Chapter 35
The broadcast from the alarm was still ringing in my ears when I scrambled up from the shattered glass of the rug, my palms scraping against fallen debris.
“Breach confirmed at the elementary school! Save anyone you can—get the children out!”
“Where are you going?” Gabe snapped, his voice panicked as he tried to get up. He winced, his face turning pale as the sudden movement tore directly at the heavy bandages wrapping his shredded back.
“I have to help,” I said, my voice trembling as wails from outside reached my ears. “There’s been an attack and we need to help.”
“We aren’t officially in this pack. What’re you going to do, Adea? You need protection, you can’t give it!”
His words were a low blow. Protection. I had spent the last few days being shielded, trapped, and Shane still got to me.
I was so sick of carrying the weight of everyone else’s guilt.
Before he could pull himself out of the chair, I stepped forward and slapped him across the face.
The sharp crack echoed off the concrete walls. Gabe’s head snapped to the side. His blue eyes widened in absolute shock, his lips parting. He turned to me, his fingers touching his burning cheek.
“I love you, Gabby, but you need to snap out of it,” I told him, my voice hardening with my resolve. “Wolf, no wolf, that wouldn’t stop me from doing something. When have we been people who stand by?”
His eyes closed, a heavy, defeated breath escaping his chest, and I pulled away. Every muscle in my lower body still burned, and the pain still throbbed under my turtleneck—a reminder I wasn’t at my best, but the adrenaline was a fire in my veins.
I turned on my heel and bolted. I didn’t stop until I stood by the elevator. Behind me, the heavy thud of Gabe’s combat boots hit the floor as he followed me.
As the doors closed on us and the elevator began its descent, he cleared his throat.
“I needed that. Thank you,” he murmured.
I looked at him and grabbed his hand. He squeezed it.
“Whenever you need a slap to the face, let me know, I’ll always be happy to help,” I teased, a small attempt to lighten things before we got down there and the world swallowed us whole.
“Deal, Ady,” he murmured, the faint, boyish ghost of his old smile flashing before it died. “I know that look. Promise me you’ll think before you act.”
I wasn’t going to hide anymore. I refused to stay still. I was the future Luna of this pack, and if my people were bleeding, I belonged on the front lines with them.
The doors slid wide and chaos flooded the space. Panic-stricken neighbors covered in plaster dust, scared families shoving past the security gates, and a few secondary guards trying to direct the traffic surged through the lobby.
I shook my head. “I need to see what’s happening,” I said, stepping into the crowd.
Gabe closed his eyes, his knuckles turning white as he kept pace right beside me, ignoring the way his posture dragged from his wounds. “I know how you feel. My mate’s out there too.”
“Let’s go.” I moved through the rush of bodies.
The moment we shoved through the threshold, the air was like a whip against my skin.
The eastern wing of the tower had completely crumbled in a shower of concrete.
Blood stained the dirt pathways. People were shifting and running toward what I assumed was the direction of the school.
In the distance, I could see thick plumes of smoke billowing from a cluster of buildings.
My vision swam, a heavy wave of uselessness washing over me as my aching body and throbbing neck reminded me just how weak I really was. I couldn’t shift. I couldn’t run fast enough to get to the elementary school. There was no time for self-pity, but the sheer frustration burned hot in my chest.
The jangle of metal drew my attention. I whirled around, finding Gabe against the heavy iron double doors. He was pale, but an arrogant smirk managed to touch his lips as he held up a ring of keys. He couldn’t shift, but at least we weren’t going to walk. His car was parked just past the courtyard.
As soon as we were in, the engine of the Challenger roared to life. We tore down the pathway, the tires throwing up rocks and dust as he followed after the wolves. I gripped the door handle as he swerved off the road.
Every second counted. The plumes of black smoke rising over the trees were growing thicker, but as we neared, my mouth dropped at what I saw up ahead.
Dozens of wolves were tearing through the quad.
Most of them were hideous—their ribs protruding against mangy, patchy fur, their faces gaunt, and their eyes clouded with the rabid insanity of long-term exile.
But fighting right alongside the monsters were massive, healthy wolves.
Their thick coats were immaculate, their movements disciplined and dangerous.
Wolves I had grown up seeing every single day.
“They aren’t just rogues,” Gabe muttered in disbelief, his hands gripping the steering wheel hard. “They’re Half Moon.”
Before the horror of it had finished processing, Jaxon had bowed.
He’d said the debt was recognized. He’d wept over his son and then sent his wolves to kill children.
Unless it wasn’t Jaxon at all. A flash of movement caught the windshield.
Two Enforcers in blood-splattered tactical vests fought off a rogue wolf, their silver blades catching the red glare of the sirens.
The car accelerated—the engine screaming as Gabe floored the gas, speeding directly toward the clash.
I braced my hands against the dashboard as Gabe continued until the steel bumper slammed into the beast, knocking it completely off its legs with a sickening thud.
The car skidded to a halt near the parking lot of the school, the tires screeching against the asphalt because we couldn’t get any closer.
