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“Thank you,” I murmured. I glanced over at Lola. “Help her get some rest, Lola.”
Lola nodded and helped Lucille into bed. She began to chant softly, her hands moving in a fluid motion above my aunt’s head. Within moments, my aunt’s eyelids grew heavy, and she drifted off to sleep, her troubled expression finally at ease.
“Thank you, Lola,” I said.
“I’ll stay with her,” Lola said gently. “Now, let’s see what we can do to make sure we keep our loved ones safe from these bastards.” It was a shock to hear the mild-mannered woman swear, but that was a milder curse than what I called them.
With Lola attending to my aunt, Tori, Jaxon, and I gathered our things and headed for the truck. A tangible exhaustion had settled into my bones. Yawning, Tori climbed into the passenger seat, and within seconds, her head lolled to the side as her eyelids fluttered closed. A fierce protectiveness swelled in my heart. I would do whatever it took to keep her safe.
“Ridge, focus,” Jaxon urged, nudging me lightly as he settled into the backseat. “Let’s get home.”
I nodded, starting the engine and pulling onto the darkened road that led back to Blackwood Creek. The night was quiet, seemingly unaware of the turmoil that had unfolded earlier. Aswe drove, I kept stealing glances at Tori, her peaceful expression a welcome respite to the storm of emotions within me.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the armored vehicle barreling out of the woods until it was too late. The impact sent our car rolling, glass shattering, and the world spun in a dizzying blur. Tori screamed as the airbags deployed with a deafening bang.
“Tori!” I was pinned in my seat and unable to reach her. Adrenaline surged through me, temporarily banishing any pain from the crash. I shifted, my wolf form tearing through the mangled metal to reach my mate.
“I’m okay,” Tori said, struggling to free herself from her seatbelt. Panic clawed its way up my throat as I scented blood, but it wasn’t Tori’s. It was Jaxon’s. His nose was broken and bleeding.
“Get down!” Jaxon yelled as shots rang out, bullets ricocheting off the wreckage. I threw myself over Tori, shielding her as we took cover behind the mangled car.
“Silver bullets,” Jaxon said, examining one lodged in the twisted metal. “Hunters.”
A cold fury settled within me, and my wolf snarled in defiance. The fuckers had chosen the wrong pack to mess with. A primal howl tore from my throat, echoing through the night air. The shifters patrolling the area around Blackwood Creek would now know we were under attack. I prayed help would arrive soon.
“Jaxon, watch out!” Tori cried, her eyes locked on a hunter rounding the car.
Reacting instantly, Jaxon shifted into his wolf form and lunged at the hunter. His powerful jaws clamped down on the man’s arm, wrenching the gun away and sending it clattering to the ground. The hunter’s scream was cut short as Jaxon’s sharpteeth found his throat and jerked. Blood arced through the air, staining the earth beneath them.
“Ridge, behind you!” Tori’s warning came just in time as another hunter tried to sneak up on me. He gripped a syringe filled with a dark liquid—wolfsbane. My vision went red, and we collided in a flurry of snarls and fists. The hunter was strong, but nothing was stronger than my need to protect my mate and my pack. With a powerful swipe, I knocked the syringe from his grasp and sank my teeth into his shoulder. Following Jaxon’s lead, I went straight for the throat. Disgusted, I spat out the bitter taste of his blood before finally finishing him.
Panting, filled with a mix of exhaustion and anxiety, I quickly scanned the area, my heart racing. Fear clawed at my insides as I tried to locate Tori. What I saw before me was so astonishing, it made me stop and stare in awe.
Tori, still in her human form, easily fended off two hunters trying to reach her. She moved with grace and deadly precision, her body a living weapon. I’d seen her training with Kyle, but watching her in action took my breath away. She was ruthless, focused, and relentless. A true alpha. How had I not realized it sooner?
Her true alpha nature had to have been concealed when her wolf was on the verge of going feral, just like our fated mate connection. When she’d arrived in Blackwood Creek, she’d been fighting her wolf for four years, believing herself to be a monster. Tori had kept her wolf locked inside her, never allowing her to come out. Her wolf had forced herself out, taking over only a couple of times since Tori’s first shift. I’d never heard of a shifter not shifting or having any kind of balance with their animal for that length of time and not becoming feral. It only proved how strong Tori was.
“Is that all you’ve got?” she taunted one of the hunters, ducking under his wild swing and landing a solid punch to hisjaw. He staggered back, dazed, before she swept his legs out from under him and knocked him unconscious with a well-placed kick.
“Nice try.” She smirked at the second hunter as she deftly dodged his attack, grabbing his arm and using his own momentum to send him crashing into a tree trunk. He crumpled to the ground.
“Ridge, are you all right?” Tori called, scanning me for injuries. The sight of her, my fierce and capable mate, filled me with an overwhelming sense of pride. She was magnificent. “We need to regroup and prepare. This won’t be the last we see of them.”
My mind was already racing with plans and strategies. Together, we would face whatever dangers lay ahead, as a united pack, and as true alphas.
With a vicious snarl, I lunged at the last hunter, my teeth sinking into his arm as he tried to raise his weapon. A cry of pain escaped his lips before Tori moved in, her powerful shift into her wolf form serving as an intimidating force. The hunter dropped his weapon and scrambled away, his face twisted with terror as he made a desperate sprint to the armored vehicle parked nearby.
As the sounds of more wolf howls filled the night air, signaling that backup was on the way, adrenaline pumped through my veins. We had managed to repel this group of hunters for now, but it was only a matter of time before they returned.
“Ridge, Tori!” Clawson called as he and a few other shifters emerged from the shadows, assessing the aftermath of the fight. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the retreating armored vehicle. “We need to find out where those hunters are hiding. You two”—he pointed at two lanky shifters—“follow them, but keep your distance. Report back once you have their location.”
“Understood,” one of the shifters said with a nod. The two of them quickly shifted into their wolf forms and darted off after the escaping hunters.
I shifted back into my human form. “If they’ve attacked us like this, they’re testing our strength. They might be preparing for something bigger, a larger-scale attack perhaps.”
Clawson looked at me thoughtfully. “You’re right. We need to get all the wolves we can to check the perimeter. I’m worried more hunters will try to get close to Blackwood Creek tonight.” Turning to the remaining shifters, he barked, “Spread out and patrol the area. Keep in contact and be ready to respond if needed.”
The shifters nodded and dispersed to follow his orders. I looked over at Tori, her fur bristling with tension. Her eyes met mine, and I saw the fire within her, the fierce alpha that she was.
