Chapter 1

Daryl stood hidden by the darkness and the tree in front of him. His gaze was on the abandoned building across the street. A pup had been kidnapped from his pack, and tonight he and his top three warriors would bring the baby home, no matter what it took. They each had a side covered. “Any movement,” he mind-linked his Beta. “None on my side,” Quincy replied. “Anything on your end,” he linked his head warrior. “Nothing,” responded Leo. “How’s your side, Ivan?” he asked. “Quiet,” was the answer. He had the front of the building and intended to be the only one entering. If something went wrong, he didn’t want everyone inside.

He made a mental note of every detail. The red bricks faded with age, and several windows were broken. Most of them had been boarded up, but one on the far East side was wide open. Tattered fabric hung inside and swayed with the breeze. It had been quiet for the last 10 minutes, and that worried him. “Okay, I’m going in. Ivan, since there are no exits on your side, I want you to maneuver to the front door.”

Daryl partially brought his wolf forward, causing his canines to extend and his face to elongate. His nails extended, and his shoulders hunched forward slightly. His eyes shifted, and his night vision increased. He quietly ran to the front door. He felt Ivan’s presence behind him and slipped inside. His pack depended on him to bring this baby back, and he did not intend to disappoint them.

He carefully placed every step he took to avoid making a sound. His ears strained to pick up any noise in the building. As he made his way deeper into the building, something started to feel off, and the hairs on his arms stood up. He felt the need to exit the building, not fear, but the knowledge that he had put himself in the wrong place. The need to find the infant caused him to ignore that feeling and push farther inside. He came through a doorway and looked around.

The hallway was dotted with doors, and he wondered which one he should go through. As his gaze raked down the hall, he saw muddy footprints leading up to the middle door. He approached it carefully and listened. He could hear a baby's cooing on the other side of the door. “I think I found her,” he linked Quincy. “Be careful. Something doesn’t feel right. It’s too quiet in there.” Daryl didn’t answer as he slowly pushed the door open.

As the door inched open, he heard a soft clicking noise a split second before an explosion filled his ears and the building began to collapse around him. He tried to cover his head as bricks rained down and dust blew into his eyes. He reached the baby inside, nestled in a Moses basket, and shielded her from debris with his body. ‘Goddess!

How do I get out of here,’ he thought as something large struck his head and his vision went black.

The warriors stood their distance from the building, ready to charge in if their Alpha indicated he needed help. Knowing Daryl, he would get in and out as quickly as possible. He was nothing if not efficient. A loud explosion sounded seconds before the building started to crumble. “Alpha,” Quincy yelled as he ran towards the building. He watched helplessly as his Alpha was lost in the flames and rubble. Ivan was lying where the doorway used to be, his bottom half crushed under bricks.

Quincy and Leo rushed to help uncover him. His breathing was labored, and he looked at them with wild eyes. “I can’t feel my legs, guys! Get me out of here!” They threw massive chunks of brick to the side, uncovering their friend as quickly as possible, but also knowing that their leader was in the middle of the pile, slowly losing any hope of survival.

Quincy left Leo to drag Ivan away from the collapsed building and began searching through the debris for Daryl. “Alpha, can you hear me?” he tried to link Daryl, but didn’t get a response. “Daryl, where are you?” He muttered as he rummaged through the pile. As he made his way closer to the center, where the flames burned the highest, he picked up the odor of burned flesh. He removed his shirt and tried to smother out as much as he could, but it was useless. He pushed at the bricks, hoping to shift them without crushing his best friend more.

Leo joined him and began working on the pile from the opposite side. Quincy slowly lost faith that he could save their leader when Leo yelled, “I got him! Come over here!” Quincy ran around the flames and shouted when he saw an arm through the brick pile. “Hurry! There isn’t much time left.” They uncovered their friend as quickly as possible. Quincy threw him over his shoulder and ran back to the tree line with his unconscious body. Quincy heard Leo gasp as he left, but didn’t stop to see why.

As he lay Alpha Daryl down next to Ivan, he saw Leo carrying the baby in his arms. “She's breathing,” he exclaimed. Quincy checked Daryl’s pulse. “It’s faint, but it’s there. We need to get him to the pack hospital now!” He linked their closest pack member. Paul had been instructed to station a few miles away and wait for them to signal they were ready for pickup.

They had planned to meet him down the street, where he could slow down just enough for them to jump into the truck and get out of there. Instead, it had turned into a rescue. “Get on the scene now! Alpha and Ivan are injured. I don’t know if he’s going to make it. Every second counts.”

He kept an eagle eye out, looking for any threat as they waited for Paul to arrive. Seconds felt like hours as his mind replayed everything they knew about the kidnapping. “It was a trap. Someone organized this to take the Alpha out.” Leo looked at him with sad eyes. “Let’s pray to the Goddess that they didn’t succeed.”

Quincy gave one sharp nod to agree. A dark blue Chevy truck flew down the street, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Stay with me, buddy. We’re going to get you to the hospital.” His eyes wandered over Daryl’s injuries. He was burned pretty badly, unconscious, had a giant goose egg on the back of his head, his ankle looked broken, and who knows what else. If he survived this, it would be a miracle. One Quincy intended to will into being.

He could not look their Luna in the eye if he didn’t do everything in his power to save her mate and his best friend. There was no chance he could lead the pack in good conscience if he didn’t do everything possible to save their Alpha.

The truck screeched to a halt, and Paul jumped out of the truck to help load the injured. “What happened?” Paul asked as they gently set Daryl onto the bed of the truck. “Not now,” Quincy snapped at him. He slammed the tailgate back into position and jumped into the bed. Leo sat next to Ivan and held the baby. Quincy laid Daryl’s head in his lap so it wouldn’t bounce on the metal truck bed. He banged the wall, and Paul tore out of there like demons were after him.

They drove straight to the hospital. Dirt from the road swirled around them as they jolted to a stop at the front door. Paul and Quincy pulled Daryl out of the truck and carried him inside. A nurse ushered them into a room, and another set of nurses helped Leo bring Ivan and the baby. A doctor rushed in to look at the Alpha as the nurse shooed them out the door.

Quincy linked Emma. “Luna, we are back, but the Alpha is badly hurt. You need to get to the hospital.” He cringed at telling her that way, but wasn’t leaving the doorway until he knew his friend would survive. Within minutes, Emma was busting through the doors. She pushed past him into the room without stopping to speak to anyone. Her eyes took in the sight of her injured mate as she hit her knees. Her screams echoed through the hallway as Quincy gathered her sobbing form in his arms and pulled her to her feet with her face buried in his chest.