Chapter 21 - Zander

Nightstar was a bloodbath. Wolf on wolf within the trees surrounding the manor, Zander and the others tried their best to keep the fighting near the house, hoping the humans and other civilians would stay well clear. It would be a challenge to cover things up afterwards, if they survived to do so.

Zander's energy was failing, but he would never give up. In wolf form, he battled on, thinking only of the wife and child he had to protect and the pack that was depending upon him.

Every so often, he caught a flash of a packmate out of the corner of his eye, but just as quickly, they disappeared beneath a mountain of fur.

They would be lucky if they didn't suffer severe casualties today. Christian's pack was much larger than any of them had anticipated, and at any one time, Zander found he was battling off no less than three wolves. They tore at him with tooth and claw until his coat was torn and his flesh raw with wounds.

And yet, though he thought they might have attempted and succeeded, not a one of them dealt the killing blow. They simply fought on, dancing out of the way wherever they could, almost playing with the Nightstar pack. And frustration grew in Zander as he tried desperately to pin even one of them down. He had no problem with dealing a killing blow if it meant protecting his pack. Eventually, their enemies would get bored, and then it would be kill or be killed. It always turned out that way in the end.

But just when he thought all hope was lost and he saw his family members going down all around him under the weight of their enemies, Zander heard the call.

It rang across the town, an order howled to all who would listen, a surrender.

The army man in him felt a huge rush of relief and exhilaration when he came to realize it was not Jack who had made the call, but Christian.

The other enemy wolves started to answer, howling their own surrendering calls, and Zander watched as they fought to unhook themselves from their opponents, slinking away into the trees.

Zander looked to his nearest packmate. Darwin, though a much smaller and inexperienced wolf, looked just as confused as he felt. Something wasn't right. Christian and his wolves had been winning. Why would they ever give up so easily?

Darwin's eyes widened at the same time as the answer came to Zander. Layla!

Skidding in the leaf mulch to turn in the direction of home, Zander raced as fast as he could, feeling Darwin hard on his heels. One thing could be said about the young wolf, he was loyal to a fault. Nobody could have kept him from seeing if Layla was okay, and Zander was grateful to him for it.

All down the hill they passed startled and confused Nightstar wolves, many of them looking just as bloody and beaten as he felt. Yet Zander and Darwin didn't stop, not until they reached the house.

Then Zander skidded to a halt at the end of the driveway, his blood turning to ice. He had locked the door, he was certain of it. And yet it now hung open as if it had been yanked right off the hinges.

This can't be happening!

Zander didn't think of himself or what danger might await him in the house. He charged forward, his nose in the air.

Many of the scents inside the house made Zander nauseous. Christian and the two of his pack who had attacked Layla that night in the woods had been here. He would recognize their scents anywhere. He had committed them to memory the second they set Layla as a target.

But he also smelled Layla—not just her, but their child, and worse, fear.

Whatever had happened, Zander knew he wasn't going to like it. And when he hurried up the stairs, still in wolf form, he realized he could smell something else, too. It was something that made his pelt stand on end.

He growled a warning to Darwin, who followed close behind, slower now, more cautious. Yet it was clear he wasn't about to leave until they'd either located Layla or had her trail.

As Zander crept up the stairs, his stomach almost bottomed out. The front door wasn't the only one open. The bedroom door had been flung wide, and the terrible scent of blood coming from inside made Zander sick.

He continued forward, following the scent into the bedroom, to the closet. After assessing that the room was empty, sensing the rest of the house was also, Zander shifted.

Darwin quickly followed suit.

"She…she's not here, is she?" Darwin asked as if he were terrified of the answer.

Zander shook his head, but didn't look at the younger wolf. He couldn't bear to see the worried expression on his face. Instead, he pulled open the closet, still following the scent of blood.

"What do we do now?" Darwin asked. Zander gritted his teeth.

"We find her," he growled. "And we kill any fucker who stands in our way."

"How will we find her?" Darwin asked, the pitch of his voice growing higher. "Christian is smart. He'll hide their trail."

Zander scoffed. "If Christian was smart, he wouldn't have taken another wolf's mate. There is nowhere he could hide her that I won't find her."

He was already staring at the very thing that told him exactly where she would be if she was as smart as he thought she was. The blood scent he had followed had not merely been from an injury, as he had at first believed. He smirked as he looked at the small pinpricks of blood on the bandage on the shelf. He'd recognize that dirty old rag anywhere, and yet he couldn't quite believe Layla had actually kept such a thing.

"How can you be so sure?" Darwin asked, hopping from one foot to the other as if he could barely bring himself to stand still.

Zander picked up the bandage and wrapped it around his index finger. Bringing it up to his nose, he breathed deeply.

"What is that?" Darwin asked when he got no response, clearly understanding it was something important.

"Who do you think is smarter, kid?" Zander asked, holding up the bandage for Darwin to see. "Layla or Christian?"

Darwin placed his hands on his hips then and cocked his head. "I can't help but feel as if that's some kind of trick question."

Zander chuckled. It seemed Darwin was also smart; refusing to answer such a question was definitely a good idea.

"Don't worry, kid," Zander said, clapping the boy on the shoulder. "If Layla's as smart as I think she is, I know exactly where they'll be."

All he could do was pray that Christian was also truly as stupid as he believed him to be. Otherwise, it didn't matter how much time Layla tried to buy or how she tried to manipulate him into staying close to Nightstar territory.

Had Zander been in his place, they'd already be long gone by now. But all he had to do was look at Christian to know he was no army guy. He was just a jealous, narcissistic prick who needed to be knocked down a peg or two. And if Zander was going to be the one to do it, he was sure as hell going to have fun doing it.

Nobody was going to try and take his mate from him and get away with it.

Squeezing Darwin's shoulder, he asked, "How much juice does your wolf have left?"

Darwin straightened his back and narrowed his eyes. "Enough."

Zander smiled proudly at the young omega. He'd be a powerful werewolf one day, that much was clear. In fact, he kind of reminded Zander of himself back in the day, long before he had left Blackwell Falls with Jack to join the army.

"Stick close to me and do exactly as I tell you and we'll get Layla back," Zander assured him when he saw the worried look in Darwin's eyes.

The boy gulped and nodded, though he didn't look entirely convinced. "Should we go and get the others?" Darwin asked.

Zander nodded and turned toward the door. "Let's go get Jack and the others, kid. Then it"s time to get our girl."