Page 19

They took her.

Charlie’s words have been echoing around my head as chaos breaks out all around me. When the first attack was spotted on the edge of town, I had no idea Ava and Harper were going to get caught up in it. It appeared to be a lone attack or mugging at first, but then other wolves were spotted on the trails that crisscross across the park, and my heart dropped. I knew Ava had set off for the women’s old refuge cabin to help them get moved.

I raced up the trail with Charlie while Byron and the other betas dealt with the first attacks, but soon, we were caught up in another ambush. Realizing I could deal with them myself, I sent Charlie on ahead to find Ava and Harper. That’s when I heard Harper screaming. I could hear she was running toward me, so I finished off the attackers and raced toward her. The screaming stopped, and by the time I reached Charlie and Ava, I had hoped to see her there.

They took her.

I don’t understand how they took her from right under my nose, in my pack, in my town. My rage builds until I can barely see straight. I watch on through the window as Charlie and a couple of the other betas gather outside the clinic. Turning slightly, I watch as Ava sleeps, sedated by our pack doctor to help her injuries heal quicker. The injuries she sustained trying to save our daughter. The fight must have been brutal, and no one could quite believe how well she fought, taking on three shifters all by herself.

But none of that matters to Ava. She was inconsolable before they put her under. Despite the lacerations and internal injuries, she was still trying to get up, determined to find Harper herself. Even amid my fear and desolation, I see that everyone knows Ava behaved like a true warrior. The respect my betas and the clinic are showing her is immense. Ava’s experiences, and those of the women at the shelter, have exposed a real ugliness to pack life that I think I was willfully blind to for a long time, but I’m determined to put it right. And I think others in the pack are with me.

But none of that matters without Harper.

I know that nothing will matter to Ava if she wakes up and I haven’t found Harper. It will destroy her. It’s already destroying me.

I hear a gentle knock on the door and turn to see Byron through the glass. I glance at Ava to make sure she’s still comfortable and step out into the hall, praying that he has news.

“How is she?” he asks, looking past me into the room.

“Comfortable,” I sigh, “but she’ll heal soon enough, and I have to have Harper back by then. Tell me you have something. I need to get back out there.”

“I took the liberty of contacting your brothers,” he replies, and I raise my brows. “I know we handle our own business, but this is family. Aiden has already blocked all the main roads and trails into the mountains, and Tristen has secured the northern port. Your brothers will head our way once their men are secure.”

I nod. “You did the right thing. Anything to get Harper back,” I reply. “So, they can’t get out. We just need to narrow down where they are within the pack’s borders.”

“Did they say anything to Ava about why they wanted Harper?” Byron presses carefully.

I shake my head. “Only that it was Harper they specifically wanted. She’s just a kid, Byron.”

“I know, I know. We’ll get the bastards,” Byron mutters. “They obviously want her magic, so they’re not going to hurt her.”

“We don’t know shit,” I snap.

Byron falls silent, and for a moment, I feel as though I’m about to explode. Just then, I notice Charlie approaching. He must sense the tension in the air, but it doesn’t seem to faze him, his face set in determination. I know he’s feeling this, too.

“We just got a call,” he says, still holding his phone. “The McCall property spotted a group of wolves and a couple of trucks at one of the old outposts a few days ago, and even more activity today. They’re lying low, waiting for us to get out there.”

“I’ll call your brothers and tell them to head straight out that way to meet us,” Byron says, already moving.

I glance back into the room at Ava, a nurse sitting by her bed. As I opening the door, the nurse looks up. “If she wakes and I’m not here, tell her I’ve gone to get Harper back,” I say.

“I’ll tell her,” the nurse I think is called Becca replies. “Be careful, alpha, and get your little girl back safely.”

I nod, walking quickly from the building and straight into the truck that Byron has pulled around to the front of the clinic. “We’ll be quicker by truck up to the head of the trail, and then we’ll shift,” he says.

I let the rage build in my system as I drive. It’s a rage driven by fear, but whatever the root cause, I know it will be useful in the inevitable fight. Nothing will stop me from getting Harper back and smashing the rogues once and for all. Nothing. I spent far too much time trying to just keep them at bay, assuming they were simply wanting to live off the scraps of our community. But if they want a war, they’ve got it now.

Abandoning the truck at the head of the trail, we immediately shift and sprint through the forest. I know Charlie and the other betas are right behind us, and soon, we’re traveling at speed as a pack. The McCall’s property comes into view on the left, and over to the right, across the ravine, I see the outpost tucked away. It’s camouflaged but still just about visible when you know what to look for. I can also just make out a truck that has been partially covered by foliage in an attempt to disguise it.

I stop and signal for everyone to do the same. I don’t want to storm the place if Harper isn’t even there or if these aren’t the rogues we’re looking for. We watch for a moment, aware of shadows behind the building and looking for any sign of Harper. Suddenly, I hear pine needles crunching underfoot and spin around, ready to face whoever is following us up the trail. I’m face to face with what appears to be my wolf’s reflection, but I instantly recognize Tristen. Our wolves have always been like twins, with deep auburn coats and amber eyes. Following behind is Aiden; his wolf is the darkest black I’ve ever seen, and his bright golden eyes are unlike any other wolf’s. Apparently, he takes after our mom’s old pack—there’s certainly no wolf like his on the island, and it looks damn impressive.

