Chapter 27 - Sera
The forest feels more like it has split into two now, with both packs clashing while their leaders circle each other, both shifted and ready to fight for their claims.
And regardless of backup arriving, I’m still in the middle of it.
I didn’t expect this. I thought the others would’ve retreated by now, and for Dawson to cut his losses. Instead, he’s pushing even when this is surely not a fight he can win. He’s challenging Luke like he has nothing left to lose, and I know that’s true.
When he lunges at Luke, my heart drops.
Instinctively, I want to go to him, but the clash of their bodies stops me from moving. Worse, the wolves in front of me are closing in, somehow managing to get between Eve and me.
The sound of their fight puts me on edge, and while every part of me wants to throw myself in to protect him, I can’t. Not while the others are right here, trying to keep me cornered.
The unshifted wolves transform now to join the others, snapping their jaws while coming at me in tandem. With a rush of power from my palms, I send a wall of shimmering energy toward them, blocking them out.
Without warning, they both crash into it. One recovers quickly, standing on somewhat shaky legs before regrouping and lunging low. I pivot, pulling roots from the earth to ensnare his body and yank him down with a yelp.
The smell of blood fills the air, but I can’t tell whose it is. Not with so much happening at once.
It’s all a blur of bodies and my magic signatures in the air around us, and I don’t dare allow myself to look at Luke yet. If I do, I know I’ll falter.
So I focus on the wolves in front and behind me, doing everything I can to force them back without running out of steam. The last thing I need is to come up short.
Just as I send another wolf tumbling back against a tree, I catch the hitched breath behind me, followed by a ripple of fear, and I stop when I see her.
Naia.
For half a second, I’m back in Wraith Peak, caught in a conversation with her that seems innocent at first, only to unravel into another humiliation ritual. I see that cruel smile in the back of my mind, the same one that always reminded me of how little I mattered on a personal level.
Regardless of how she was never physically aggressive to me, the way she looked at me was enough.
Still, something in me always wanted to believe she wasn’t as bad as the others. At least, I wanted to think she had it in her to change if she really wanted to. Above all else, she’s loyal to her father, and in many ways, blinded by it.
While Hayes follows in Dawson’s venomous ways completely, she always seemed to want to do right in his eyes, but didn’t follow through as if her heart wasn’t fully in it. Though her blind faith has pushed her to be nasty when it counts, and I won’t deny that.
And now, Naia’s expression looks even colder than I remember, and more importantly, her arms are wrapped tightly around Eve’s shoulders while holding a knife against her chest.
The blade gleams in the light like a silent warning, and even if it looks normal, I can smell it from here. It’s laced with wolfsbane.
If enough gets into her system, her healing will slow, and she may not be able to flush it out in time.
Stiff in her grasp, Eve’s eyes are wide and frantic as a strangled sound escapes her. She looks at me, and I nearly stumble.
From behind me, I sense one of the wolves behind me—Zane, I think. While he doesn’t move, I sense something strangely like recognition moving through him, and I catch the low noise that escapes him.
Naia’s gaze hardens as it slides to him, and she tightens her grip on Eve in response. Then, with a subtle look of disgust, she scoffs bitterly and pulls her attention away from him.
Whether they know each other or not, I don’t care. I can’t. Not while Luke’s sister, and one of the only friends I’ve ever had, is being threatened right in front of me.
“Don’t,” Naia says sharply the moment I step forward.
Reluctantly, I stay where I am, magic still humming around me to keep the others back. I hold her gaze, seeing the calculation unfolding within it.
“Take another step, and she dies,” she utters, scowling at me.
Part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and put myself between them, but with the blade so close, I can’t risk it. It would only take one push to ruin this all.
So I don’t. Even as the chaos around us unfolds, and even while Luke fights Dawson, it dulls to a distant roar.
Like she’s using Eve as a shield, Naia shifts her grip, but she doesn’t look away from me. “My father warned us you weren’t to be trusted…he told us your magic was unpredictable, but all we had to do was harness it. Now I see the unpredictable part isn’t your powers at all.”
“What, because I managed to stay gone?” I ask, tone strained.
Her jaw tightens. “It was all supposed to be simple. You weren’t supposed to run, but since you did, this ambush was meant to be clean, in and out. And now you’re surprising me all over again.”
Something in me wants to laugh, but I don’t. “You really thought I’d go quietly after everything.”
She doesn’t say anything at first, and I know it’s because she really did, and now, she looks like the foolish one.
They all thought I’d still be the quiet one. The one who endured in silence and went along with everything to keep from being a target. But I don’t have that luxury anymore.
Instead, Naia’s eyes flick briefly to where Luke and Dawson are clashing and snapping at each other with such ferocity, I can feel it in my bones. “Call him off.”
My brows furrow. “What?”
“He doesn’t have to die,” she says, sounding more urgent now. “But if my father falls…”
Her voice wavers enough for me to catch, and while the demand surprises me, I immediately see it.
I see the fear in her eyes. I see the way she’s drowning under the weight of everything her father’s leadership has brought down on her.
But she doesn’t know how to keep going without him, and she’s terrified beneath the hard exterior.
