Page 6

CHAPTER 6

L ia

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.

All around me, the battle raged.

A blonde-colored wolf tackled a human, knocking him to the ground. The creature went for his throat, her jaws closing around him before he could fire. I turned away, not wanting to see him die, but a ferocious growl echoed through the air and my eyes shot right back to the scene.

Silas was there, a dark blur of muscle and fur.

He slammed into the wolf, his enormous frame sending her flying, her body hitting a tree with bone-shattering force. Before it could recover, he was on her again, his claws raking deep, his powerful jaws closing around her throat.

A single shake, a nauseating crack, and she went limp.

Silas turned, his head snapping in my direction, his fur streaked with blood. His golden eyes captured me, and for a split second, we just stared at each other.

Then a huge black wolf tackled him from behind.

I raised my gun, aiming fast, but they were already locked together, tearing into each other like fucking monsters, snow and fur flying as they rolled across the ground.

Silas was faster, twisting at the last second, his claws gouging into the other wolf’s shoulder. The black wolf let out a snarling roar, but Silas just fought harder.

He tore into the wolf’s side, his massive jaws sinking in, his fangs crushing bone.

The black wolf howled.

I didn’t wait to see the rest.

Another wolf was closing in—this one gray and lean, moving low through the fight, its eyes locked onto a woman fighting in a long dark coat as she cut down wolves with brutal efficiency.

No one else was dying tonight. Not if I had anything to say about it.

Then the wolf lunged.

I fired.

The first bullet hit the wolf’s hind leg, slowing it, but not stopping it. I fired again, aiming for the side, but it leapt unexpectedly and lunged at the woman, evading my shot entirely.

The woman twisted mid-step, dodging the attack like she had seen it coming. Then, in a blur of movement, she drove a long, curved knife into the wolf’s ribs, yanked it free, and slashed again, cutting deep.

The wolf collapsed at her feet.

She turned toward me, dark eyes scanning me from head to toe as she flicked blood from her blade. “Thanks.”

“Nice knife work,” I shot back, gripping my rifle.

The fighting raged around us, howls and gunfire splitting the air, but for a brief moment, she just studied me.

“You with the Resistance?” she asked.

I hesitated. “Not exactly.”

Her mouth twitched, like that amused her. “Then let’s just say you’re with me.”

She didn’t wait for an answer.

Another wolf charged toward us, and without hesitation, she pivoted fast, her coat whipping around her as she buried her knife in its throat. I took out another one coming up behind her, my gun cracking through the night.

We moved in sync, like we’d fought together a hundred times before.

Back to back, steel and bullets against fur and claws.

A reddish-brown wolf tried to barrel into us, its fangs flashing. The woman—whoever the hell she was—sidestepped at the last second, bringing her blade up in a smooth arc, slicing through its chest. The wolf reared back with a snarl, but before it could recover, I put three bullets into it.

It hit the ground hard.

The woman exhaled, rolling her shoulders. “ Now I like you,” she muttered.

Before I could respond, a voice crackled over a radio, startling me before I realized it was hanging from her belt. “ Commander Sorin! Sector three is holding, but we’re taking heavy hits to our forces in the process. ”

The Resistance soldiers moved when she barked an order because she was their leader, not just another fighter.

I took a moment to breathe before I caught sight of a giant dark gray wolf barreling through the camp.

Silas.

A streak of muscle and teeth, ripping through anything in his path.

He was an unstoppable force to be reckoned with—brutal, relentless, his enormous body moving like a fucking nightmare through the blood and snow. His wolves fought beside him, their fur flashing in the moonlight, but none of them were as fast or as ruthless as him.

A black wolf tried to sink its fangs into his side.

Silas turned mid-stride, caught the wolf by the throat in his jaws, and crushed it.

I felt something deep in my gut tighten.

Not fear. Not quite .

Sorin glanced toward the fight, her brow furrowing. “Your Alpha can more than hold his own.”

I gritted my teeth, keeping my rifle raised.

“He’s not my Alpha,” I snarled.

She gave me a look. One that said she knew bullshit when she heard it.

I didn’t respond.

Another wolf—tall, lean, its fur as dark as midnight—bore down on us. The moment it lunged, I pivoted, dropping low as Sorin struck high.

Her blade slashed deep into its side while I jammed the barrel of my pistol beneath its ribs and fired.

The wolf let out a choked snarl before collapsing, twitching violently in the snow before finally going still.

I turned, breathing hard. “You always fight this well?”

Sorin didn’t look at me, already scanning the battlefield. “When I have to.”

Gunfire erupted from the ridge nearby, and I followed her gaze just in time to see a Resistance fighter go down, a wolf’s massive form pinning him to the ground. The human barely had time to struggle before the beast’s jaws clamped down on his throat, blood spraying across the snow.

Fuck .

I whipped my rifle up, aiming for the wolf’s head and a blur of gray shot past me.

Silas.

He slammed into the wolf at full speed, his momentum sending both of them rolling across the ground in a tangle of fur and claws. Snarls and yelps filled the air as they tore into each other.

The moment Silas got the upper hand, he pinned the black-furred wolf beneath him and tore out its throat.

For a moment, I couldn’t look away. The firelight flickered over him, his smoky gray fur streaked with blood, his golden eyes scanning the battlefield, seeking out the next threat.

His wolves fought fiercely alongside him, their forms blending together in the storm of battle. The Human Resistance was holding the line too, but it was brutal.

I ducked as another wolf came at me from the left, its claws flashing. I barely had time to sidestep before I slammed the butt of my rifle into its snout, then turned and fired two rounds into its chest. It staggered, but it wasn’t dead yet.

I gritted my teeth, raising my weapon again, but before I could fire, Sorin was there, moving like a goddamn shadow, her knife slashing across the wolf’s throat.

Blood sprayed, and the wolf collapsed at my feet.

“You’re welcome,” she muttered, stepping past me.

I exhaled, the sound harsh in the quiet, flicking blood off my rifle. “Thanks.”

The battle raged on.

I fired at another wolf lunging toward one of our men, my shot hitting its shoulder. The bullet barely slowed it down, but Sorin was already moving, and finishing the job. Silas was tearing through another wolf, but I hardly had time to look before another wolf was on Sorin and me. We worked together to take it down, but I realized something in that moment: the tide was finally turning. The wolves that had attacked us were dying.

They knew it, too.

I caught a flash of movement, a group of them, the remaining survivors, breaking away from the fight, vanishing into the trees.

Cowards.

Silas snapped his head up, golden eyes locking onto the retreating figures. He let out a powerful howl, and his wolves responded immediately, a handful of them breaking off to give chase.

One of the wolves shifted back into his human form, breath ragged. “They’re fast,” he gritted out. “We might not catch them.”

I turned to Silas just as he shifted back, his transformation almost instant, his body twisting in the moonlight as he rose to his full height. He didn’t say a word at first, just watched the tree line, jaw tight, body rigid.

I already knew what he was thinking.

If those wolves got away, if they made it back to whoever the hell had sent them, then this wasn’t over.

Not by a long shot.