23. Twenty-Two

Twenty-Two

Sloane

My mom was a blubbering mess. Tears streamed down her face. She sniffled and dabbed at her face with a handful of tissues.

Brandon hugged her tight, rocking her gently. "It's going to be all right, Mom. I promise."

I rubbed her back and bit my lip to keep it from trembling. Emotion clogged my throat, and I shifted my gaze away and blew out a long breath, hoping I didn't burst into tears too.

I swallowed hard. "We'll be back as soon as we can." I hugged her from behind. "We'll call as soon as we have the pack secure and in our control."

I wish I had a way to tell how long that was going to take. Minutes? Hours? I hoped not days.

No, it wouldn't be that long. For better or worse, it would all come to a head in the morning.

Mom turned so she could embrace us both. "Take care of each other. And Mark too. Luna, I'm so worried, sending my babies off to battle. I never thought this would happen in my lifetime."

Same.

But here we were.

I rested my head on her shoulder and breathed in her scent one last time. How many times was I going to have to do this? This was the last time I was saying goodbye like this. Her vanilla scent reminded me of her buttercream frosting that I loved so much. I'm sure she'd bake anything we desired when we got back.

I wanted to linger, to hold her until she was calm, but we had a timeline to keep. I kissed her cheek. "We have to go, Mom. We will check in as soon as we can."

The lump in my throat grew larger, and I fought to swallow it down but it kept bubbling back up, making my throat ache.

She pressed her forehead to mine. "I know, my love." She turned to Brandon and leaned against him, too. "I'm so proud of you and everything you have come up with to help better the pack."

I patted Brandon's arm, and we pulled away from her together.

I bit my lip but it still trembled between my teeth. Tears blurred my vision. I couldn't break down in front of her. It would make it worse for both of us.

I blinked rapidly. "I love you, Mom."

I backtracked until I ran into Lincoln's chest. He put his hands on my shoulders to steady me.

Her face crumpled again. I couldn't watch this or I may never leave. I hated seeing her upset like this.

I forced in a deep breath, which was harder to do with the tightness forming in my chest. "Let's go."

Don't look back, keep walking.

It felt wrong to keep going, but I had to or I might never leave.

Mom's sobs grew louder, pulling at my heartstrings. A stray tear trickled down my cheek. I swiped it away and bit the inside of my cheek.

Keep it together, Sloane.

I hated this. Mom shouldn't have to go through this. All this worrying and loss. It wasn't right.

I was going to fix this. Make it so she never had to worry about another day in her life. She deserved it. So did the pack. This ended today.

***

We were here. My heart pounded in my chest so loud I swore I could hear it. The car rocked back and forth as it came to a halt. Lincoln stared at the line of parked cars ahead for a moment before shifting the car into park.

I unbuckled my seatbelt with trembling fingers and grasped the door handle with my clammy hand.

Lincoln put his hand on my thigh before I could open the door. "Hey."

I turned to glance at him. My breath caught in my throat.

He put a hand on my cheek, caressing it with his thumb. "No matter what happens today, I love you so much."

I let out a shuddering breath. "I love you, too."

He closed the distance and caught my lips in a searing kiss. "Let's finish this."

I pulled back and held his gaze for a moment before inclining my head.

I turned back to the door and shoved it open, blowing out a breath before standing tall and squaring my shoulders.

The pack was waiting for us. The rest of the group having already filed out of their cars and making their way up to the meeting spot.

I steeled myself, staring straight ahead as I marched toward my pack, hoping I was exuding confidence even though I was second guessing everything.

I was glad my group had been the last group to leave.

I'm not sure I could've handled waiting in the woods for the others to show up the past few days. The drive alone had been excruciating. Every muscle in body was wound so tight even a massage artist couldn't fix me.

The worst part was, I was leading this group into battle. Me. A girl who'd only just learned to fight. A girl who hadn't been raised to be an alpha, but was one none the less.

I wasn't qualified. I was an imposter.

No, you're not! You can do this. You've brought us this far.

I gritted my teeth as I repeated the words in my head like a mantra. We were here because of my actions and quick thinking. And I had to lead one last time. I snapped my attention back to the pack.

Everyones eyes were on me as I stomped up the hill.

The men and women had formed two lines on both sides of me so I could walk in between them. They were lined up like soldiers ready to follow me into battle.

A cold chill zipped down my spine as I tried to meet everyone's gaze as I walked past. Not everyone was going to make it. For some, this would be their last few moments, and there was nothing I could do to warn them, or ease their pain. I could only hope that we would be victorious.

I drew a sharp breath in and let it out. I walked to the end of the line and then back, stopping in the middle so that everyone could hear.

My pulse raced. I jammed my hands into my jacket pockets so no one could see them twitching.

I glanced out at the pack. "I appreciate every single one of you that came out here to help today." I shifted my gaze up and down the line. "We come here together as various packs for one purpose...To ensure freedom for all."

I licked my lips and pumped my hands inside my pockets. "These next few hours are going to be difficult. Probably some of the most trying of our entire lives for most of us. What we do here today shapes how packs will live. We are fighting not only for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren."

I looked up and down the lines, meeting everyone's gaze again. Some of them looked unsure. Others had wide eyes and slack jaws looking like they might run for the hills at any second. A few looked ready. Their jaws set and eyes narrowed like they were ready to take on the world. I needed all of them to be in that state of mind.

I stood up straighter. "We've worked hard for this. Watch out for your friends, for your brothers and sisters, for your fellow wolves. Pack Wolf Blood will be fierce and mighty. They won't back down unless we make them. We can win this battle, but we must do it together."

Dad always made speeches look so easy. And here I was, pulling this one on my butt. It was time to rally the troops. "Today isn't going to be easy, but together we are going to bring Pack Wolf Blood to their knees and liberate our friends and family that have been unjustly imprisoned." I took my right hand out of my pocket, fisted it and punched the air over my head. "It's time to show Alpha Dane and his me that he has no control over us. That he will never control us."

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you with me?"

A rumble of yeses and alpha chorused through the group. The crowd shifted, and so did the energy around them. They clapped their hands and fist bumped the air too, growing more confident by the second.

I bowed my head. "Good. As soon as the signal happens, we wait sixty seconds and then we move forward as fast as we can. Everyone has their assignments and knows what to do. The third group, you know where to be and wait for your signal." I motioned between Lincoln and me. "Lincoln or I will be the one to give it. When one of us shifts, you come in fast and hot. Be safe everyone, and we will meet again at the rendezvous point."

I turned to Brandon who had his cell phone in his hand. "Is Sheriff Adam ready?"

Brandon held his finger over the keypad on his phone, his eyes wide. "He's in position and ready when we are."

I gulped and drew in a steadying breath. "Tell him to send the first signal."

Brandon mashed his finger over the button.

I held my breath and counted in my head. One. Two. Three. Four.

A loud crack ripped through air, making me jump. My heart lurched into my throat. This was it. We were really doing this.

Gunfire erupted in quick succession to the south. I counted in my head to sixty.

Brandon glanced up at me as he jammed his hand back in his pocket. "Sheriff Adam said he sees movement coming his way. Lots of it. We are good to go."

Dear Luna, please keep us safe.

I pointed to the tree line. "Everyone move out."