Chapter 20
Wolfe
The cool morning air felt like a slap when we walked outside the house.
The morning wasn’t bright. Just…sharp. The kind of cold, pale light that made every wound look deeper and every shadow look like a threat.
As we approached the pack hall, I’d sensed they were gathering, could feel their fears. The clearing looked different too. Not destroyed—the pack seemed to have worked through the night to make sure of that—but still, it felt…changed.
Ash still hung in the air; I could still taste it on my tongue.
I saw a dark smear of it against the trees.
The grass near the training ring was trampled flat.
Through it all, no matter the new day or how hard you tried to mend what was broken, you could still feel it in the air—the scent of smoke, blood, and exhaustion.
And my pack? They looked like they’d been dragged through a war and were waiting for the next round. Which could be a good thing, because it’s better to be raw than complacent.
I had let Rowen speak first. She spoke well, and it still amazed me that the very wolves who cheered for her now were the same ones willing to set her aside because she was female.
She had led this pack for years, but the old ways and traditions had made them blind to the fact that their pack leader was right in front of them.
She’d gone inside the pack hall, eager to see that the kitchens were alright, that her pack would be fed, and in her own way, touch base with them all so she could mourn with them for those they lost.
She didn’t look back at the ones who lingered—the fighters, the warriors, the vengeful. No, she left those for me.
I stepped into the center of the clearing, feeling their eyes follow me.
Diesel sat on a fallen log, arms crossed, a tic in his jaw pulsing with impatience.
Killian stood near the edge of the group, quiet but alert, assessing everything.
Brand had already broken away and was setting up for early morning training.
He was stripped to the waist and was checking the younger wolves’ stances—muttering corrections under his breath with zero patience for anyone who flinched.
More pack members had gathered. Rowen’s message would have spread.
Males and females who had returned from patrol were now present.
With Diesel and me both on the ground in the Hollow, the boundary was set.
Any stragglers from the attack had been dealt with during the night, including Tyler.
He would not return to his father’s home.
I saw a flash of brown hair and watched Adair slip around the corner of the pack hall. When I looked back, I saw not only Diesel’s eyes tracking her movement but Axel’s as well.
I wasn’t getting involved in that. I thought about it. It could cause a problem, so I’d tell Rowen, and she could handle it.
I turned my attention back to the fighters, then felt a pang of guilt. There was no such thing as man’s work or woman’s work; I’d deal with the Adair situation right after I spoke to my pack.
Some stood tall. Some looked bone-tired. But all of them were here.
“Circle up,” I ordered.
They moved instantly, forming a wide ring with me at the center. No hesitation. No dragging their feet. Even those who weren’t usually in the training ring stepped in closer.
“Look around you,” I said, voice echoing through the clearing.
“Every shifter here worked through the night. Every shifter here faced an attack meant to break us.” A few heads dipped in acknowledgment.
Others held my gaze, steady and unflinching.
“And you showed up.” My eyes scanned as many as I could as I turned slowly in a circle.
“You cleared the dead, built the pyres, and cleared the Hollow of the debris they left, all before dawn. You ran patrols through the night, clearing out any lurkers, you ensured our boundary held, and then you carried our fallen enemies outside the Hollow.” I watched them all.
“My pack…” I shook my head, letting them see how proud I was of them.
“You stood together when the Council thought fear would make you crumble.”
Diesel snorted. “Because they forgot,” he muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Forgot who our alpha is and what our pack stands for!”
“Exhaustion?” Cody mumbled with an eye roll, and a few wolves huffed out tired laughs in agreement. I grinned, grateful for my brothers, who knew as well as I did that the pack needed that crack in the tension.
“I know, we’re tired,” I said, seeing my own weariness in their eyes.
I turned again, keeping their attention on me.
“The Pack Council sent them when they knew that Rowen and I would be gone. They knew about the boundary, the safety that the Hollow provides—that with me gone, anyone can enter. They knew because, in this pack, there were traitors.”
The pack rumbled with discontent.
“In that, I failed you,” I told them. “I was reluctant to use my Will. I thought words and actions showed loyalty.” I didn’t look Killian’s way.
“But an old wolf from Stonefang fooled me. The children we let get close to us fooled me.” I turned slowly, making eye contact with every shifter. “I will not be a fool again.”
