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I disagreed.
"And I wish I was still around when you were suffering, because I might've stood up for you back then." I was surprised by how much I meant my words. Despite everything, I wish there was something I could've done to change his future. Maybe if he had someone in his corner, he would've turned out better. Maybe then I would've been more open to the idea of being his mate. Maybe then this war wouldn't have happened. Wishing for it wasn't going to change who we were today. This was our path now, and though my heart broke for what he went through, Pierce was still my enemy.
There was a flash of... something in his eyes as he registered my words. In that brief moment, I thought maybe I reached out to that tiny shred of humanity that had to have been buried deep inside him, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. Maybe Joaquin wasn't entirely wrong. Maybe he could change. Or maybe it was too late. Just because there was a part of him that may want to be different, that didn't mean he would do it. It was still his choice to try and kill everybody in Kingsrose, and to kill me for the Wolf Moon's gift.
Pierce backed away and cleared his throat. "I told you all you needed to know. The rest is up to you to figure out. Just know we'll be coming for you soon."
So that was that; the war was still coming. "When?"
"January. The day of the Wolf Moon. During that time, before the moon arises, only one of us will stand and command the strongest pack of our generation. If you want it to be you, you better be ready to fight your toughest battle yet."
And now we had a date set. Which meant we had between now and the day of the Wolf Moon to prepare. A little over two months seemed like a long time, but if Mordred was going from pack to pack to steal their best members and manipulate them into fighting us, two months was a lot of time to invade as many packs as possible. We had our work cut out for us.
"My mates will be ready," I said confidently.
The smug look on Pierce's face had red flags waving in my brain. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."
"Why?"
He chuckled. "Because while I've been here distracting you, Mordred has been dealing with my stepbrother and your little berserker mate."
Ice ran down my body as I processed his words. Then I looked around frantically as if I could spot Joaquin and Kai here in this realm. I looked back to Pierce and bared my teeth at him. "What have you done to them?"
Pierce shrugged casually, which made me want to tackle him all over again. But I needed to get to Joaquin and Kai first. To make sure they were okay, or to help them if they were in danger. He bowed like he was putting on a show. "My job. And now it's time for me to leave you to it. I'll be seeing you again, Queen of Wolves."
Pierce's body was soon concealed in a swirl of black smoke.
"Wait!" I ran towards him to grab him and make him tell me what was happening to my mates, but as soon as my hands reached for him, they gripped onto nothing but air. The smoke vanished and Pierce was no longer there. I heard my name being called in a frantic tone, but it was faint. It was a distant echo that I couldn't pinpoint. My vison blurred as I felt myself being pulled out of this realm, and I allowed myself to come back to my reality.
"Rosie, snap out it!" I gasped as my eyes shot open, finding myself back in Kingsrose, surrounded by the rose bushes from where I sat. The first thing I saw was Byron's bearded face. His hands gripped my shoulders as he tried shaking me back to earth. "Rosie, can you hear me?"
"Byron?" I questioned in a shaky voice, my hands reaching up to rest them over his.
Byron relaxed then. "Thank Mother Moon. Are you okay?"
Was I? It took me a minute for my brain to catch up to me, remembering what had happened. Then it all came back to me. Pierce, the war, the information on Mordred, Joaquin and Kai. I gasped as my grip on his hands tightened. "Joaquin and Kai. Where are they?"
"That's why I came to get you. I think they're in trouble. Joaquin got a call from Pierce, and then Kai took off with Joaquin following behind him."
I bolted to my feet, looking around to see Rowan standing beside me. No sign of Kao anywhere. "Where's Kao?"
"Kao ran off with some of our betas while I came to get you. Your brother's group and Roxanne said they'll stay behind to guard the lodge," Byron answered.
My fear for Kai and Joaquin's safety grew, knowing full well it wasn't Pierce they were going to run into. "We have to go. Now! They're in danger."
I wasted no time undressing and shifting into my wolf form. Byron and Rowan did the same and then we took off, using my connection to my boys as my guide. Hopefully we weren't too late to save them.
19
ROSIE
I saw the ebony-colored dome before we reached it. Mordred had to have been the one to create it, but what about Joaquin and Kai? Were they inside it? If so, what was happening to them? Pierce's warning about how strong and mysterious Mordred was kept ringing in my mind. The fact they knew Kai was a berserker wasn't helping matters either since we already speculated that they may come after him as well. Now my biggest fear was coming true.
The closer we got, the more I could make out the group of wolves huddled around the dome. A single black wolf ran towards it and tried tackling it so he could break through but was pushed back by an electrical force. A barrier, maybe? One that was meant to keep outsiders from coming in and keep his prisoners from escaping. I wish Roxanne came with us.
I shifted back and shoved myself to the front of the group. Joaquin's wolf stood off to the side while Kao seemed to have been the one trying to break in. If Joaquin was out here with the rest of us, then... oh no... Kai.
"What happened?" I asked in a raised voice. "Where's Kai?"
