If Wolfe and his betas left this clearing right now—if they caught even a whiff of Axel—there would be no stopping them. No reasoning. No talking. Just teeth, vengeance, and destruction.
I needed to act quickly. I turned my head to see the druid, and one glance told me they understood exactly what I was thinking. I hurried over to them. “We can’t let them go after him like this,” I said quietly.
Their voice was barely a whisper. “Then who stops them?”
I turned toward Thalia, still kneeling in the dirt beside Brand, to Adair who was standing with her hand on Diesel’s arm.
“We will,” I told them, stepping closer. Their head jerked toward me, gaze sharp as a blade. “You feel it, I know you do.” I took a shallow breath; my lungs still didn’t seemable to expand any further. “They won’t come back the same.”
The druid nodded slowly, their robe brushing the ground. “Then we ensure they do not go.”
I almost swayed with relief that they were going to help me. “How?”
The druid pulled a small vial from a pocket at their hip, the liquid inside thick and shimmering with a faint gold. I didn’t recognize it, but I trusted them.
“For all four of them?” I asked quietly, taking the vial from their hand.
The druid glanced across the clearing. “It would take out the entire pack.”
“Even Diesel?” I checked. “I need him and Wolfe out cold.”
The druid made a strangled noise. “The alpha will not be happy.”
“He’ll get over it,” I said. “I’d rather deal with Wolfe furious than Wolfe with blood on his hands he can never wash off.”
The druid surveyed the clearing, their eyes settling on Thalia and Adair. “Don’t do it alone. You have help should you need it.” Their eyes dropped to my stomach. “Remember what you carry, Rowen.”
I gave them a flat look. “As if I’m going to forget,” I told them with an exasperated sigh. “Tell me what to do.”
“Two drops only,” they cautioned.
I nodded. I caught Adair’s attention and motioned her over. “I need four water bottles, no questions.”
She gave me a curious glance but left my side to do as I asked.
A few minutes later, Adair returned with two cups of water, and another of the pack carried two more. Adair saw my expression and rolled her eyes.
“What?” she said with a low huff. “You think I don’t know when you’re plotting, Rowen?” she asked. “Whatever you’re planning, it’s better they fall here than out there, vulnerable.”
The druid’s lips twitched. “This is exactly why your father was always nervous when you two were scheming,” they murmured. “I’ll step away for this,” they said, looking at me. “Two drops each.”
“What’s the plan?” Adair asked quietly.
“I stop them from making a mistake.” I took the vial out of my pocket. “Shield,” I murmured, and the other pack member moved slightly. I looked at her in surprise. She was from Stonefang, and I wasn’t sure of her name.
“My alpha too,” she murmured. “Name’s Darla.”
“Hi.” I looked at the cups and the vial in my hand. “Um…”
“Quickly,” Darla urged. “They’re impatient when they get something in their head.”
“I like you already, Darla,” I said with a grin, carefully dropping two golden drops into the water.
“We’ll take them,” Adair told me. “Your husband knows you well.”
I agreed and walked over to where Wolfe was talking to Cody. They both looked ragged and wild, men breaking under the weight of losing a friend, a brother.
“We need to leave,” Wolfe said. “Now.”
