LOGINI didn’t know it would take so long for time to pass so quickly. It felt like forever when we finally started to hear the first shots being fired. Then time seemed to stretch for an eternity. My heart was already pounding out of my chest when the first sound of an explosion echoed across the field. A sharp pain erupted in my leg and a throb began in my head.I choked back a cry when it registered what that meant.Lucas was hurt. The pain dulled quickly. Still present but enough to tell me he was still alive. Still, my chest tightened. Nova became more anxious than ever. Trying to push the shift to go to him. But we couldn’t. We had a job to do. People to protect here.More explosions sounded.I stifled a worried cry. Working to keep my fear from showing on my face.“How badly is he injured?” Conner whispered next to me.“He’ll be okay,” I told him.I looked over the barrier toward the forest. My gut tightening as I saw the smoke rising over the trees against the night sky. Muzzle flas
I tossed the body aside. Rushing back to the wounded man. He was sweating heavily and his breathing was shallow but he was still alive. I finished dragging him to safety. Thankful to find my other pack member also still breathing. As I went back, someone else was already helping to move more wounded men while others were throwing more smoke bombs.Despite the hits we were taking, I was seeing more Dawn stalkers falling. Either to the traps we had set, the human snipers, or even friendly fire. A couple more had jumped the barricade but were quickly taken out. We were fighting hard.I moved down the line. Taking out three more Dawn Stalkers and taking care of more wounded. I was carried a Silverstreak pack member with a gunshot to the knee when I met the medical team coming through the woods on four wheelers. I threw the wounded I had on one of the stretchers and pointed the rest up the line to the others. As they took off, I turned to head back to the fight.I was thrown off my feet. M
I wanted to let Rhonen take over the patrol but decided against it. The snipers were going to struggle to tell the packs apart once we all started shifting. The longer we held off, the more accurately they could identify their targets.The air felt stagnant around me as I walked through the trees. The fading light of the sun casting shadows that somehow seemed more silent than usual.It was the calm before the storm. I could feel it in my bones.Every sound pulled my attention. I was more aware of my pack members around me. There was anxiety and fear flowing through the tethers that connected us. But there was conviction and determination as well. It was a morale that was as good as an Alpha could hope for, but it was still a heavy weight to bear.“We’ve got vehicles approaching,” a voice sounded over the radio on my hip. It was one of the human snipers. “Coming in fast. They’re going to use the sun against us.”I lifted the radio. “We need to get them into the trees,” I told him. “Ca
I let Lucas sleep. I could tell he hadn’t gotten much in days. He would need it before the fight. I should have gotten up but I wasn’t able to drag myself from the bed. Instead, I just watched Lucas sleep. Watched his chest rise and fall so calmly. It was the most at peace I’d seen him in months. It was a little strange… Knowing what we were facing.Lucas’ words sat heavy with me. Whatever hope we now had, it was just that—hope. It was no guarantee of victory. It certainly wasn’t a guarantee of our survival.My chest tightened. The weight of the coming hours finally hitting me as I was forced to imagine Lucas’ lifeless body. My breath hitched in my throat and I forced the image away. I pressed a hand to his chest. Needing to feel the rise and fall of his chest. The beating of his heart.An alarm started to sound from outside. The volume causing both of us to shoot up in the bed. We shared a look before jumping up, grabbing our clothes and pulling them on hurriedly.“It’s almost sunset
We went back to the farmhouse. When we went inside, I was surprised to find Hunter, Tarvyn, Amos, and Tarrah in the living room with Max and Uncle Rodney. They had arrived with Sutton and the human envoy. Sutton told me Helene was here too. Apparently, her and Jaden’s secret was out. So, it was no surprise when Tarrah said Jaden had dragged her off somewhere. Something I was dying to do myself with Sutton. But we had too much to do.Sutton insisted on getting my shoulder wound checked out and cleaned up. When that was dones, she and I made a point to walk through the rest of the camp, making sure everyone was getting fed, getting supplies, and getting rest where needed. I was constantly checking in with all the patrols and scouting parties. I wanted to make sure we knew every Dawn Stalker move we could. I was checking to make sure the medical supplies the humans brought were being allocated properly when I heard familiar raised voices around the barn.“…don’t get to order me around,”
I took a few steps forward. Again trying to make out what I was seeing through the hazy light of the sunrise. I heard footsteps come up behind me but I couldn’t be bothered to see who it was. My eyes stayed fixed on the vehicle coming towards us.Vehicles. Yes, there was definitely more than one. It was a motorcade of black buses and armored trucks.My heart started to race again. My chest tightening. Rhonen’s hackles raised. These were coming down our road. From the direction of Wildmore. This couldn’t be the Dawn Stalker advance. How could they have gotten past our defenses? And with such an arsenal. Pistols and rifles were one thing but armored vehicles?My feet remained planted. The lead vehicle, a truck with a large rifle attached to the roof, approached. More people had come to gather behind me but I couldn’t bring myself to look at them.As the vehicle came to a stop, the back door opened. A breeze picked up. Carrying a familiar scent toward me. A scent that almost had me fall
It felt so good to be home. I hadn’t realized just how much the packhouse had become my home until it came into view on the drive back. We were happily greeted and welcomed back throughout the walk to our suite. It greatly elevated my mood, especially since no one seemed to notice the makeup I was
I contacted Prince Raphe and he agreed to meet as at our suite. I was anxious about the meeting but not as anxious as I had thought. Truth be told, the letter from Sutton’s mother had been a bit anticlimactic. At least for me. I could tell it gave Sutton some peace of mind and it certainly answere
I spent the next few hours with my family. We talked through a lot of things. It was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions all around. My dad took the news of Hannah’s actions pretty hard. It’s something I think I will struggle with for a while. But we cleared up a lot of miscommunications that had
We rushed to the front of the hotel. There was a chaotic rush of staff around us as everyone hurried to get vehicles available. As we approached the front doors, I saw Soloman rush into the lobby. He caught sight of the hoard of us coming his way and he froze. He obviously didn’t know what was goin