They already know about the outpost, so I don’t need to bother explaining; we simply nod at each other, our heads fully in the game.

I motion towards the outpost, and we all begin to stalk forward, ready for whatever may come. As we close in on the building, we suddenly hear shouting from inside and then see a sudden flash of light. My heart drops into my stomach.

Suddenly, one of the windows explodes outwards as if hit by something. We all tense at the sight of flames licking through the cracked glass, and I hear Harper scream. I race across the ravine towards the outpost, my fury propelling me forward. Tristen, Aiden, and my betas are right behind me, matching my speed with ease.

The closer we get, the more I smell Harper’s fear and sense the chaos of her magic filling the air around the outpost. I burst through the door and I’m hit by a wall of magical heat that nearly takes my breath away. Smoke swirls everywhere, obscuring my vision, but I can just make out a figure running towards a back exit, dragging Harper with them. I crash through the wolves in my way, leaving my betas to subdue them as I focus on the man trying to flee with Harper.

Crashing out of the back of the outpost, I notice runes and motifs on the ground and trees, along with a strange altar. The man has thrown Harper into the center of a circle made of rocks and bones.

“Get the hell away from her,” I snarl.

The man turns and laughs, shifting into a silver wolf as he stands between me and my daughter. “I’m not stopping now,” he replies calmly, “I’m too damn close.”

I lunge forward, but some unseen force pushes me back, and I land with a thud. “Harper, run,” I say, but she cowers toward the back of the circle, looking dazed.

Behind me, I sense Byron and Charlie appear with my brothers, each covered in blood but victorious. They look confused when they see I’m not advancing. “Some kind of magic. He doesn’t look like a witch, though,” I mutter.

He chuckles darkly and then calmly turns his back on us, moving toward Harper, who whimpers.

“Stay the fuck away from her,” I bellow, but he doesn’t stop.

“You’re right, I’m no witch,” he says, bending down and stroking some hair out of Harper’s face. “I’m a collector. So I get all the benefits of our world’s gifts without the hassle of birthright.”

“I don’t think he’s a rogue,” Aiden whispers. “He’s something else. The ones in the cabin were all known rogues, though.”

“When I heard about an unbound child with new gifts, it was very exciting,” he continues, helping Harper to her feet. She glances over at me, her bottom lip trembling. I pound on the invisible shield, lightning surging from my hands every time I make contact.

“She’s not unbound, or whatever that means; she’s my daughter,” I snarl, watching in disbelief as he stands over her, a light in his eyes beginning to glow. Harper screams as he looms over her, and a strange light glows between them. “He’s going to kill her. Aim at the same spot,” I scream.

Byron and Charlie stand back slightly as I blast the shield with lightning. Tristen summons a stream of hurricane-force wind, and Aiden burns it with the hottest stream of molten lava I have ever seen. For a horrible second, I don’t think it will work, but then I see the faintest crack appear. Without waiting, knowing I don’t have time, I leap forward and burst through, propelled forward by my brother’s magic. The man spins around, the magic he was using on Harper disrupted; I watch in horror as she’s flung back onto the ground, unconscious. The wolf in front of me growls and seems to grow in size, his eyes shifting from amber to red. Behind me, I feel my brothers stepping closer, our combined magic growing into something far larger than ourselves.

The wolf appears to assess the situation, and then, just as I’m summoning my lightning to attack, he shifts again. His bones break, and his silhouette twists and morphs into something I struggle to recognize until he unfurls giant webbed wings. The massive dragon rises up into the air, and I instinctively dive forward, covering Harper. Tristen wastes no time summoning wind and blasting the dragon, destabilizing it as it takes into the air. Hiding Harper behind me, I unleash my lightning, firing on the dragon and striking it as it twists and turns in the sky before disappearing over the ridge.

“D-Daddy,” Harper cries behind me, and I turn, scooping her up into my arms, completely overcome by emotion. “I want Mama.”

“What the fuck was that?” Tristen mutters, stepping forward with the others to check on Harper, too.

“I have no idea,” I say, keeping Harper pressed against me. “Round up anyone who’s still alive. We need answers. We need names. And I need to get Harper out of here.”

“His name is Malik,” Harper says. I lift her away slightly so I can see her face.

“That man’s called Malik?” I repeat.

She nods, tears falling down her face. “He said I was going to die,” she sobs.

My heart clenches and then turns stone cold. I pull her against me as I take in the other’s equally stony expressions. “He was lying, you’re safe. Daddy’s got you. He’s the one dying.”

Rushing Harper back to the truck and heading toward Ava, only one thought dominates my mind. I will do anything to keep my family safe. And that is what Ava and Harper are, my family. Now I’ve just got to make sure Ava sees us that way, too.