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“Oh, I believe you would, Skylar Draven, but unfortunately, the damage has already been done. You’ve inherited a pack built on the blood, sweat, and tears of others, and your hands are just as dirty because of it.”
I pull in a shuddering breath, knowing this conversation has taken a turn for the worse. There was never truly any way we would appease the bears, not now, not after their years fighting just to survive at the hands of our parents and grandparents.
“So make us an offer we can’t refuse, because until then, the attacks will continue. You know what they say, all is fair in love and war, and this, my dear, is war. There was always enough room for us all to succeed, for us all to lead a prosperous life, but your ancestors’ greed will now be your downfall.”
He pauses his pacing and his eyes lock on mine. I can see a shred of regret tingeing his light brown eyes. My mouth opens, attempting to take advantage of the brief flicker of humanity I see there to salvage this meeting. But he cuts me off before I can even get a word out.
“When a people are pushed too far for too long, they have no choice but to show their claws and take what should be theirs,” he says, his hands transforming to punctuate his point. His fingers morph into thick bear paws, his deadly claws extending, promising death and dismemberment. “We learned from you wolves. If we want power, we have to take it for ourselves. That’s why I’ve amassed as many of us as I could find, realizing that our mistake has always been how solitary we’ve become. But no more.”
I glance at Zeke, gauging what we should do. His teeth are already extended, sensing the end of this conversation just as I had. I flex my finger, desperately wanting to pull out my gun—but I can’t, not just yet, not until they make a move. I couldn’t live with that guilt. Tension builds around us as though we’re all waiting for the other to make a move.
I whip my head to the door as a roar pierces through the otherwise silent room. Not a howl, but a guttural roar, coming from an animal much larger than our wolves. My eyes pop open in shock, and I dart my head back to Aldric as despair settles in my gut like a leaden weight. Pained howls cut through the room next, slicing through my chest like a knife.
“You might want to check on your people,” Aldric chuckles darkly, retreating to his guards as they step forward. A steely glint shines in his eyes, his massive clawed paw laid on the table now. “This meeting’s over.”
Chapter Twelve
Skylar
Myhandreachesforthe gun, taking comfort in the familiar grip just as Silas’ voice comes over the radio.
“All units, prepare for an attack. Delta team has a group of four bears converging on them,” Silas commands, faint growls and roars able to be heard in the distance.
“I’ll fucking rip your throat out,” I spit at Aldric, letting him sense the vitriol in my words. Despite the rage burning through me, wanting to rip the leader limb from limb, I turn to the door. My pack is my priority right now, I can’t let vengeance cloud my vision.
“I look forward to it,” Aldric says, cold dark fury edging his tone, gone is the mocking laughter.
His men step forward, blocking off my view of the vile leader. But he isn’t my target, and he knows it. I rush to the door, my gun raised to sweep the entrance just as Silas and the blonde woman burst through the door.
“I heard,” I cut Silas off. We can’t waste another moment, not when pained howls continue to pierce through my heart in the distance.
“I really do hope you survive tonight, Draven. It will be so fun to play with you. I have so much planned,” Alaric calls out behind me, but I shut him out. He’s only attempting to distract me, and I can’t let that happen.
I push past the others, the cool night air ruffling my hair as I step out of the container. The soft breeze contrasts with the gunfire and roars I hear in the distance.
“They ambushed the scouts first and made their way down to the other teams stationed along the paths. They just came out of nowhere,” Silas explains, rushing behind me as I clear the area. He hands me a rifle, and I holster my Glock knowing the larger caliber weapon will do more damage to their bear’s thick hides.
“This must have been their plan all along,” Zeke says, coming up to my other side. Instead of strapping on a gun, he begins stripping, sliding his leather jacket from his shoulders and pulling his tight-fitting black shirt over his head. My eyes catch on his sculpted chest for a moment before I shake my head. I need to focus on the destruction and death surrounding us despite my mate getting naked beside me.
Don’t look, don’t look,I remind myself, but I already have the picture of his rippling abs ingrained in my mind.This is so not the time to be ogling Zeke’s toned chest, Sky,I scold myself. That thought sobers me, bringing the pained howls to the forefront of my mind.
I glance at the ground, the flickering overhead lights casting his shadow on the pavement. It morphs as he changes into his wolf form, and only then do I look. My breath catches in my throat as I take in his wolf form, the bond pulsing even brighter between us. He’s huge by wolf standards, as most alphas are, his head level with my chest. My fingers itch to run through his thick black coat, wishing to take comfort in my mate’s wolf form.
No, I can’t.I stop, and distract myself from the word I’d thought too many times, the word that is beginning to become a part of my soul.
I grit my teeth as the blonde woman strips off her clothes, but Zeke doesn’t even look in her direction, to my relief. Instead, he subtly nudges his face against my palm, jolting me from the jealous turn of my thoughts. He definitely just read my emotions through the bond.Asshole. I glare down at him, and he huffs out a small wolfish laugh—well, as much of a laugh as he can manage in that form.
My wolf howls inside of me, begging to be set free, to help defend her pack. But I can’t. I’ve spent too long in my human form now, the brief run the first time in years that I’ve even shifted. If I was trained to fight as my wolf I would shift in a heartbeat, but I can’t take that chance. So right now my weapons will have to be enough until I have time to train, whenever that will be.
Zeke nudges me again, but I ignore it, not wanting to admit that to him. Instead, I continue forward, Silas by my side, still in his human form as well. He must’ve guessed the reason behind staying in my human form and is standing beside me in solidarity. I almost want to argue, to force him to shift if it will keep him safer, but I know he won’t.
I raise the rifle, placing the butt against my shoulder and sinking into the familiar stance to prepare for the recoil. My wolf form would be more effective against the bears, my teeth able to rip through their flesh more than the bullet would do if I didn’t get a headshot. My wolf could also maneuver around them faster than my human form can. I push down those thoughts, knowing it’s not an option. I would be a liability rather than an asset. The overhead lights illuminate our path, their beams stretching over parts of the makeshift buildings. Clearing the corner, I signal the others to follow, my eyes keenly assessing the tops of the containers, using my wolf’s vision to see past the parts still shrouded in shadows as the others move forward, scoping out the other side.
It seems as though the bears launched their attack in their animal forms, but I can’t be too careful. They do have access to weapons through the countless shipments they’ve stolen from us over the past few months.
I crouch down as I near the other side, my lips parting in a gasp, and I take in the mayhem. The flood lights perched atop the containers beam down, illuminating the dust billowing around the scene, kicked up from the desperate claws digging into it as bears and wolves launch themselves at each other. At least twenty bears stand along the path, their forms towering over the groups of wolves. A few betas chose to stay in their human bodies, unloading bullet after bullet into the bears. The bears’ roars of pain pierce through the forest, but they still swipe down at the wolves, catching some with their lethal claws.
The bullets slow them down, but adrenaline must push the bears on since barely any of them are downed. A few of our pack members lie on the ground, and I refuse to look too closely, unable to deal with the soul shredding pain of grief. No, those still fighting are the important ones. The first job is making sure they have a chance to survive.
