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"We do head out, don't you think?" Rowan asked as he reached out and took my hand in his. The simple gesture didn't help my racing heart, but I did love how his hand felt in mine. I wondered what it would feel like in other parts of my body?
Wolves. Our friends. Right. We had things that needed our attention right now.
I cleared my throat and gripped his meaty hand in mine. "Right. Let's go talk to everyone."
I didn't miss his amused look, but I refused to acknowledge it or my grandmother's obvious smirk. When we stepped out of the cabin together, all sense of joy died down as I took in everyone huddled together. Del, Javier, Caleb and Raph stood off to the side. Sabina and Roxanne hung by the porch. That left the twins with Byron, and I counted eleven other shifters who seemed to have accompanied Byron on the long trek here.
Grandma was right, that was a lot of mouths to feed.
I didn't even know what to say to them, or who they were. Some of the faces were familiar from my one and only full moon gathering at Kingsrose. Maybe they were all from Kingsrose.
"How's Joaquin?" Byron spoke up first.
"He'll be fine," I said, then figuring I should acknowledge our new guests. "I want to thank you guys for your help and bravery. You fought valiantly, and I'll never forget it."
"These are what remain of the betas from Kingsrose," Bryon said, gesturing to the shifters in general. "They came with me after I told them what Pierce was planning."
"What do you mean? What is Pierce planning?"
"According to Byron, he's plotting an all-out massacre in Kingsrose." One of the betas stepped forward, a younger man who looked closer to my age with a mop of dark, curly hair. He knelt and presented his throat to me like he would an alpha. "Pierce is going to let rogue wolves invade Kingsrose and slaughter anybody he sees fit, whether human or shifter. Kingsrose is going to turn into a bloodbath if he isn't stopped."
My face paled at the news. "You're joking," I said to Byron.
He shook his head. "I'm not. I heard Pierce confirm it personally. He's been consolidating with a strange man who calls himself Mordred. The rogues seem to be following his orders and is working with Pierce to find and kill you so they can take the Wolf Moon's gift. Pierce wants to rid himself of everyone he deems unworthy in Kingsrose and forge a new pack with these rogues and any betas who still follow him, then use the Wolf Moon's gift to power them up and control him."
This was worse than I thought. Pierce was going to slaughter anybody he chooses and form an army of cruel Lycans that will be under his command. If that happened, there'd be no pack in existence who'd be strong enough to stop him. And the guy that Pierce was working with, Mordred, what was his deal? Who was he, and what was he getting out of this partnership? Unless...
Unless this also had to do with the New Moon's Curse.
"How much time do we have before Pierce attacks Kingsrose?" I asked.
The young beta stood up. "I have a pack member watching the lodge in our absence. So far, Pierce hasn't returned yet, but I suggest we get there as soon as we can. If we can beat Pierce back to Kingsrose, we'll have a better chance of protecting everyone. Right now, I don't think he knows of Byron and our absence from the pack, but I know sooner or later he'll start to wonder why Whitney hasn't reported back to him."
"She was supposed to rendezvous with this Alpha Pierce after apprehending him," Roxanne said from where she stood on the porch. "This plan of Pierce's is true. I saw it in Whitney's memories. She was supposed to meet up with him in two days to confirm whether she has you or not."
Two days to meet up with Pierce. That meant we had two days to get our asses back to Kingsrose before Pierce suspects that something happened to Whitney. We'd have to leave tonight just to make it back in time.
"What do you want us to do?" Byron asked me.
I tilted my head in confusion. "You're asking me?"
"You are the one who's chosen by the Wolf Moon, aren't you?"
"Byron believes you'd be the one to stop Pierce and save our home," the young beta said, then fell to one knee again. "Alpha Rosie, my name is Thomas Bradshaw, and I pledge my loyalty to you. Please, give me your orders and I will obey them."
The other betas that came with Thomas all followed suit, bearing their throats in submission to me and pledging their loyalty to me. Even Byron did the same. I looked to my twins in bewilderment, wondering when I became their alpha.
"This is your pack, milady," Rowan spoke softly in my ear. "Lead them and take back your home."
My pack. I was their alpha. When I left, I thought it would only be me and my mates against all of Kingsrose. Now we somehow found ourselves with an army of betas who needed our leadership. My leadership. Rowan called me the Queen of Wolves; the Wolf Moon's chosen. I was born to be an alpha, the alpha of alphas. It was time for me to step up and be the queen they needed me to be.
I took a step forward and addressed them all. "I accept you guys' vow of loyalty. Though this was unexpected, I will do everything in my power to prove myself worthy of being your alpha. We will head back to Kingsrose tonight, and make sure Pierce and this rogue army never get their hands on our people. We will rebel against your former alpha and show him that his reign is at an end. We are the renegades of Kingsrose, and we will fight."
The betas howled to the sky in their agreement, followed by everyone else singing the song of our people. The renegades of Kingsrose; the Kingsrose Renegades Pack. I liked how that sounded. I looked to my twins who seemed ready to head back home. I then looked from Byron to Rowan, grateful to have their strength as well. I also had my brother and his pack for backup, and Sabina and Roxanne.
The Wolf Moon was steadily approaching, and I had a feeling it was going to play a bigger role than I suspected. I needed to find my missing mates before that happened. I needed to be ready for the upcoming threat. As I thought back to that dream that I shared with Joaquin, I recalled the wolf silhouettes of my mates, and the monster who hid in the far back. There was no question that the dream was Selene warning me that one of my mates would be the one to kill us all, unless I did something about it. Which brought on the most important question: which one of my mates had glowing red eyes, and what would happen to him that would make him spell our end?
