The cries for help were all around me, but all I could do was stand my ground and fight the ones coming straight for me.
A snarl tore through the mindlink—Cody. “Southern ridge, failing—need help—now!”
Diesel,I barked. “Cody needs help.”
He was already moving, bolting back into the trees. Killian followed, crashing into the attackers so forcefully that two of them rolled backward down the hill.
I didn’t go with them. I couldn’t, because the next wave wasn’t hitting the sides; it was coming straight at me. Six wolves burst through the underbrush all at once, their eyes locked on me with coordinated, terrifying purpose.
Assassins. Sent forme.
I shifted back to human mid-step—deliberate—and they lunged. I caught the first one, twisted, and drove my elbow into his spine. The second clamped onto my arm; I shifted into my wolf form, muscles bulging with size and weight as I crushed him to the ground. But two more hit my back. Teeth tore into my flank.
Pain flared. I roared, not in agony—in fury—and slammed backward into a tree, the crack of bone and bark erupting behind me.
One dropped. The other didn’t. The bastard hung on, jaws locked tight. I rolled, crushing him beneath me, then tore him free with a savage shake. My vision went red—blood, rage, bond, Hollow—all blending into one raw instinct.
Protect what’s mine.
A voice snapped through my skull, “Alpha! Behind you!”
I spun around, but it was too late. A massive wolf—bigger than any we’d seen tonight, more enormous than Diesel—hit me with full force, jaws snapping inches from my throat. His weight crushed me into the dirt. His fangsscraped along my jawline. The hot, rancid smell of his breath filled my lungs.
He was strong. Experienced. Trained to kill, not toy.
But so was I.
I slammed my head into his muzzle, feeling the crunch of his snout breaking, then clawed upward, digging my hind legs into the ground and using every ounce of strength to flip him. We rolled. He landed on top again. Damn it. He lunged for my throat—then a blur of tawny fur slammed into him from the side.
Killian.
He tore the wolf off me, ripping into its shoulder. Diesel showed up a second later, striking the assassin’s other flank. I got to my feet quickly and jumped back into the fight. We tore him apart together. When the wolf finally went still, panting and broken in the dirt, the air shifted—and the forest fell silent.
Not silent.Quiet.
Waiting.
The Pack Council wolves pulled back again, but not out of fear; they withdrew in formation, watching and studying us, planning their next strike.
Diesel shifted from his human form to his wolf to heal, then back to human. He spat blood onto the ground. I couldn’t tell if it was his or theirs. “They’re still not done.”
I did the same, quickly shifting to heal my wounds. “No,” I growled, chest heaving. “This is the second wave.”
Killian wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “How many more do you think they have?”
I stared at the enemy line forming in the distance—controlled, steady, coordinated. “Enough,” I said grimly, “that they don’t expect us to survive the night.”
Diesel watched them, eyes wild. “Then let’s disappoint the bastards.”
“Cody?” I asked them. They both shook their heads. “You came back for me?” I guessed.
“Someone had to,” Diesel said gruffly. “That giant fucker almost had you.”
“Cody?”
“I’m fine. We’re fine. I got help. We held.”
I didn’t even need to ask to know who would have run to his aide. My eyes closed briefly as I braced myself to ask.
