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Chapter Thirty-Three
Tess
I feel their presence before I see them. The rogues line the forest by the back garden, hordes of them coming out of nowhere and taking up a defensive position next to the woods.
We've got trouble, I tell our wolves over mind link. I'm technically overstepping boundaries talking to them—the pack doesn't even really know me—but there isn’t time to worry about pack hierarchy or propriety right now.
Copy that,a wolf answers.We're on our way.I haven't gotten to know the wolves yet to know who answered, but I can hear him pass along directions to the rest of the pack, coming up from all sides.
"I thought your people had this place surrounded," Dominic spits at Waverly. I thought he trusted her well enough, but from the corner of my eye I can see him look at her suspiciously. With a pack his size, I guess he never really fully trusts anybody.
Who could blame him?
"We did. Wedo. I don't…" Words seem to fail her. She does look genuinely at a loss, so I get the feeling this development wasn't expected. I don't think this was a trap—not from The Sovereign Pack anyway.
"How many wolves do you have here right now?" Dominic demands. I'm trying to be understanding, but he clearly isn't prepared to offer the same. I can feel the tension radiating off of him. I reach out and touch his arm lightly, needing him to stay composed right now. We have no idea what we're facing.
"How many?" I repeat his question, but softer.
Waverly takes a deep breath and then straightens. I can see the transformation in her as she digests our new situation, stepping back into her Alpha role. "I have a couple dozen wolves scattered through the woods, but I'm not sure it will be enough. I'm assuming you brought the same?" She looks from Dominic to me for confirmation.
"I have close to fifty here," he answers for both of us. I wasn't part of planning the logistics, though now I wish I had gotten more involved. I promise myself right now that once we get through this, I will never make that mistake again.
"It's hard to tell if even that is enough." Waverly purses her lips, studying the rogues that are currently only holding their ground. I'm not sure what it means that they aren't rushing straight to attack. Rogues aren't exactly known for self-control.
Dominic pulls me closer to him as he tells her, "You go tell your pack to start making emergency calls. Tell every ally within a ten-hour radius to get here as fast as they can with as many fighters as they can. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"You go in and tell them, I'll hold our ground here," Waverly shakes her head stubbornly. I understand the sentiment. I know that the history of The Sovereign Pack calls for them to protect these grounds at all costs, even if it means sacrificing their own lives. But right now, I know Dominic and I have a better chance of holding the wolves off than Waverly by herself.
"Go," I say, the words coming out a direct order.
Her mouth opens, seemingly with another protest prepared, but her feet start moving like she has no control over it. I can feel Dominic’s gaze, trying to figure out what that was, but I don't even know myself. It's happened a few times over the years, me giving an order even though my rank shouldn't allow it.
Now's not the time to get hung up on it. "What do you think they want?" I ask Dominic as Waverly disappears back into the house.
They're still holding steady, not coming closer but also showing no signs of retreating. They're easy to recognize as rogues based on the disorganized way they stand among each other. It's a sign of poor leadership. Well-trained wolves always have purposeful formations. Other than that, there's nothing to indicate who they are or what they want.
But their presence feels threatening because there are no circumstances under which they should be here.
"I don't know," Dominic admits. "I'm not sure how any rogue thinks they would benefit from doing away with the Luna Sovereign. If anything, she protects their right to live as rogues just as much as she protects pack culture."
"Do you think…" Goddess, this question is painful. "Do you think they're here because of me?"
"What? No," he dismisses it instantly, but his voice doesn't actually sound so certain.
"Don't lie to me, Dominic. Do you think there's a chance this has to do with me? Because they sure left that message for someone, and it looks suspiciously like it's pointing to the same thing the spirits have been warning me about."
"Who would ever think they needed this many rogues if this was all about you? And why wouldn't they have had them surround us on the trip up?" he argues.
"I don't know." He has a good point except… "One of Callum's elders insinuated I was the reason the rogues attacked their pack. That it was my scent drawing them in."
Dominic tenses against me.
"What?" I ask him because he clearly has an opinion.
"Tess," he says my name carefully, as if buying time to think of a way to dress up his words in a way that won't hurt me. He's going to agree; I just know it. I brace myself for hearing him agree that it's my fault.
"It's fine, just tell me."
