Callen’s voice booms through the link. “Hunters closing in! We need to move!”
“Let’s move!” I command. “Everyone who can fight, shift and cover the rear!”
Remy hauls himself upright, blood still streaking his body. “I’ll take point.”
“No,” I growl, glaring at him. “You barely survived last time. You need to recover.”
“I’m recovered enough,” he snaps, and before I can argue, he’s already halfway to the tree line, his wolf breaking through his skin.
“Stubborn bastard,” I mutter, lifting Paige again, her limp form pressed tightly to my chest.
Callen runs up beside me. “We’ve got four trucks from the Midnight Pack coming in from the south. Ronnie’s leading them to us.”
“Good,” I say. “Once we’re loaded, head straight there. I’ll take rear guard.”
“Like hell,” he fires back. “You’re not staying behind alone.”
“Callen…”
“No, screw protocol,” he snaps, eyes blazing. “We do this together, then we get back to her.”
I don’t argue. There’s no time.
We arrived at the country road just as the first beams of headlights pierced through the thick morning mist. The wolves moved quickly, loading the children and the injured with urgency. Poppy and Jax climbed into the back of the lead truck-an old, rugged military vehicle that looked like it had seen better days. Ryder followed, cradling Paige gently in his arms. Jake was right behind him, carefully securing Paige against the seat and tucking a blanket around her fragile form. A faint, flickering glow pulsed beneath her skin once more, this time softer, more subdued.
“She’s stabilizing,” Jake murmured quietly, his voice tinged with cautious hope.
I climbed in behind them, shifting back into my human form, my clothes smeared with mud and my breath ragged. “We need to move fast. The hunters are retreating for now, but whatever Paige did out there clearly shook them to their core.”
Remy’s growl came from outside, his wolf pacing restlessly beside the truck. “They won’t stay down for long. They’ll regroup.”
Callen’s voice was calm but determined. “Then we leave before they get the chance. We’ll settle the pack at Midnight tonight and come back with reinforcements first thing in the morning.”
Most of the pack managed to squeeze into the trucks. Engines roared to life, and the convoy lurched forward, the dense forest fading rapidly behind us. Through the window, I caught the faint shimmer of gold and silver light hovering over the treetops-the last lingering trace of Paige’s power.
The wolves left behind ran alongside the enforcers from Midnight, including Remy. I hated leaving him after how close we came to losing him, but I knew what he needed. A run as his wolf, the freedom to let his mind process everything, would soothe him far more than any words or hugs from me. As much as I wanted to pull him close, to tell him how deeply I loved him and how terrified I was that I might lose him, I knew that wasn’t what would help him heal.
Paige stirred faintly in Ryder’s arms, a soft sound slipping from her lips.
“Shhh,” Ryder whispered, gently brushing her hair back from her face. “You did it, Tink. You saved us.”
I leaned over and wrapped my hand around hers. She didn’t wake, but her breathing evened out, and her head shifted slightly toward Ryder, as if she had heard his words.
The road ahead twisted through the darkness, but for the first time tonight, a fragile thread of hope wove through the air. Remy was alive. Ryder was alive. And Paige-whatever she had become-was nothing short of extraordinary. She had been willing to sacrifice everything for us, for our pack. And god help anyone who dared try to take anything from her again.
I stayed near the open back of the truck, watching the forest disappear behind us. The glow where Paige had unleashed her power still lingered faintly through the trees-a shimmering light that refused to fade. I didn’t know whether to feel grateful or terrified.
My eyes drifted back to Paige. She remained nestled against Ryder’s chest, wrapped in the thin blanket Jake had thrown over her. Every so often, a faint flicker of gold and silver pulsed beneath her skin like embers struggling to stay alive. Ryder stroked her hair absentmindedly, his jaw tight, his gaze fixed out the back window but clearly not seeing the road ahead.
“She’s stabilizing,” Jake had said. But what did that even mean for her?
I ran a hand over my face and exhaled slowly through my nose. Then I opened the mind-link, sending my thoughts across the shared bond between the four of us-and pulling Ronnie and Jake in as well.
“We need to talk.”
There was a brief pause, a crackle of static, then Ryder’s voice came through first. “About what?”
“About what just happened,” I replied, glancing between him and Callen. “What Paige did, and how the hell we’re going to explain this to anyone who asks.”
A low grunt echoed through the link from Remy. “You tell me, genius. You’re the one with the brains and the plans.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “There’s no plan for this, Rem. No blueprint for glowing resurrection miracles.”
“Miracle’s one word for it,” Callen cut in. “Act of God is another. You saw what she did. That wasn’t just healing-that was power on a scale none of us have ever witnessed.”
Ryder shifted slightly, adjusting Paige in his arms. “It’s both. She’s both. Whatever she’s become, it’s beyond explanation. Which means we shouldn’t even try.”
Ronnie’s voice came next. “I don’t know what happened, but I saw enough. We’re going to need a cover story. The Midnight Pack is already asking questions about the blast. Their scouts saw the light from the southern ridge. They say it lit up the whole sky.”
Jake’s clinical voice followed, sharp and precise. “They’ll want a debrief as soon as we arrive. Especially if they catch even a glimpse of her glow.”
I looked down at Paige again. The shimmer had faded almost entirely now, just the faintest gleam visible when her chest rose and fell. Unless you knew exactly what to look for, you might think it was just a trick of the light.
“Maybe we keep it simple,” I suggested. “Say the hunters had some kind of experimental explosive weapon. It went off in the clearing, Paige was caught in the blast, hit her head. That explains the unconsciousness and the shockwave. No one needs to know the rest.”
Remy’s voice was low and conflicted. “You really think you can pull off a lie like that with the Midnight Pack?”
“If it keeps her safe, yes,” I snapped before I could stop myself. “You saw what she did, Rem. You saw what it cost her. If this gets out, every pack and hunter across the world will want her. Some to study, some to control, some to destroy. She doesn’t need that. We can’t risk it.”
Ryder let out a low hum of agreement, more of a growl than anything else. “He’s right. No one outside this truck needs to know what happened tonight if we can help it. I don’t think anyone saw clearly what happened.”
“And what if someone did? What if they find out anyway?” Callen asked. “You can’t hide a blast like that forever. The hunters will be talking for sure.”
Ronnie jumped in. “Then we stay ahead of the story. We lean into confusion. The hunters’ weapons misfired, caused a chain reaction. I’ll handle the reports once we reach Midnight’s command. They’ll believe me; I’ve been fighting hunters longer than anyone alive.”
“And the glow?” Jake asked. “Because I guarantee someone’s going to notice eventually.”
A heavy silence fell over the link. I could almost hear everyone weighing the possibilities, searching for a path that didn’t end with Paige locked away on some lab table.
Then Ryder’s voice came, low and resolute. “We cover her. Keep her under a blanket. Say she’s unstable from the head injury. If they question us, Jake, you’re in charge of her treatment. Say she’s sedated to prevent shock.”
Jake nodded. “That’ll hold up, at least for a while. Let’s just hope she wakes soon.”
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply