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Kaylee

Watching the vans being packed with battle gear and luggage, I wrap my arms around my body and take a deep breath. It’s usually a ten-day drive from here to Oak Fur. With the omegas driving the vans for us, switching out every five hours so they can rest, we should be able to make it to Oak Fur in four to six days.

When I was banished from Oak Fur, I never thought I would be returning there pregnant with plans to kill Ramos, yet here I am. That man has done more harm than good for the pack, and my heart breaks for those still trapped under his rule.

From what Devon’s friends have told us, Marilyn has started throwing temper tantrums over the smallest of things, from the temperature of the food served to her to omegas seeking her permission to create new garden beds. The pack is now facing a food shortage due to her awful leadership, and Ramos is just allowing it to happen.

“Are you ready to become an alpha, Kaylee?” Royce asks from beside me. He has designated himself as my personal guard for the trip. Earlier this morning, he and Ash revoked their membership to Ivory Fangs. After everything that had happened with Marco, neither man felt safe here.

“As ready as I can be,” I answer with a smile, turning away from all the preparations to face Royce. He and Marco were my first friends when I came to Ivory Fangs. They were the ones who had watched me skin animals and prepare the meat for the pack. We’d laughed, joked, and partied when we weren’t performing our duties.

Now, I feel like that trio we made is gone because of Ramos—because he sent spies who shared information about our pack with him, and because Marco hadn’t recovered from the trauma caused by Shadow Moon attacking them before we came here.

“Marco and Maya are staying here to watch over the pack with Kurt,” I state, watching Royce scan the many wolves.

“Good. I’m not ready to forgive him for hurting Ash by nearly killing Devon,” he scoffs. I sigh, placing my hand on my friend’s shoulder and making him look at me.

“One day, you three will need to talk and clear the air. I won’t force it yet, but one day I will,” I warn him. Royce opens his mouth to protest but stops. Instead, he looks back at our small army and nods.

“I know,” he finally agrees, eyes welling with tears. “Just not right now.”

I sigh in acknowledgment, knowing now is not the right time to push him. Right now, we must focus on making it to our rendezvous point and preparing for the battle ahead.

“Kaylee,” someone calls out to me, and I turn to find Adam, Lace, and Henry standing behind me. Lace and Henry are holding back tears while Adam stares stoically at me. He’s coming into himself, his alpha power slowly building and budding as it reaches out to me. I release a bit of my newfound power, letting it mix with his and watching as a shine of tears fills his eyes.

“Will you be coming back?” Lace asks with a sniffle, her small voice nearly breaking me.

“No, baby girl,” I answer, stepping forward and pulling her into my arms. “Lucas and I are going to rid Oak Fur of bad people and take over,” I continue, hoping my explanation is as child-friendly as can be.

Henry lets out a little whimper, and I pull him close as well, feeling the two small pups wrap their arms around me as silent sobs wrack their small bodies. Adam stares at me before looking away. I see that he tries to secretly wipe a tear away and say nothing. He’s doing his best to be strong for his siblings.

“Will you die?” Henry asks, pulling away to look at me. Tears are welling in my eyes now, threatening to spill as I look at the little pups I consider my siblings, and I fall to my knees, pulling them closer.

“No. I promise you that I’ll be alive and an alpha like your mommy next time you see me.”

The words seemed to be what they needed to hear, as their sobs turned into sniffles and little breaths as they calmed down. I blink away my own tears, catching David smiling at the three of us.

“Do you kids want to eat some cake with me before we leave?” he asks, catching the attention of his pups.

“We can have cake?” Lace asks, pulling back from my embrace to look at her father.

“Of course we can,” David answers, holding his hands out to his pups. Lace and Henry look at me reluctantly, but I smile, encouraging them to go with their father. As soon as the three of them are out of sight, Adam runs into my arms and breathes in my scent.

“Don’t die, please,” he begs, his voice cracking as he cries against my shoulder. The kid has grown so much since turning fifteen. He’s now just slightly taller than me.

“I won’t, I promise,” I whisper, letting my own tears fall.

“Good. I can’t handle losing my big sister,” Adam whispers back.

I close my eyes, memorizing Adam’s scent and hugging him tighter. I was born an only child back at Oak Fur and only considered Simon my sworn brother at the time, but now my family has grown. Adam, Henry, and Lace became my siblings somewhere along the line. I need to make sure that Oak Fur is safe so that my little siblings can come and visit whenever they want.

The hug ends, much to my reluctance, and Adam pulls away, his gaze staring past my shoulder. I turn to find Lucas watching us, a soft smile on his face.

“If he hurts you again, you come back here, okay?” Adam whispers to me, his eyes meeting mine. “You’ll always have a home here.”

“Don’t worry, Adam, I learned my lesson once,” Lucas says quietly, standing beside me. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure Kaylee is happy. I promise you that, little cousin,” he adds, moving to ruffle Adam’s hair. Adam swats Lucas’ hand away, and as I watch the two interact, I can’t help but think just how much Adam is starting to resemble Lucas.

“Anyway, it’s time to go,” Lucas sighs, turning to look at me. I close my eyes and take a breath as I sense the deeper meaning of his words. Before leaving Ivory Fangs, we must renounce our membership to this pack and our beta status. Everyone will feel it, will feel our loss. But I’d promised to many that I would live, that I would destroy Ramos and Marilyn so that our peace would never again be disturbed by them.

Opening my eyes, I give Adam one last smile and remind him to keep up with his training before reaching my hand out to Lucas, who happily takes it. His warm palm helps calm my beating heart and clear away any lingering worries. This is our decision, our future that we are fighting for. Any worry and indecisiveness I have will need to be left here.

“Let’s go take back Oak Fur, Alpha Lucas,” I state, turning towards the line of cars and wolves waiting for us.

“Sounds good to me, Alpha Kaylee.”