“Everyone listen,” I said, loud enough for them to quiet down. “It’ll start soon.” I didn’t mince my words. “When Wolfe or Diesel steps over the barrier, we’ll be open to attack.” My eyes scanned the group of our most vulnerable. “We’re pack, and we don’t break. Not tonight. Not ever.”
Dozens of eyes lifted toward me—some wide, some wary, some exhausted. Yet all listening. I moved among them, touching shoulders, meeting gazes, grounding them the way my father used to before things went wrong. The way I wish he had taught me to do it more cleanly.
“When I say Blueridge Hollow stands,” I continued, “I don’t mean the land. I meanus. Every wolf here. Every breath we take together.” A murmur rose—agreement, relief, a shift in posture. “I think we should move from here and take shelter and sleep near the Heartwood.” I saw their hope, and I nodded. “We’ll gather there until our alpha comes for you.”
They moved immediately, not waiting for instructions from betas or alphas. They moved becauseItold them to. Because they trusted me. One of the younger wolves—barely more than a teenager—hesitated near the edges of the clearing. “What if they get to us there?”
I moved closer. “Then they’ll find out exactly what happens when you threaten a Hollow wolf,” I said softly. “And it won’t be us cowering in fear by the end of this battle.”
His shoulders lifted. His breath steadied. His wolf pushed closer to the surface, more confident. That was all I needed. When I turned back toward Wolfe and the fighters, more wolves had drifted behind me, watching, waiting, ready.
Wolfe’s eyes were on me—sharp, assessing, and…proud. A slow burn of pride I felt through the bond, warm and reverent. He didn’t say anything, but I felt secure.
He saw me.
Not as a daughter. Not as a mate. Not as someone the Hollow had chosen.
As a leader.
For the first time, I felt it and believed it. The Hollow throbbed beneath my feet once—steadfast, steady, approving. I lifted my chin. “Let’s finish the preparations,” I said. “We’re not done yet.”
And the pack moved. My pack. His pack. It didn’t matter. The realization felt like a weight being lifted.
This wasourpack, and we would defend it together. No matter what my mate thought was “best for me.”
I just needed to remind him.
Chapter 30
Wolfe
The moment Rowenstepped away to organize the vulnerable, the air shifted.
Not magic—danger. A pressure tightening across my spine, every hair on my arms rising in warning.
Killian came sprinting across the clearing, dirt smeared across his forearms, chest heaving. “Eastern ridge,” he called. “Movement. A lot of it.”
Diesel cursed. “Not scouts. Not this time.”
No, this time they weren’t testing us. They were coming. Part of me was glad it was finally happening. I’d never been a fan of waiting.
“Only at the eastern?” I asked him, heading that way. “No other sightings?” I quickly checked in with the shifters along the borders. Cody sent back that there was no movement that he could see. The frustration in his voice was clear; he was on the opposite side of the packlands, and in truth, I understood his frustration. I hadn’t expected them to come from the east either. Notjustthe east.
Why weren’t they surrounding us? I would, if I were them.
“Just the east,” I confirmed to Diesel and Killian. “So far.” I hesitated. “Nothing changes,” I told them. “Positions!” I barked. My voice cracked across the clearing like a whip, resonating through the mindlink, and every wolf in the Hollow snapped into motion. Shifters poured from the tree line, the shelters, and patrol routes. The ground vibrated beneath the stampede of paws and boots, wolves shifting mid-stride, prepared to defend our pack and our home.
“It’s happening,”I told her through the mindlink. “I know you won’t listen, but please, please, for my sake and our child’s, don’t let them get to you.”
“No command to stay hidden?”she asked me, and I heard her surprise.
“Rowen, you’ve never listened to me a single day in your damned life.”I felt a flicker of amusement and smiled briefly. “But it’s not just you anymore, my love—you have nothing to prove to me, this pack, or anyone else. You know this, tell me you know it.”When she said nothing, I couldn’t stop myself from pleading.“It’s not just you fighting; if you feel you need to join the physical fight, all I ask is that you don’t be reckless.”
Her silence was loud, and I was sure I had managed to piss her off.
“I do know that. It took me a long time.”I felt her sigh. “If they get to the Heartwood, I’ll defend it and my pack. But I won’t go seeking to join the physical fight.”
I didn’t smother my surprise quickly enough when she conceded. “I love you,”I told her simply, knowing that no matter how many times I said it, it would never be enough. “Three words aren’t enough to express how much I love you,” I whispered. “I’ll see you when it’s over. Guard them well, my heart.”
