Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Not willing to let her disappear, I linked with Griffin and Killian, I ’ m going after Luna. She just tried to distract me while another wolf attacked me.
Are you okay? Griffin asked with concern. Are you injured?
I ’ ll be fine. I couldn’t lie because he could feel the pain through our bond. But if I told him the extent of my wounds, he would be even more upset about me going after Luna, and worse, he’d be distracted. Nothing that won ’ t heal. In fact, my magic was already kicking in, and the pain was beginning to lessen as the moon rose higher in the sky.
Maybe one of us should go with you. Killian wasn’t thrilled with my actions, either.
No, you’re all engaged in battle as is. If one of them went with me, that would expose another of our guards to additional attack. Right now, looking around, it seemed that we were evenly matched, and I felt bad leaving them. But I had a feeling Luna was the key to figuring out who the hell was behind this mess. Saga must have contacted the person Dick had been working with. Besides, I ’ m already in the woods.
Damn it, Sterlyn. Griffin growled. Couldn ’ t you have waited for one of us since you ’ re hurt? Wait for me, please.
Annoyance flared through me, but I took a deep, calming breath and kept my eyes locked on Luna running ahead. Griffin wasn’t being controlling or possessive; he just hated that I was doing this alone. It had nothing to do with my fighting capabilities. I would, but remember that last time, they had a boat. I don ’ t want to chance her getting away. If Luna thought we were winning, I could see her zooming off and leaving her allies behind. She was that kind of a narcissistic asshole. Look, Bart is close by. I ’ ll get him to join me. Does that work?
Fine. Griffin sighed. But the first sign that you might be in trouble, please promise me that you ’ ll retreat.
Now that was an easy promise to make. I promise. You can ’ t get rid of me that easily.
Do I need to still be part of this conversation? Killian groaned. I mean, I ’ m glad that my brother and sister are together—it makes family events so much easier—but I ’ d rather not hear the mushiness. It ’ s going to distract me from my fight because if it gets much worse, I ’ ll have to vomit.
Wow, you have been hanging out with Sierra. Griffin snorted. You ’ ve grown so dramatic.
You know what? You can kiss my ass, Killian retorted.
Nope, sorry, man. Griffin’s voice grew proud. There ’ s only one ass I kiss, and yours is definitely not it.
See! Killian’s voice grew higher. I don ’ t want to hear that shit.
The trees flew past me as I kept my pace, despite their banter. Let me know if you two need me. I ’ m going to contact Bart like I promised.
I love you. Griffin’s tone grew serious. Call if you get in trouble. I ’ ll get there as soon as I can.
Be safe, sis, Killian said.
Love you both , I said before shutting down the connection.
Luna cut left, heading in the direction of the water, as I’d feared. That must have been how they’d arrived. Boats putted down the river so regularly, it wouldn’t have alerted the guards. We were going to have to include a river watch in the future. Our enemies must have surveyed us long enough to know the extent of the perimeter we kept an eye on.
One of the key strategies Dad had pounded into me and driven into the other pack members' heads was to be unpredictable. If you had a set schedule, your enemy could easily identify holes in your defenses, leading to attacks that could take out a chunk of your manpower. That was likely what had happened here, and even though Killian and the guards were amazing, it showed that they didn’t have the training that the silver wolves did. It was time to break down the divide and for all wolves to work together, because at the end of the day, we were on the same team.
To ensure that I didn’t close the distance between Luna and me, I had to constantly adjust my pace. I didn’t want to gain on her but rather to play up my injury and make her overconfident. The water’s trickling grew louder. Time to link with Bart. Hey, where are you?
About a half a mile away from Griffin ’ s backyard , Bart answered immediately, including all the other silver wolf pack members into our connection. What’s the status? It sounds like the battle is still going strong.
I hadn’t been part of a group pack link like this in a month. My heart warmed as the connections flared inside me—which gave me an idea. Why were we still operating in silos? All three of our packs could talk and strategize at once. I linked Killian and Griffin into the conversation so we could all hear one another. I was there a few minutes ago, and it seemed like we were on equal footing. I ’ m thinking it wouldn ’ t hurt to have a few of the silver wolves help fight by the house and a few join me.
But right now, the focus needs to be on backing up Sterlyn , Griffin jumped in, ready to lead alongside me. She ’ s running after Dick ’ s daughter, and we should assume she ’ s being led into a trap.
Where are you? Bart asked, concern wafting through the bond.
