Chapter 31 Wolfe
Wolfe
The next wave hit—and this time, we didn’t yield an inch. The Council fighters pushed hard, but their rhythm faltered. Their formations slipped. They were expecting us to break, expecting us to scatter.
Instead, we held.
My pack crashed into them with renewed force, the Hollow firm beneath us, each step powerful, each strike savage. The Council had planned for fear. They hadn’t prepared for resolve. One of their alphas barked orders—sharp, clipped, panicked.
I smiled hearing it. Panic meant cracks.
“Wolfe!” Killian shouted over the mindlink. “They’re pulling right—trying to isolate your flank!”
I saw it—the shift in their line, a coordinated drag to the east to thin us out. A move to separate me from my fighters and expose the pack’s center.
“Hold formation!” I told the pack. My voice cut through the noise. “Stay tight. Don’t chase.”
The Council wolves hesitated, expecting us to follow the pull. Instead, Diesel crashed into their weak left side like a wrecking ball, taking out two fighters before they even registered the shift in pressure.
“That’s right, you bastards,” he snarled, voice echoing through the bond, “fight the right fucking pack this time.”
As we advanced and held, I watched their careful strategy collapse—and then break apart. Killian dashed into the gap at the center, snapping a wolf’s spine as he hit the ground. The Hollow wolves charged behind him, a wall of teeth and fury.
We pushed the advantage hard, and our enemy's line bent in retreat.
I saw Diesel freeze. He was mid-lunge, mid-bloodshed, and mid-battle, then he crashed to the ground. His nostrils flared, his eyes narrowed, and every part of him became a lethal weapon.
“Alpha.”
One word. Tense and loaded. He raised his head, gazing through the sea of bodies. I tracked his gaze, and the night faded away.
Axel.
Standing behind the enemy’s fighters, not fighting himself, but directing. The traitor hadn’t come to battle—he’d come to watch. Hidden among the Council’s elite, partially concealed behind a massive wolf I didn’t recognize.
My blood went cold, then it turned molten. He had the audacity to come here without even facing us like a wolf. No, he was here to look upon the pack he betrayed. Not to look at me and explain why.
A warning growl burst from my chest—and half my pack echoed it.
Killian’s voice cut through the mindlink, crisp and deadly. “I’ve got eyes on him. Let me know when.”
Diesel didn’t wait. He roared Axel’s name so loudly that the Council wolves turned around, startled, and the traitor stumbled backward, realizing we had seen him.
“Wolfe,” Diesel snarled, teeth bared, “it’s your call.”
My lungs burned. My vision tunneled. The line between wolf and man blurred into something razor-sharp.
I saw Grandmother, knitting needle in hand, ready to defend herself, knowing she was going to die.
I could feel her life ebbing as her blood fell to the floor, mixing with Grandfather’s, and I felt the hate in my heart for the one who took them from us.
But I didn’t charge. I kept control.
“Hold,” I growled.
Diesel’s hackles raised. Killian’s did too. Both were ready to tear Axel apart, along with every other wolf here who had called the Grandparents theirs. But this wasn’t the time. That fight would come later; right now, we had a war to win.
“Let him run,” I said coldly. “I want him scared.”
Axel’s face twisted—recognition, fear, panic. Knowing we’d all seen him, he turned and bolted. Coward.
Diesel lunged forward a single step to give chase, snarl shaking the trees.
“Diesel!” I snapped.
He froze. Not because he agreed, but because he obeyed.
The enemy fighters surged again, thinking that seeing him had thrown us off and trying to take advantage of that—but they were mistaken if they thought that wasn’t what we needed to motivate us further.
We fought harder, and they became sloppy in their desperation, confused about why we were fighting hungrier.
“They’re making mistakes,” I told my fighters. “Let’s finish it.”
Diesel growled. “We’ll break them, Alpha.”
And we did, with the Hollow beneath us, helping us, and the ferocity in our hearts, the tide turned. My pack fought and struck as one. The enemy fighters began to fall, retreat, and scramble backward through the trees. I had patrols in place for this, and they ran out, eager to give chase.
The enemy was no longer winning. We were.
“Alpha.” Cody sounded tired but alert. “They’re running. Do we follow?”
“No. I’m pulling Diesel back; once he’s back on Hollow soil, the barrier should go up. We need to regroup.”
I shifted back to human form. “Diesel!” He turned to look at me and was soon heading back to the Hollow. I felt the barrier as soon as he crossed, and I think all of my pack did when there was a collective sigh of relief as we finally had some breathing room.
“Shift and heal,” I shouted. “It’s not over, but we have a moment. Heal, eat, and drink. Switch out if you need to,” I commanded.
