the middle of the stairs, grabbing hold of one of his ears and slinging him to the side once more.
