My nails dug into my skin as I clenched my fists. The man who killed Tyson was standing right in front of me. I had been seconds away from attacking Gunner and putting an end to allofthis.
But then Gunner had pulled out proof that Niko was alive. I wanted to cry out in frustration and rage and grief. Gunner killed one of my closest friends, and then saved himself from death by attacking me with my greatestweakness.
Doubt clouded my mind again. It was still possible Gunner was lying. He could have just made up a story to trick me into sparing his pitiful life - then I would have been the idiot for believing him. But after smelling that piece of cloth, I was completely overwhelmed. It had to be true. Nikohadto bealive.
My heart pounded painfully in my chest. All these years I thought Niko was dead. Now that I knew he was alive, I wanted to scream and claw my own skin off. Niko had been alive all this time, and what had I done to help him? Nothing. I just sat comfortably and safely in my own pack and assumed theworst.
But what else could I have done? During the war, when we wereseparated…
“David.”
Gunner’s sharp voice cut me out of my thoughts. He stopped ahead of me, and I did the same. He looked at me from over hisshoulder.
“We have a long way to go. I suggest changing into your wolf form.” His eyes narrowed. “I also suggest not getting any smartideas.”
“None,”Isaid.
He grunted, then shifted to his wolf form. I did the same. Gunner gave me a sharp look, then took off into the dark forest. I followed him, keeping close on his trail. I didn’t know these woods and I would easily get disoriented if I lost trackofhim.
The trees began to thin out. This was not the thick, lush forest of Indigo Mountain any more. Long ghastly birch trees and swaying saplings dotted the way as we ran. The earth was hard and unfamiliar underneath my feet, like I was in a nightmare. But this was myrealitynow.
Although I hated to admit it, exhaustion was beginning to set into my bones. It had been a long night. I fought a furious battle, lost a close friend, and was hit with a life-shattering truth. Weariness descended on me, and I couldn’t even tell if we were close to townornot.
But every time I thought of Niko, I felt rejuvenated. Strength surged through my muscles and I pushed onward, nearly overtaking Gunner. It didn’t matter if my body was bruised and broken if I had my mate inmyarms.
Gunner finally slowed to a halt at the edge of the ridge and peered down. I came up next to him and followedhisgaze.
Below us was Scarlet Ridge pack. Old concrete buildings and crumbling cobblestone paths created a dismal landscape for the shifters walking around. The architecture was depressing. No flowers or trees broke the unending greyness ofthetown.
Gunner shifted back, and I did the same. Without saying anything, he led me down the slope. He did pause a few times to make sure I was following him. It wasn’t like I had anything better to do. I didn’t know anything about my surroundings. Acting out now would be foolishofme.
I looked around, taking in as much of the environment as I could in case I needed it for our future escape. The town had none of the charm Indigo Mountain had. It was an abysmal place to live, and I wondered if that had anything to do with how pissed off everyoneseemed.
As soon as Gunner set foot onto the main street, we weresurrounded.
Alphas - at least four of them, from what I could tell - had created a tight circle around us, glaring and looking ready for afight.
I constantly tensed, ready for conflict. But Gunner just laughed humorlessly and raised a handtome.
“Relax,” he muttered. “Guards, this is David. He’s ex-IndigoMountain.”
A few of the alphas’ expressions flashed with surprise but they remainedhostile.
“What is he doing here, sir?” an alpha asked. His features were sharp and he had black hair that glinted like obsidian knives under the streetlamps. Something about the intensity of his aura made me uneasy. I didn’t want to look away from him, but I also didn’t want to stare, so instead I kept him in the corner ofmyeye.
“He’s going to join the alpha army, Virgil,” Gunner explained with a smile. “I suspect you’ll teach him everything he needstoknow.”
Virgil nodded curtly. “Verywell,sir.”
“I never said I would join your army,” I muttered, narrowing my eyes at Gunner. “You assumed that onyourown.”
I saw Gunner raise a brow moments before a swift, hard elbow to my stomach sent me coughing and kneeling over. Virgil glared down at me with his dark, unreadable gaze. I was stunned. Virgil wasn’t particularly large - he wasn’t even bigger than me - but his movement was so quick and focused that it took me offguard.
“Do not speak like that to our top alpha,” Virgilgrowled.
“It’s alright,” Gunner said, holding a hand up to Virgil to call him off like a dog. “David is new here, remember? Let’s be a littleconsiderate.”
Smiling, Gunner offered me a hand to stand up. At once I was flooded with all the anger and rage directed towards him. This was the man who killed Tyson. I would never accept the hand of amurderer.
