4

4

Matthew didn’t waste time.

The moment I shut the door, he accelerated controlled but fast, like he knew exactly how much speed the road could handle without losing traction. The forest blurred past us, shadows stretching longer as the sun dipped lower.

I glanced in the side mirror just as another vehicle pulled out behind us. My car. A dark figure behind the wheel, one of Adam’s warriors. Close enough to follow, far enough to react if something came out of the trees. Escort. Or protection. Or both.

“You don’t trust the roads,” I said quietly.

Matthew kept his eyes forward. “Not anymore.” That answered more than I wanted it to.

We drove in silence for a few minutes, the tension thick but familiar. The kind of silence that didn’t need filling. Matthew had always been like that steady, grounded. When everything else felt sharp, he was the one person who didn’t make it worse.

“You look different,” he said finally.

I huffed softly. “That’s a polite way of saying I look older.”

“You look stronger,” he corrected.

I glanced at him. He meant it. I didn’t know what to do with that.

“Sixteen-hour ER shifts will do that,” I muttered.

His mouth twitched. “Yeah. War does too.”

The words hung between us. War. Not conflict. Not tension. War. The road widened slightly as we crested a hill, and I felt it before I saw it. The pack.

It hit like walking into a wall, energy, presence, something ancient and alive woven into the land itself. My pulse spiked, instincts flaring awake whether I wanted them to or not. Matthew slowed as we approached the outer perimeter.

Two large wooden posts stood on either side of the road, carved with old pack markings. Fresh claw marks scored over the older symbols, layered like a warning. Territory. Home. And guarded like never before.

Two warriors stepped out from the trees before we even stopped. They moved fast, controlled, eyes scanning everything the road, the forest, me. Recognition hit them a second later.

“Beta,” one of them said, dipping his head briefly to Matthew. Then his gaze shifted to me. Shock flickered across his face. “…Lotty?” The name spread between them like a spark.

Matthew didn’t slow. “Open it.”

They moved instantly. A heavy metal gate, reinforced, slid open from the tree line. I hadn’t seen anything like that before. Not here.

“They’re really locking it down,” I murmured.

Matthew nodded once. “We had to.”

We rolled forward. Behind us, my car followed, the warrior keeping tight formation.The moment we crossed the threshold, I felt it again stronger this time. The pack bond. The pull. The low hum under my skin that I had spent two years pretending didn’t exist. I clenched my jaw.

“Still feel it?” Matthew asked quietly, not looking at me.

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“You never really lose it.”

I didn’t respond.

The pack grounds opened up ahead of familiar buildings, the main house rising at the center, training fields off to the side. But everything was… different. More guards. More movement. More tension.

Groups of warriors trained in tight formations, movements sharper, more aggressive. Patrols rotated in and out. Vehicles I didn’t recognize lined parts of the drive reinforcements, maybe from allied packs.

And people stopped when they saw us. Or more specifically. When they saw me. The SUV hadn’t even fully rolled to a stop before whispers started.

“She’s back.”

“Is that?”

“Lotty…”

I stepped out slowly, the air hitting me like a memory I couldn’t escape. Every scent, every sound, it all came rushing back. Eyes were on me from every direction. Some are curious. Some were relieved. Some… wary. A few older pack members stepped closer, like they couldn’t quite believe it.

“Alotta?” one woman said softly.

No one had called me that in years. I forced a small smile. “Hey.”

Emotion flickered across her face, something between happiness and grief. “You came back.”

“I’m… visiting,” I said carefully.

Matthew stepped up beside me, his presence cutting through the growing crowd. “Give her space,” he said calmly, but there was no mistaking the authority in his voice.

They listened. They always listened to the Beta. Still, the looks didn’t stop. Word was spreading fast.It always did.

Matthew gestured toward the main house. “Come on. Adam’s waiting.” Of course he was.

My stomach tightened as we walked up the steps. The doors opened before we reached them, another layer of security I didn’t remember. Inside, the packhouse smelled the same. Wood. Smoke. Warmth. Home. I swallowed hard.

Matthew didn’t stop. He led me down the main hall, past rooms I remembered too well, until we reached a set of double doors at the far end.

