CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Keri
What did she say? I asked the guard. I needed every detail.
She said she was inside the rogue pack. She would send us any information she can get as soon as she can.
I let out the breath I’d been holding. We weren’t in the clear yet but I felt a little relieved.
Briskly, I walked to the cells, needing to tell Kyle the good news. The guard led the way to his cell and he opened the door for me. Kyle lay on the bed with his arm flung over his eyes. To a human they would just assume he was sleeping, but his slightly raised heartbeat at the sound of my entrance told me he was awake and aware I was in the room with him.
“What?” he asked gruffly as he sat up and glared at me with so much hatred it was hard not to take a step back.
“Crystal has gotten into contact with us,” I told him, trying to keep my outward appearance calm.
There was no change in his expression, like I’d expected there to be.
“She’s with the rogue pack.”
“Did you expect me to be relieved by the news that she is with a whole pack of dangerous rogues? And that something could happen to her at any time?”
He was right but I’d hoped the fact that we’d heard from her would make him relieved to know that she made it into the pack all right. I stared at him, trying to see the person whom I’d grown close to. I’d hated the nickname he’d given me. Princess. But at that moment I would have killed to hear him say it to me, to remind me that he was my friend.
“I’ll keep you updated,” I said when I turned to leave.
“Don’t bother,” he shot back as he lay back down. “Unless you come in here to tell me that she is back safely, I don’t want to hear anything from you.”
I stopped by the door as the guard opened it and I looked back at him over my shoulder. He wasn’t going to make this easy, was he?
Nervous energy kept me from going back to the room and getting into bed with Blake. There was probably a little guilt that stopped me. I had my mate, while Kyle’s mate was in danger, trying to save us all. I went into the meeting room and began to organize plans.
At least I felt I was helping her in some way. There was no point in her risking it all if we didn’t finish off the rogues when we got the chance. There was going to be a fight and I needed to make sure I prepared my pack as best I could. I got some maps out. It was hard trying to come up with a strategy when I didn’t know which pack was going to be attacked first. I studied the maps of all our territories.
By the time the sun had come up, Blake was in the doorway with fresh coffee.
“You didn’t come back,” he said with a frown as he took in the mess of maps spread out across the table. I shrugged.
“I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d spend it doing something useful,” I replied. He handed me the steaming cup of coffee.
“Thank you.”
I took the cup and sipped. His hand rested on my shoulder and I looked up at him.
“I’m fine,” I assured him when I saw the concern in his face. I was tired and that could be easily fixed.
“You nearly died,” he said softly. “You need to take it easy.”
I understood his concern so I gave him a nod.
“We don’t have long and there is a lot we need to do,” I told him.
“I know. There is stuff I can handle with Scarlett and Cade.”
I stared at him as I contemplated what I was going to say. He sat in the chair beside me.
“You’re trying to help me and I appreciate that, but in a few days I’ll need to be up to my normal physical strength so I’ll be able to fight.”
I could tell by his expression that it wasn’t something he wanted to hear.
“So as much as I appreciate that you want to look after me, I need to do my job.”
“You don’t know how hard it is to smother that protective streak in me to let you do that,” he said softly, and I set my coffee down on the table. I reached out and touched his cheek with my hand. He leaned closer and kissed me. It took a lot for me to pull away and not lose myself in our connection and his sexy kisses.
“I need you to go and check that all the emergency plans are in place. Everyone needs to know exactly what they are supposed to do if we get attacked,” I told him. I was in alpha mode now and I was talking to him in my no-nonsense boss voice. He gave me a nod and left me to my maps.
A little while later Cade joined me.
“Where’s Scarlett?” I asked. I wasn’t used to seeing him without her.
“This isn’t very exciting so I told her to go check on her brother.”
The mention of Kyle’s name made me feel guilty again. I was starting to really hate the feeling. The sooner I got Crystal back safely, the sooner I could get rid of that feeling. I’d come clean with him, and he and Crystal could work out whatever they needed to and live happily ever after, together forever.
