Chapter Forty-Eight

June

Dom shifted, his wolf fully ready to engage in the fight to the death ahead of them. I could feel it, and it was as if my heart was whole. The sight of Evander, half shifted and eyes crazed in desperation, made me so scared to watch the fight, but I had faith in Dom. I always had faith in Dom.

The revelation that Evander had been using dark magic shocked us all. We'd known something was wrong, but none of us would have guessed it was this. But the moment Jerod showed Evander's true colors, it was like the fog in my head lifted. I saw everything I had experienced in the pack house in a new light.

"You can strip me of my magic," Evander screamed as he shifted, "but you can't undo what has already been done!"

He shifted, howling a high and long note that stretched over the mountains all around us. My heart pounded—something was wrong about his call, but I was too new of a wolf to know what it was that bothered me.

"There is no slipping away from this one, Evander," Amelia cackled as she shifted. Nathan behind me shifted as well. Then Aaron, a big blond male beside Bianca, Jack and Carson stepped forward to shift, and the most pissed-off Smokey I'd ever seen in my life. They easily circled Evander and Dom, clearing the path for their fight and ensuring no one would interfere.

The wolves around the alphas in the field were a mix of rage and upset. I could feel them, my pack. The Moonpeak wolves. They hadn't known what we were planning before tonight, and if they sensed we were going to do something, the revelation of Evander's powers shocked them. I wanted to soothe their worries, calm them down. It was a compulsion, but I fought it to watch my mate fight Evander to the death.

Evander may have used magic to get this far, but he was still a big-ass wolf too. There was no denying that. Even with all the confidence I had in Dom's victory, I still worried.

A few of the pack wolves shifted too. The moon was up, and we had no choice but to succumb to her call. I bit my lower lip. Soon I would have to shift too.

A sudden realization pulled me from the last of the haze in my head and back to someone who really needed me the most right now.

"The basement!" I cried. "There's a bitten human trapped in the basement of the pack house who might shift tonight!"

"Fuck!" Anna cried.

"We will take care of them," Naomi said. "You stay with your mate."

"No, she needs me, but—" Dom and Evander circled each other. Dom struck, slashing across Evander's chest and pulling back as Evander retaliated.

"We will do our best," Naomi promised.

Go! Dom told me. He may have been fighting Evander, but my distress was distracting him. Go, be a luna, June. But be careful.

My chest tightened. I was losing the grip on my human body, feeling the demand to shift grow stronger.

"I love you, Dom!" I cried. "Win for Moonpeak."

I ran toward the pack house. Naomi and Anna followed me, still in our human forms, but only just.

"Things are going to get complicated when we shift," I said. "I won't be able to link you two since we're in different packs, but the person in the basement is a friend of mine. She was trapped by Evander and has no idea what a shift is or wolves or any of it."

"Oh, poor dear," Naomi said. "We need to tell her quickly."

"Is she restrained?" Anna asked.

"I don't know," I said. We made it to the front doors and I pulled them open.

Racing to the basement door, I kicked it down. Anna joined me and we made quick work of it, splintering it and tearing down the chunks as we went inside. With the magic nullified, I had a lot less to worry about down here, though the red pillar of light from Jerod's spell was still here, glowing over where I'd hidden the bumper sticker.

Kat was behind the part of the basement with bars. She was on the floor; the smell of fresh vomit filled the room.

"Kat!" I yelled.

Her head pulled up. "June! I'm . . . something's wrong."

"Kat." I rushed to the bars, grabbing them to look in closer at her, and hissing as I pulled myself back from a sudden jolt of pain.

"Silver," Anna growled.

"Ugh," Naomi grunted. "We don't have much time. I'm slipping."

"Why are they naked?" Kat asked. "What is happening?"

I crouched on the ground closest to Kat. She was pale, panting. The scratches and the bite on her leg looked gross. Infected. She would be okay if she could shift tonight, but if she didn't, then she would need medical attention fast.

Her usually vibrant green eyes were dull and exhausted. Her wig was nowhere in sight, leaving her head bald except for the floral tattoo on the side that she'd had done when she was diagnosed with alopecia.

She was shorter than me, and a little bit on the plump side. At least she always had those enviable hips and a really cute butt. The entire, sweet, cuddly Kat was here, and about to go through a full moon.

"Kat," I said. "I don't have much time to explain, but do you know what a werewolf is?"

"This isn't a time for jokes, June," Kat said, her voice shaking.

"I wouldn't joke with you at a time like this," I said. "Kat, I need you to listen closely. Urg—"

Suddenly, it became painful to breathe.

"I'm gone, sorry, June," Anna said. My eyes darted to her briefly. Just enough to see that she was shifting.

"Me . . . too," Naomi got out, then began her own transformation.

They had both run here naked, so I was the only one with a dress to get off first. I began undressing as I quickly spoke to Kat.

Kat made a panicked sound but was still hunched over on the ground.

"Kat," I pleaded. "When the wolf comes, accept her. She loves you. She loves you as much as I love you. Take— oof!"

I fell to a knee. Claws poking from my fingers. My skin growing fur.

"Kat, take your deep breath. It's going to be okay," I managed before my shift consumed me.

"June!" Kat shrieked, then began sobbing.

My wolf pushed to the surface, my bones shifting and popping. My tail grew and my fangs sprouted.

Friend? my wolf wanted to know.

Yeah , I told her. Friend .

But that friend was in pain, and there was little I could do about it.

June! It was Aaron . We've got trouble, stay in the pack house. I'm sending in more wolves.

What's going on? I asked, turning to the door.

Evander called the rogues , Aaron said . There's a whole army out here, they're flooding the field. We're holding them off, but the children of the village need somewhere to go. They can't shift yet.