“Are they still with you?” I asked Cody, heading his way.
“No, Rowen took them back to the Heartwood.
Them? I questioned him, his voice sounding heavy.”
“You’ll see. I’m coming to you.”
I changed direction and half jogged to the grove, eager to see my wife and ensure she was okay. I needed one minute to look upon my mate.
Cody’s dark wolf caught up to me. His fur was slick with blood—his, theirs, I doubted it mattered anymore. He shifted into his human form, face lined with exhaustion, but alive.
“You look like shit.”
“Asshole.” Cody tried to grin but failed. He slowed down, and I saw him picking up clothing. He threw a pair of shorts at me. “Cover up, don’t scare the children.”
“There are too many random clothing spots in this pack,” I mumbled, pulling on the shorts. “When did we all get so modest?”
He snorted out a laugh before becoming serious again. “Everyone okay where you were?”
“Lost a lot, they lost more,” I told him soberly. “You?”
He nodded and exhaled. “Lost a handful. Thought they were going to break through the line at one point, but then we were just…stronger.”
I nodded. “The Hollow chose sides.”
He let out a slow whistle. “Well, thank fuck it chose us.”
I felt a small surge beneath my feet from the Hollow, and I think it was trying to tell me it was happy it chose us too. It was a strange feeling, but not an unwelcome one.
“Axel was there,” I told him softly, and Cody slowed down. “He ran,” I continued. “Thalia will hear from any of the wolves who saw him; we tell her first, agreed?”
Cody was frowning. “You let him go?”
“I will not lose any more of my pack to chase him, Cody.” I looked towards the Heartwood. “His time will come.”
The path to the grove was unlit, but guards stood in tight formation around it, alert and prepared. A dozen wolves stiffened—recognizing my scent, posture, and intent—and moved aside to let us pass.
“Switch out,” Cody told them. “Relieve those who need to rest, but only those so tired they can’t still defend the Heartwood.”
The Council would destroy the Hollow by tearing out its heart—and Rowen was its heart. Inside the grove, the elders and the youngest gathered close, bodies curled against one another for warmth and safety. Some slept. Some trembled. Some stared at the tree line as if it might open its jaws.
And in the center—Rowen. Hair mussed. Face grim.
Clothes streaked with ash and sweat. Her hand rested on the shoulder of a trembling teenage wolf, voice low and steady as she reassured him.
She didn’t notice me yet, and I took the moment to breathe her in.
When she finally turned, her eyes widened—taking in the blood, the wounds that hadn’t yet healed, and the fury I hadn’t had time to conceal.
“Wolfe—” she whispered, and then she was hurrying towards me.
“I’m fine.” The lie was automatic. “Are they?” I jerked my chin toward the vulnerable wolves around her.
“Yes,” she said. “Shaken, but safe.” Then her gaze swept over me again, sharper this time. “You?”
I wanted to comfort her, pull her close, or say something that made sense; instead, I scanned the grove like a predator checking for cracks in the den. “Anyone get close?” I demanded.
“No,” she said firmly. “Not one.”
My shoulders dropped half an inch, relief flooding through me, sharp enough to hurt. Her fingers brushed my arm, and that was all it took to ground me. “The tide turned?”
“For now,” I said. “Pack Council has shifted tactics. They brought more wolves. They’re organized, and they seem to be targeting me.”
“The others?” she asked.
My jaw tightened. “Alive. We lost too many.”
Her eyes flashed murder. “Good. We were aligned.”
A small child peeked out from behind her—eyes huge, lip trembling. “Alpha?”
I went still.
Her mother hissed softly, trying to pull her back, but the little wolf shook her head and stepped forward again.
“Are we safe?” she whispered.
The question shouldn’t have burned the fire hotter in me, but it did. I lowered myself to her eye level. “Yes,” I said, voice steady. “As long as I’m breathing, you’re safe.”
She looked at me for a long moment—me, still bleeding, smelling like war—and then nodded, conviction settling into her small shoulders. “Thank you, Alpha Wolfe.” She settled back into her mother’s arms.
Rowen observed that exchange with a gentle yet fierce look in her eyes. “You needed to see them,” she murmured.
“I needed to make sure no one touched them, or you,” I corrected. I brushed her cheek with the back of my fingers—quick, hidden from the others—because if I didn’t touch her, the fear would swallow me. I looked around the grove. Cody was wrapped around Thalia, just breathing her in.
My eyes widened as I saw who lay beside her, the druid hovering over them. “Brand?” I strode forward. He was unconscious, beaten, and bloody, and looked like he had fought the war by himself. “What happened to him?” I demanded as I dropped to a crouch beside him.