24. Jace

When I woke the next morning with Kirsten in my arms, I didn't think life could get any better. My body ached from exhaustion, but it was a pleasant ache. After I'd claimed her, we'd napped, then woke again late in the afternoon and took each other again, this time slow and sensual. After a quick dinner, we went at it again. My wolf couldn't get enough of her, and Kirsten's magic urged us both on to seal the promise we'd made to each other.

My contentment didn't last long. As Kirsten and I ate breakfast, a weird pall settled over me. I did my best to ignore it as I waited for Langston to show up to discuss the coming week's training schedule, but I couldn't shake it. Kirsten appeared to be feeling something similar. She stared off into space, her spoon of cereal hovering before her lips.

"Are you good?" I asked.

She blinked and looked at me, snapping out of whatever reverie she'd been in. "What?"

"You okay, babe? You were zoned out there."

"Yeah," she said. "Something's sort of… off. I don't know how else to explain it. Do you notice it, too?"

A tickle of worry crawled up the back of my neck like a spider skittering toward my hairline.

"I do, but I don't know what it is," I said. "It could be that you're just sensing what I am. When mates are claimed, they can start to feel what the other feels."

Kirsten put her spoon down and gave me a quizzical look. "Is it from you claiming me, then? Does that cause a… I don't know, a weirdness afterward that you're feeling, and it's bleeding over to me?"

I'd never claimed anyone before, obviously, but I'd known plenty of people who had. I'd never heard that effect talked about, but maybe it was too private to discuss. Or maybe claiming a witch was different from claiming another shifter. It was possible, but I had no reference to go off.

"Not that I've heard," I finally said. "It's something else. Claiming you made me happier than I've ever been in my life. This feels… I don't know. Dark."

My eyes slid up Kirsten's arm, to her shoulder, finally settling on the bite mark on her neck. She was mine now. I was hers. Maybe this sensation we were both feeling was fate pushing against us again, shoving me toward a final solution. I could not let Kirsten be hurt again. All this training had to be for something. We were waiting on Eren to make the first move, but maybe it was time for usto make the first move.

Today was the day.

This was the last sunrise Eren would ever see.

Today, he died.

I pulled my phone out and dialed Langston.

"Who are you calling?" Kirsten asked.

Langston answered before I could respond. "Yo, Jace, it's a little early. What's wrong?"

"Call Flynn, Dustin, Ivy, and all the other alphas. We're going after Eren today."

"Oh, shit! Are you serious? Today?"

"I am. Call them. Tell them to get here as soon as they can and to bring all those willing to fight. We're going to infiltrate Scottsdale and fuck over Eren tonight."

"All right," Langston said with a sigh. "I'll have Waylan and Abigail help with calling, too."

"Good. If they are all free, I want them here in the next two hours."

I hung up and looked over at Kirsten. Her face had gone pale. She swallowed hard and gave me a slow nod.

"It's time, isn't it?" she asked.

"I think so. I'm not sure if what we're feeling is fate telling us we need to move our asses, but I know it's the right time."

The next couple of hours were spent in a weird flux. Like we'd been nudged over a cliff's edge, but instead of tumbling over, we were balancing, swinging our arms to gain purchase before slipping into the void. Tinsley arrived to spend the weekend with us, and she, Kirsten, and Harley did their best to relax in front of the TV, but they weren't paying attention to what was on the screen. After a while, Tinsley got up and turned the television off.

"If this is happening today, then we need to do something," she said. "Let's set up a place out back. A field hospital of sorts in case anyone needs help. Kirsten, you and I can heal faster than a doctor can. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kirsten said as she stood.

I watched as the three women started prepping towels and blankets, water bottles, and bandages. Tinsley showed Kirsten more medicinal herbs and plants they could use with their spells to heal any wounded.

That was a real fear, the wounded. How many people—people I loved and cared about—would be hurt in this? Depending on how many ferals Eren had created, the casualties could be high. I had a duty to protect my pack, and this attack would, by definition, be an act that put dozens of them in danger—my own pack members and the members of other packs as well.

The front door opened, startling us. We'd all been wound so tight that we'd forgotten people would be arriving soon.

"I hear we're going to kick some ass today," Hollis said as he strode into my kitchen.