Heading to the river. We were slowly approaching the area of our first large battle, only weeks ago. Blood from both sides had coated the ground already. We didn’t need more blood spilled, and yet, here we were. There ’ s a small cutout where a boat can anchor and have easy access to the woods while keeping passengers relatively dry when they disembark. We ’ re about a quarter-mile from it.
The closer I got, the more scents I smelled. There had to be at least eleven other people there, one of whom was Saga. Dick ’ s mate is here, too. I smell her.
I picked up your scent , Julius linked. On my way.
That ’ s not comforting , Griffin growled, not thrilled with my brother being the one to come help me.
The truth was, I didn’t like it, either. Dick was the person who’d worked with him, but being around people who might remind Julius of that didn’t sit well with me. For all I knew, he could decide to switch sides again.
You come here and help the guards near the house , Killian said, siding with Griffin. Griffin and I will go after Sterlyn. We just can ’ t leave, or our people will be slaughtered.
No, that will take more time. Let the silver wolves join me. I appreciated how loyal Killian and Griffin were to me, but we couldn’t afford to toss strategy aside and let our emotions get in the way. They’re closer, so stand your ground. This is the best way to end it all.
Shadow City reinforcements are en route, too , Griffin informed us. They should be here in the next few minutes. I alerted them as soon as we knew of the attack.
That was good. We needed all the guards we could get. There could be more enemy shifters coming, but if Saga and Luna were here, that probably meant every one of Dick’s fighters were here, too, or they wouldn’t have risked coming. They’d assumed that they would take us out, which solidified that they didn’t know about Bart and the other silver wolves.
The river came into view between the trees, and Luna increased her pace. Three boats floated in the water with several people in each one of them, poised as if they were ready to take off at any time. There are three large boats here.
Darrell and I will go with Cyrus to help Sterlyn , Bart said. That should be enough to get us by, and the rest of the pack will come help Griffin and Killian until more guards arrive.
Fine, but if Julius betrays us , Griffin linked, allowing his feelings of distrust to be felt by all, then I ’ ll kill him.
I’m on your side , Julius tried to reassure him, but it fell flat. Things always seemed to fall flat when it came to his interactions with any of us, which made Griffin not trust him even more.
He won ’ t , Bart reassured. We're near Sterlyn now.
I slowed my pace a few feet from the tree line of the river, not stepping into clear view. The three motorboats were in front of me, and Saga walked to the side of the middle boat with a hate-filled smirk as Luna raced toward it.
She cooed, “Good job, Luna. You actually managed to do something right, for once, unlike your father.”
Her hateful, mocking tone sent a chill down my spine. Her once hidden soul swarmed with an evil that I’d never seen before. It coated her so thickly that her skin took on a demonic reddish glow.
“And you got the silver wolf I wanted all alone.” Saga lifted her arms outward as her eyes locked on me. “She’s injured, which will make things easier for us. We still have big plans for her.” She snapped her fingers, and three men walked up behind her while six more—three in each of the other boats—turned their attention to me.
Her words rang inside my ears.
She still had big plans for me. She’d been in on this with Dick.
My stomach revolted at what the original plan had been for me. A fucking breeder. But with whom?
Honestly, not knowing the answer was probably best.
Luna had purposely led me here, but I’d expected that. What I hadn’t expected was for these people to seriously be listening to Saga, though the darkness clinging to her told me enough. She must have had someone help hide her true self inside Shadow City, which was why I hadn’t felt either good or bad from her—a witch must have aided her, similarly to how my brother had been spelled to appear dead.
Maybe it was the same witch.
Saga laughed heartily and placed a hand on her chest. “Even in animal form, I can see your confusion. You thought you had this all figured out, but you know nothing.”
The man on Saga’s right, who had a long scar down one cheek, moved as if to get off the boat. Saga lifted a hand and commanded, “Don’t use the real guns. Get the tranq ones. We can’t chance killing her.”
He obeyed immediately, rushing off to do as he was told, but five others stayed, leaving their rifles pointed at me.
Holy shit, there was no hesitation. He thought of her as his superior. But Dick had been so against women leading.
Realization washed over me, making dread weigh down my body. This whole time, she’d been in charge, not Dick.
Rosemary landed next to me, the purple of her eyes glowing in the moonlight as she stared down Saga. “What would good ol’ Dick say about you taking charge?”
Hope sparked in my chest. Out of everyone due to arrive, Rosemary could not have been timelier. She and I thought similarly. Even though we didn’t have the mind-linking ability, she’d asked the exact question I’d been thinking.
“Who do you think has been in charge since the beginning?” Saga retorted. “In fact, it was easy getting his attention, but I had to play the submissive role. After all, Shadow City wolves don’t take female alphas seriously. You didn’t even suspect me.” She frowned and gracefully climbed out of the boat. She walked past Luna and toward me, not even acknowledging her daughter’s presence.
