Until we win the war? My parents could be in an underground bunker for weeks? Or even months? My head swam with the thought of that. I was about to ask something else when a weird whistling sound cut through the air. A body tumbled over me and I was taken to the ground. Using my hands to break the fall, I hit the ground hard, landing the brunt of my weight on my palms. My gaze snapped to the man who’d thrown me to the ground, and a split second later a steel-tipped arrow sank into the soil beside me.
“Stay down,” Rab barked, and then popped up to his knees, pulling an arrow from the quiver at his back so quickly I could barely track his movements. Within seconds, he loosed the arrow into the top of a tree, and then a body fell from it, hitting the ground with a thud.
Holy rattlesnake.
My heart hammered in my chest as I stared at the dead figure on the ground. Shrill yelps rang out in the woods, and then footsteps could be heard as a group of people retreated.
Rab and his men pulled their weapons and formed a semi-circle in front of me as Astra and Eugene fell to the ground at my left and right side. I sat up, brushing the dirt off of the dress Willow had loaned me. Rab inched forward, inspecting the body at the base of the tree.
That was close, I thought, as I stared at the arrow that had been inches from my neck.
Eugene pulled his gun and aimed it at the thick outcrop of trees to the left, while Astra bowed her head in prayer and clasped her hands, mumbling under her breath.
“Ithaki! They’ve retreated!” Rab called from the base of the tree.
“That was too close for my liking,” Eugene said, and hauled me up by the armpit, tucking me into his body.
“You and me both,” I told him as I steadied myself.
Astra ceased praying. Her eyes popped open and she just stared at her clasped hands like they held some horror. “They shot an arrow into our territory…” Her voice held fear.
Rab and his men sauntered over, all of them frowning.
“Maybe it was a mistake,” one of the men said.
Rab reached down and gently pulled Astra to her feet, looking at her like a beloved sister.
Her voice was small: “It wasn’t a mistake.”
Rab met my eyes and I saw fear in his for the first time. “It was an act of war,” he declared.
My heart sank into my stomach like a stone. How many wars could we handle at one time? Was this my fault? The Ithaki and Paladin peoples had a long peace between them, and I’d gone and brought war. Guilt gnawed at me as I pondered this, but it quickly turned to anger.
How dare they? How dare the Ithaki try to pick us off when they probably knew we were weak?
I stood angrily, brushing off my dress, glaring at the woods before turning to the line of twenty men. They held bows as if anticipating another hit. “The next time a twig so much as snaps, you shoot in that direction!” I ordered them.
“Yes, Alpha,” a few of the men said in unison.
Rab’s eyes went wide as he looked from the men to me. “Thattitle is earned.”
The men who’d said it lowered their heads in shame. “Yes, sir.”
Why was he always against me? This situation was hard enough without him pushing my face into the mud. So much for our friendly ways. He was Rabid once more.
“And I intend to earn it!” I snapped at Rab, turning on my heel and stalking off to marry the love of my life before I went on a suicide mission for these people.
* * *
Twenty minutes later,the ear-splitting sounds of gunfire and magic crackling boomed through the air. A distinctive smell lingered. Gunpowder and hot wires, copper and blood.
‘I’m here, at the bord—’
“Demi!” Sawyer-whisper screamed nearby. Elation bubbled up in my chest and then spilled over into my limbs at the sound of his voice. I burst into a run and broke out of the woods, cleared the small stone fence and orange flags, and ran to him. He was surrounded by over fifty armed men. Most of them were city wolves with guns and knives, but about a dozen were Paladins. They held vicious looking spears and stared out into the woods with sharp gazes. I noticed Sage among them, her bright red hair tied up into a tight topknot as she held two guns at her sides and whispered to Walsh beside her.
I ran in my dress, somehow not tripping over anything, and Sawyer stood atop the hill and opened his arms. I jumped into them and they tightened around me. The second his earthy scent hit my nostrils, my throat tightened with emotion and I breathed him in.
Mate. Pack. Home.
