Chapter 17 - Kyle

Snow crunches under my paws as I take long, fast strides along the twisted paths of the forest. The sun is tipping past noon, and the light glances off the ice crystals hanging from the bare trees, dappling the trails before me.

Not far behind, I can hear the light patter of one of the others. There are five of us in total, streaking through the wilderness towards Ophir.

Bae sent us out to scout and report with full authority to decimate any enemies we might find. Kelta, Driss, and Nate reported that wolves were moving through these forests in tight formations, looking to go through the small town and then on to Silverton.

And Leslie is in Silverton right now!

When I left her, I thought I’d be on perimeter at Silver Meadows. I never imagined that I’d be heading out to protect Silverton. I know that this area is less attractive to the Sawpit Pack than the north territories.

But if they take Silverton, we are weakened, and their pack, their town, is so much smaller. They are practically defenseless.

This fear puts fire in my blood. Every inch of my skin feels electric, and my fur bristles from my ears right to the tip of my tail. A low growl echoes through my throat as I think of what I’d do to any wolf that touched my wife.

There is a soft yip downwind, and I change direction, heading into a steep area of wooded scrub. I follow the scent of the others and pace into a small clearing where the others have shifted and are talking softly.

“What’s the hold-up?” I ask impatiently as I walk over to them.

“Just a quick strategy talk,” Seth answers. He has seniority in the group, being an elder. He’s tall and wiry with long silver hair. The way he carries himself, and the scars on his body, suggest to me that he didn’t always have an easy life. I’m not happy about stopping, but I respect him as a man, as well as for his status.

The other three—Trace, Body, and Liam—were chosen by Bae. He wanted to attend the mission himself, but the other elders convinced him he was too valuable to leave. Body is one of his best friends from school, Trace is an experienced scout, and Liam has proven himself to be a vital member of the pack, even though he’s the youngest involved in official duties.

“What do you see, Seth?” Trace asks.

All of us are waiting on his word. Seth lifts his nose slightly, so tuned into the forest that he can connect with it in human or wolf form.

“I can sense at least ten moving past the border near Ophir,” he says. “If we want to stop them, we have to come through on the other side of the town. We’ll have to split up and come at them from separate directions.”

“But they’ll go through the town!” I protest. “They won’t be able to resist stripping it for booty, even if they are supposed to be hitting Silverton.”

“I’m counting on it,” Seth says. “When they stop and shift, hit them, and hit them hard. Each of us only has to take down two to finish the mission. If we get them while they’re distracted and in human form, it won’t be too difficult.”

No one has any argument to that, and we all shift and start running through the forest again. Seth and Trace run hard to get in front because they will be circling around to get into Ophir from the other side. I’ll be roughly central with Body, leaving Liam on the nearest side to us.

The inexperience of the kid is leaving me a bit unsettled. I have no doubt that he’s well-trained and capable, but the wolves we’re going up against are like walking meat grinders. I’m not sure he has the strength for it.

As we take our positions, I feel the wind shift. We are upwind now, and we’ve been moving as silently as shadows. They will have no idea that we’re even here.

We’re on the outskirts of the tiny town, and everything looks dead quiet. The sun sinks behind one of the high peaks, leaving us in deep, gray shadows, a false twilight. I stalk along one of the buildings, sensing the others moving into position.

Then I hear a sudden laugh, accompanied by footsteps. I freeze in place, watching the edge of the next cabin. Within seconds, three guys come around the side, carrying sacks of loot.

I raise my head, scenting the air and listening. The rest of their group is not far away, moving in the direction of Seth and Trace. The old dog was right—these guys couldn’t resist hitting the storage buildings for whatever loot they could find.

I wait in the semi-dark, my muscles coiled, every sense on alert. When I hear a faint, far-off growl, I pounce immediately, leaping into the middle of the small group.

I caught them quickly enough that they didn’t even see me coming. I get one down on the ground in my first leap and tear his throat out. One of the others runs while the last one shifts and leaps at me.