Flynn, Dustin, Ivy, and Noah walked in behind him. With the door open, I could hear the dull rumble of over a hundred voices in the front yard, and the static noise of a dozen or more vehicles parking and driving up the driveway. Suddenly, everything had become much more real.

Waylan and Langston stepped in behind the alphas right as Kirsten walked through the kitchen to grab rolls of paper towels for the triage area she was setting up. As she walked by, I noticed my two friends eyeing the mark on her neck. Waylan's eyes went wide, and Langston grinned, nudging Abigail as she walked past him.

Kirsten hurried out a few seconds later, and Waylan came over to slap my shoulder. "It's about fucking time, bro."

"Congrats, man," Langston added as everyone took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Thanks," I said. "Let's get down to business. We go after Eren today. It's time we end this."

"I didn't think we came all this way for coffee and cake," Noah said, kicking his boots up onto my table.

"I think we make a two-pronged attack," I said. "Flynn, you'll lead Noah, Hollis, and Dustin's packs and come through Scottsdale from the north. Langston, Waylan, and I will lead our pack in from the south. Our pack is the largest, and Eren will be expecting us to come. The rest of you should be a surprise he's not ready for."

"Where will I be?" Kirsten asked.

I turned, finding that she'd joined us again. She stood, looking at me expectantly.

Fuck.

"Actually, babe, I planned on having you sit this one out. Staying here to help Tinsley and Harley with any wounded who return," I said.

Her face clouded, not in anger, but disappointment. "Are you sure? I can help. I can do a lot. I showed that during the training."

"I know," I said. "I don't mean it in that way. I won't be able to focus if I know you're out there. It was bad enough when we snuck in to rescue the kids. This won't be a stealth operation, this will be an all-out war. If things do go poorly, I want you and Tinsley here with your magic. Maybe you can protect some people if we fail. Help them evacuate or something."

Kirsten's face hardened with determination. "I don't want your mind to be split while you're fighting for your life. You should be sharp and focused. I get that—and it's fine, I'll stay—but you need to get that other thought out of your head. You won't fail. Stop thinking like that."

I grinned. She'd called me out on that, and she was right. I had to have a positive outlook.

"Fair enough," I said, turning to the others. "When we do this, the main issue will be the ferals. They are kids. Children and teenagers. I want as little harm to come to them as possible, but I also don't want our people getting hurt or killed because they tried to be too gentle. Make sure your people know to protect themselves, but also do their best to incapacitate the ferals where possible.

"Did you all get the physical description of the kid named Alex?" I asked. "He's the brother of the boy named Morgan. I want to make sure he comes to no harm."

Morgan had given us a pretty good description of his brother in his human form, as well as the colors, markings, and size of his wolf. I hated the idea of his last living family member dying in this battle. I would do everything in my power to reunite Morgan with his brother.

"We got it," Dustin said. "I've had it passed among everyone in all the packs. We'll do our best."

Flynn leaned forward, his brows knitting, a look of worry crossing his face. "Do you all feel that?"

I frowned at him, but then I noticed it. A sickness in the air. An oppressive dread, like a bank of fog. The other alphas straightened, noticing it as well.

"Is that what I think it is?" Dustin asked.

"Ferals," I said through gritted teeth. "They're coming. A lot of them."

The madness that consumed a feral shifter created an aura similar to that of an alpha's, though instead of inspiring awe and obedience, it caused fear and irrational worry. An instinctual response from healthy shifters toward their mad brethren.

Noah stood, placing his hands on the table. "Eren is coming? Here?"

I waved to the door. "Go! Get your people ready. Flynn, get everyone into defensive formations. Now."

The men leapt up to do my bidding. The sense of foreboding and anxiety I'd felt all morning hadn't been fate telling me it was time to attack Eren; it had been fate telling me to prepare for a surprise attack. A misinterpretation on my part, but at least I'd acted on it. Our fighters were gathered, and perhaps they weren't ready, but at least we had the manpower to stop whatever was coming.

Hopefully.

Before I could run out the door to join the others, Kirsten grabbed my hand, spinning me around to face her. She cupped my cheeks and gazed into my eyes.

"Come back to me," she said, her voice trembling.

