Zeke sneered, his hands shaking at his sides. “I will not lose to you or anyone.” He didn’t have to glance at me for me to know I was included in that equation.At least we had no doubt that Samuel, the other royal advisors, and I were stronger than him. I wasn’t worried about him taking over, but I feared I’d overestimated Lynerd’s strength and this move was going to crash around me. If Zeke was strong enough not to submit to Lynerd, I’d do what I had to, including making him rogue. Locking him up in the basement would prevent him from causing any more havoc. If he slowly lost his mind too, that might be satisfying after everything he’d done.If I couldn’t tell which wolf was stronger, what did that say about me and my leadership skills?“Please.” Lynerd snickered. Despite the sweat coating his forehead and the quiver in his bottom lip, he wasn’t struggling as hard as Zeke. “The only reason you’ve lasted this long is through your last-ditch effort to prove you’re strong, but there’s
Jasmine squeezed his hand and glanced at me. “Can you give him more context?” She then linked to me, He’s really hurting, and I don’t know how to help him. Only you can do that. Imagine how Bodey would react if his title was taken from him.That wasn’t the same thing, and I was surprised she didn’t see that, but she hadn’t been around Theo long enough to know how he’d acted around Zeke. Not wanting to make an enemy out of him, I kept hold of my calm. “Theo, your attention needs to be on your pack.” I lifted my hands. “Your father allowed people to treat each other like crap, and people were afraid to bring their concerns to him the way you’re doing with me. To do this job correctly, you need to heal and transform the pack. You can’t do that if you’re focused on all of Oregon. It’s not a demotion but a way to help you be a successful and strong alpha.”His forehead lined. “I have authority over one pack and not all of them. How is that not a demotion?”“How fair would it be for me to a
I placed one hand on the center console and the other on the door armrest. The queen was relentless, and every time I thought we had a moment to gather our wits, she attacked us again, catching us off guard.At what point would we not be taken by surprise?What do you mean, ‘unfamiliar wolves’? I couldn’t react irrationally, but then I spoke out loud to Samuel, “Go faster. Oxbow might be under attack soon.”Wolves we’ve never seen before are five miles out, she said hastily, which wasn’t like her.“What?” Theo croaked and leaned forward, placing his head between the two seats to stare into my eyes. “You can’t leave me in the dark. I’m the alpha now.”I winced. “I’m sorry. Mom linked to me. I’ll include you in the conversation.” With that, I tugged his link into the connection.Samuel pressed the gas, going faster, as I focused on Mom.The base of my skull throbbed from an oncoming headache. Everything was catching up to me, and I felt helpless and useless. I was certain any of the adv
Miles, Lucas, and I are getting out here, I linked with everyone as I opened my door. Time was of the essence, and I was going to save my family.I hopped out and slammed the door as Miles and Lucas followed suit. I ran off the gravel road toward the trees, and my wolf brushed my mind. She didn’t hesitate, surging forward as my skin tingled, and I ran between two firs and up the incline that would take me toward the river.Light-blonde fur sprouted across my body, the same shade as my hair, and my clothes ripped away and my spine cracked, causing me to drop to all fours. I ran awkwardly for a few steps until I was completely in wolf form.With my senses heightened, my vision was crisper in the darkness and my sense of smell was so much better. I could hear the sound of a goat running two miles away in the canyon. I ran fast—but a little slower than I normally would so Lucas and Miles could keep up with me. They didn’t know the area as well as I did.They flanked me, and the three of u
Snarling, the graphite wolf steadied himself and faced me, chest heaving. Dad’s blood covered his snout.There aren’t any witches, Samuel answered.Hot rage blasted through me, and something inside me snapped. Power rolled through my body, my magic sizzled, and I moved faster than ever before. I slammed into the enemy wolf, who flew backward into the nearest larch tree. His body thudded into it, his head cracking against the trunk, and he crumpled to the ground. I waited to make sure he didn’t get up.When he didn’t move, I hurried to Dad, making sure to face the fighting so no one could attack my back.Blood poured from Dad’s neck, and his eyes were wide. He tried to use his paws to put pressure on his neck, but they weren’t like hands. Hell, even if they had been hands, they wouldn’t have done any good.How bad is it? Dad linked as he kept trying to apply pressure to the wound.This would have been a good fucking time to be able to lie, but the stench would give me away. Not good. I
I tugged at the connection of the Oxford wolves closest to me. I wasn’t sure who was in the house, which belonged to Trevor, Charles’s father, so I linked with everyone. Whoever is in Trevor’s house, there are five wolves and one shifter in human form coming in through the back. Everyone be on alert. This won’t be the only house they try this on.Miles, Lucas, and I increased our speed. Each time my front paws hit the ground, my shoulder ached, but the pain was easing, indicating that the injury had begun healing.Zeke, Trevor, Jack, and I are in here, Jasmine linked. We had Zeke tied up, but we let him go to help us, so he and Trevor are firing the guns to hold off the wolves outside.I hated that Zeke was involved, but the damage was done, and he and Trevor were the best shots in the pack.It’d be up to Jack and Jasmine to take down the six intruders without risking the twenty out front, forcing their way in. I wondered why the hell so few of them were in the house. It would’ve been
Zeke and Trevor were still shooting from the window, not paying attention to what was going on behind them. I jogged over to Zeke and grabbed bullets from the floor next to him.I held out my hand. “Give me your gun.”His head jerked toward me, and his eyes bulged. “Go put on clothes and let the men handle this.”Even though I was his queen, he still disregarded me, and I had to put an end to it. I allowed alpha will to creep into my voice. “Give me the gun. I won’t ask again. You shot Jack. You can’t be trusted with a firearm. Now, stay put and only do what I or the royal advisors tell you to.”Jaw tensing, he snarled as his wolf forced him to hand me the gun. The cool metal felt foreign in my hands, but I had to trust I could do enough damage with the weapon. I’d seen Dad load his gun often, so I added more bullets as I moved to the front door.Callie, what the hell are you doing? Miles growled.Protecting my people. I opened the door, raised the gun, and stepped outside. I fired ro
I inhaled sharply, bracing for the pain, but when my body hit the lawn of the front yard two houses down from Trevor’s, it hardly jarred me.Maybe I hadn’t been as high in the air as I’d thought.I spun around, snarling at the red car, ready to attack. Yes, the witches had magic, but I wouldn’t lie down and take a beating. It wasn’t ingrained in me. If it had been, I would’ve given up years ago.Four more MINI Cooper electric cars followed the first. I blinked. I’d never seen so many electric cars together in one place.The passenger door of the front car opened, and a young witch close to my age stepped out and threw her hands toward me. “Blast them out of the way,” she chanted.I dug my paws into the grass, racing toward her. The blast would hit me before I could reach her, but at least I’d be closer to her once I came around, hopefully. I braced myself, waiting for the pain, but a flash of wind breezed past me.A yelp from beside me caught my attention, and I glanced over to see an