Alarm rang through me. I whipped my head back to see Anna and Naomi watching over Kat. It pained me, but there was nothing I could do for her just now, and everything I could do for the kids.

I ran up the stairs, pushing open the front door to the pack house just as Aaron was shoving several running kids up the walk. Three young teenagers, carrying a baby and dragging along two smaller children. So, six right now.

I pulled the door open.

Get inside, hurry! I told them.

They can't link yet, no wolves , Aaron told me.

Ugh, that was right.

Let your wolf take over. Trust her, you're a luna, June , Aaron said, then ran back to the fight.

My eyes widened as I looked over the field. Rogues, dozens of them. They flooded the field, and there weren't enough fighters for all of them.

My eyes darted to Jerod before remembering the antimagic field. He would be no help, nor would his witch friend. Carmine was occupied defending them both, and the dragon that Jerod had somehow convinced to get involved was completely consumed with whatever strange occurrence Jerod had brought on with his magic.

No, the only hope for Moonpeak now was wolves to defeat wolves.

June! Aaron snapped me out of my thoughts. There are two more kids, I'm sending them your way, keep them safe.

Any elders? I asked.

A few, I'll look— urgh!

Aaron? I asked.

I'm fine, watch the pack's weak.

I will, and send me the injured! I called back.

I turned into the pack house to come face to face with the frightened young ones. The oldest, a girl of maybe fourteen, held the pack's youngest pup in her arms, trying to soothe his crying. A toddler girl was sobbing as well, and a boy of about eight was doing his best not to look frightened, but it was easy to tell that he was.

Even with the stress and panic washing over me, my wolf did seem to know what to do. I sat back and let her take over.

We walked to the children, brushing our sides against them as we walked around them, and licked the cheek of the toddler. She stopped her tears, or at least slowed them, and grabbed our shiny black fur with her little fingers.

Nudging our nose into the oldest girl's arms, we did what we could for the baby too. He calmed down a bit, but was still upset.

"Where should we go?" the second oldest, a girl, asked.

I trotted over to the basement doorway and jerked my head to the stairs. The children got the hint and made their way down.

Snarling and growling noises were coming up the stairs, and I figured they must be from Kat.

I closed the front door and followed the kids downstairs. The basement was huge, and though it was filled with Evander's weird magic items and shelves of books, it was mostly harmless now that Jerod's antimagic area was in effect. The one thing that would cause any harm now was Kat, and she was safely behind bars that I highly suspected were meant to hold wild wolves.

I trotted over to the bars and looked in. Kat was holding her arm close to her. It obviously hurt her, and I remembered my shift only a month ago. She was in for a lot of discomfort tonight.

Looking over at Anna and Naomi, I could see they were both sitting by the bars and doing their best to make soothing sounds for the incoming wolf. Kat may not benefit from it, but her wolf might.

A crash upstairs drew my attention, and I dashed for the stairs. Stairs that were harder to climb as a wolf than a person, but I scrambled up as quickly as I could anyway.

At the top, I could see where the front door had been rammed into. I went forward cautiously, then a huge crash sounded as a rogue bashed his way into the pack house.

I snarled, lashing out. The rogue who had broken through was big, and I wasn't much of a fighter, but I was also the only thing standing between this vicious beast and the children downstairs.

I snarled, biting into the beast's neck as he swung me around. I was thrown off, hitting my back into the wall and sliding down it.

The rogue stalked forward, sickly yellow eyes hungry for his prey, hungry for me.

Standing and ignoring my spinning vision, I growled. He rushed forward, and I rammed into his chest. I reached upward with my teeth, sinking my fangs into his throat. He made a gurgling, choking sound, and fell backwards, spilling blood all over the floor.

But he wasn't dead, just badly hurt.

The front door, which was only barely hanging on its hinges now, swung open again. Aaron came in, leading the last children and two old wolves. He ushered them downstairs, then turned to the fight I was mixed up in.

June, are you okay?

I will be once this thing is gone!

Aaron lowered his stance, charging.

The rogue was sufficiently distracted by me, so it took Aaron's blow hard. It snarled, spurting more blood as it tried to round on Aaron to retaliate. It kicked Aaron hard, then turned on me and slashed me across the neck.

Ugh.

June! Aaron called.

I shoved forward, ignoring the sting of torn skin and lunging at the rogue. Time to finish what I started at the rogue's throat. He snarled, lashing out at me and catching the fresh scratches across my throat, causing me to yelp as I reached forward and sank my teeth into his neck. One hard bite and it was all over.

The body slumped to the ground. I'd killed it. I looked up at Aaron, panting.

That was amazing, June , Aaron said.

Yeah, well, I think I'm getting the hang of this wolf stuff.

I'll hold the pack house with you , he said. We need to keep the weak safe.

Yeah , I agreed. But what about out there?

Have faith , Aaron said, walking over to stand by me as we looked out the open doorway into the chaos . Dom has faith in us to do our part, we have to have faith in him. All of them. Amelia would never let Moonpeak fall, and she's out there with Nathan, Jack, and Carson.

A pained howl rang from the basement. It had to be Kat.

I squared my shoulders and took up a spot by the open door. You're right, Aaron. These wolves need us, so here we make a stand.

Aaron came to stand quietly beside me. Yes, my luna. I will stand with you to the death.

We watched solemnly out the doorway, ready for another attack.

Kat howled again, the mad beast surfacing and swallowing the bubbly and gentle Kat whole. All I could do now was pray she lasted the night. That any of us would last the night.

And my first job as a luna began.

Protect everyone downstairs. Let nothing reach Kat while she went through a terrifying and unexplained experience. Protect the pack.

My pack.

My Moonpeak.