83. Leviathan #2
I winced inwardly at the statement, mostly because it was true and I knew it.
I held my composure while the news settled in.
Devon and Blaise looked shocked. Like me, they had probably assumed the Red Maw wouldn’t be the place a power-hungry asshole like Anders would want to go.
All he wanted was control and power. Desdemona ran the Red Maw with an iron fist. She’d never give him anything he wanted.
Though, I hadn’t taken Anders’s desperation into account. Desperate people did desperate things.
Hakeem and Patrick looked more pissed than shocked.
Patrick ran a hand through his beard. “That little fucker is gonna give them every bit of intel they need. Christ, as far as we know, the Red Maw didn’t know about our alliance. You can bet your ass they do now.”
“Right,” Hakeem agreed. “Once they have all the information Anders has, what’s to stop them from attacking immediately?”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” I said. “I know we said we’d plan for a few days before doing anything, but at this point, I think we have to go on the offensive as soon as possible.”
“I agree,” Rainier said.
“Jesus, this is fucked up,” Blaise said. “If this is the plan, I need to go get with my people. We’ve got to hurry.”
“If we’d kept Anders under our thumb here, he wouldn’t be with the Red Maw,” June said, her tone dejected rather than accusatory.
“I’ll admit, you were probably right,” I said, and then shook my head wearily. “We can’t go back in time, though. It is what it is, and we have to move on.”
“Right.”
I sighed with relief that she wasn’t pushing me on this even when she had every right to.
Turning back to the alphas, I said, “Are we in agreement? It’s time to go after them rather than sitting back and waiting?”
The others nodded. They all looked tense and worried, but they were willing to do what needed to be done.
“I can have my folks ready by tomorrow morning,” Devon said.
Each man agreed, promising to speak with their people and have as many fighting bodies as they could by dawn.
My stomach twisted with the fear of the unknown.
I’d never gone into battle like this. Never in all my years had I led my pack against another.
Even when I’d butted heads with Blaise’s great-grandfather, it hadn’t been this bad.
There was the chance a lot of people could die—people under my care.
If a leader didn’t feel the weight of that, they had no business leading anyone.
“Okay, then,” I said, coming to terms with what was coming. It was all happening so fast. “Rainier?”
“Yeah, boss?” He lifted his eyebrows expectantly.
“I want you to head back to Hidden Grove. Check on everyone there. Make sure they’re ready for the refugees.”
“Uh… refugees?” he frowned at me, confused.
I hadn’t had time to tell anyone about this part of my plan.
“I’m sending anyone in Idlewild who can’t fight to Hidden Grove in the morning.
This is the first place Red Maw will attack, and I don’t want anyone innocent caught in the crossfire.
They can hide better in the forest, and if worse comes to worst, they can escape and find safety somewhere else.
If…well, if we aren’t able to fend them off. ”
Rainier’s face fell. I knew he had faith in me and that I’d lead us out of this, but I was a realist. Things could go badly. No one knew what would happen in a fight. You could plan and prepare, but in the end, fate always gave you what she wanted to give you regardless.
“I’ll head up there now,” he said, moving for the door. “I’ll try to be back by midnight.”
The other alphas trickled out behind to call up their people. When the door closed, I turned to June. “I know what you’re going to say,” I muttered wearily.
“Do you?” she said, her frown deepening.
“You’re going to say I shouldn’t have sent Anders off,” I said. “You’d be right to.” I shook my head in disgust. “I should have listened to you.”
She let her arms flop to her sides. “That’s not fair,” she said. “Neither of us knew for sure this would happen. Maybe we should have kept him here, but I’m not going to start pointing fingers. We have bigger things to deal with.”
“But you were right,” I said, running my hands through my hair in frustration.
“It’s okay.” She stepped forward and put her hands on my chest. “We’ll get through this.”
I huffed a laugh. “You’re being really humble about this. You could totally rub my nose in all this if you wanted to.”
“Maybe I could,” she said, “but for all we know, the world could end tomorrow. No reason to gloat or argue about something we have no control over anymore.”
Eyeing her, I put my hand on her hip. “Do you really think the world might end? That the Red Maw is going to win this?”
“I hope not. I trust you, I believe in us. Deep down, I’ve always believed that the good guys should win. And, damn it, we are the good guys here.”
I smiled at that. My wolf growled hungrily as I looked at her. It seemed crazy with what was happening, but I wanted her, needed her.
June must have sensed what I was feeling. A surprised smile crossed her lips.
“Really? Now?”
Taking her hand, I lifted it to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “Like you said, the world might end tomorrow.”
She smiled. “You make a good point.”
I pulled her flush against me, her breast heaving against my chest as she took several deep breaths. The heat of her body radiated through my shirt, and an intense flash of desire washed over me. I wanted her.
Before either of us spoke another word, I slid my hand into her hair and crashed my lips against her.
Our breath mingled in a steam. She clawed at my back, scratching me through my shirt.
The terror of what was coming filled me with a carnal desire I couldn’t control.
The stress of everything that had happened welled up inside me like a volcano ready to erupt.
From the way June kissed me, she must have felt the same way. We both needed a release.
Finally, I tore my lips away, both of us panting.
“Turn around,” I growled, and before she could answer, I spun her in place and bent her over the kitchen island.
A few minutes of life, that’s all either of us wanted, especially when death might be waiting around any corner. I could give her what she needed, and she could give me what I needed. For a fleeting moment, we could have each other, and the outside world could go to hell.