AVAMy wolf growled inside me. Evie already knew something was wrong. The way he’d leaned against that tree, and the way his eyes were glinting wasn’t casual at all. It was planned.“You set me up,” I said under my breath, shaking my head as soon as I realized I’d been played for a fool.Blake smirked even more. “Took you long enough to figure it out.”Before I could even try shifting, the air around us changed. Paws crunched against leaves, and then the multiple growls began to come from the wolves all around me. My stomach dropped as I stared at all of them one after the other. There were too many rogues, and their eyes were glinting dangerously in the dark.I shifted without thinking. My bones snapped and cracked, fur spread out, and soon I could feel power rushing through me. Me and my wolf didn’t hesitate. She charged at the first rogue that got too close. I clamped my jaws down on his neck, and he fell to the ground hard.Another one tried to take me unaware from the side, but
AVAThe morning after the attack, things were quiet, but it was the kind of silence that made everything in my chest feel heavy. Everyone was busy moving around the pack house. Warriors sharpened their weapons and reloaded their guns, omegas kept running back and forth with trays of food, and work men fixed up the holes in the walls, windows, and doors. But even with all the work, there was this edge in the air, like we all knew this wasn’t over. Because it wasn’t.The rogues had all pulled back but just like Alpha Thomas said, that didn’t mean they were gone. And I could see it in the triplets’ eyes that they weren’t just waiting around for the rogues to come to us first. I knew they were planning something.When I decided to take a short walk around the grounds, I caught sight of Zade pacing the training yard with Roman. Both of them were arguing in low voices while Axel kept his distance with his arms crossed over his chest. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who they were ta
AVAThe pack house was a mess. The sound of broken glass crunching under my shoes as I stepped inside filled my ears. The air was thick with the smell of blood and smoke. The sun had just risen, and everyone already looked drained. Pack members were limping in, and some were carrying others on their backs, while omegas rushed around with bandages and bowls of hot water. My stomach turned when I saw the amount of blood that was everywhere.I spotted Axel near the entrance. His arm had been wrapped in a cloth that was already soaked through with his blood. He was trying to brush off the healer who insisted he sit down. Typical Axel, I thought. He hated being fussed over.“Sit,” I told him firmly and pulled out a chair.He gave me a crooked smile. “You sound just like Zade.”“Then listen, before I yell at you like Zade would,” I joked. I grabbed the bandages the healer had dropped and knelt beside him.He sighed dramatically but sat down anyway. I carefully unwrapped the bloody cloth a
ZADEThe second I saw Blake, rage filled me up instantlyHe was standing just a few yards away in the shadows, watching us like he had all the time in the world. Ava had already seen him, and I could see the way her heart had started beating faster. That nightmare she told us about yesterday? Now I was certain it wasn’t just a dream.“Stay with her,” I called out to Roman and Axel. My wolf growled inside me, and my claws were itching to come out. I didn’t even wait for an answer from them. I just charged toward the trees, near where Blake was, chasing him down.He smirked before turning around to run.Coward, I thought.The forest streaked past me as I ran. Branches snapped under my paws as I shifted while running. Now my wolf had taken over, so my vision was sharper, and every sound around me was louder. I could hear how fast his heart was pounding even though he was ahead of me, and I could smell his stinking sweat too.He was fast, but not fast enough.I pushed myself harder. My
AVAI ran forward without thinking and slammed my body into the first rogue that tried to come at me. He was big, but I was faster. I sank my claws into his back and bit into his shoulder. He screamed and tried to use his claws on me too, but I dodged and struck him down. My wolf felt wild—almost too wild, even—but I didn’t care.Another rogue tried to come at me from the side. But I quickly turned and sank my teeth into his leg. He went down hard, but not before he scratched my shoulder with his claws. Pain rushed through me, but adrenaline didn’t make me feel it too much. I slashed into him again, making sure he couldn’t get back up.Two down, I thought.But the rogues didn’t stop coming.Just then, another one slammed into me from the back before I’d even caught my breath. He was heavier and stronger, so he pinned me down to the ground. His jaws were just inches from my throat. I fought hard, clawed, and bit, but he just kept crushing me into the dirt. My chest heaved as I tried
AVAThe next day, the full moon came faster than I expected. One moment I was lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying not to think about Blake’s smug face from yesterday, and the next, I was standing in the middle of the clearing with the whole pack.The night was cold; it was the kind that made the hair on my arms rise even before the moonlight touched us. Everyone was tense as if we were all waiting for a bomb to go off. People weren’t chatting or laughing the way they sometimes did at full moon gatherings. No, tonight the air was heavy, and even the younger wolves stayed close to their families. Everywhere was quiet and everyone was still.Alpha Thomas stood at the front, his sharp eyes looking over the crowd. He lifted his chin. “Stay ready. There should be no mistakes tonight. We don’t know what’s coming, but we won’t be caught off guard.”I swallowed hard. My heart was racing, but not only because of the fight we were all expecting. It was also because of the nigh