AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Em?” I groaned, my voice a foreign, harsh growl. I forced my eyes open, blinded by the brightness once again. Slowly, her face came into focus as she got closer to mine. She placed her cold palms on my face, and, despite the agony, I couldn’t help but smile at her beauty.
Her honey-blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail, a few pieces had broken free of their restraint and tickled my face as she leaned in close. Her soft lips fell open in surprise and happiness, and her crystal-blue eyes shone as they fixed on mine.
I took a deep breath and the scent of vanilla danced around me. I still felt lost, but Emily was here, and I knew I’d be able to work through anything as long as she was by my side.
My eyes traveled about the room, half expecting Griffin to be there, but was surprised to see Sam leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. I followed his gaze to Emily, who was staring back at him.
My body hurt and my mind felt hazy from the questions racing through my head.
“How do you feel?” Sam asked, propping himself from the wall to step closer. His brows were pulled together, and his shoulders seemed tense. I had the feeling that something important hung in the air.
I shrugged and winced at the pain from the sudden movement. “I don’t know; everything hurts, and I’m still kind of tired.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It scraped against my throat and burned like lava when it reached my lips.
Emily and Sam shared a heavy look, and she smiled grimly.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
* * *
CASSIAN
Emily and Sam explained everything that happened. I remembered sitting around the campfire, Griffin had finally taken a step out of his comfort zone, Emily and Ember dancing with the others.
My heart warmed, until a flash of Kellan’s face in front of me brought in an arctic chill. I couldn’t remember everything. I had managed to block it out until that point, but once they told me, most of it came back.
I remembered Kellan’s pack ambushing us, teeth flashing everywhere, snarling. Wolves from both sides hit the ground in defeat… and death.
And I remembered Grace.
My heart shattered as the memory surfaced, the weight crushing me all over again. She had jumped in front of me. Kellan was aiming for me, but she took the blow. The image of her body—crumpled to the ground, lifeless and still—would forever be burned into my retinas.
I breathed deeply a few times but that only acted as a catalyst for the rage building in my chest and the bile that rose in my throat.
No goodbye?My mother saved my life by paying with her own, and I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye. Members of my pack died, and their alpha wasn’t even there to see them receive their peace. I didn’t do my job of consoling their families because I was too weak, stuck in an endless sleep.
Having the funeral was a rational choice, and Sam was right in saying that it was disrespectful to keep the dead from peace. But nothing that I was thinking, or feeling, at that moment was very rational.
Anger coursed through me. Kellan’s satisfied expression after tearing apart my pack was my new motivation. Kill them.Slaughter their pack. Show no mercy.
My muscles bunched beneath me as I fought the urge to jump up and charge through the warehouse, heading directly for Kellan’s camp. To hell with my injuries. The only thing that held me back was Grace’s wisdom of an impulsive move is a folly in vain.
I’d never understood that growing up, but I realized that she was telling me to make my moves based on the pack’s best interest, and not on my own impulses. It might suit my anger, my ego, to attack Kellan’s pack, but it would be wrong to do so. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed to heal, both physically and mentally. My whole pack did. Attacking anyone now would only wound us further. Which was why I put a pause on storming into Kellan’s camp, with only the promise that someday, after we’d have time to prepare for it, he would pay.
I’ll make sure of that.
But in the meantime, I required some way to release this anguish. The urge to change and run for a few hours started to take control. My wolf growled in anticipation, and after a moment of hesitation, I allowed him to be released.
For once, the shift was painless and fast, and didn’t drag out like the forced one that we all had to endure. Within seconds, I was snarling with my spit dripping from my maw and my razor-sharp claws digging into the crumbling concrete floor.
In a flash, I rushed the steel door and popped it open as if it weighed nothing more than a feather. Making my escape, I ran down the passage of the warehouse and breathed deeply as the morning air hit my muzzle.
The hot sun beat down on my fur, and I barely noticed my pack members hanging around, gaping at the huge wolf growling and snarling on its way into the line of trees. I bolted into the woods that surrounded the warehouse at the far edge of the city and released a long, painful howl as I tried to outrun my pain.
Even though it was of my own volition to change, I’d been unconscious for eight days, and my body wasn’t yet ready for so much action. Had it not been the adrenaline fueled with my fury pushing me forward, I would’ve collapsed.
A few seconds later, howls filled the air from the direction of the warehouse. Another minute passed, and I could feel my pack running close by as they followed my lead. My wolves gave me my space, but the sound of their paws hitting the ground was close enough that I knew they were running with me. Their support supplied me with warmth, telling me that we didn’t need to speak to understand each other.
Each pack had a connection almost as strong and palpable as the mating bond. We couldn’t hear each other’s thoughts but could feel one another’s emotions in wolf form. I could feel that they were relieved their alpha had returned, the pain of their loved ones gone at the expense of another pack.
