Chapter 3

For a whole week, I was on my own in the infirmary. Joey hadn’t shown his face once.

It never occurred to me that Joey would bring Anna along on the day of my discharge.

I didn’t grill him, though, as my brother, Jake Bate, was back from field training. As soon as he heard that I was unwell, he rushed to the infirmary and handled all my discharge papers.

As our eyes met, tension hung heavily in the air.

Anna said with a smile, “Joey, I forgot to get flowers for Jennie. Can I trouble you to get a bouquet of red roses?”

Joey sprang to meet Anna’s request without so much as glancing at my discolored face.

“Sure thing. I’ll be right back.”

With Joey gone, Anna switched up her game and ordered us around.

“Grab the bags, Jake.”

Never one to be fond of Anna, Jake ignored her demand and warned, “Don’t you pick on Jennie, Anna, or I’ll make you pay. I could care less whether you have a powerful Alpha on your side.”

Jake’s words didn’t intimidate Anna in the slightest. She trailed behind us and said, “Joey’s car is in the parking lot, Jennie. He has a surprise for you.”

“What?” Even when I caught the envy in Anna’s eyes, my gut told me to stay away.

Jake whispered in my ear, “It’s okay. I won’t let anything happen to you on my watch.”

Meeting Jake’s determined gaze, I took a moment to hesitate before nodding.

We walked toward the parking lot, completely missing the sinister smirk on Anna’s face.

The air in the parking garage was chilling, and several lights buzzed and flickered overhead.

Jake took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

Five rogues popped out of nowhere and surrounded Jake and me as we headed to Joey’s car.

Standing outside the circle, Anna commanded the rogues, “Kill her.”

The five rogues shifted into wolf form, their claws sharp and their fangs bare, as they lunged at me.

With lightning reflexes, Jake swung the suitcase at the scar-faced rogue.

Bloodthirsty, four werewolves clamped down on Jake’s limbs.

The last werewolf leaped straight for me.

I was quick to dodge, but the werewolf’s claws tore through my collar and left a blood trail along my neck.

As my heart raced, I felt a wolf reaching out to me.

It was unlikely, though. During my moment of distraction, the rogue got right in my face again. I had to fight him with everything I had.

Meanwhile, Jake was pinned down by four werewolves. As I fell into danger, Jake put up a fight, his limbs ripping.

Despite being drenched in blood, he bolted toward me and pounded my attacker on the head.

Blood spilled all over the concrete floor, either coming from Jake or the rogue.

Anna let out a shriek. It was total mayhem.

“Joey!” Anna shouted.

Through the madness, a massive black wolf came charging from a distance with incredible speed.

I knew that it was Joey, my aloof mate.

It never crossed my mind that Joey had shared a mind link with Anna.

No matter the distance between them, Joey could sense Anna’s distress and rush to her rescue.

Where would that put me?

I was Joey’s future Luna without a wolf. Despite screaming my lungs out in my head, I received nothing but dead silence.

Joey was the Moonstone Pack’s Alpha. After shifting, he could scare the rogues away with a howl.

He shifted back to human form and took a glance at me before making a beeline for Anna.

“Are you hurt, Anna?” Joey asked nervously.

“I sprained my ankle,” Anna replied tearfully.

After a pause, she jumped into his arms to cry her eyes out.

“Joey, these rogues often linger outside my manor. They tried to attack me again today.”

The medical team arrived at the scene upon hearing the commotion. In their haste, they only brought a single stretcher.

“Jake is seriously hurt. He needs urgent care,” I cried to the healer while cradling Jake.

However, Joey said, “Jennie, Anna is injured and scared. She should take priority.”

He put Anna down on the stretcher before turning to me with the authority of an Alpha.

“You’re the future Luna, and Jake’s the future pack warrior. Show some compassion to other pack members.”

“But Jake is bleeding out. He’s barely breathing.” I raised my bloodied hands.

Joey seemed swayed for a moment, but Anna uttered in a fragile voice, “My ankle hurts, Joey. Is it broken?”

He looked back at Anna and made up his mind.

“You and Jake can wait, Jennie.”

He left with the medical staff, escorting Anna away.

My heart sank as they disappeared.

It took everything in me to hold Jake up, but his weight was double mine. I could barely move him on my own.

His blood stained my clothes red, and his pulse grew faint.

“Help!” I shouted.

I couldn’t ditch Jake to find help because the rogues might just come back for vengeance.

Jake lay in my arms, struggling to breathe. He tried to speak.

He raised his hand to wipe my tears.

“Jennie… I-I thought that I could keep you from harm if I became a strong warrior…

“Ugh… Jennie, I found a way to bring back your wolf…”

Before Jake could finish, his grip on my hand loosened.

He was gone.

My only brother lay dead in my embrace. The light in my world went dark.

Then, there it was again. I could hear the howling of my wolf.