But I found Caelan instead. And now I’m standing in a room full of wolves who are trusting me with their lives, and my mate is watching me with those pale blue eyes that see too much, and I have to decide what kind of man I’m going to be.
The brother who sacrifices everything for blood?
Or the mate who protects his chosen family at any cost?
Chapter 23 - Caelan
The riverbed smells like dust and old death.
Every step sends loose rocks skittering into the darkness. I have to watch where I place my paws to keep from twisting an ankle on the uneven ground. Patrick moves ahead of me in wolf form. His dark brown fur is nearly invisible against the shadowed walls of the gully, but I track him by scent and by the steady pulse of the mate bond between us.
Trenton and Deon bring up the rear. Reeyan holds the middle position. His sandy-brown wolf keeps pace with mine as we make our way across the treacherous terrain. My brother-in-law insisted on joining this mission the moment he learned I would be part of it. Sera couldn’t stop me from coming, but she made damn sure someone she trusted would be watching my back.
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
Patrick argued against it for nearly an hour after the planning session ended. He paced our room and listed every danger, every variable, every way the mission could go wrong.
His wolf had just marked me as his mate. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to keep me somewhere safe. I understood. I even appreciated the impulse. But Thea is my friend. Llewelyn wolves are my people. I didn’t claw my way out of one cage just to let someone else build me another.
He didn’t like my answer. The muscle in his jaw twitched the way it does when he’s biting back words he knows won’t help. But he accepted my decision, and that acceptance means more to me than he probably realizes.
The gully narrows as we move deeper into Thornridge territory. Walls of rock press in on either side, and the sky above shrinks to a thin strip of gray. Dawn is coming. We need to reach the bunker before full light, or the patrols will spot us for sure.
Patrol ahead.Patrick’s voice reverberates through my mind.Two wolves on the ridge. They’re facing the main approach.
I flatten myself against the rocks and look up. Two shapes move along the ridgeline above us. Their attention is fixed on the valley below. They don’t even glance at the forgotten gully beneath their feet. Patrick was right about Mordaunt’s arrogance. The alpha built his defenses around the assumption that enemies would come at him head-on. The idea that someone might slip through a crack he didn’t bother to seal never occurred to him.
Hold position,Patrick instructs.Let them pass.
We wait. My heart pounds against my ribs. I count the seconds until the sentries disappear over the far ridge. Twenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-five. They’re gone.
Move,Patrick commands.
We press forward. The gully widens as we approach the eastern ridge, and I get my first real look at the Thornridge encampment spread across the basin below. My stomach clenches at the size of it. Dozens of structures cluster around a central hall. Smoke rises from cooking fires. Wolves move between buildings with the confidence of people who believe themselves untouchable.
The bunker.Patrick directs my attention toward a squat concrete structure half-buried in the hillside.Two guards at the entrance.
I spot them. Then I sweep my gaze across the perimeter and start counting patrol wolves. There are four on the near side. Two more emerge from behind the central hall, and another pair near the northern tree line.
That’s at least eight,Reeyan observes.You said there would be four.
Someone warned them.Patrick’s mental voice is grim.I told you there was a mole.They knew we were coming.
The words settle over me like ice water. Patrick was right. We have a traitor in our midst.
My mind races through the possibilities. Who had access? Who knew the details? The list feels impossibly long.
We’ll figure it out later,Patrick says.Right now, we focus on the mission.
He’s right. Three Llewelyn wolves are trapped in that bunker. Thea, Liman, and Fiona. They’re running out of time.
New plan,Patrick continues.I approach alone. The guards know my face. If I can convince them to stand down before the patrols notice—
You’ll be completely exposed,Deon interrupts.
Yes. But it gives the rest of you a window to reach the bunker while they’re focused on me.
And if they don’t stand down?Reeyan asks.
