78. New Territory

Athena's POV

As the sun began to rise, I surveyed the aftermath of the battle, taking headcount of the survivors. Cosmo was safe in my arms but the losses were great.

I could still hear the screams in my head.

It was later I realized Kevin wasn't part of our number. We'd lost him.

For the first time since we marked eachother, it felt like I lost a mate. A true Mate.

I slumped onto a log beside a babbling brook, tears streaming down my face as I groaned under the weight of the loss.

We barely were up to a hundred. For a pack that was trice that amount.

Although, we had overcome impossible odds and fought off the threat of the vampires and some rogue Lycans, temporarily, There was still much to be done. And we've already recorded so many losses.

We needed to regroup, rebuild, and prepare for the next attack.

It would be stupid of us to think we could relent.

The threat of the vampires still loomed, and we needed to be ready but I needed to cry out the burden. I needed to help myself t