Chapter 29
THE CAVALRY ARRIVES
With a gasp I return to the waking world.
“Max!”
Jasper is up instantly, coming to support me before I collapse onto the damp boards of the amphitheater stage. Omar hangs back, watching me with a look of concern and curiosity.
“Are you okay?” Jasper asks, holding me to his chest.
“I’m fine,” I say through panting breaths. “I’m fine. It’s done.”
“It’s done?” Jasper asks.
“Walter knows we’re here, and he thinks we’re alone.”
“It worked?” Omar asks.
I nod. “It worked, but . . .” I stare into Jasper’s wide green eyes, worry etched all over his face.
Worry he’s right to feel. “I saw . . . It was only a fraction of the numbers he’s accumulated, the officers of his army maybe, but they were strong, and they want our blood.
They want to kill us all. Jasper, they’re coming for us. ”
He holds my head tighter, stroking my hair, as the spitting rain continues to patter down on us.
“It’s okay,” he says. “We’ll be ready for them. You did amazing, baby.”
He kisses the top of my head and from over his shoulder I lock eyes with Omar. He looks as terrified as I am.
Later that afternoon, as the sun dips behind the tops of the trees in the distance, wolves begin to show up. They come in buses and vans, each pulling into the parking lot at the top of the hill, more and more members of the Elite Pack spilling out of their vehicles.
Slowly the camp comes to life.
Tobias stands at the edge of the camp, assigning cabin numbers to the arriving troops as if they were campers.
I remember not being assigned the same cabin as Katie and then meeting Todd and Simon once I’d found my lodgings.
I stand with Tobias and hand out blankets that Jasper and Omar dug out of storage.
They smell a little musty, but the lingering scent is that of wolf pheromones, of young wolves excited about finding their mates.
It seems ironic given the dire circumstances.
The rain has continued to drizzle all day, which is making the ground soft and muddy.
My hair is damp and falling in my eyes, but I know this is nothing compared to what’s coming.
Wolves traipse across the grass to their dorms, churning up the soil.
Already the place is beginning to look less like a summer camp and more like a war zone.
Omar has taken it upon himself to direct traffic and is up at the parking lot making sure we can fit all our vehicles and still have enough room for the Rocky Pack when they get here tomorrow.
Salazar arrives midafternoon with Olivia by his side.
“Afternoon,” he says, when he approaches.
“Afternoon, sir,” I say. “Hey, Olivia.”
She nods curtly in response. I don’t have to read her mind to know that she’s not happy about Mia having gone back with her father. Sure, they’ll be reunited tomorrow, but they’ve not been apart since they ran.
“Your rooms in the lodge are ready for you,” I say, feeling like the concierge at a hotel, but mostly just not having anything else to say.
The rooms are as they were when we arrived, we didn’t come with ground staff, not wanting to put any more wolves in danger than necessary, and Jasper and I aren’t really equipped to provide turndown service.
“Thank you,” Salazar says. “And everything went smoothly with the alpha’s transportation?”
“Yes,” I say. “Jericho made it in a stable condition. I’ll let Jasper know you’re here, he’s down helping everyone find their cabins.”
“Excellent.”
Salazar moves off and Olivia follows him, giving me another, slightly less curt nod than before.
“This is oddly familiar,” I hear a warm, welcome voice say. I turn and find Katie, along with the bro twins, approaching with their bags. They actually do look more like they’ve come to camp than to fight in a wolf war.
“Katie!” I say, shocked and excited but also . . . suddenly horrified. “What are you doing here?”
She looks at me like I’ve asked the dumbest question in the world.
“We’ve come to help,” she says.
“But—but it’s dangerous, you have no idea—”
“Max.” She steps up close and puts a hand on my shoulder. “We’re here. We’re helping. There’s more to pack life and apparently more to this campsite than just finding a mate.”
“Sure but—but—”
“If you’re putting yourself in the path of an oncoming army, I’m going to be right there with you,” she says.
“Us too,” Simon says, and Todd gives a reciprocal “Yeah!”
“So,” Katie says, sassily popping a hip. “Where can we sleep?”
Tobias, who has just finished assigning a room to a couple of massive gamma officers, turns and approaches.
“The cabins are all spoken for I’m afraid,” he says. “There is room in the Alpha’s Lodge.”
Katie smiles super wide. “Perfect. Gosh, it’s weird being back, right?”
