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‘Why do you sound like you’re saying goodbye?’ Maren whispered.
“I’m not saying goodbye. I have faith in us,’ Luca replied, but even I was unconvinced.
“What’s the plan?” Logan asked, looking at Kieran.
‘Remember how I told you that the Rogues were working with me?’ Kieran began. Everyone nodded. ‘Well, here’s the plan: The Rogues and I are going to meet the Hunters at our training spot. We’ll lead the hunters there. We’ve already convinced them that we’ve seen werewolves in this area.”
As much as you will hate to hear this, we are going to try our best not to injure any humans. This is important. If we harm or kill any of them, the town will have reason to hunt us down. These hunters have families and loved ones too. This may not make sense to some of you. You’re probably wondering why we should spare their lives when they haven’t given us a chance.
But that is precisely why we are going to convince them that we mean them no harm. We’re not resorting to violence straight away. Once war begins, it is hard to end. We refuse to put our packs in that kind of danger.
We’re going to make an agreement to live peacefully among them. Therefore, we will lead the hunters into the open field, where we will stand in our human forms. It’s risky. It isn’t safe, but it’s safer than approaching them in wolf form.
If they do attack, we have enough rogues to disarm each hunter. There are about twenty hunters and fifteen werewolves. If they shoot, I trust you to use your werewolf abilities to move out of the way as quickly as possible. Be alert. Be prepared.
If they harm the rogues or you, that is when we attack,” Kieran finished.
We stared at him, mouths slightly agape. He wanted us to just stand there. That would be practically signing our death warrants.
‘You want us to just stand there?’ Brielle blurted out.
‘Yes,’ Kieran sighed. ‘I knew it would be hard to convince you guys.’
‘How do you know the Rogues won’t turn their backs on us?’ Damien asked. ‘After all, nobody should trust a rogue.’
‘I agree with him on that,’ Beck added.
‘The alpha rogue is my cousin. A larger group of rogues attacked his pack in North Carolina. Out of eighty people, only twenty made it out alive,’ Kieran stated reluctantly. We gasped, each of us looking horrified. ‘They diminished that rogue group, and those twenty werewolves have lost everything. They’re going to join our pack. They heard about the hunters and want to help.”
“Is there no other way to approach this situation?” Roman piped up.
‘We don’t have time to think of another solution,’ Luca answered tiredly.
‘Have you found a way to protect ourselves from the wolfsbane?’ Maren whispered, looking at her feet. The memories were clearly still fresh in her mind.
‘Unfortunately, we cannot do anything about these weapons.’ Kieran tried to keep his voice steady, but it trembled at the end. ‘The only thing protecting us from the wolfbane is ourselves. So be alert. Be prepared. I trust all of you. When you’re in doubt, remember why you’re fighting in the first place. Good luck to us all.”
It was late when everyone headed home to bed to get some rest. However, I doubt any of us will sleep well tonight, knowing the attack is approaching. We couldn’t even devour our dinner like we usually do.
The silence at the table was sickening. We were all drowning in our own thoughts. This was the first quiet dinner I had experienced with the Eclipse and Moonfire Pack.
Would we be lucky enough to have another dinner together?
I refused to dwell on the outcome of the situation. The more I thought about it, the more scared I became. What I should be focusing on was the problem itself and how we were going to solve it.
I couldn’t sleep. It felt hot and stuffy in my room. I tossed and turned, causing the blankets and pillows to fall onto the floor. After several minutes, I groaned and got up.
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Kieran’s door.
I knocked softly on it and whispered, “Kieran, it’s me.”
“Come in,” he replied.
I slowly opened the door, inhaling his strong, mouth-watering scent. Worry lines creased my forehead when I saw him sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. I shuffled my feet all the way over to sit next to him.
I couldn’t find the right words. I didn’t want to tell him that he shouldn’t worry so much. Besides, that wouldn’t have been such great advice at the time, especially since I was worried too.
“Hey,” I said, playing with his black hair. I wanted to take Kieran’s mind off this whole problem, if only for a few minutes. ‘What do you call a fat psychic?’
“What?” He muttered, looking up at me. Dark bags were visible under his blue eyes. His black hair was messy, as if he had been running his hands through it all day. He was still wearing the same clothes as earlier: dark jeans that suited him well and a button-up shirt.
I gave him a small smile. “A four-chin teller.”
The corners of his lips twitched. He shook his head. ‘You’re lame, babe.’
‘I’m cooler than you’ll ever be,’ I joked. Kieran snorted. When he didn’t say anything else, I spoke again. ‘I know this is such a stupid question, but it never hurts to ask: Are you okay?”
Kieran sighed and looked at me. I felt a pang in my chest when I saw the broken look on his face. He looked away and stared at the carpet between his feet. ‘I’m freaking scared,’ he murmured. ‘I’m scared that my sister will get hurt again. I’m scared that the plan won’t work. I’m scared of failing you guys. I’m scared to lose any of you. I’m scared that my friends won’t make it out alive and it’ll be all my fault.”
My heart broke.
‘Look,’ I said sternly, grabbing his face between my hands. ‘It’s okay to be scared, Kieran. Just because you’re an Alpha doesn’t mean you have to suppress all your emotions for business reasons. We all make mistakes, and we’ll all stand by you no matter what. I’ll be okay; I’ll make sure of it.”
‘Promise me, Talia,’ Kieran said seriously, rubbing the small of my back with his warm hand. ‘That you’ll be okay.’
‘I promise, Kieran,’ I whispered.
‘If I don’t make it out alive, just know that I love you and always will,’ Kieran whispered brokenly.
‘Don’t say that,’ I gasped. I could feel my eyes filling with tears at the way he was doubting himself. ‘Don’t you dare say or think that, Kieran Redford.’
I studied his face. I traced my index finger down the side of his face, over his cheekbones, and along his jawline. Finally, I lightly touched the scar on his bottom lip. ‘We’ll be fine as long as we’re careful,’ I whispered.
Kieran didn’t say anything. Instead, he pushed his forehead against mine and stared at me with his intense blue eyes. I shivered when he pressed his lips softly against mine.
He groaned when I bit down on his bottom lip and sucked on it. His hands gripped my hips as I let him in. His tongue danced with mine, setting off fireworks on my taste buds.
The warmth of his body was addictive. His scent was mouth-watering. I needed to get closer to him.
There was too much space between us.
There was too much clothing between us.
I cursed my perverted mind, but I wanted more.
I moved one of my legs over to the other side of him and straddled his waist. He grunted as our bodies pressed flush against each other. I tangled my fingers in his black hair while he cupped my buttocks.
I smirked against his lips when I felt him become excited. My fingers fumbled with the top buttons of his shirt. Once I had unbuttoned the first few, he pulled off his shirt and threw it to the ground. He wasted no time in crashing his lips back onto mine.
I still couldn’t get enough.
I wanted him.
My mark was burning.
There was a throb between my legs.
Kieran ran his hands down my bare legs. I shivered. He moved his lips along my jawline and down the column of my neck, sucking and biting. Nibbling my earlobe, he whispered, “Your scent is driving me crazy.” I moaned softly as he sucked on my neck. I threw my head back, grinding my hips against his involuntarily.