They were surrounded.
Chapter 14
Zev
Two instincts warred within Zev: attack or take Dyna and run. Neither action would end well for her, nor would he get far. That left only one option.
“Don’t move,” he warned. Dyna and Cassiel had not noticed the Pack at first but they immediately alerted at his tone.
The bushes rustled as a group of brawny men crept into view. Not all the werewolves were visible, but by their scent alone, Zev counted more than twenty. They snuck up on him from downwind, taking advantage of the distraction. Maybe they had always been close, waiting until dark to invoke their wolves.
The Prince reached for his knife.
“Don’t,” Zev growled at him. “If you draw that thing, they’ll rip out your throat.”
Cassiel stiffened. His fingers slipped from the hilt, but he kept his large wings primed to fly.
The men parted as their Alpha came forward. Thick muscle layered Owyn’s tall frame. He only wore dark trousers, his feet bare. Long clawed scars marked his chest and arms by those few who had challenged him and lost. Black hair streaked gray was tied back from his hard face and reflective eyes.
Zev didn’t find Owyn as intimidating as he used to, but he lowered his gaze so as not to challenge him. His restless wolf paced inside of him, demanding to meet the threat, urging him to shift for his self-preservation. But one instinct prevailed above all else: protect Dyna.
He extended his arms in surrender and lowered to a knee with his head bowed. “My companions have nothing to do with this. Please, allow them to go.”
Owyn’s loud snarl reverberated through the glade. Dyna shrunk back a step.
“Alpha, I beg you,” Zev said deferentially. He added the title to condone respect even if he wasn’t Pack. Owyn didn’t answer, but the growls of the others had softened. Zev took that as permission and motioned for Dyna and Cassiel to leave.
She clung to his shirt with trembling hands, pungent fear oozing from her pores. “I won’t leave you.”
The thought of harm befalling her terrified Zev more than anything. He couldn’t lose any more family, not at his own hands.
“Take her away to the Cyclops,” he told Cassiel, hoping the Prince knew what that meant. “If I don’t return, please see her home.”
Dyna yanked her elbow from Cassiel’s grasp. “I’m not leaving. It’s my fault Zev fought that wolf!” she told Owyn.
“Stay out of it,” the Prince hissed under his breath.
“Forgive her,” Zev cut in quickly at the growls surging from the Pack. “She’s unaware of our ways.”
“I know enough,” Dyna replied defiantly, much to his horror. She met Owyn’s cold gaze head-on, fists shaking at her sides. “A member of your Pack attacked me. It’s against Pack law to hurt the mate or family of another wolf.”
The men snarled at her.
“Dyna!” Zev whispered sharply. “You cannot speak here. Please step back.”
Prince Cassiel yanked her behind him. He snapped open his wings, concealing her from view.
“Zev Astron,” the Alpha’s gruff voice rumbled. “I allowed you to stay on my land to repay my debt to your father. Yet you betrayed me and ran to the Celestials for sanctuary.”
“I didn’t betray you, Alpha.”
“You killed my nephew!” Owyn roared. His power pressed into Zev, forcing his body to prostrate in submission. A hostile growl drew his attention to the man flanking the Alpha. The Pack Beta—Kenlan, Owyn’s brother, and Faolan’s father. He was shorter, leaner, but hardened with the same brutality that came with fighting to keep his position.
“I’m sorry,” Zev said. “I truly am. But Faolan left me no choice. He was past the Madness and had gone feral.” The men abruptly stopped growling, their shock sticking to Zev’s skin.
It was the duty of the Alpha to put down any wolves fallen into Madness for the safety of the Pack. They became unstable and confused before the feral stage came. A feral wolf was dangerous. By the Alpha and Beta’s expressions, they had suspected Faolan’s condition, but they couldn’t bring themselves to end him. Family was always a werewolf’s weakness.
Owyn rubbed his face. “When Faolan wandered off, he hadn’t yet gone mad.”