He smashes into my shoulder, and we roll across the ground, snapping and snarling as we try to get a grip on each other’s throats. For a few seconds, the fight is fierce, and I don’t know who’s going to come out of it alive.

From deep inside me, a horrific, burning rage rises. It floods my bones, puts fire in my veins. This anger kept me alive at the worst moments of my life. I despise it because it makes me do terrible things, but I also know that I would never have survived without it.

I manage to twist and grab hold of the other wolf’s ruff. My jaws snap shut, and I plant my feet, shaking him as hard as I can. He yelps and struggles, but I yank my head to the side, trying to break his neck.

Something hits me in the side, and we go rolling over, tumbling through the snow into the trees. I lose my grip on the wolf and flip onto my feet, ready to fight on.

Two enemy wolves glare at me. Both of them have their teeth bared and hackles up. I coil myself, ready to meet their attack.

One of them cocks his head to the side, and his growl becomes a soft whine. I look at him in alarm and see recognition flash across his face.

Fuck! It’s Chris!

I knew him in Sawpit. We ran a lot of missions together. In the evenings, he’d play guitar and I’d sing. There is no mistaking him.

And he’s seen me.

The shock has made me lose my adrenaline. My body seems to shimmer, and I almost shift back. With a fierce effort, I keep myself in wolf shape. Then I see Chris throw back his head to howl.

He’s going to tell them all!

Suddenly, two wolves jump in—Body and Liam. I can hear sounds of fighting not far away, and I know Trace and Seth must be dealing with the others. I dive into the fray, desperate to help Body and Liam and stop Chris.

For a few seconds, the fight is a whirlwind of teeth and claws. Pain runs through my body, but I ignore it, focusing on the splash of warm red blood on my muzzle and the feel of my enemy’s flesh between my teeth. There is a sharp yelp, and a crunch, and all of us pull apart.

In the center of us lies the crumpled shape of a white wolf with dusky, golden patterns.

Liam! They killed him!

I leap forward, ready to punish Chris and the other wolf for this, but then I see they have Body pinned under them. He gestures for me to attack, but I can’t. I keep looking at Liam’s body, thinking about how young he was. I can’t believe he’s dead.

Chris growls, showing his teeth and leaning towards Body’s neck. I back away slowly and fade into the trees. As soon as I can, I turn and run towards the nearby sounds and scents of my fellows.

“Kyle!” Seth calls as I join him and Trace. “Where are the others?”

“They got Body,” I gasp, stopping next to them. They’re standing in a wide circle of blood and dead wolves. It looks like they had no trouble dispatching their share of the gang.

“No!” Trace cries. “Where is Liam?”

“He’s dead,” I say flatly. “And the last two wolves are dragging Body back to camp right now.”

“We have to tell Bae,” Seth says. “We need backup.”

“Agreed.” Trace nods. “Let’s go.”

“You guys go,” I mutter. “I’m going after Body.”

“You can’t!” Seth snaps. “It’s too much for you alone. We need help.”

“Do what you like,” I growl. “I’m not leaving one of ours to get tortured by these devils.”

I know that the others will waste time arguing, time that we don’t have. Liam got off lucky—all they did was kill him. If Body survives the trip to their nearest camp, they will torture him to death.

I run through the forest, feeling every single demon of my past riding on my back and snapping at my heels. Terror is all I am. Terror, rage, and a horrible feeling of utter failure.

I can’t protect myself, or anyone else. Leslie deserves so much better than me.

I pick up the scent of Body’s blood and track them. Chris obviously didn’t care about hiding his trail, and why would he? They clearly have the advantage.

I can hear enough noise over the next rise that I know it must be a fairly large group. It troubles me greatly that they’ve made a temporary camp here because it’s miles from Sawpit but very close to Silver Meadows, and not far from Silverton.

This is their base… they’ve been this close to us all along!

I stalk through the forest, circling their camp. There are at least a hundred of them there, with rough tents pitched and firepits set up. It’s obvious they’ve been there for some time, and I curse myself for being a fool. I should have known that they would move in on us as quickly as they could.