I pulled her close, kissing her as deeply and lovingly as I possibly could. "I will. I promise you that. Stay safe," I said. "I'll make sure Tank stays near you and the other ladies."

She nodded, and before I could talk myself out of leaving, I rushed out the door into chaos. Word had spread fast that the Scottsdale forces were coming for us. The feeling was getting stronger. We were running out of time, but Flynn was already getting people lined up, calmed down, and prepared.

I rushed out into the fray to join them. Before I even made it to the driveway, the loud howl of a wolf sounded from the trees beyond my house.

The call was answered a dozen times over by other ferals, the sounds echoing around us.

Silence fell over our forces, and all our eyes turned to the tree lines. Fear, thick and fetid, bubbled among us; I could smell it. The moment of quiet vanished a second later when the first feral exploded from the forest.

The other wolves of my pack howled in answer as dozens of shifters transformed into their wolves. I turned to Tank and pointed to the rear of the house.

"Stay with Kirsten," I said. "Protect the women."

He nodded, giving the charging ferals a fearful look before shifting and running behind the house.

I stood, gazing over the oncoming battle. Over a dozen ferals emerged from the woods. Fuck, how many children had Eren tortured? The muscles in my jaw clamped tight. I shifted, falling onto all fours, and sprinted to join the fight.

More wolves emerged from the forest, but they weren't feral. They were Scottsdale men, pack members and the lone wolves Eren had recruited to be a part of his makeshift army. I tried to spot Eren in the crowd, but disorder and confusion reigned. Even with Flynn and the other alphas guiding and leading their people, a fight was still a fight.

From my left, a feral dodged between two of Ivy's wolves, running straight at me, mouth open, saliva flying from its open maw in strings. Stopping where I was, I turned and attacked the feral head-on, using my size to headbutt the creature in the chest. It sent the wolf tumbling away in a yelping tangle of fur and limbs. A second feral snapped its jaws at me from behind, nearly latching onto my hind flank. I spun, bit down on my attacker's shoulder, and flung my head to the side. The smaller wolf went flying, colliding with one of the other ferals that had been fighting with Dustin.

A non-feral wolf, massive in size, charged through a group of Noah's men, sending them crashing away like bowling pins as he rushed toward me, his eyes blazing with recognition and anger.

Poli. I'd know that gray-furred son of a bitch anywhere.

I snarled at him. He charged me, leaping at the last second and coming down on my side, sending me tumbling over. Before I could right myself, there was a sharp tearing sensation as he sank his teeth into my side, sending a white-hot lance of pain into me. I growled and bit him back, tasting blood on my tongue as I tore a shallow gash in his chest.

All around us, the battle raged on. The sounds of paws and feet on dirt, teeth snapping and biting, howls, yelps, and growls of rage and frustration tore through the calm late summer day. War had come to Crestwood, and it was as awful as I'd feared it would be.

Poli released my side and shot forward, trying to clamp his jaws on my throat, but before he got to me, a massive black wolf jumped between us. I looked up to find Flynn standing before me. His growl was deep and loud enough to terrify me, and Poli must have felt the same. The big wolf bowed its head instinctually at the power of the alpha aura Flynn was pushing out in waves. Poli tucked his tail and ran, retreating from the larger, more powerful alpha.

I climbed to my feet and gave Flynn an appreciative nod before he went back into the fray.

That was when I spotted him. Eren. He was standing just inside the tree line, well away from the fighting. Even at this distance, I could see his face. His eyes were wide with horror and shock as he watched Flynn taking down the ferals. Eren shook his head slowly back and forth as though in denial. I watched as his lips formed a single word. Dad?

Flynn was the spitting image of his and Eren's father in his wolf form, though much larger. I could still remember how Alpha Miller had looked like decades ago before he'd died. The terror in Eren's eyes told me he thought his father had returned from the dead to punish him.

Little did he know it wasn't his dead father who would make him pay. It was me.

Eren stumbled back a step, falling on his ass before scrambling to his feet and running back into the forest.

Flynn spotted him and shifted to his human form, pointing in the direction his brother had escaped, then looked at me.

"He's yours. Take him!" Flynn shouted before returning to his wolf's body and lunging back into battle.

