Chapter 38
THIRTY-EIGHT
NIK
“Careful!” Alexey shouts as Dimitri tosses another wooden crate onto the bed of the truck parked near the castle gates. “There are explosives in there!”
Dimitri takes a few apprehensive steps back and points his ear at the tailgate.
He listens. Waits patiently for what seems like minutes.
And when nothing happens, Dimitri scoffs, hoists up the next crate, and gives it the same treatment.
It lands between the two large boxes of armor I asked Alexey to forge.
There won’t be a single Duval wolf left defenseless thanks to him, and although Clément might not realize it yet, this contribution could save most of his pack.
His pups at the very least. The same newly turned wolves I watch march nervously to the vans with panic in their wide eyes, and a heartbeat mirroring the rough engines of our transport.
“I spent two days making those!” Alexey stomps toward Dimitri, eyebrows knitting at the bridge of his crooked nose. “Do you have any idea how hard it would be to replace six motherboards in the—” He pauses and checks his watch. “Nine hours we have until the blood moon? Fucking oaf!”
Dimitri drops the next crate at his feet and moves toward the soldier with balled fists, but I force myself between them and save Alexey’s head from needing a new motherboard.
“Easy, moy brat. He’s just … tense,” I say, bringing my palm to his shoulder.
His nostrils flare as he stares through me to Alexey taking a mental inventory of the crates still waiting to be loaded. “He will be the next thing I toss into that fucking truck if he says another word.”
A smirk tugs at my lips, and I have to tilt my head to hide it. “We need him, brother. Trust me. He’s the best at what he does.”
Dimitri growls and crosses his large arms, gaze fixed on him. “He’s still an asshole.”
My friend isn’t wrong. But what Alexey lacks in social skills he more than makes up for with a prowess only a special forces soldier could provide.
Our first attack on my father’s property was a miracle, one made possible by his effective and timed attacks at different parts of the Vostik fortress.
Diversionary tactics and a successful extraction of my Natalia even if it cost me a few new scars.
The lines Viktor carved on my chest are nothing compared to what could’ve happened had Alexey refused to help.
But he didn’t. He agreed to fight the same way he does now, and for his sacrifice, the least I can do is keep Dimitri from twisting him up like a balloon animal.
“Take a break. I’ll handle the rest,” I say, patting him on the back and turning towards the pile of crates stacked near the front doors of the castle.
“There’s more silver,” Dimitri says, his voice both concerned and skeptical.
I know there is. I can feel it. Feel the way every bone in my body wishes to run in the other direction like we’re the same sides of a magnet.
But if it will keep my pack from strangling each other, I will handle these crates with a smile on my face.
“Don’t worry about me. It’s a long flight.
Go get something to eat while I finish up. ”
The mountain of a man I’ve known my entire life opens his mouth as if he wants to say more and ultimately slams it shut, retreating into Duval foyer until his large back is only a shadow fading from view.
“What is his problem?” Alexey says, leaning over and inspecting the small boxes sure to be filled with silver ammunition.
“He’s just tense,” I say mechanically, suppressing a laugh.
“And your princess?” he adds. “When will she be joining us?”
After last night, she might need a few days to recover.
When my body finally shifted back, and I was able to …
detach myself from her, my little wolf insisted she was fine to walk on her own.
I know her well enough to have seen right through her stubbornness, especially when I could hear all of the muscles in her legs screaming in surrender the moment she stood up.
I carried her through the woods and property under the faint glow of the moon as it descended behind impending daybreak.
I wasn’t sure what I expected when we reached the front doors of the castle, the two of us wearing the tatty remains of our clothes, but I did my best to preserve Natalia’s modesty and cradle her in a way that left the exposed parts of her body hidden against my chest. The guards let us in without trouble, thankfully enough, but it was impossible not to notice silent judgment they wouldn’t dare to express out loud.
A smart decision if they wanted to live to see breakfast.
“Tonight will be a lot for her, “I say and grab the closest crate, feeling the uncomfortable sting of silver boil the blood in my arms.
Tonight will be a lot for us all, my wolf interjects, his voice as low as it is certain.
He’s right. What happens during this blood moon will not only change the Vostik pack but every pack with ties to my family.
Clément has already expressed his desire to rejoin the fold under my leadership, but who knows if the others will share his confidence in my plans for our species.
Some alphas, like my father, will live and die by the old ways.
And there are more than a few alphas of smaller packs too terrified to speak out against them.
All I know is I won’t take control of my birthright only to become a monster like the one before me. If that costs me allies, so be it.
Spoken like a true alpha, he affirms. It is ironic, though.
“What’s that?” I say, gaining Alexey’s attention.
My wolf scoffs with annoyance. Tonight you will be risking your life to take your rightful place as alpha of the Vostik pack.
And it is a role you never wanted in the first place.
Other packs will see what I see in you. Not just a wolf that was born to lead them, but one that is doing so for the survival of our kind.
“Did you just … give me a compliment?” I ask in disbelief.
He growls. No. It was an honest observation.
I bite back a grin and shake my head. “It kind of sounded like a compliment to me.”
The wolf in my head snarls, the sound ripe with irritation. Don’t. Get. Us. Killed. And with that, he disappears in the far recesses of my mind.
“I must be honest with you, Nikolai. The way you talk to yourself, is a bit off putting,” Alexey says, cocks his brow, and points at his temple. “You and your friend finish loading these boxes. There are a few more things to grab from my quarters before we meet Lev at the airfield.”
“What else do you need to get?” I ask as he starts toward the doors.
He glances over his shoulder with a wide grin. “This one is a surprise. Don’t worry, Uncle Alexey will be back before big man finishes breakfast.”
I continue loading the last of the crates on the truck while fighting off the large pit blending all of the organs in my stomach.
We’ve tested these breastplates with the Duval wolves, and as expected, they were able to wear them without the slightest sign of discomfort.
Just being near these damn things is enough to send my insides into a violent frenzy.
I can’t imagine any in my father’s pack will be much different.
This might give us the edge we need. Our one shot at putting an end to the monster I spent my entire life trying to please.
That’s not what has me concerned, though.
There’s one thing about my father I learned at an early age.
The way I’d spend hours watching him play chess while discussing pack matters with every alpha who visited our compound.
He never lost. Not once. He was always ten steps ahead of each opponent to sit at his table.
And there’s one question eating away at me worse than the silver-filled crate in my hands.
What if he knows we’re coming?