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Just thinking of my missing mate had my wolf on edge. I could feel her need to run off after him. Even with me warning her of the dangers of Pierce waiting for us, she didn't seem to care. It was hard pushing her back while she tried resisting. She was pushing for me to shift, so she could run back to Kingsrose, but I couldn't let that happen.
"Rosie won't be able to hold out for three months," Javier declared, his intense eyes watching me warily. "Your alpha has the advantage right now since he has one of your mates with him. You won't be able to hold back your wolf from wanting to go after him forever."
"Shit," Del hissed. "How much time do you think she has?"
"I'd say a week. Maybe two, depending on how strong Rosie's will is."
Two weeks? I only had two weeks of resistance before my wolf succumbs to the need to retrieve our missing mate? That didn't leave us with a lot of time to do much of anything. I was hoping to learn more about the Wolf Moon's gift before we had to face Pierce again, but now it seemed that our hands were tied.
"Then we have a definite timeline to think about," Del said then pointed to me. "Well Rosie, what's your plan of action?"
I opened my mouth, planning to say…anything. But I didn't have anything. I didn't expect to have our backs against the wall like this. If Pierce wasn't going to hunt for us, then all he had to do was wait for me to show up at his doorstep. How do we plan for something like that?
"Then I guess we need to get on the attack," Kao piped in when he noticed my struggle to respond.
"Brilliant answer," Javier raised up a finger. "Now how are you going to make that happen?"
Kao's brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, we have you guys with us, so maybe you can help us fight him off. Maybe we can—" Kao paused then deflated, realizing a major flaw to his plan.
Javier nodded, knowing full well what prevented Kao from finishing that statement. "Right. You know very well what our pack laws are."
And there it was. Pack laws state that no outside pack could interfere with inside pack matters, and unfortunately this classified as inside pack matters.
Javier added, "We already risked the integrity of the Blue Moon Pack by helping you escape. The only reason my pack is spared of any repercussions is because Del's men were all human and not members of the pack. So, their interference has no effect on my pack."
"But you were in our territory," Kai pointed out.
Javier's eyes dropped to the ground, his hands balling into fists in his lap. "You're right, I was," he grumbled. "That was because I'm still family. If somebody noticed me, they could use it to attack my pack, but I had to step in for my sister's sake."
I nodded, understanding that Javier and his group were already sacrificing so much for me. How many of Del's men had we lost during the raid to get me out of town? Even one was too much. Shifters didn't really care about human lives when it came to war, but because Del was a part of Javier's pack now, losing one of her men was like losing a pack member.
"You could rejoin the pack," Raph suggested. "You know we'd welcome you back, Rose. Your mates too. At least then if Pierce comes after you, it'd be considered an attack on our pack."
"Raph's right, Rosa," Javier said. "You'd be safe there. We can protect you, you know that."
I did know that. They would lay their lives on the line for me, no questions asked. That was precisely why I didn't want to go back to the Blue Moon Pack. There were already enough casualties during my escape. The idea of losing anyone else would be too much for me. I didn't want to have that over my shoulders.
"No," I said flatly.
My brother scowled. "Rosalinda, be reasonable."
"Look, I get you guys want to protect me, but I left the Blue Moon Pack so I can find my own way. Rejoining your pack will feel like I've failed." I sighed. "I know it doesn't make sense, nor does it sound wise, but Kingsrose is my pack now."
"Then what are you going to do about reclaiming your pack?" Del asked in an authoritative voice used to address those that were meant to follow her orders.
That was when all my words abandoned me, leaving me to fend for myself without any way to respond. Thankfully, Kao stepped in to do the talking for me. "If we can defeat Pierce in an official challenge, then he would no longer be Alpha, and the pack would be ours."
Kai's body stiffened at the mention of an official challenge. The last time one was issued, it was because Kai was trying to win my freedom from Pierce. The end result was Pierce nearly killing him, and would have, if I hadn't interfered. I'd imagine that was still sore spot for my poor mate.
Del regarded Kao with a questioning look. "Okay, but who's going to challenge Pierce?"
Kao looked from his twin to me. There was no way Kai could do it again, and I couldn't see Kao doing any better. Without Joaquin being here with us, that left me as the only option remaining. I wasn't too confident in my strength as a shifter, not when I couldn't even handle Whitney, one of Pierce's betas. That defeat kept a tight grip on my self-esteem. I thought I could take her out without an issue, but she was clearly more experienced in combat than I was.
What choice did I have, though?
If I let any of my mates do it, then there was a very real chance their deaths that Atropos showed me could come true. I couldn't let that happen. Before I could pull a Hunger Games move and volunteer as tribute, Kao beat me to the punch.
"I'll do it," he declared.