That was why she’d wanted to mate with Atticus. She was an alpha forced to play down her own power, so she had to get the strongest wolf possible to pick her for a chosen mate. She’d been working this angle for longer than Griffin and I had been alive. This had been a cold and calculated plan—no wonder we’d felt like we were behind for so long.
Julius overhearing a woman on the phone say Atticus being dead was a good thing made sense. Saga had somehow gotten pregnant soon after Ulva, to try to come into power that way, and had used Dick to strong-arm Griffin, using his grief against him.
“You got pregnant on purpose, didn’t you, right after Ulva did? Luna is only a few months younger than Griffin,” Rosemary said with a sneer.
Her eyes glazed over like she was going back in time. “Yes, when Ulva got pregnant and we learned it was a boy, I got my backup plan in place.” She gestured at her daughter.
How the hell was that possible? She couldn’t have known she was going to have a girl…unless a witch helped her.
Rosemary shook her head, and her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t use magic—"
“Yes, I would. I have witch friends—” She paused, pursed her lips for a second, and giggled. “Okay, ‘friends’ is a stretch. Nonetheless, I have witches who will do my bidding because I have leverage over them, but that’s a whole different story.”
I stayed still, afraid to move. Her ramblings were filling in some serious holes and giving Bart and the others time to get closer before I had to fight. Silver wolves were strong, but I couldn’t take on nine men by myself, especially when they were armed.
“God, this feels so good.” She strolled closer to me, placing a hand on her chest. “I mean…despite all the bullshit, here I stand, in charge like I should’ve been all along. Dick wanted to work with Azbogah, but I should be the real leader of Shadow City. I can do things no man could do.”
Tilting my head, I tried to look fascinated to encourage her to keep going. It wasn’t like I could ask her questions in animal form.
“You’re crazier than your mate.” Rosemary snorted. “Was it the same witch who found the silver wolves that stole Sterlyn’s brother?”
“Yes, I stumbled upon her granddaughter and used her as leverage. To get her granddaughter back, she had to steal the alpha heir. He was meant to be Luna’s breeding partner so we could take over the entire wolf race, but your dumbass brother couldn’t shift,” she said, turning her attention to me. She sighed and rolled her eyes as if it had been a mere nuisance. Like he’d put her out instead of her actions trapping him in his human body. “And I couldn’t risk your pack desperately searching for their alive, kidnapped alpha heir. So I killed them, making sure I could start over with you.”
The woman was insane. The way she talked about my pack’s death as if it were nothing and why she’d pushed Luna so hard at Griffin. Since she couldn’t breed with the silver wolf, she needed to get her child angled as alpha mate.
The guard with a scar appeared beside her with the tranq gun in hand.
Shit, the others should be there at any second.
Rosemary’s eyes flicked toward me, and she nodded slightly. She was trying to buy time for the others to catch up to us. “But then why kill Atticus and Sterlyn’s pack?”
“I pushed Luna toward Griffin and used Julius to train my warriors. When Griffin hit puberty, his attention strayed to every other girl but her.” She pointed at Luna and sneered. “She obviously needed a helping hand, so I invited Atticus and Ulva over for dinner one night and poisoned Atticus’s food. I was nervous that someone would figure out that his death was abnormal, but the herbs the witch gave me weren’t detected, so his death was documented as natural causes. Just an abnormality.” Her nose wrinkled, and she glared at her daughter, who whined and cringed back. “And yet, Luna still couldn’t capture the attention of a man mourning his father.”
Luna whimpered and pawed at the ground.
She’d killed Atticus so that Griffin would be stricken with grief, allowing her daughter to finally lock him down. All the hate I felt for the girl was now replaced with pity.
But after Atticus died, Dick was also spiraling, and Saga was able to get him involved in her plan. A growl escaped before I could clamp it down. I had never hated anyone as much as I did her.
“Oh, shush. You’ve caused a lot of problems.” Saga shook her head. “If it weren’t for you, Griffin would still be an unfocused mess, and Dick would still be alive, but I guess it’s all worth it now. I found someone who still wants you and will make an excellent mating partner for you.” She pursed her lips and tilted her head. “Well, time’s up.” She glanced over at the guards. “Catch her now, and kill the angel. It’s time to go.”
The man with a scar lifted his gun, aiming at my shoulder. It wasn’t a kill shot—they wanted to injure me so I couldn’t fight.
No, I had to figure a way out of this.