Page 185 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)
AUDREY
I accepted the spear from Knox while Bishop took off his clothes and put them in the pack. The wildness inside me pulsed stronger, part in desire at the sight of Bishop and Knox’s powerful naked bodies, and part in determination, and I wrapped its strength around me while praying it wouldn’t fail me when I really needed it.
So far it had always been there when I needed it, but I didn’t have any control over it.
“Let’s go,” Bishop said, taking a step away from the town and shifting into his large black wolf. I’d seen a shifter shift many times before and still the action seemed fluid and beautiful… and heartbreaking.
I shoved back my disappointment as soon as it flickered to life. I didn’t want my mates to feel it. I was happy with my life right now — with the exception of the chaos the merchants and their grimalkins had created. I didn’t need to be able to shift.
And yet that broken part of me that still hadn’t completely healed ached.
I was incomplete.
Sure, I had alpha power now when I really needed it… maybe… hopefully, but that could be because of the dark magic growing inside me.
My true wolf nature was still imprisoned by my ancestral curse, and there was no way of knowing if my wolf would ever fully awaken.
And I could deal with my insecurities later. I was stronger than I’d ever been before and I had mates who supported me.
My thoughts lurched to Cyrus as I secured the pack over my shoulders and Knox shifted and knelt so I could climb onto his back.
Cyrus was mine and I wasn’t going to accept anything less than his bond. My soul and wildness wouldn’t let me, and they sure as hell didn’t care that he’d hurt me. To them, he’d apologized and treated me with the kindness and respect I deserved. It might have been awkward between us going to the healing pools and coming back, but I couldn’t deny that he’d stopped pushing me away.
He also listened to me more and considered my suggestions, even asked for them. I didn’t know what was holding him back, especially with the hunger in his gaze every time he looked at me, but I wouldn’t accept any more excuses.
I might not have formed a bond with him when we had sex like I had with Bishop, but I knew in the depths of my being that he was the final piece of my destiny.
Bishop took off and Knox followed, the guys slowly increasing their speed to an easy run so I had time to adjust since I only had one hand to hold onto him.
The grasslands stretched before us, a sea of rippling yellow-green rolling hills with the dark splotch of Darkweald in the distance, and the wind whipped at my face and tugged at my hair. The day was turning into the perfect summer’s day without a cloud in the sky, but it wasn’t enough to distract me from my worries.
It was late afternoon when we reached the campsite, my stomach growling its complaint over skipping breakfast and lunch. It was going to be unimpressed with rations for dinner, but it couldn’t be helped. We were trying to amass our warriors in secret. Fires, tents, or even too-loud conversations could give us away even though we were still half a day away from the heart of Anakar.
And we could not be discovered. There were a lot of grimalkins — possibly too many for our small force to handle — but the merchants also had their devastating lightning weapons, and I had no doubt some of the weapons were with their swordsmen in Anakar.
It would have been great if we could have attacked them while they slept. We’d have still needed to be sneaky, but darkness and fewer people wandering around lessened the chance we’d be caught. But no one wanted to risk attracting the attention of Tzanagoth’s malicious spirits, which were more powerful and active at night.
Which meant Cyrus decided camp was near the river and about twenty feet from the forest with its perpetual mist and ominous power. Knox and Deacon hadn’t had time to confirm everywhere the merchant’s swordsmen went and we just had to pray they didn’t come to this side of the forest.
I slid off Knox’s back as Cyrus approached, his gaze capturing mine, reaching into my soul and connecting to the part of me that knew he was mine, before sliding to the fence post-turned-spear in my hands.
“Good idea,” he said with a brisk nod. “Grab something to eat. We’re just waiting on a few more people.”
Our remaining fighters arrived just as the sun was setting. I’d eaten as many tough dried rations as I could and settled on the ground in Bishop’s arms with a blanket wrapped around me.
Knox, in his wolf form, lay beside us, his head on his paws, his eyes darting from person to person, on guard. A churning uneasiness rolled through the bond, Knox’s fear of being surrounded by too many people, and I pushed loved and confidence back to him because I could also feel his desire to stay with me and Bishop and not hide in the tall grass and deepening twilight.
When I’d first met Knox, he’d wanted nothing to do with me or anyone else except maybe his brothers. He could barely be inside for more than a couple of hours at most and he avoided everyone. He could only stand a small group of people who he was close to, everyone else was too much. And we now had over fifty people standing twenty feet away.
Knox huffed and leaned into me, his unease growing along with his determination to stay, as Cyrus urged everyone to come closer.
“We leave for Anakar at first light,” he said, his voice hushed. “Two scout parties will go ahead of us and take out any swordsmen as we go, but I want everyone to keep their eyes open. We can’t afford to lose the element of surprise.”
Everyone murmured their agreement. Half of them had seen how destructive just a single blast from one of the merchants’ lightning weapons could be, and the other half had heard about it. No one wanted to be on the receiving end.