I threw the door open and hit the ground running. The school was a disaster zone. The neat brick facade was scorched black, the playground fences twisted like ribbons, and shattered glass from the classroom windows littered the dirt where children’s backpacks lay abandoned.
“Olivia!” I screamed as a man lunged at her. She whirled around, her claws out, canines bared as she grabbed the rogue and tore the flesh from his throat. His legs gave out as blood gushed, staining his chest.
She walked over to us, her eyes flicking to Gabe before returning to me. “What are you doing here?” Her face was flushed, splattered with dust and blood.
“I—” Gabe started, but she cut him off.
“She is the future Luna. You shouldn’t have brought her here. You’re injured. How can you fight? We need her safe. Take her back.”
I swallowed hard, stepping in front of Gabe before she could push us away. “I’m not going back. I came as soon as I heard about the kids. What can I do?”
Olivia’s eyes narrowed, assessing the unyielding line of my jaw through the dust. “I don’t have time for this. If you’re going to stay, Gabe will need to protect you. I’m trying to get everyone to the hall, but have to clear these rogues first. If you could gather the children, I’d be grateful.”
I was operating on empty, but the screams of the kids pushed me forward.
Olivia rushed a rogue and Gabe followed me closely.
He darted toward screaming children, keeping his eyes on a gaunt rogue who bared his teeth at the kids.
Gabe intercepted mid-lunge. He slammed his weight into the monster, pinning it to the gravel.
I heard the wet tear of his bandages giving way.
I noticed a wolf beside the school, blood pooling from its maw as it tore sheet metal from the base of the outdoor ventilation unit and threw it aside. It was trying to get to something beneath the shattered metal grate.
“Adea!” he called after me, but I ignored him.
My heart was a fast and loud thumping in my chest as I ran as fast as I could. Every breath of smoke-thick air tore through my throat like sandpaper, my lungs screaming under the strain as adrenaline pumped through my veins. The pain was replaced with the need to protect the child.
The screech of wrenching metal was deafening, drowning out the scuff of my sneakers against the gravel.
The beast was so entirely consumed by his hunger to get inside the grate that he didn’t notice me.
I didn’t have a wolf, but I wouldn’t let him hurt whoever he was after.
I jumped on the rogue, my nails digging into its throat as he bucked.
I dug them into his skin as deep as I could.
I’d never hurt someone, and somewhere in the farthest part of my mind, I was freaking out.
The rogue let out a wet, guttural screech and thrashed violently under me, fighting like a wild beast against my hold.
I wrapped my arms around him tightly as he struggled.
When I was able, I lifted my hands to his face, my nails digging into his eyes.
A warm, wet sensation coated my arms as the jelly of his eyes gave way beneath my fingers.
Blinded, the beast thrashed wildly beneath me as he fought hard to break my hold.
He lunged sideways, slamming my back against the concrete wall of the schoolhouse in a desperate bid to shake me off.
The impact rattled my teeth, but I wouldn’t let him go.
With a growl of my own, I leaned all my weight into his head, driving my fingers deep until the thrashing ceased.
His body stilled, the life going out beneath us as he collapsed heavily in the dirt.
I wanted to fall to the floor and cry. Every wound—new and old—screamed to life at once.
The sheer horror of what I’d just done coating my skin made my stomach heave, but I scrambled to my feet instead. I walked over to where he’d been tearing through metal. A patch of blond, unkempt curls stopped me.
A young boy covered his face with his hands, his tiny body shaking. He was terrified, his small chest heaving with silent sobs, but as he looked up at me, he whimpered, his lips moving to form a desperate plea:
“Oh-sis…”
His fragile arms reached out for me and I scooped him up, pulling him securely against my chest. I’d never been anyone’s savior, but I swore on the Goddess nothing would happen to him.
Clutching him tight, I bolted away from the schoolhouse structure, shielding his face so he wouldn’t see the bodies littering the quad as I made it back to Gabe.
Something flickered deep within me, a strange buzz. I pressed forward through the blinding haze, but found no more survivors—only Enforcers fighting rogues. We’d been taken by surprise, but it looked like our warriors were finally turning the tide.
“Badass, Ady,” he finally cracked out, his voice shaking hard as he tore his eyes away from the child in my arms.
We had no time to waste. We had about ten sobbing kids, completely out in the open, and we didn’t know if there were more coming. A heavy, suffocating weight dropped into my stomach. We needed to cram all of them into the Challenger. There was no way we were leaving any of them here.
I held the boy tightly against my collarbone, pushing past the panic and worry.
I turned back once. Through the smoke and the wreckage, I found Olivia—already moving toward the next threat. Gabe had gone still beside me, watching her. She didn’t look back.
“The car,” I commanded as I started rushing toward it. “We’ll pack them in.”
We turned and he herded them behind me. We shoved the front seats forward as we quickly loaded the crying children onto the older kids’ laps. Some had to sit on the floor, crammed.
I took a seat in the front, the child secure in my arms, as the last child huddled at my feet. Gabe hopped into the driver’s side.
“Hold on tight, kids,” he warned as the engine roared back to life. He shifted into gear before peeling out to tear away from this hell. Hopefully, the main hall would still be safe.