He paused, glancing at me. “You ready?”

No. “Yeah,” I said anyway.

He opened the doors. Adam stood on the other side. For a moment, everything else faded. He looked… older. Not in years, but in weight. Responsibility sat on him like armor, broad shoulders, steady stance, eyes sharper than I remembered. Alpha. Not just my brother anymore.

His gaze locked onto mine. “Lotty.”

My throat tightened. “Adam.”

Neither of us moved at first. Then, to my surprise, he crossed the room not with that slow, controlled Alpha stride, but something faster. Real. He stopped just in front of me, like Matthew had earlier, like he wasn’t sure if I’d let him close. Then he pulled me into a hug.And I let him.

It wasn't careful. It wasn’t formal. It was solid and real and warmer than I expected.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said quietly.

I swallowed hard, my hands gripping his shirt for a second before I pulled back. “Don’t get used to it,” I said, but there wasn’t much bite behind it.

Something in his expression softened. “I’ll take what I can get.” That… went better than I expected. A lot better.

He gestured toward the large table in the center of the room. Maps were spread across its territory lines, markings, notes scribbled in different hands. War room.

“Sit,” he said.

Matthew took a position off to the side, arms crossed but alert, watching everything. I stepped closer to the table, my eyes scanning the maps automatically.

“You weren’t exaggerating,” I murmured.

Adam shook his head. “I wish I had been.”

He pointed to several marked areas along the borders. “These are confirmed attack zones. Mostly along the northern and eastern edges.”

“Dark Mountain territory,” I said.

“Yeah.”

I studied the pattern. “They’re not random.”

“No,” Matthew said. “They’re strategic.”

“They’re pushing inward,” I added, tracing the marks with my finger. “Testing defenses. Looking for weak points.”

Adam’s gaze flicked to me, something like approval in his eyes. “Exactly.”

My stomach tightened. “This isn’t just harassment,” I said. “This is preparation. For what?” I asked.

Adam’s jaw clenched. “Full takeover,” he said.

The room felt colder. I leaned back slightly, crossing my arms. “You said Gregory is behind this.”

Adam nodded. “Alpha Gregory has been looking for an excuse since I took over.”

“Because of Mom and Dad,” I said quietly.

His expression darkened. “They were supposed to meet with him the night they died,” Adam said. “That ‘car crash’?” His voice hardened. “I don’t think it was an accident.”

A chill slid down my spine. “You think Gregory had them killed.”

“I know he did,” Adam said flatly. Silence settled heavy between us.

“And now?” I asked.

“Now his son is leading the attacks,” Matthew said.

“Decker,” I murmured. The name tasted wrong.

“Yeah,” Adam said. “And he’s not like Gregory.”

“How so?”

Adam and Matthew exchanged a glance.

“Gregory plays politics,” Matthew said. “Decker… doesn’t.”

Adam’s voice dropped. “He enjoys it.”

Images from the road flashed in my mind the car, the blood, the drag marks. The wolves watching. The gold eyes. I looked back at the map, my pulse picking up.

“The attacks on civilians,” I said slowly. “That’s him.”

Adam nodded once. “We believe so.”

“He’s not just trying to win,” I said. “He’s trying to break you.”

“Exactly,” Adam replied.

I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair. “And your hospital?”

“Overflowing,” Adam said. “We’re treating injuries we shouldn’t be seeing this far inside our territory.”

I looked at him. My brother. At the Alpha carrying all of this.

“I’m not promising anything,” I said again, quieter this time. “But I’ll help while I’m here.”

Relief flickered across his face before he masked it. “That’s all I’m asking.”

Matthew gave me a small nod of approval, gratitude, something unspoken. I glanced back down at the map. At the spreading marks. At the war creeping closer to the heart of the pack.

“I saw one of them,” I said quietly. Both Adam and Matthew went still. “On the road,” I continued. “Big. Gold eyes.”

Matthew’s expression darkened.

Adam’s voice dropped. “Decker.”

The name landed like a weight.I felt my pulse in my throat. The war wasn’t coming. It was already here. And somehow, I had just driven straight into the middle of it.