Going over the maps, I discovered that Cade was really good at strategy. He had more experience than I did so I listened to his suggestions as we looked over the maps, coming up with the best formations for defense.
One day stretched into another and we’d done all we could. The only thing left to do was wait, and it was agonizing. It was like living in limbo waiting for the bomb to drop at any time. There was no guarantee that Crystal would get us the information before the rogue launched their attack. The possibility of an attack at any time loomed over our heads and it was hard to think about anything other than that.
Kyle. He was silent. The few times I’d gone to see him he’d ignored me.
That night I lay in bed with Blake. I was totally recovered now and lying in his arms. I felt the need to be closer to him. I lifted myself onto one arm and kissed him. His lips moved against mine as I pressed harder, needing more.
“Are you sure?” Blake asked softly against my lips.
“Yes, I need this.”
It wasn’t just sex. It was being close to him in the most physical way that I needed. For those precious few moments, I forgot about the threat of the rogues or Crystal and Kyle. The only people that existed were the two of us. Soft touches and tender kisses joined us as one and afterward I felt peaceful for the first time in a while before drifting off to sleep.
Someone banging on the door woke me up. I shot up. Still half asleep, I answered the door. It was the anxious face of one of the guards.
“Crystal got word to us. The rogues are going to attack us at sunrise,” the guard informed me.
I looked at my watch. Damn it!
We only had a few hours before they attacked and, for the first time, I feared it wouldn’t be enough time. I felt Blake’s presence behind me and I turned to face him.
“Go tell Cade that we need his pack as soon as they can get here,” I informed him. Adrenaline pumped through my veins but on the outside I was calm as I began to shout orders.
“I need to go tell Kyle,” I said as I rushed out of the room. We would need Kyle’s pack as well. Kyle ignored me when I first entered.
“The rogues are going to attack us first,” I told him.
He looked at me for the first time in two days and sat up.
“Give me your phone,” he commanded and I did as he said. He was too far away from his pack to be able to communicate with them through the mind-link. He began to pace up and down as he dialed a number and waited for the person to answer.
“I need every member you can spare,” he said to the person on the other side of the phone. I assumed he was speaking to his Uncle Nate, who was looking after his pack along with his beta while he was with me.
“Hurry,” he commanded and then disconnected the call. He handed the phone back to me.
“Have you come up with a strategy yet?” he asked. It was so typical of an alpha to want to know what was going on.
“Yes, Cade and I went over a few scenarios,” I answered.
He nodded his head. I walked to the door and held it open.
“Come on, we need every fighter,” I said to him as I looked at him over my shoulder. The whole point of locking him up was to stop him from making a mistake and going after Crystal. We were out of time and we needed to fight now. I hurried out and met up with Blake, Cade and Scarlett at the gates. It was still dark and cool. Kyle followed me.
“How long until your pack gets here?” were my first words to Cade.
“An hour,” he replied. “They will be here before the fight starts.”
I nodded my head. I began to get a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. Everything had to go according to plan, otherwise we might not survive this fight. My eyes looked at every person around me. They were my family and I had to do everything I could to protect them.
Kyle was still tight-lipped, which meant he was still angry with me. It didn’t matter. I’d kept him safe.
“How long before your pack gets here?” Cade asked Kyle.
“Two hours,” he answered.
And there it was. Two hours might be too late.
“Which strategy are we going to play out?” Cade asked me. It was unexpected. Cade was an experienced alpha, unlike me, and the fact that he was asking me that question made me feel a confidence I’d rarely felt before.
My mind ran through the three plans we’d put together. With the chance that Kyle’s pack didn’t show up until it was too late, we needed to put enough fighters in front to hold off the majority of the attack until Kyle’s pack arrived.
I gave Kyle my phone.
“Tell your pack to come up through the forest,” I explained as I pointed to the dark forest that surrounded my property. If we held the rogue off for long enough, Kyle’s pack would surround them and we would be able to finish them off once and for all.
Kyle dialed a number and he began to issue orders over the phone.