“If you are guilty of being a fool, so are we all,” Killian said, very dryly. “They tried to fool us. They failed.”
“Exactly.” Brand stepped into the circle to stand next to me.
His eyes scanned my face. “No one’s ever called me a fool and lived, Alpha.
Be careful with your words.” Once again, a slight easing of tension as a ripple of laughter spread among the gathered.
Brand shifted his focus to the pack. “But they’ll come again. And they’ll come harder.”
Silence. Not fear—focus.
“We are not waiting for their next move,” I said, picking up the thread. “We prepare. We train harder than we ever have. We fortify every ridge, every path, every blind spot. And when they hit us next time”—my wolf surged up, sharp and vicious, and I let it bleed into my voice—“we hit back.”
A ripple of energy surged through the group. Wolves straightened, shoulders squared, eyes sharpened.
Killian stepped up next to me. “Training rotations stay doubled,” he said. “The youngest on perimeter duty pair up with Stonefang hunters. No lone shifts.”
Diesel pushed off the log. “If you’re tired, too bad. If you’re bleeding, shift and heal, and then get back in formation. And if you even think about doubting yourself”—he grinned, sharp and unpleasant—“I’ll run drills with you personally.”
Every shifter in the circle blanched. Appropriate reaction. I felt a little queasy myself at the thought.
Cody stepped forward last, his expression calm but unreadable. “We hold the Hollow because we stand together. No fear. No retreat.”
I nodded. “Exactly. We don’t run. We don’t bend. And today,” I said, sweeping my gaze over them, letting them feel the certainty in me, “we move from recovering to preparing.”
“If you and Diesel are here,” an older shifter asked, “they can’t cross?”
“No.” I licked my bottom lip, trying to think of a diplomatic way to shut down his next question.
“You’re not hiding in here for the rest of your days,” Diesel snapped, diplomacy not his strongest suit.
“The barrier that is provided by your alpha is strategic and allows you to prepare. Not hide. There is no hiding from this fight.” He eyed the older wolf speculatively.
“You’ll train with me, then you’ll understand. ”
The wind moved through the clearing.
“Remember,” I said quietly. “We’re not the ones who should be afraid. They are.”
A low growl spread through the circle, not of fear but of agreement.
“This fight is coming,” I told them. “It’s been coming for months. Now, we know the face of our enemy.” I shook my head. “Not the face we thought it would be. They’ve been planning this for a long time. But we will face them, and we’ll meet them standing.”
Diesel cracked his knuckles. “Good. You heard your alpha. Now we train.”
And just like that, the clearing turned into movement—wolves shifting, sparring, forming groups, checking weapons, searching for either Cody or Killian to get guidance. Purpose burned through them like fuel.
Diesel slung his arm around the old shifter’s neck. “Show me what you got, old timer,” he said cheerfully, leading him away.
“Goddess,” Axel said, coming to stand beside me. “I think I feel sorry for him.”
“Diesel will go easy on him,” I said, hoping it was true.
“Diesel will eat him for breakfast.”
I winced. “Or that.”
Axel pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “Rowen said to tell you she’s headed to the druid’s tent. Something about a tree, and I admit, I tuned out when she started talking to me about rites.” He shivered. “Just the thought of the druid naked and chanting, well…”
I shot him a puzzled look. “Why is the druid naked?”
“Only Rowen is naked?” Axel asked in surprise.
“Why is anyone naked?” I asked him. “What do you think it means when they say they’re going to perform rites?”
“I assumed…” He frowned. “I dunno. Sex and stuff.”
My jaw dropped. “Why would my mate, my pregnant mate, be having sex with the druid?”
Axel started laughing, and then I heard Killian and Cody join in. I turned to look at them and back at Axel, and all three of them were cracking up.
“Oh, Luna.” Axel wiped his eyes. “I drew the short straw and was sure you’d kill me, but she was right, that was fucking funny.”
I felt her behind me, and I turned to look at my wife, who was grinning mischievously. She reached up and kissed me. “I’m going to the druid’s to learn more about what I am.” She kissed me again. “You lightened the mood of the pack, my love,” she whispered. “Don’t be so serious.”
“That was your idea of a joke?” I asked incredulously.
Killian started to laugh again. “Best ever. Good one, Rowen.”