Axel’s face twisted—recognition, fear, panic. Knowing we’d all seen him, he turned and bolted.Coward.
Diesel lunged forward a single step to give chase, snarl shaking the trees.
“Diesel!”I snapped.
He froze. Not because he agreed, but becausehe obeyed.
The enemy fighters surged again, thinking that seeing him had thrown us off and trying to take advantage of that—but they were mistaken if they thought that wasn’t what we needed to motivate us further. We fought harder, andthey became sloppy in their desperation, confused about why we were fighting hungrier.
“They’re making mistakes,”I told my fighters. “Let’s finish it.”
Diesel growled. “We’ll break them, Alpha.”
And we did, with the Hollow beneath us, helping us, and the ferocity in our hearts, the tide turned. My pack fought and struck as one. The enemy fighters began to fall, retreat, and scramble backward through the trees. I had patrols in place for this, and they ran out, eager to give chase.
The enemy was no longer winning.We were.
“Alpha.” Cody sounded tired but alert. “They’re running. Do we follow?”
“No. I’m pulling Diesel back; once he’s back on Hollow soil, the barrier should go up. We need to regroup.”
I shifted back to human form. “Diesel!” He turned to look at me and was soon heading back to the Hollow. I felt the barrier as soon as he crossed, and I think all of my pack did when there was a collective sigh of relief as we finally had some breathing room.
“Shift and heal,” I shouted. “It’s not over, but we have a moment. Heal, eat, and drink. Switch out if you need to,” I commanded.
“Are they still with you?”I asked Cody, heading his way.
“No, Rowen took them back to the Heartwood.
Them?I questioned him, his voice sounding heavy.”
“You’ll see. I’m coming to you.”
I changed direction and half jogged to the grove, eager to see my wife and ensure she was okay. I needed one minute to look upon my mate.
Cody’s dark wolf caught up to me. His fur was slick with blood—his, theirs, I doubted it mattered anymore. Heshifted into his human form, face lined with exhaustion, but alive.
“You look like shit.”
“Asshole.” Cody tried to grin but failed. He slowed down, and I saw him picking up clothing. He threw a pair of shorts at me. “Cover up, don’t scare the children.”
“There are too many random clothing spots in this pack,” I mumbled, pulling on the shorts. “When did we all get so modest?”
He snorted out a laugh before becoming serious again. “Everyone okay where you were?”
“Lost a lot, they lost more,” I told him soberly. “You?”
He nodded and exhaled. “Lost a handful. Thought they were going to break through the line at one point, but then we were just…stronger.”
I nodded. “The Hollow chose sides.”
He let out a slow whistle. “Well, thank fuck it chose us.”
I felt a small surge beneath my feet from the Hollow, and I think it was trying to tell me it was happy it chose us too. It was a strange feeling, but not an unwelcome one.
“Axel was there,” I told him softly, and Cody slowed down. “He ran,” I continued. “Thalia will hear from any of the wolves who saw him; we tell her first, agreed?”
Cody was frowning. “You let him go?”
