The house had gone quiet.
The lights were still on, but nobody was moving in the windows anymore. The fighting had alerted them. Our surprise was completely ruined.
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
Something slammed into me from the side.
I barely saw the rogue before it knocked me flat on my back. A massive wolf, all teeth and claws and matted fur that smelled like death. It pinned me to the ground, its weight crushing the air out of my lungs. Its breath was hot and rotten on my face. Drool dripped onto my cheek.
I screamed and shoved the taser against its neck, jamming my thumb on the trigger.
The rogue convulsed, a horrible sound ripping out of its throat. Its whole body jerked and spasmed. It stumbled back just enough for me to roll away, scrambling on hands and knees to get distance.
But as it fell, its claws raked across my arm.
Pain exploded through me, hot and sharp and immediate. I cried out, grabbing at my arm, feeling blood already seeping between my fingers. The cuts burned like fire.
The rogue collapsed, still twitching from the shock. Another wolf from our side jumped on it and finished the job.
I leaned against a tree, breathing hard, looking at my arm. Three long scratches ran from my elbow almost to my wrist, blood welling up in thick lines. Not too deep, I didn’t think. The claws had caught me at an angle, slicing through skin and some muscle but missing anything really important. I could still move my arm, still grip things.
It hurt like absolute hell, but I’d live.
The fighting was winding down around me. The rogues were being pushed back, their attack falling apart as our wolves regrouped and fought back hard. Bodies littered the ground, and most of them weren’t ours.
We were winning. Barely. But we were winning.
The last few rogues turned and ran, disappearing into the forest with their tails between their legs. Some of our wolves chased them for a bit, making sure they wouldn’t circle back and try again.
Then it was over.
I looked around at the aftermath. At least four of our wolves were down. Some just hurt, some not moving at all. Everyone who was still standing looked beaten up and bloody.
But most of us had made it.
Cole shifted back to human and ran over to me, his eyes going straight to the blood soaking through my sleeve.
“You’re hurt.”
“It’s not bad.” I pushed myself up straighter, gritting my teeth against the pain that shot through my arm. “Just some scratches. I can still move.”
“You need medical attention-”
“Later.” I looked him dead in the eyes, letting him see I wasn’t going to back down. Not now. Not when we were this close. “Knox, Blake, and Thomas are still in that house. We finish this first. Then you can patch me up.”
He stared at me for a second, probably trying to figure out if I was going to pass out or something. Whatever he saw in my face must have convinced him, because he nodded. “Okay. But you stay behind us. I mean it.”
I didn’t argue. I knew what I could and couldn’t do. Fighting wolves wasn’t on my list of abilities.
The team pulled together, everyone who could still fight forming up around me. Someone handed me a strip of cloth and I wrapped it tight around my arm, trying to slow down the bleeding. The pain throbbed with every heartbeat, but I shoved it to the back of my mind.
I could hurt later. Right now I had a job to do.
Noah appeared next to me, covered in blood that wasn’t his. His green eyes were fierce and angry.
“Ready?” he asked.
I looked at the house.