“I don’t control him,” I tell her, finding myself in a strange position now as a piece of me wants to empathize with her.
Naia makes an incredulous sound as she tightens her grip again. “He’s fighting because of you. For you.”
She’s right, but that doesn’t mean I have any reason to call him off, if he’d even listen in the first place.
The fight only grows louder, and I flinch at the snarl and yelp that follows. Their massive forms slam again, and my heart feels like it’s being crushed from both sides.
I can’t protect them both. I can’t inject myself without risking more harm.
Before I can stop it, those old thoughts come creeping in again. The ones that used to always remind me of how useless I am. How no matter what, I always make everything worse.
This is happening because of me. I crossed Luke’s path that day, all because I was trying to run. Now, he’s risking his life after he has already spent long enough risking his status. And now, with Eve…if I’m not careful, I could ruin that too.
No. I can’t think like that. I’m done with that.
Magic flares beneath my skin again, and Naia sees it. The blade presses a little closer as she braces herself. “Don’t.”
The moment the knife cuts into Eve’s skin enough to draw a thin line of blood, my vision narrows, and before I can stop it, something clicks inside me.
I have to protect them. The pack, my mate, and our child. I have to do something.
The connection with Luke burns bright in my chest now, and while I feel his pain from the wounds he endures, his determination is louder. He’s refusing to back down regardless of what it costs, and without meaning to, something similar in me answers it.
Unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, the surge of power hits without warning. It explodes, bursting out from inside me in a blinding wave. None of it is controlled, and none of it bends to command.
It tears outward in a shockwave that shakes the trees, and the ground tremors while the air hums with power so thick that it surprises even me.
I hear Naia gasp, and the blade in her hand vibrates before she loses her grip, only for it to hit the dirt like something useless now.
Eve drops instantly, not wasting a moment as she rolls out of the way, ducking behind me.
Stunned, Naia doesn’t move until her body forces her to react, shifting abruptly until grey and black fur blankets her body, and she snaps her jaws at me.
The others in the clearing stop to look as my powers surround me in near-blinding light, poised but ready. Even Luke and Dawson hesitate long enough to see what’s happening before resuming.
“Back off,” I demand of Naia, watching how her body language becomes more defensive. I don’t even recognize my own voice.
But when she chooses to lunge instead of run, I let my magic move for me.
Sending out another wall of raw energy, this time more concentrated than before, I watch as it hits her with full force, sending her crashing sideways. She recovers quickly as her claws dig into the earth and she charges again.
With a twist of my hand, I force the power through a nearby tree and hurl it in her direction. She falters initially, but with increased speed, she closes the distance anyway.
Unable to channel my magic in time, Naia’s teeth snap an inch away from my throat, causing me to stagger back. But before she can find purchase, Eve crashes into her mid-shift, slamming into her side with an impossibly vicious sound from her.
They roll in the grass as Eve puts the pressure on her, but Naia manages to break free. Again, she shoots toward me, aiming to take me out regardless of what it might do to her.
But when I lift my hand this time, the power surges harder, and with a tunnel of compressed air, it shoves her to the ground and holds her there.
Naia’s wolf form thrashes in confusion and fear, unable to understand what’s happening to her.
I don’t even know…I’ve never done this before. Still, it happens so naturally that I can’t stop it. Not when so much is at stake.
Regardless of how much energy I have expended so far, I don’t feel drained while it surrounds me like a protective shield. Right now, it feels like it might never end, and I think she can sense it.
“Stop this,” I tell her, keeping her pinned even at a distance.
With her panicked look shining back at me, she glances over at her father, where he’s still locked in the fight, trying to find a vantage point, and for the first time, true doubt emanates from her.
She might’ve put her faith in her father before, but right now, even she doesn’t see this succeeding.
For a beat, none of us moves. Then, the tension breaks as Naia pulls back, scrambling to get her footing again. Freeing herself from my hold, she retreats and bolts toward the tree line.
Without needing to be told, several other wolves follow her instantly, and while the chaos returns, our pack is ready as they flank from all sides.
Just as I think we’re in the clear, a flash of something from my left causes me to lock up.
Hayes bursts out from the trees with wild eyes, aiming for either Eve or me with our guards down. It happens so quickly that I can’t even raise an arm to defend us.
Though he never reaches us.
Dominic tackles him hard, crashing into him with a fierce protectiveness in his eyes. Teeth at his throat now, he snarls and doesn’t let him up. A beat later, Isaac is there, covering for us on the other side.
The display is clear in its message, and the remaining Wraith Peak wolves hesitate.
Even with their Alpha fighting still, many of them pull back, withdrawing before they become collateral.
Something physically changes in the air, as if the tide has shifted, and we all feel it.
When I turn my attention to Luke and Dawson now, my heart squeezes even harder.
Both look worn down from the fight, still showing force and hitting back as hard as they can. The smell of their blood mixes in the air, and it gleams on their teeth, yet they keep going. They keep pushing because neither of them can risk losing.
I feel Eve’s hand slide into mine once she shifts back, firm and grounding.
With her support, I pull in a deep breath and silently pour what I can into the bond. Everything I have left, I give it to him.
All I can do now is wait and hope it’s enough.