Beside him, Diesel’s shoulders shook. Killian’s jaw was clenched so tightly it looked like he might break a bone, tears streaming down his face. Cody held one of Brand’s hands in his own, with his head bowed low.
A circle of warriors mourning a brother.
A circle I should be standing in, yet I couldn’t bring myself to cross—not while Thalia crumbled against me, and not while Wolfe’s agony battered the bond like a storm.
Adair rested her forehead against Thalia’s temple. “He was one of the good ones,” she whispered, voice trembling. “One of the best.”
“He was,” I said. “And he will be honored as such.”
Thalia gasped, clutching my arm. “I can’t—Rowen, I can’t?—”
“You can,” I said softly, even as my own throat burned. “Because he would for us.”
Her sob tightened, but she nodded.
The Hollow pulsed again—soft, calming, mournful.
Holding her sorrow. Wolfe’s sorrow. All of ours.
I pulled back slowly, Adair steadying Thalia on the other side.
“We need to go to them,” I said quietly. “Come.”
Thalia wiped her cheeks, nodding. “I’m beside you.” Adair nodded.
We moved through the clearing, each step feeling heavier than the last. Wolfe didn’t look up until I was right beside him, with my hand hovering over his back. When he finally lifted his head, the devastation in his eyes nearly brought me to my knees.
“Rowen,” he rasped.
I touched his shoulder. “I’m here,” I whispered.
His voice broke. “I?—”
“I know.”
His hand found mine—desperate, grounding, trembling. Behind him, Brand’s body lay motionless, finally at peace, wrapped in his pack’s embrace. I leaned in closer, my forehead brushing Wolfe’s temple.
“I’m here,” I whispered again.
“This ends tonight,” Wolfe breathed. “For him.” Heexhaled, a sound half-agony, half-promise. He rose, my hand in his.
The pack watched.
“Diesel,” Wolfe bit out. “Killian, we leave now.”
“And me, Alpha,” Cody said, getting to his feet, his eyes fierce, Thalia weeping on her knees beside him. “I’m on this hunt.”
My chest tightened so much I couldn’t breathe. This was no longer just the Council’s downfall. It was the moment that would decide what kind of wolves we would become afterward.
And I would not let Wolfe cross a line he couldn’t return from.
Chapter 34
Rowen
“I need you,”I told the Hollow. “Will you help me?”
The ground pulsed beneath me, energy flowing up my legs and settling into my bones.
