CHAPTER 005

ODESSA:

"Odessa, wait!"

Sarah's voice comes from behind me but I'm already running toward the smoke, my wolf pushing to the surface and demanding I shift.

These are the wolves who killed Kade and I'm not going to just stand here and do nothing.

"Odessa, stop! You need to wait for backup!"

I ignore her and shift mid-run, my clothes tearing as my body transforms. My paws hit the ground hard as I pick up speed, following the scent of smoke and blood and Silverfang wolves.

The anger burning in my chest is so intense that I can barely think straight.

I break through the trees at the eastern border and see them. Five Silverfang wolves are circling around old man Henry, one of our elderly pack members. There's blood on the ground and Henry is injured, trying to defend himself but losing.

I launch myself at the nearest Silverfang, sinking my teeth into his shoulder and taking him down hard. He yelps and tries to throw me off but I hold on, shaking my head violently until I taste blood.

The other wolves turn toward me and Henry limps away toward the trees.

The Silverfang I'm attacking manages to buck me off and I roll across the ground before jumping back to my feet. All five of them are focused on me now, circling me like predators.

"The little Luna wants to play," one of them says as he shifts back to human form. "How cute."

I snarl at him.

"You know, it's really your fault that your mate died," another one says, also shifting to human. "If he hadn't been so distracted trying to protect you, we never would have been able to corner him."

The words hit me and my wolf falters for just a second.

They see my hesitation and two of them attack at once, one going for my throat and the other for my legs. I try to dodge but I'm not fast enough and suddenly I'm on the ground with claws digging into my side. Pain explodes through my body and I yelp.

"Not so tough now, are you?"

I struggle but another set of claws rakes across my back and I cry out. Blood is pouring from my wounds and my vision starts to blur.

One of the Silverfangs raises his claws, going for a killing blow to my throat, and I close my eyes.

But it never comes.

I hear a vicious snarl and suddenly the weight on top of me is gone. I open my eyes to see a massive black wolf tearing into the Silverfang who was about to kill me.

Damon.

Behind him are at least a dozen of our pack's beta soldiers in wolf form, all launching themselves at the Silverfangs.

The fight is brutal and fast. Within minutes, most of the Silverfangs are either dead or running. Damon is amazing, taking down two wolves at once with a strength that reminds me painfully of Kade.

I shift back to human, my body protesting the movement. The wounds on my side and back are bad and I can feel myself getting weaker from blood loss.

Sarah appears beside me. "You idiot, why didn't you wait?"

I'm not sure what to say, so I don’t answer.

Damon finishes off the last Silverfang and shifts back to his human form, his body covered in blood. He turns toward me and his eyes widen when he sees how badly I'm injured.

"Get the pack healer here now!" he shouts at one of the betas.

He starts walking toward me but then one of the Silverfangs that we thought was dead suddenly lunges up from the ground. His claws are extended and aimed straight at Damon's back.

"Damon, look out!" Sarah screams.

Damon spins around, but he's not fast enough. The Silverfang's claws sink deep into his side, ripping through skin and muscle. Damon grunts in pain and grabs the Silverfang by the throat, snapping his neck instantly.

But the damage is already done.

Damon stumbles backward, his hand pressed to his side where blood is pouring out. So much blood. He falls to his knees and then collapses forward onto the ground, landing in a growing pool of his own blood.

"Damon!" I scream, trying to get up, but my body won't cooperate.

The betas are rushing toward him, shouting for the healer, but all I can see is Damon lying motionless on the ground with blood spreading around him. The mate bond in my chest is screaming at me, pulling at me, demanding I go to him.

And then everything goes black.

◆◆◆◆

"Move, move!"

I'm running after the betas as they carry Damon's unconscious body toward the pack house. My own wounds are pulling at my side painfully, but I don't care, I can't stop following them even though I don't understand why.

"Luna, you need medical attention too," one of the betas says.

"I'm fine, just help him!"

They take him to the packhouse and lay him on his bed. The pack healer rushes in behind us and immediately starts working on Damon's wounds. There's so much blood and the gashes are so deep that I feel sick looking at them.

"Everyone out," the healer orders. "I need space to work."

The betas file out but I stay rooted to the spot, staring at Damon's pale face.

"Luna, that means you too."

"No." The word comes out before I can stop it. "I'm staying."

The healer looks at me like I've lost my mind but she doesn't argue, she goes back to cleaning Damon's wounds and stitching them up.

I sink into the chair beside the bed and watch his chest rise and fall, his breaths come so shallow it’s like he’s barely breathing.

Why am I here? I should hate him. I do hate him. But the thought of losing another mate, even one I don't want, makes my heart ache with something fierce.

The healer finishes and tells me he should be better in a few hours, maybe a day at most. She tries to get me to leave again so she can treat my wounds but I refuse until she agrees to treat them right here in the chair.

Two days pass and Damon still doesn't wake up.

Sarah brings me food that I don’t eat. The elders come to check on their alpha and look at me strangely when they find me still sitting beside his bed. I know what they're thinking but I don't care to explain.

On the third day, his fingers finally twitch.