50

50

(Tyler’s POV)

The run was going smoothly, no trouble, no mind-links buzzing in my head, just me, my thoughts, and the wind in my fur. Well, and the pup is still glued to my heels. I glanced back. He hadn’t given up once, sticking to my flank like a shadow. He was faster than I’d expected from someone who’d only shifted for the first time a few months ago. I’d have to keep an eye on him.

We made the turn at the waterfall, the mist cool on my fur as I mind-linked Camerin. The second group is up, get them ready, I told him. You’re going to love the lake tonight. The moon’s almost high enough to fill its reflection. It’s beautiful.

He gave me the report on the patrols. It made my heart sink a little. so few warriors to cover so much ground but everything was still quiet. Too quiet.

The second run started, and the fifteen-minute window began. Only ten warriors were left to guard the packhouse. Jaxson’s death threat was never for me, I’d survived too many to count, but Kate was different. She was new to this life. She didn’t deserve any of it.

I pushed the worry away and ran harder, letting the wind clear my head until Micah’s voice cut through the link. Movement in the woods by the packhouse. We’re on alert.

I surged forward, my paws tearing at the ground. The pup stuck with me, matching my pace. Not now, I growled through the link. Fall back. He dropped back a little but didn’t leave the front runners. Stubborn kid.

A new message came through, border patrol this time. A group of Jaxson’s wolves had crossed the line, slipping into our woods. I ordered half of the warriors running with me to break off and reinforce the patrol. The other half stayed with me, we were going home. Jake could finish leading the run. Our mission was clear: protect the Luna.

Before the packhouse even came into view, another update hit. The warriors trailing Scott reported two cars now tailing the truck. No attack yet, but they were too close.

Camerin was already moving, splitting his force, half to the border, leaving Celia to manage the run. We were spread thin. Too thin. We were being hit on every side. I shouldn’t have tempted fate by wondering what else could go wrong; but I did. That’s when the next message came.

A lone figure watching Kate’s house. And the house, her house, was on fire.

I barked a command to dispatch the fire crew. The packhouse was in sight now, lights glowing, shadows shifting at the windows. I poured everything into my legs, shifted mid-stride, and burst through the front door without knocking.

I found her in the dayroom and went straight into her arms. I needed to feel her warmth, to know she was real and here.

Camerin, Jake linked. Wolves at the border, we’re holding them, but more are crossing. We need help.

I pulled back just enough to look at Kate’s worried eyes. “Celia’s bringing the run back. We’ll redirect the warriors to the border,” I told Camerin, cutting him off before he could ask. I needed every able body on the line.

“What’s going on?” Kate asked. Her voice was shaking, and I knew part of that was me, my fear, my rage bleeding into her through the bond.

“We’re being attacked on all fronts,” I whispered, keeping my voice low so the others wouldn’t hear. “Jaxson’s been planning this for weeks.”

“Anything from Scott’s tail?” she asked.

“There are two cars following him. They haven’t moved yet.” I hesitated. I didn’t want to tell her about her house, not yet. One crisis at a time.

Micah came in, breathless. “Alpha, we handled the intruders. Two are dead. We have one in custody, locked up tight. Nothing else near the packhouse.”

“What does he mean?” Kate asked, looking from him to me.

I met her eyes. She wouldn’t understand, not fully. “We’re at war right now, Kate. We caught one of them alive, we’ll question him. Find out what Jaxson’s planning.”

Her eyes went wide. “If you say you torture people, I’m done. I’m out of here.” She stepped back like I’d burned her.

“For now, we’re just holding him. One less threat to worry about,” I said, rubbing a hand over my face. I didn’t have time to explain it all. “The more we contain, the safer we are.”

I tried to reach for her hand, but she pulled away. My chest tightened. I didn’t have time for this, not now. I dropped my hand, turned to Micah. “Hold the line here. I’m going to the border to help Camerin.”

I looked at Kate one last time, the fear, the distance in her eyes, then I shifted and ran back out into the night. My pack needed me. And so did she, even if she couldn’t see it yet.

The moment my paws hit the ground outside the packhouse, I was gone, nothing but muscle and instinct, tearing through the trees toward the border. My mind was a storm, Kate’s fear, the fire at her house, Scott out there on that road, but I forced it all back. Right now, I am Alpha. And my pack needed me to be clear-headed and merciless.

I caught Camerin’s scent before I saw him, blood, sweat, adrenaline. The clash of wolves snarling and snapping echoed through the trees, sharp howls piercing the night. I burst through the underbrush and saw them. My warriors locked in a vicious knot of fur and fangs with Jaxson’s pack. Camerin was in human form, coordinating, barking orders between throwing his own blows.

Alpha, Camerin mind-linked the second he sensed me. We’re holding them, but they keep coming. It’s like he emptied his whole damn pack for this.

I didn’t waste words, hitting the first rogue that came at me. My jaws closed around its throat one twist and it was over. Another came at my side, but Camerin was there, in his wolf form, slamming it down with a sickening crunch.

Behind us, the trees parted Celia and the runners had arrived. More wolves poured into the clearing, crashing into Jaxson’s line. The tide turned.

Push them back! I ordered through the link, my voice carrying to every mind tied to mine. Don’t give them an inch!

We fought like one, a wall of fur and teeth and claws, driving them back step by step. They’d thought they could break us tonight, catch us scattered, our guard down. They’d forgotten who we were.

Somewhere in the chaos, I caught sight of the pup, the same one who’d run at my heels. He was here, too lunging at an intruder twice his size, snapping at its hind leg to bring it down. I tore away from my own kill and leapt to his side, finishing the job for him. He met my eyes for one heartbeat, no fear there, only fire. Good. We’d need wolves like him in the days ahead.

Bit by bit, the invaders broke. Some fell where they stood. The rest turned and ran, vanishing into the darkness they’d crawled out of. I lifted my head and howled the pack’s victory cry. Around me, my warriors joined in.

Camerin dropped to one knee, shifting back. His chest heaved with exhaustion, blood smeared across his arms. “We got lucky,” he rasped. “They didn’t expect resistance like that.”

“It wasn’t luck,” I said, shifting back too. My voice came out like gravel, my throat raw. “It was us.”

He gave a tight nod, but his eyes were troubled. “How's Luna?”

“Safe,” I said, but my gut twisted. Safe but furious. Confused. Hurt. I didn’t blame her. This world wasn’t hers not yet.

I turned to the warriors. “Search the perimeter. Any stragglers deal with them. Bring any survivors to the cells. Jaxson’s done playing shadows, let's find out what he’s hiding.”

They scattered at once, a disciplined machine. Camerin stepped closer, dropping his voice. “What about the cars following Scott?”

“I’ll contact the warriors trailing them. If they make a move, we shut it down. We can’t risk it turning into a human mess.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “When this is over, Alpha, you need sleep.”

I huffed a humorless laugh. “When this is over, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

A sudden mind-link cut through our moment Micah’s voice, tense. Alpha Kate’s asking for you. She won’t calm down. She wants answers.

I closed my eyes. My mate, the only thing more important than this war. I had to go to her but I couldn’t walk in covered in blood and death.

“Handle the cleanup,” I told Camerin. “Keep me updated. And find out who set her house on fire.”

“You got it, Alpha,” he said.

I shifted again, ignoring the sting of fresh wounds. The forest blurred around me as I ran back to her back to the one piece of this chaos I couldn’t lose, no matter what it cost me.