I did just that, flying along on my paws, feet barely touching the ground as I bobbed and weaved between the combatants. My eyes zeroed in on the path Eren had taken, a well-worn foot trail I knew well. He dared attack me on my land? To come here and try to take what wasn't his? He'd pay for that mistake with his life.

As I plunged into the forest, the sounds of battle died away behind me, muffled by the trees and shrubs as I ran as fast as my body would allow. I already had Eren's scent. Ahead of me, the sound of human panting and breathing told me Eren hadn't shifted. He was still in his human form. Why? He could run faster as a wolf. The only thing that made any sense was that seeing Flynn, who looked so much like his father, had terrified him to the point that his inner wolf was cowering in fear and unable to come forward. Even Eren knew his father wouldn't have approved of what he'd done. As shitty of a man as old Alpha Miller had been in private, he wouldn't have gone to the lengths Eren had. Watching Flynn rain destruction down on his forces was too much for Eren's mind to handle.

Good, I thought. The slower, the better. Easier to catch and kill that way.

I finally spotted him at an opening in the trees—a small creek where I'd fished as a boy. It cut through the woods, and Eren was knee-deep as he tried to cross it.

I shifted and bellowed out at him. "Eren!"

The other alpha froze and turned to look at me. The look of confused terror faded at the sight of my face, replaced by the familiar sneer of disgust and loathing.

"Stone," Eren grumbled and turned to wade back out of the creek. "Who the fuck is that?" He pointed in the direction of the battle. "Which motherfucker did you get that looks like my dad?"

There was a faint glimmer of fear in his eyes. He still wasn't a hundred percent sure his father hadn't come back from the dead.

"Your dear daddy had more secrets than you knew about," I said, striding toward him. "That's the man who's going to sit on your throne after I tear your throat out. Your half-brother is a better man than you could ever hope to be."

At the mention of a half-brother, Eren blinked in surprise. His brows furrowed as the information sank in. He really hadn't known. Probably too lazy to be bothered with looking through his own father's papers and files after the old man died. Well, that would be one of the last mistakes he ever made. His final mistake was setting foot on my land again.

Done with talking, I shifted and lunged at him. Eren shifted to his own wolf a half second later, standing on his rear legs to meet my blow. My chest crashed into his, and we tumbled into the creek. Ice-cold mountain water splashed across my face and up my nose. Snorting it out, I got to my feet and went for Eren again. My jaws clamped onto the skin behind his neck. He yelped in pain as I drew blood. His head jerked back and forth as he tried to bite me, but the angle was wrong, my bite too strong. I bit down even harder, this time drawing a howl of agony from him.

I was bigger than Eren—stronger, faster, and more powerful. He didn't stand a chance. Digging my paws into the sandy mud of the creek shore, I pressed my head down, shoving Eren's face into the water. Straddling him, the massive muscles in my neck, back, and chest kept the other wolf pinned. Blood spurted into my mouth as his struggles tore his skin even more. I was going to drown the life out of him, and once and for all, he'd be gone.

A raging fire exploded on my back left leg, searing and awful. Unbidden, my jaws opened, releasing Eren. Howling in pain, I turned and found an adolescent feral wolf, its jaws clamped on my back thigh. Its head jerked spasmodically back and forth as it tried its best to tear a hunk of flesh from my body.

Eren was forgotten. All I could think of was the pain of the attack. The pain, and stopping it. Leaving my sworn enemy for this new one, I turned and snapped my jaws at the feral. Before I got to it, the feral tore a chunk of my flesh away, leaving a gaping and bloody wound in my leg.

I locked my jaws around the neck of the younger wolf and swung my head viciously back and forth. I felt something snap beneath my teeth and tossed the body aside. It crashed into a tree and fell to the ground.

Spinning to finish Eren, I found the creek empty. Ahead, I saw him scrambling down the other bank away from me. I made to chase him, but fell to the ground in pain. My back leg wouldn't do what I wanted it to.

My will wasn't enough. I stood, trying to force myself forward, but my leg gave out again. Looking down, I saw blood pulsing from the gaping wound. An inch of muscle had been torn away. I'd heal, eventually. But if I didn't go now, Eren would get away.

He'd already vanished. He was slipping through my fingers. I threw my head back, frustration, anger, and fear exploding out of me in the loudest howl I'd ever released. My call of distress was the only thing I could manage.