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The next day, another trip was made to Evergreen General. This time, it was Dylan in the driver’s seat. He went to pick up Ma and Dad. Ma’s condition had stabilized enough that her doctors had approved her being discharged. It was finally time for her to come home.
Once they were settled in, I gathered everyone in the lodge’s lounge. Gena pulled up a chair so she could sit next to Kingston. Nana Jordan and Connell had arrived arm in arm. Dylan sat in the center of the couch, bouncing his knee impatiently like he already suspected the nature of the announcement I’d be making. Ma and Dad sat off to the side, away from everyone else, and Felicity was perched in an armchair, our sons cradled in her arms.
Denny had been right… about a lot of things, actually. But most importantly, he was right that we needed to warn the pack about what we’d witnessed at the Du Pont estate.
I was dreading making the announcement. There was just no avoiding it.
If Quincy and Samuel wanted war, then whether we liked it or not, we’d be going to war.
Denny stood by my side as I recounted every detail I could recall. The small army camped on the Du Ponts’ lawn, some of them criminals, some only teenagers. The news that Quincy had found a way not only to create feral wolves, but somehow bind them to his command.
“My father was killed by a feral,” Denny said solemnly. “Our pack was plagued by them for the last years of his life. Ever since, I’ve made it my business to track and eliminate as many of them as I can. Bullets won’t stop them, save for a headshot. At best, they might slow them down.”
“Zombie rules,” Kingston muttered under his breath. “Shit.”
“Their behavior is violent and erratic,” Denny continued. “They’ve spent too long in their wolf forms, and the more often they shift, the harder it is for them to shift back until they can’t do it anymore. Once that happens, every element of their humanity gets eaten up and burned away. They’re not in control of themselves. All they want to do is kill. If you’re lucky, you only have to deal with one at a time.” He cleared his throat and lowered his gaze to the floor. “Lucky is something we’re not.”
“These won’t be your average ferals,” I continued. “They’ve formed up in some pretty formidable numbers, and those numbers are only going to grow. Plus, if what we overheard is true, Quincy has found a way to command them. Blood-bound, Samuel called them.”
“Blood-bound...” Dad looked around the room with confusion. “Any of you ever heard of that? I sure haven’t.”
One by one, they all shook their heads.
“It’s something I’ll look into,” Denny said. “Until then, we need to prepare.”
“In three months, Samuel and Quincy believe they’ll be ready to march on Evergreen.” I scowled. “Quincy wants to annihilate our pack, and Samuel wants to take Felicity for himself.”
“Fuck that,” Kingston swore. “It’s not happening.”
“Fuck that indeed,” Nana Jordan agreed. “My baby girl already has a mate.”
On the faces in the room, I saw anger. And fear. Only Felicity kept a neutral expression. I’d told her all of this the night before. She’d had time to prepare.
“If they’re coming for us—for me,” she said, “Then we should be ready for them.”
I nodded in agreement. “We need to ask the pack to get ready for war.”
The discussion that followed involved little resistance. Our family was brave. Together, we could be strong. We could give as good as we got.
Only Dad and Ma hesitated to add in their opinions. As the others fell silent, finally, Dad cleared his throat.
“Your mother and I…” He reached over and took Ma’s hand. She flinched a little but didn’t pull away. “There will be bad blood between her and the pack. If there’s war coming to Evergreen, she can’t be here for it.”
“They’ll see me as a traitor,” Ma said after a beat. Her voice was scratchy and meek. “I can’t undo the things that I’ve done. Least of all to you, Felicity.” Ma met Felicity’s eyes. It was the closest thing to an apology she’d given Felicity. Felicity returned the look with a tight nod. The closest thing to forgiveness Ma could expect. “We can’t risk undercutting your leadership by being here, Xander. Your father, they might be able to forgive, but not me. I’ll only drag you down.”
“They’ve got a point,” Denny agreed. “Anyone the pack can’t trust is only gonna be singled out in the days to come.”
“We’ll find you somewhere safe to go, then,” I promised them. “The rest of you… We need to be ready to fight.”
* * *
On a moonlit night in mid-September, the pack gathered at the lodge.
I paced in the den, trying to block out the sound of the crowd gathered in the lounge just outside.
Normally, public speaking didn’t rattle me this badly. But normally, public speaking involved spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations, not rallying an entire pack to face down a bloodthirsty feral horde.
“What do I tell them? What… what am I even supposed to say?” I asked, raking my fingers through my hair. “The world’s fucked, die with me here or die running?”
