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Without another word, he and Mom shifted and joined the rest of our fighters in the charge toward the enemy. Kolton’s gray wolf howled and bolted from a copse of trees to join them.
“It’s time,” Wyatt said, squeezing my hand.
I looked into his eyes and nodded. “Let’s do it.”
We shifted and joined the charge. The battle began in a small valley formed by an ancient, long-dead river. The Haveners and Wyatt’s pack were the first to initiate contact, slamming into their opponents with the awful sounds of war—fists and claws on skin, jaws on flesh, screams of pain and rage, howls, snarls, growls, and cries of terror. It was so much worse than I’d thought it would be. This was somehow worse than the attack on Simon’s lab. It was more personal, more visceral.
Even as I waded into battle, biting and clawing at the shifters charging toward me, I couldn’t help but notice that only a third of the amassed warriors had charged. The rest stood high up on the hill, watching. Were they reinforcements that would join if the initial force faltered?
Jaws snapped at my throat, ripping me out of my thoughts. I tumbled into the wolf, biting its chest in response and tearing a great chunk of flesh from it. Beside me, Eli blasted three shifters with her magic, sending them sprawling, unconscious.
Wyatt’s wolf howled in rage as he tore into a group of five shifters. I could sense and hear his thoughts as he fought. They were faint, almost like suggestions in my mind.
Bastard, I’ll show you.
Fuck, that was close.
Thought you could take me, did you, you little prick?
Then one directed right at me:Yes, Kira, I can hear you.
Had I been in my human form, I would have laughed in delight. The words were his. From his mind, somehow projectedinto mine. This connection we shared was amazing. I’d always known the mating bond was powerful, but I’d never expected this.
My inner wolf was full of bloodlust, but there was an undercurrent of fear at Wyatt being in harm’s way. She was terrified that he’d be hurt or killed.
Two of Crew’s people, a male demon and a human female, were in trouble. They’d been cornered by three wolves. I finished off the enemy I was fighting and tore through the forest to help them. Crap, I was too far away. I’d never make it to them.
The demon pushed the human behind him and growled at the shifters. Before any of the wolves could lunge forward, a new wolf sprang from the trees, slamming into the group and knocking them all aside. The wolf tore into one of the attacking wolves’ throat.
Gavin. He helped the demon kill the three Ninth Pack wolves.
Before I could get there to help, they’d dispatched the wolves and moved on to fight together as a group.
Gavin’s appearance wasn’t the only surprise. Despite the Ninth Pack’s superior numbers, we were winning, pushing them back. The rest of their forces still hadn’t joined in the fight. What was happening? When I’d first seen how many fighters they had, I’d come to terms with the fact that, at best, it would be a coin flip on whether we won. Now, those of the Ninth Pack whowerein the fight were tiring, backing up, giving ground.
Almost as though they’d heard my words, a new wolf came sprinting down, howling loudly. It rushed around the edges of battle, not engaging, but stopping every few feet to howl again. Jayson. He was attempting to rally his pack and call the remainder of his forces down to help. It wasn’t working.
A few members of the attacking group had a resurgence of energy, but when they tried to re-engage in the fight, others from their pack snapped and bit at them, trying to drag them away,to retreat. Jayson howled in desperation and rage, glaring at the ones who hadn’t joined the fight. He barked at them petulantly like a common dog.
He’d lost their respect, and we were watching it happen in real time.
The Ninth Pack fighters broke apart and retreated, and just like that, the fighting ceased.
I wasn’t the only one shocked by what was happening. Wyatt’s pack, mine, and Eli’s forces all stood, mouths agape as the Ninth Pack devolved into chaos. Eventually, Jayson and the few remaining loyal members of his pack ran off, tucking their tails as they did.
Coward.
Chapter 20
Wyatt
What the fuck was I seeing?
I stopped to leap onto a boulder, shifting into my human form as I did. Jayson was doing his best to rally his troops, but they were done. I could see it, they could see it, and now Jayson understood it as well. He hadn’t even bothered to join the fight. Instead, he’d run around like an idiot, howling and begging the pack to help.
The small force that had actually been willing to fight turned on each other, and the entire team broke apart. A few dozen wolves followed Jayson away, but the rest stayed in the forest with us. The group on the hill drifted down to join the surrendering shifters.
One wolf shifted to his human form and raised his hands in surrender. “We give up!” he screamed, obviously terrified that we’d descend on them and finish the job. “We’ll join you.”
