Six wolves leap at once. They land on Jericho and somehow, even in human form, he’s able to fight them off, at least for a moment. One latches on to his arm, and just as he tossesit sideways, flinging his attacker through the air, another lands on his back and he spins, clutching the wolf by the muzzle and pulling it over his head, dropping it onto the floor, hard.
But quickly he tires, and these wolves are relentless—each time he throws them off they get right back up. When one bites Jericho’s leg, its teeth digging into the muscle of his thigh, Jasper cries out and I swear I can feel his pain in my chest.
Jasper snarls and leaps into action, charging at the wolves attacking his dad, but before he can make it, the gray wolf has intercepted him, barging into Jasper. A whimper escapes Jasper’s mouth and my eye flicks back and forth between the alpha, who is on his knees now, still trying to fight off his attackers, and Jasper, who is struggling to find his feet.
Around me the screams of the Elite Pack tear through the air. Across the balcony our wolves are still battling. Salazar rips through the skin of his opponent’s neck, charging to rescue his alpha, but is cut off by another of the invaders. Katie, Todd, and Simon are fighting for their lives.
Inside, I notice two majestic and powerful wolves—one with a golden coat, the other a stark and arresting shade of pure white—and I recognize them as Alphas Aaliyah and Carmine.
They’re fighting on our side and helping our people escape. But even with the home-court advantage, these invaders have managed to ransack the packhouse: The party decorations are destroyed, wildflowers strewn across the floor, blood splatter and torn shimmery fabric glitter grotesquely in the light. Marcel lies motionless, his father on top of him, heaving sobs.
This has to end.
Not wasting any more time, I close my eyes and reach out through the Lunar Plane. I take all the hurt and anger, the fear and panic I feel, the devastation, and I send it out, amplified tenfold, through the strands of our connection and into the hearts of our attackers.
Their howls rise like sirens, echoing through the room as they fall back, clawing at their own faces, trying to make it stop. The gray wolf is the only one who can resist it, but not completely. He staggers backward, shaking his head and growling furiously. The wolves who had all but buried Jericho fall away writhing in an agonizing circle around him.
Jasper stands panting, he glances at me while keeping a watchful eye on his opponent.
I send out all the hate and anger I’m feeling at this moment, continuing to channel all my negative feelings, all my apprehension and judgment, into these wolves. In my periphery I know that Elite Pack wolves are watching me, their own opponents whimpering, shaking, rendered powerless. And for a second I’m worried about what they’ll all think, seeing me like this. Will they thank me later, or will they be scared?
The gray wolf, still staggering but, beyond all reason, still standing, turns his attention on me, barks, and snaps his jaws. Jasper comes to stand a couple of feet in front of me, putting himself between me and the gray wolf.
The gray wolf glances around, surveying his numbers, turning to look over his shoulder, where the wolves who attacked Jericho have been reduced to quivering messes. But then he sees what I too am just now noticing.
Jericho isn’t moving.
He’s lying on his back, Melissa and Jodie kneeling beside him, both their faces streaked with tears.
Oh no ... Oh no oh no oh no oh no.
I lose concentration, breaking the link from my mind to the invaders’, and slowly they come back to themselves.
The gray wolf turns back to me, a dark, satisfied smirk tearing across his face. This is what they wanted. This is what they came for. To take out Alpha Jericho.
Jasper howls and it’s the most earthshaking, heartbreaking sound I’ve ever heard. But before he can attack, the gray wolf has barked, sending an order to his troops, and they’re off.
He plus the six wolves who took down Jericho come charging at us and it’s all Jasper can do to protect me. The wolves collect their comrades as they go, disappearing through the doors of the packhouse, not hurting anyone anymore. They dart between Elite Pack wolves, making for the fire exit. They’ve gotten what they came for.
But Jasper isn’t finished.
He barks and chases after them. I run to the doors of the balcony just in time to see the invaders disappearing, with Jasper hot on their tails.
“Jasper, wait!”I cry via mind-link, but he ignores me, instead sprinting faster to the exit. There’s no other choice—I can’t let Jasper go after them alone and I won’t keep up in human form—so I bite down, tense every muscle in my body, and shift. The transformation happens quickly. Suddenly the world is a mess of bioluminescent trails and clouds. But I don’t need blood-wolf abilities to be able to sense Jasper. Without thinking I go after him.
The event space at the packhouse is full of tears and confused expressions as I hurry through the remaining crowds, recovering and trying to make sense of what’s just transpired. Muzzle down, I collide with the fire exit, bursting through the door to a cement stairwell. Thousands of steps leading to street level. The sounds of wolves huffing and clawing at the cement rise from some distance below.
Behind me, the door swings open and Katie, her petite but fierce blond wolf, along with Todd and Simon, their wolves ginger and dark brown, respectively, arrives. Katie nods in my direction as if to sayWe’re coming with you.And just like that we’re off.
At breakneck speed we descend the stairs, bursting through a large metal door once we reach street level and out into an alley. Dumpsters are lined up on the opposite wall, oil-stained water trickles into a drain, and to my left, where Jasper’s and the invaders’ scent trails linger, is a busy New York street. Without thinking, we follow, erupting from the alley onto the sidewalk. A quick glance ahead and I spot the wolves careening down Thirty-Fourth Street, leaping from the roofs of cabs, darting through traffic, knocking pedestrians over on the sidewalk.
Squinting and straining, I try to spot Jasper and just catch a glimpse of his midnight coat darting behind a truck. We follow. Unable to keep pace on the busy sidewalk, we veer away from the shocked and panicked onlookers, not caring that we’re exposing ourselves to humans, and sprint through traffic.
All around me people are staring and pointing, pulling their phones out to hit record. Lights whizz by, headlights, shop fronts, and traffic signals. I mount a yellow taxi as I lose sight of Jasper and see the pack of invaders turning right. With a signal to Katie and her mates I lead us in the same direction.
We veer down Sixth Avenue, the Empire State Building at our backs as we head downtown. My superspeed kicks in and I put a gap between Katie and myself, trying to catch up with Jasper. But I also know we don’t stand much of a chance against the twenty-something wolves up ahead. So I try to put myself somewhere between Jasper and the others, hoping to catch up, but also wanting Katie to know which direction to head in. A feat that becomes increasingly difficult as we weave our way through Manhattan, zigzagging right then left, grazing Union Sq and the outskirts of the East Village. On both sides of us the city’s high-rises loom, seemingly in motion as we plough onward. Farther and farther, we race downtown, making up time on the invaders, until we come to the ramp leading onto the Brooklyn Bridge.
Jasper darts onto the bridge’s raised walkway, high above the traffic crawling below. Sightseers jump out of the way in terror. I snap my jaws in his direction, leading the others. But up ahead the invaders are slowing down. They’ve split up, leaping onto the steel crossbeams that jut out from the walkway, seemingly unfazed by the packed roadway beneath them. Jasper has almost reached them.