She’s already moving off with her mates before I can answer. I’m sure we’ll have time to catch up later. When I turn back around, I’m thrown so hard I do a double take at the next familiar face coming to speak with me.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Aisha says, pulling her suitcase behind her, looking more ready for a leisurewear fashion show than an all-out war. “You got room for me in the lodge too, Toby?”
Tobias instantly turns beet red and starts flapping his mouth like he can’t get words out.
“I always have this effect on him,” she says. “So, how about that room?”
“Yes . . . well . . . yes, of course,” Tobias says. “There’s one free room in the lodge, you are of course welcome to it.”
“Thank you,” she says, shooting him the most stunning, charming smile and sauntering past us.
“Aisha, wait.” I spin and she pauses.
“Are you sure?”
For a second, she stays where she is, pursing her lips, then she leaves her suitcase standing in a growing puddle and walks back to me.
“I did a lot of thinking,” she says. “And while the whole pack might not be on my side, you and Jasper are. You always have been. And in my eyes that makes you my pack and me yours. And I’d never let my pack down. You’re here to fight. So am I.”
I’m stunned. I don’t know what to say, so instead of saying anything I just wrap my arms around Aisha and give her the biggest hug.
“What about Troy?” I ask, pulling back.
“I sent him to stay with his family in Georgia. He’ll be safe if anything happens in the city.”
“Okay, good.”
She glances behind me. “You’ve got campers waiting. I’ll speak to you later.”
Behind me a new busload of wolves has arrived, they’re milling about awkwardly, unsure of where they should go. I give Aisha a nod and return to my position.
Soldiers continue to arrive late into the night. The drizzle is illuminated by the lights that dot the paths between cabins. Jasper, Omar, and I continue to shepherd waiting convoys and soldiers to their sleeping quarters.
At some point, Katie, Todd, Simon, Aisha, and Olivia all came out of the Alpha’s Lodge to help.
By the time the last of the vans has arrived for the night, we’re all drenched and exhausted.
We wave and try to smile as we say good night and head to our rooms.
“You want to take first shower?” I offer Jasper as I shut our door behind myself, watching him as he crosses the room, sits on the end of the bed, and kicks his shoes off.
“I think I’m too tired to shower,” he says and flops backward.
I move to the bed and lie down next to him. His rain-slick hair is stuck to his forehead, there’s dirt on his cheek.
“You should try,” I say. “Just to stay warm.”
He rolls onto his side and strokes a hand down the side of my face, looking into my eyes as if he’s seeing them for the first time.
“We’re really doing this,” he says.
“We are,” I reply. “But you’re no use to us if you get sick.”
He laughs and rolls his eyes. “Okay I’ll get in the shower, but you’re going next.”
“I’m right behind you.”
He rolls over and pushes off the bed, and I sit up.
Jasper heads into the bathroom and turns the water on, steam instantly floats through the door, which he’s left ajar.
I catch a glimpse of him slipping out of his shirt, testing the water with one hand while the other massages his shoulder.
Those shoulders. They must be exhausted from carrying the weight of all this.
On my other side is a window and through it the moon hangs just above the tree line, the rain clouds parting just enough for her to peek through.
Did she do that because she’s watching? How does she feel about what’s about to happen here?
She’s looking decidedly bulbous, a hair’s breadth away from being full.
The blue moon is nearly here, bringing with it potency and the potential for destruction.
Every mating season a new crop of wolves head to this camp hoping to find a mate, using the energy of the blue moon to bolster their chances. We plan to harvest that energy and turn it into something powerful, something violent.
I just hope we’re strong enough to beat our enemy.
In the morning, Jasper is up early, moving around the room while I’m barely able to lift my head. I try to sit up and groan from the exhaustion. My legs are sore, my back tired. If yesterday was this tiring, how am I going to make it through the next few days?
“You’re up early,” I say, glancing through the partially open window at the dim morning light.
“Morven should be here in an hour or so and the officers are meeting to discuss strategy and troop formations.”
“You need me to come with?”
He moves to the bed and sits, his weight on the mattress pulling me closer to him. Leaning down, he pushes the hair off my forehead and plants a kiss there. “No, you sleep some more. There’ll be plenty to do and you need your energy.”
“Okay.” I lie back, nestling into the pillows.
Once he’s dressed and ready Jasper heads for the door, stopping when he’s there to turn back.
“Love you, Max.”
“Love you,” I mumble.
And then he’s gone.
Eventually I get up and get dressed and head down to find something to eat.
The lodge feels kind of empty so I head outside where the rain seems to have stopped for the moment, though heavy clouds still cross the sky.