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“The hell do you think you’re doing?” I barked, reaching for her arm.

She twisted out of my grasp. “What does it look like? I’m fighting.”

“Like hell you are!” I snapped. “You’re staying inside, where it’s safe!”

She barked a laugh, the sound loud and humorless. “Safe? Out here? That’s cute, Alpha. I’ve been fighting my whole life. I’m not about to sit this one out.”

I bared my teeth, my wolf rising just beneath my skin. “You’ll just get in the way.”

She shot me a look so full of fire, it could have burned down the whole goddamn forest. “Then try to keep up.”

CHAPTER6

Lia

Silas’s body twisted, and the sound of bones breaking filled the air.

I had seen wolves shift before—had fought them, bled because of them, killed them—but never like this. Not this personal and up close.

His muscles rippled, his spine arching as thick, smoky gray fur burst from his skin. His fingers elongated, nails lengthening into long claws, his face stretching, twisting, until his raw, animalistic snarl rent the air. The moment his shift completed, he was absolutely massive, nearly six feet tall at his shoulders, every inch of him built for battle.

His golden eyes locked onto mine, glowing in the firelight. A warning. A command to stay put.

I ignored it.

Instead, I grabbed the machine gun mounted on the wall beside the door, shoving an extra clip into my belt. It was heavier than what I was used to, meant for a man’s grip, but it would do just fine. I didn’t know the make or model, but I knew how to pull a trigger and that’s what mattered.

Before he could stop me, I ran out the door.

The cold air hit my face, icy and biting, but I barely felt it. My pulse pounded in my ears, my muscles coiled tight, ready. It had only taken minutes, but the entire camp was already a war zone.

Gunfire split the night, bullets tearing through trees and bodies alike. Wolves and humans clashed in a brutal dance of death, clawed hands against steel, snarling jaws against knives and gunfire.

A black-furred wolf lunged toward one of the Resistance fighters, its fangs flashing, its massive body moving too fast for the human to react.

I lifted the rifle, squeezed the trigger, preparing for the kickback as it shot several bullets in the span of a second.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The bullets slammed into the wolf’s side. It staggered, but it didn’t stop.

I fired again, hitting it square in the chest a few times and it barely even faltered.

Still standing.

“Fuck,” I muttered, adjusting my aim.

The wolf turned on me now, its eyes locking onto mine, lips peeling back from razor-sharp teeth.

I didn’t flinch.

Instead, I dropped to one knee, exhaling slowly as I lined up the shot.

The second it lunged, I fired again, this time, aiming up, right beneath the jaw.

The bullet tore through the underside of its skull, the force whipping its head back with a sickening snap. Blood sprayed into the air, and the wolf hit the ground hard, its body skidding through the snow.

I was already moving before it stopped twitching, heart hammering as I swung the gun back over my shoulder.