“Our goal is to reach a secure location near the swordsmen’s camp and the grimalkins’ pens,” Gower added. “There we split into three groups. The quick strike group, their immediate backup, and the rest of you, including the medics, in case everything goes sideways.”
“We’re hoping the everyone-else-group gets bored,” Folmar said.
“Better to show up and do nothing than not be there when needed,” Deacon said, and the men and women around us nodded in agreement.
And that something was the grimalkins escaping their pens and the merchants being able to use their lightning weapons on us.
The thought sent a shudder of fear rushing through me and Bishop tightened his grip around me.
But with every beat of my heart, my determination grew. I’d protect my mates and my pack at all costs.
As we continued discussing strategies, my thoughts kept drifting to my own role in this battle. I had to hold the grimalkins in place long enough for the others to kill them, but what if I wasn’t strong enough?
The fear gnawed at me, but I pushed it down, determined to do my part and protect my friends even as another worry surfaced in my mind: Sterling.
If he truly was in this realm, what would that mean for all of us? He was ruthless and power-hungry, a threat to everyone I held dear.
Except I couldn’t let fear control me. I’d faced Velora and put her in her place. I could do the same with Sterling.
I had to.
But first we had to take care of the merchants and protect the pack.
Cyrus woke me just before dawn the next morning with a gentle touch on my shoulder. Slowly, I opened my eyes and was captured in his dark mossy green gaze.
For a second, time stood still between us, and my breath caught in my throat. His power stuttered against mine, as if he couldn’t fully control it when he looked at me, but from the yearning in his eyes, I knew it wasn’t because he was upset at me.
Heat rose from my core, aching for him to hold me, kiss me, claim me like he had in the shower room in the hospital. But then his alpha-in-charge mask fell into place and he gave me a tight nod.
He wasn’t going to address whatever lay between us. Not now. And while I understood his reasons — everyone in the pack was counting on him to lead this mission to success — my wildness wanted to cement her claim on him. He was mine, and I didn’t want anything to happen to him before I’d made that perfectly clear to him and everyone else.
“Quick breakfast, then we head out.” He jerked his head, indicating I should wake Bishop, who I was half lying on, and went to rouse the few others who were still asleep.
I groaned and stretched. My body was stiff from sleeping on the ground — well, half on the ground — and I pressed my nose against Bishop’s neck, breathing in his bright fresh-cut grass sent while savoring the heat radiating from Knox’s wolf pressed tight against my back.
Today was the day we stopped future grimalkin attacks or the day I lost my mates because Bishop, Knox, and Cyrus wouldn’t give up. They’d give their lives to protect their pack. And I would too.
We ate more rations for breakfast before crossing the threshold into Darkweald and picking our way between the trees and underbrush, risking running into spirits by straying off the trail to avoid detection.
Knox and seven other hunters shifted into their wolves and prowled around and ahead of us, watching for danger while the rest of us walked as quickly and quietly as we could.
Mist and darkness shrouded the forest, chilling my skin, and the heavy, ominous power I’d felt every time I’d been in Darkweald pressed against my senses.
The evil magic unfurled inside me, a small, insidious darkness that twisted in my stomach. It called to the ominous power pressing down on me, and a mix of fear and relief flickered through me, drawing Bishop’s attention.
“I just got confirmation where my—” I glanced at the shifters in front of me. They were close enough to hear me even if I whispered and I didn’t want them to think I was a monster — even if I was terrified that I was going to become one.
I pressed a hand over my heart and Bishop nodded his understanding.
Knowing will help Whil figure out how to deal with it, he said in my head. But you need to focus on right here and now. Don’t let this distract you.
Now it was my turn to nod, and I turned my attention back to the mist and the partially visible trees and underbrush. Cyrus was taking a huge risk in letting me come along, especially if I couldn’t get my unwanted magic to control the grimalkins, but I refused to be a burden. I’d promised I’d be helpful, that I’d control the grimalkins, and I would. I had to.
By mid-morning we reached the remains of a stone building with trees, weeds, and tall grass growing around the rubble of the fallen walls and bursting through what was left of the tiled floor.
From there, we moved silently between the decaying buildings, our senses on high alert for any sign of danger even with our scouts searching for trouble ahead of us.
The air was thick with tension and nervous alpha power. No one wanted to face all those grimalkins let alone the swordsmen with lightning weapons, but we were all going to do it if we had to.
Please, God, don’t let us have to.
Just before noon, we arrived at our primary defensive position. The building wasn’t very big, probably a thirty by twenty rectangle, and lacked a roof, but all four walls looked solid and sturdy. Collapsed buildings on either side of the structure blocked the windows, leaving only the front and back doors as entry points.
If we had to make our stand here, we wouldn’t be able to hold out for long against the lightning weapons, but the confining doorways would force the grimalkins to attack one at a time.
That, however, was only if our plan didn’t work.
Please, God, gods, Sisters, anyone. Let it work.