We began to mobilize our fighters. I didn’t want to put too many fighters on the outside of my property because I didn’t want the rogues to figure out that we’d been tipped off, so I kept the majority of my army inside the compound. My fighters, male and female, stood side by side in front of the gates, waiting for our enemy. I went into the medical center to check that Curtis had a handle on things.
“Are you ready?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he assured me.
I was about to leave when he called out to me.
“Take care of yourself,” he told me as he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back.
“No heroics today,” he added. “I want you to make it out alive.”
I nodded my head.
It wasn’t about being a hero or one person sacrificing themselves for everyone else. Today was different. We were all going to work together to defeat our enemy and hopefully we would all make it out alive.
For a moment I caught sight of Cade pressing a kiss to Scarlett’s forehead as he held her. There was a lot at stake and this would be the fight of our lives. I felt Blake before I felt the telltale sign of our connection.
“We’re nearly ready,” he said. He held my hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
I looked up at him. The sight of him pulled at my heartstrings. Now that I had him, I had so much to lose. He read my need in my eyes. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. The moment he kissed me, I felt myself come alive beneath him. I groaned before I opened my mouth and touched his tongue with mine. Tingles vibrated through me as I felt the warmth of him through his shirt beneath my flattened hands.
By the time I pulled away, I was breathless. I looked up at him once more.
“I love you,” I said, needing to say it one last time before all hell broke loose.
His hands lifted to my face and he brushed my bottom lip with his thumb.
“I love you too.”
For a moment we stayed staring into each other’s eyes, forgetting about the fear and chaos surrounding us as everyone got into position.
“We’ll finish it later,” he said as he gave me a brief kiss to seal his promise.
I closed my eyes and savored his touch one last time.
“Later,” I confirmed before he released me.
We would have to make sure that we survived so we could have our ‘later and forever’. When Cade’s pack arrived in SUVs and began to pile out, I could feel our hope rise.
To see different packs stand together, getting ready to fight a common enemy, wasn’t something that I’d ever seen before. Cade and Blake had joined their packs but this was different. Cade’s pack would still be under his command and mine would be under mine.
The darkness began to lighten as the sun began to rise. We didn’t have a lot of time left.
Blake and I stood together and Cade and Scarlett stood together. Cade held Scarlett’s hand as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Kyle stood beside us, still unable to look me in the eyes.
There were just enough fighters on the outside to hold off the attack for the few precious minutes it would take to open the gates and let the other werewolves join them. Fear settled in my stomach as I watched the sunrise, waiting for the rogues. I didn’t know which was worse—the thought of the attack, or waiting for it to happen.
It felt like everything that had happened in the last couple of months had led us to this point. From the time my father had enlisted the help of the rogues to get Scarlett, he’d taught them how to work together and that was why we were in the predicament we were in now.
I heard them before I could smell them. Blake tensed beside me and we kept silent as the first sounds of the rogues running toward the compound could be heard.
They are here, one of my fighters on the outside informed me.
The moment we’d been waiting for had arrived and as my eyes scanned the features of my friends and mate around me, I saw fear in their eyes. We all knew that we would have to fight well today to make it through, but I couldn’t ignore the fear that we might lose people we cared about.
For a moment I held my breath and I reached for Blake’s hand one last time to calm me. Our connection washed over me and I felt a peace settle inside of me.
I love you, I said to him one last time, needing him to hear it.
I love you too, he responded as he squeezed my hand one last time.
I released his hand as I listened to the rogues get closer to the gate. I held my breath as my ears searched for every little noise being made by the rogues as they ran toward us. I heard the first sounds of the fighting as my fighters started to fight the invading group.
“Shift,” I shouted to everyone. Everyone from all the different packs followed the order and began to shift into their wolves. My eyes took in the sight of Blake shifting into his wolf as I shifted into mine.
Open the gates, I commanded the guard at the gates.
It was time to fight.
I held my breath as the gates swung open and the enormity of the situation hit me in that moment. My eyes took in the number of rogues tearing into my fighters.
In that moment, the leader in me took over. I remembered everything my ruthless father had ever taught me to make me into the alpha that I was today. The rogues looked momentarily surprised to see combined packs begin to run out of the compound into the fight as I led them.