Page 50 of Return to the Pack

Ahead, the vampires are surrounded by the giant, foreign wolves.

Their fur is bloody. A few of them who got away from us bear the marks of our attack in the form of skin flapping from their necks and broken legs.

There’s a slight problem here. There’s only one of me.

The vampires are surrounded, held captive by the snarling muzzles of at least a dozen enormous mutant wolves with the strength of three of me, the rage of a man hopped up on steroids, and no apparent instinct for self-preservation.

Chapter Nineteen

Luna

Sometimes it stinks to be watched over like a wolf pup, and tonight is no exception. Adolpha and Okami keep me trapped in the back of Okami’s van while the mutant wolves are destroying the pack—my pack. Since there are no windows in the back of her van, I can’t even see what’s going on. The only thing I can see is the road into town, which is where we’re headed.

Ethan insisted we go to Adolpha’s house, away from the attack.

I’m beyond anxious, wondering if the four men I just married are okay. I know we’re supposed to share a telepathic connection, but I’ve only caught snippets. They checked in to see if I’m okay, and since then, I can only feel them, not hear clear thoughts. I can sense each of their life essences, but I’m new to this whole pack bond communication.

“You’ve got to stay calm and let the warriors deal with this,” Adolpha says from the front passenger seat. “They train for this kind of thing.”

“But my mates… What if one of them gets hurt?” I bite my fingernails, or what’s left of them. They’ve been bitten to the quick already.

“Let’s not go there,” Omaki says. “Thoughts are things. Instead, let’s give thanks for the strength of our warriors and let our affirmations increase their speed and stamina.”

I don’t know what she’s talking about, so I focus on my beautiful purple wedding dress—it’s got a tear in it. My hem caught something when I clambered into the van. I was being pushed, hustled, and hurried along by Adolpha, Okami, and Ethan before Ethan took off in a mad sprint for the fight.

Oh, well. The dress served its purpose.

The smells in this van are intense. It’s a sour, rotting plant smell that makes me want to wretch. “What’s the smell back here?”

“Oh, that,” Okami says, chuckling. “You’re smelling sauerkraut. We use the van for deliveries. Kato and I started a small home business a while back to help with expenses. It might smell funky, but it’s yummy.”

“If you say so,” I say, wrinkling up my nose.

“Wolves making sauerkraut. Funny, isn’t it?” Okami grins, making her petite features light up like the sun.

She’s being nice, but I’m sure she’s just babbling to keep me from fretting. It isn’t working. Today was my wedding day, and those assholes just ruined it. I’m sure if they let me out of the van, I could kill one of the scary beasts for that reason alone.

The van comes to a stop. Adolpha climbs out of the passenger door. I wait while Okami exits the driver’s seat and disappears for a few seconds until the back doors swing wide. “Out you go.”

Her gaze glances nervously in the direction of the preserve, and it’s evident she’s as freaked as I am. She’s just been doing her best to keep me calm.

I climb free from the van and follow Okami up the sidewalk.

Adolpha’s already on the porch, digging in her purse for her keys. Glancing over her shoulder, she says, “Come on in. We’ll lock the doors, shut the windows—whatever we have to do to stay hidden.”

“Do you think the mutant wolves will follow us here?” I say with a shiver.

“Anything is possible,” Adolpha says, her expression dark. “I don’t know what they’re after. Most wolves are honorable, and their warriors challenge ours if they want pack land or dominance… They’d never dream of hurting a submissive, male or female. Submissives are protected and treasured, as we bear the children to keep the pack lineage alive. But these wolves… I just don’t know.”

I don’t like that statement at all.

“Because they already attacked me,” I say quietly.

I hurry into the house after Adolpha and lock the door. I help her shutter all the windows. Then we wait…and wait…and wait some more. We don’t talk much—the tension is high. But suddenly, my brain is tickled with a communication.

Get ready, baby-girl!

I start to grin—Warrick’s on his way to get me. And when the familiar roar of a motorcycles approaches, I leap to my feet and run toward the window.