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I walked across the room, my heart still racing from my talk with Sawyer and my sprint down the stairs. We shouldn’t be sitting; we should be doing something.
My mom exhaled and gave me a pointed look.
I crossed my arms over my chest and sank into the lush leather.
My dad put his hand on my knee. “We know they’re going to come and are preparing.”
I shook my head as I gave him a wide-eyed look. “No, you don’t understand. They are on their way. Right now.”
He narrowed his eyes and scratched his balding head. “Our scouts say no one has left the Wolf Blood property.”
“They aren’t there. Lincoln let Alpha Dane think that wolves were gathering farther away. Now they know we’re here and arecoming. We’ve got less than five hours. Dad, we have to start evacuating or preparing.”
My dad looked over my shoulder at my mom. “We’ve already discussed this. There are too many wounded to move efficiently, and our best bet is to have a center of operations. We’re making a stand here.”
“But…” My words died on my tongue as I looked at them. Tears pricked my eyes.
Alpha Dane would march in here and kill us all. A painful lump formed in my throat. We’d come too far to lose now.
My dad squeezed my knee. “We are safe here, Sloane. Our scouts will let us know if they see movement.”
I shot to my feet and whirled around so I was facing them. “They aren’t coming from the pack. They were already on the road. They are backtracking from their previous destination. Your scouts can’t see them because they aren’t there.”
Mark stood and paced. “You’re sure about that?”
My dad picked up a tumbler from the end table and took a long gulp. “How do you know they are on their way? Do you know someone else on the inside?”
I worried my bottom lip and looked at the ground before nodding. I could trust my parents and Willa’s family. “Sawyer told me.”
My dad gave me a horrified look. “The future alpha? Sweetheart, he’s Alpha Dane’s right-hand man. He could be trying to trick you.”
My mom grasped my hand and tried to pull me back onto the couch, but I shrugged away. She gave me an exasperated look. “How do you know you can trust him?”
I opened my mouth. Would they believe me if I told them Lincoln and Sawyer were my mates? I hadn’t told them about Lincoln. How could I tell them about both my men?
“He saved my life and Willa’s. Ask her. She spent a lot of time with him. He knew that baby wasn’t his, and he didn’t say a thing. He hates what is happening just as much as I do.”
Jacob leaned forward and put both his elbows on his knees. “She did mention that he kept her safe.”
I pointed at Jacob. “See? We should leave. We still have time. Let’s get everyone out of here.”
Mark stood next to my dad and shared a look with him before he spoke up. “Sloane, we are done running. We are making a stand here. Sit down. We’ve made some security adjustments you should know about.”
I swallowed and took the seat next to my mother again.
My dad cleared his throat. “We are ready for them, whether it be today or next week. We’ve built a perimeter around the property using electric fences. The voltage is set high enough to kill on contact. We haven’t just taken refugees; we have members from other packs coming to help. There are more shifters here than anyone realizes. And Alpha Dane’s men aren’t the only ones who have built up a tolerance to wolfsbane. We are working on it, too.”
Ian, Willa’s brother, met my eyes. “A lot of us have lost family and pack mates. We are done running and know the only way forward is a united front together.”
My dad set his glass back on the end table. “I’ve gotten a few dozen calls today from alphas pledging to send men immediately. Some from as far away as Brazil.”
“Brazil?” That sounded like the call Lincoln had put out, but how? He must have found the time to change it. When, I had no idea.
Mark inclined his head toward Lincoln’s laptop. It still sat open with the screensaver up. “I’m pretty sure it was him that directed them here. We’re ready for them, Sloane.”
I drew in a deep breath and then let it out. We were doing this. I’d thought I was stopping a war by going to live at Pack Wolf Blood. I’d only prolonged it though.
The war was coming.
I looked around the room at my family. I prayed we’d all survive, but war always came at a cost.
I hoped the price wasn’t too high.
***
