He was running to Stonefang.
Coward.
I pushed faster. I had hunted with my pack before, without my alpha—a pack that knew how to communicate without words. Thalia brushed my side, pressing to the left.
I veered instantly, the forest narrowing into a steep, jagged descent. Whoever built these paths never considered pregnant wolves or battle-worn shifters, but adrenaline didn’t care.
The trail was fresh—broken branches, disturbed soil, the sour scent of sweat. He was nearby. Adair pushed ahead, her wolf smaller but quicker, weaving around boulders with reckless speed. I could sense her panic simmering beneath her determination.
I pushed forward to catch her, nipping at her side to get her to slow down.
Adair’s wolf snapped its jaws, but she slowed down. A branch cracked somewhere ahead, causing the three of us to slow. Three wolves crouched now, low and silent, as the forest held its breath along with us.
I shifted first, dropping behind a wide pine trunk. Thalia and Adair shifted beside me, panting slightly, eyes burning.
“There,” Adair whispered, pointing.
Axel’s wolf staggered into view. No longer the clean, controlled fighter he once was. Mud clung to his limbs. Blood—his, someone else’s, impossible to tell—matted his fur. He was panting heavily, leaning against a tree as if it were the only thing keeping him upright.
His wolf moved, flinching and snapping at his ribs, a whimper of agony echoed. He shifted to his human form.
His head lifted, and his eyes…his eyes still held that vicious cunning—the kind that had let him betray us all. Remembering how he looked standing before the Grumps, I felt bile rise in my throat.
Thalia’s breath shuddered. “He looks half-dead already.”
“That doesn’t mean we won’t finish the job,” Adair said quietly, her gaze burning with hatred.
“We’ll do this right,” I reminded her.
Axel suddenly lifted his head, nostrils flaring. He smelled us. “Step out,” he rasped. “I know you’re there.”
I met Thalia’s and Adair’s gazes. We nodded in unison. We stepped into the clearing. Axel blinked, confusion cutting through the stern set of his mouth. “Rowen?” he croaked.
“Yes,” I said coldly. “Surprised it’s not Wolfe?”
His gaze landed on Adair, and he laughed—a wet, broken sound. “Was hoping for him, actually. Would’ve been cleaner.”
Adair’s jaw locked. “You’re not getting a clean anything.”
His gaze flicked over us, trying to piece it together. “Where are they?”
“Not here,” I said simply.
His eyes widened. “You stopped them?”
“No,” I said. He didn’t need to know.
He snorted, leaning harder on the tree as his knees buckled. “They’re going to come anyway.”
“No,” I repeated, stepping forward. “Not until I say so.”
Thalia stepped beside me. “Why, Axel? Why betray us? Why Brand?”
His expression twisted—shame, bitterness, and terror all mixed together. “You wouldn’t understand,” he muttered.
“You’re right,” Adair said, voice tight with fury. “I don’t need to be told why; you already told me when you tortured me.”
I glanced at her, eyes wide. Maybe there was another wolf I should have left behind. I saw Thalia’s worried glance reflecting mine.