Finally, I see Body by one of the tents. He’s in human form, tightly tied up. It looks like he’s been forced to stay human for some time, and he’s shivering badly. Shifters can handle the cold longer than humans can, but they will still succumb if they can’t shift into their animal side.

Not far away, I can see Chris and a few others drinking and talking. They are gesturing and pointing, talking about their next move. Obviously, their hit on Silverton is now a bust, so they have to come up with a new strategy.

I wonder where Jethro is.

There is no time to worry about that now.

One thing I know about these guys—they might be vicious and savage, but they are also lazy and indulgent. They would never imagine that I’d sneak in here alone to rescue Body.

That’s exactly why this will work. None of them would care to come back for a fallen brother.

I slip into the shadows by the tent and paw at Brody. He groans but doesn’t wake up. I bite down on the ropes, breaking them, and shove him. His eyes flicker, but he doesn’t move.

Fuck it, there’s only one thing I can do!

I bite him hard on the calf. He jumps, shock flooding through his body. The wolf takes over immediately, and his eyes clear when he sees me.

We bolt from the camp, fleeing into the gathering dark. I push Body ahead of me, forcing him to run. If we put enough distance between us and the others, we might make it home.

The run back to Silver Meadows is a hellish nightmare. The forest is pure black, without even a reflection from the stars on the snow to guide our way. Body falters more than once, but I keep pushing him on.

By the time we stagger into town, Body can’t maintain his wolf shape. I hold him up as we stagger into one of the outpost cabins. I can see a fire going inside, and I’m hoping there is someone in there who can help us.

When I bang on the door, it swings open immediately, and I’m relieved to see Bailey on the other side of it.

“Kyle!” he yells. “What happened? Kelta, get over here with some blankets.”

Kelta and Nate appear, carrying big blankets that they wrap around Body. As they drag him to the fire, I grab one of the blankets for myself and Bae hands me a glass of brandy. I toss it down in one gulp.

“We got the report from Seth and Trace,” he says. “I didn’t think you’d make it back, bro.”

I shake my head. “I didn’t, either. But there’s something you need to know, Bae.”

“What?”

“They know who I am now. They will come after us twice as hard. Well, they’ll come after me.”

“Understood,” Bae says, his amber eyes glowing. I can tell he wants nothing more than to meet Jethro one-on-one like he did with the last alpha.

“Is everyone alright?” I ask. “Were there any other attacks?”

“No,” Bae answers, shaking his head. “Everyone is fine. Obviously, they only intended that one hit, and they weren’t expecting us to be ready for them.”

“Bae, they have a big camp up there. Most of their pack is there, and I suspect there are lots of others scattered around in the wilderness, just waiting for their chance.”

Bae nods, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You should go home and get some rest, my friend. You deserve it. And…” He looks over at the fire, where Kelta and Nate are dressing Body’s wounds. “Thank you. You did a fucking stupid thing, and it was against my orders, but you saved my friend from a horrible death.”

“Any time, my alpha,” I answer, putting my hand over his. “I’ll return to my mate now, if I may.”

“By all means,” he says, letting me go. “I’ll be in touch.”

I leave the cabin, shedding the blanket by the door so I can shift and bolt into the woods. Even though I’ve been running all day, I can barely feel my aches now because I’m on my way to Leslie, and nothing matters except wrapping my arms around her and feeling the comfort of her arms.

I break through the tree line at the back of our house, charging across the yard and up the back steps. I shift, pushing the door open and stepping into the kitchen.

“Leslie!” I call, my heart leaping in my chest.

“Kyle?” she screams from the hallway. I hear her footsteps thudding as she runs to the kitchen.

“Leslie!” I launch myself towards her, my arms open, desperate to hold her.

She throws her hands up in the air, shaking her head. Tears are pouring down her face, and her mouth twists as she chokes on sobs.

“How dare you, you asshole!” she screams. “How fucking dare you!”

I stand there in my kitchen, staring at my mate, wondering what I could possibly have done this time.