I stood there feeling the betrayal, feeling it cut deep. He killed the Grumps. My fists clenched, my heartbeat sounded too loud, while Diesel and Killian stood in front of me, looking how I felt. Like we’d been flayed.
I didn’t yell. Yelling is for men who don’t know what to do next. “Tell me,” I said quietly. “Tell me how I missed it.”
Killian spoke first. “How? I don’t know, Wolfe. I never…” He ran his hand over his eyes. “I would have given him my life; I thought?—”
“That he would do the same,” Diesel spoke over him. “We all did.”
“Obviously,” I snapped. “So explain to me howI missed this?”
Killian’s jaw tightened. “We don’t know, Wolfe,” he snapped. “None of us fucking know anything.” He threw his hands in the air. “Is that not fucking obvious?”
“Easy,” Diesel murmured. He reached out and rubbed Killian’s shoulder. “Bottle it, they’ll be pissed if you lose it now.”
The Grumps.
I felt the loss like a blow once more. I took a step back, staggering under the weight of it.
Diesel flinched. I don’t remember ever seeing him flinch.
Killian spoke up, his voice heavy with bitterness. “He wasn’t flagged because he never acted against us. Not once.” He stared at his feet. “He’s fought beside us, killed beside us.”
I dragged a hand down my face. I didn’t… I exhaled loudly. It was…devastating. Losing Stonefang—my first pack—felt like someone had reached into my chest and torn something loose. Losing the Grumps felt a thousand times worse.
“Do you blame us?” Diesel asked, voice low.
I met his look with surprise. “No,” I told them. “Goddess no. To blame you would be to blame everyone, and there’s only one wolf to blame here, and it’s not us.”
Killian exhaled shakily, shoulders dropping an inch. Diesel’s spine straightened.
I wasn’t finished. “Axel wasn’t able to betray us because he was stronger or smarter,” I said. “He betrayed us because he knew how we think—how we protect. He used our loyalty against us.”
Killian nodded grimly. “You think he survived?”
“Yes.” I didn’t hide it. “He won’t survive the next time.” I looked back towards the pack hall. “I need to go back, be an alpha, reassure the pack I’m strong enough to fight for them.” I bowed my head under the heaviness of it all. “I can’t let them down again.”
“When have you ever let them down?” Diesel asked gruffly. He squeezed my shoulder. “It’s like I told this one,” he said, with a wink at Killian. “We beat this first, and when every shifter this side of the world hears your howl and knows these are our packlands, then we can grieve.”
My eyes rested on the top of the ridge. “I’ll hold you to that,” I murmured, feeling the tug of the ridge in my chest.
“I want to check, Adair,” Diesel said. “And Thalia.” He shook his head. “Only that female would give her energy to two shifters when she needs her energy for her young one.”
Killian jerked in surprise. “Thalia’s pregnant?” He smiled, a genuine smile. “A Thalia and Cody hybrid?” He gave a soft chuckle. “Damn, I need to see this. Them two? Parents?” He almost looked gleeful. “Goddess, it’ll be chaos.”
“And Brand?” I asked them. “He’s in trouble.” Frustration swelled once more. “I can’t help him.”
“Then we’ll find someone who can,” Diesel reasoned. “We can’t leave. Killian would only go if you used your Will on him,” he added, and my other beta grunted in agreement. “And you need him here. We’ll figure it out.”
“Food,” Killian told us both. “We need to eat.”
We headed back to the pack hall, and as we approached the clearing, my steps slowed as a ripple of movement caught my attention—the pack gathering. Warriors. Elders. Young wolves with fear in their eyes. All of them looking at me. Not for comfort. For direction?
The air in the clearing went still. Not mystical. Not magical. Just…focused. Scores of wolves turning toward one center point.
Us. Diesel, Killian, and me.
A hum built in the pack—not sound but tension pulling tight between bodies. Spine to spine. Fang to fang. A resonance. Every wolf aligned with the others instinctively, steps shifting, posture straightening, breath syncing.
Pack unity.Mypack.
