“Not here,” the druid said, completely calm. “I’ll show them where.”
They let go of me, and I stepped out of their hold, Wolfe already waiting to embrace me.
Tyler squawked upon seeing me, indignant, with eyeswide in disbelief, then his gaze dropped to my abdomen, and I saw the recognition in his eyes. It was the look of a male who just realized the Pack Council had lied to them. My mate bond was genuine; the alpha growing inside me proved that false claim wrong.
I looked around at the chaos, my head reeling. “There were whispers that Stonefang were ruthless warriors,” I murmured, taking them in, watching the ease with which they worked together. “I think we all forgot that.”
Diesel laughed with delight. “They won’t forget again.”
Wolfe tucked me into his side. “Druid, is she done for the day? She needs to rest.”
“Take her,” the druid said, waving me off. “Let her sleep.” They pinned Wolfe with a hard glare. “I meansleep.”
Wolfe nodded, acknowledging he’d heard them, but the gleam in his eyes told me sleep would be a while coming for both of us.
“Goodnight,” I said, knowing the night hadn’t finished for them. Not yet. Behind me, the druid directed the work, laying our enemies out for the Hollow to claim.
As we walked away, his voice threaded through the clearing—deep, ancient—and the ground pulsed once beneath my feet.
A warning.
A hunger.
A promise.
Wolfe slipped his hand into mine.
“The Pack Council will know about this,” I told him.
“Let them know,” he said, voice like gravel and dark intent. “Let them see what happens when they spill blood on the Hollow. Let them see we will not hide from them.”
“You’re not worried?” I asked cautiously.
Wolfe lifted his gaze to the sliver of moon above us, the faintest hint of a smile touching his lips.
“They should be worried,” he said. “For what comes after.”
Chapter 19
Rowen
Wolfe didn’t speak againas we headed home, and I didn’t force him to. His hand stayed locked around mine, warm and grounding, even with the scent of smoke and blood still clinging to both of us.
The path toward the house felt longer than usual. My legs were heavy, every step reminding me how we’d lost wolves today. How close the Council had come to taking more from us than the land would tolerate.
Wolfe glanced at me once, just enough for me to see the fury still simmering behind his eyes. A quiet, contained kind of rage. The worst kind.
“They hit the western line because they thought it was weak,” I said finally.
“They hit the Hollow,” he corrected. “Weak or not, they crossed a line.”
He was right. But it didn’t settle anything inside me. “I should have sensed it sooner,” I muttered. “I felt something shifting before we left for the Council and?—”
Wolfe stopped walking and turned toward me. Just that—no force, no snapping, no alpha temper—and I shut up. “Don’t blame yourself. You’re far too new at this to be taking any blame,” he said, voice low. “We were gone, which is what they planned for.”
“I’m supposed to be?—”
“You’re not supposed to be anything,” he cut in. “You’re my mate. You’re you. That’s all you need to be, justyou. And you’re exhausted.” He looked around us. “You are just coming into your own, Rowen. That doesn’t make you responsible for an ambush. They attacked while we were both off territory. That’s what they wanted. That’s what they planned on.”
