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Another, but he remained hidden, moving behind the buildings to the right.
And others. Our pack. All of them.
“Chris, Tanner,” I said through gritted teeth. “In the tow truck. Rico in my truck. They need help.”
Joe rumbled lowly and disappeared into the divide that split Main Street.
Mark huffed a hot breath against the back of my neck.
The red wolf shrank back against the growl of a pissed-off Alpha, a low whine in the back of its throat. Its ears were flattened, its shoulders low to the ground. Its tail was curled up behind its hind legs as it backed away slowly. For a moment its eyes flickered, the violet fading to brown before going back again.
The timber wolf had lifted itself to its feet. Its violet eyes narrowed at me, teeth gnashing as it took a step, chain dragging alongside it. Behind it, I could see Rico in the truck, peeking his head over the door.
The timber wolf coiled and—
Carter launched himself out from an alleyway. He collided with the side of the timber wolf, knocking it off his feet. Fangs and claws dug into flesh, the burst of blood shocking against the white snow. The timber wolf snarled in anger as it landed on the ground, turning its head to try and close its jaws around whatever part of Carter it could get. It was bigger than Carter, but Carter was faster. He twisted, avoiding the fangs snapping in his direction. Carter’s back left paw hit the chain, and he yelped in pain, a thin wisp of smoke curling up.
Ox darted toward my truck and Rico. The red wolf scrabbled backward, trying to get away from the charging Alphas. Even through the storm in my head, I could hear Ox saying get pack get pack get pack and run run we run we don’t fight not here not now we run and even before their words finished echoing, the raven began to move. It felt caged still, like something was trying to stifle the bird, but it wasn’t enough.
I crossed my arms, hands grabbing the opposite wrists. I dug my fingernails into my own skin and scraped down, sliding my hands until I was palm to palm, slick with blood.
The timber wolf craned its neck farther to try to get at Carter, and there was a brief moment when I thought it hesitated, nostrils flaring as its nose came into contact with Carter’s side, but it didn’t matter. My blood dripped onto the earth, and the chains wrapped around the necks of each of the foreign wolves jerked up, pulling the wolves up by their necks. The legs of both the red wolf and the timber wolf kicked, trying to find purchase on the ground, but I gritted my teeth, palms pressed against each other, and—
they’re breaking they’re breaking they’re BREAKING
—took a stumbling step forward, feeling like my head was splitting right down the middle. It wasn’t just the voice of Robert Livingstone in my head. No, it was a goddamn chorus of voices ringing out as the wards turned against my magic, being taken away from me and made into something else.
I pushed through the haze that had started to fall over my eyes.
The feral wolves were snarling as they hovered ten feet off the ground. Mark stood at my side, pressed against me, tail curled around my hips. He was grounding me, trying to burst through the cacophony of voices in my head. He was here, he was pack gordo pack here LoveMateHeart, and whatever was happening with the wards was pushed to the background. The scene in front of me snapped back into startling focus.
Carter’s head snapped toward me as a wave of my fury rolled through the threads between us.
I ignored Rico as we walked by the truck, the door open, Ox gently biting him on the hand and pulling. I heard him gasp as we passed by, but it didn’t matter. He was safe. His Alpha would see to that.
Mark stayed by me with every step I took.
The snow stuttered and shook around us as if it were reacting to the unseen force of the magic burning in my chest.
I squeezed my hands into fists. The blood squelched between my fingers.
The chains jerked up, wrapping themselves around the feral wolves.
They yowled as the silver burned their flesh.
There, standing a dozen yards down the road, was Elijah.
Hunters had surrounded her, the doors of their trucks opened behind them.
All had guns trained on us.
Elijah looked up at the wolves floating ten feet above the ground, writhing in pain as their skin burned. She smiled, then turned her gaze back on me. “Gordo Livingstone, as I live and breathe. You certainly have grown up well. But I suppose we were all younger then. Lord knows I certainly was. But that is the way of things. Time stops for no man.” Her smile widened. “Or woman.” She glanced up again at the wolves. “Those are mine. My pets.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growled at her.
The hunters behind her laughed as Elijah cocked her head. “Didn’t you hear anything I’ve said? Gordo, this town, this place, has been judged. It has been found guilty. I am here to mete out the punishment for the sins of Green Creek. The blight must be eradicated. For too long, the beasts here have infected these woods. We came here once. We were unprepared. We won’t make that mistake again.”
Mark growled next to me, ears flattened and teeth bared.
