Page 5 of Rising Reign (The Wolves of Crescent Creek #3)
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I ran through the forest, my wolf’s vision taking over as my four paws hit the ground at record speed.
The only thing I could think of was Wren.
It didn’t matter how much care we’d put into our planning; this could go wrong in many ways—especially because the sheer size of the Red River territory meant we each had to enter alone.
We had our pack link to keep us in contact, but no one was watching our backs. Ender had said it was the only way. We needed to take out the enforcers on patrol first.
It was lucky the Red River pack had a watchtower system. Their guards stayed high in those towers except for during their hourly patrols. Locke had watched the feeds to figure out the timing, and we’d struck just as they were all climbing down.
But the moment Ender started taking the bastards out with arrows, all hell broke loose. My brothers needed backup, and they needed it now .
I pressed harder, my muscles aching as I ran for where Ender had said Wren was being held. Puck was already there, and Locke and King were on their way.
Wren.
An image of her played in my mind. The way her eyes lit when I revealed the tattoo I’d inked into her skin. The tender way she looked at me when it was just the two of us. How she eased everything inside me.
A snarl lit the air. My hackles rose just as a brown-and-gray wolf slammed into me. We rolled as he took me down, but I used his size against him, letting his weight pull him to the bottom position.
I snapped at his neck as he raked his claws across my gut. Pain bloomed, but I ignored it, moving to bite him again. He dodged, gouging my shoulder with his claws, but it left him exposed. I managed to get his neck this time and didn’t hold back.
My teeth sank into his fur, and I tore out his jugular. His blood tasted…wrong. Drugs, I realized. I spat it out as the wolf’s eyes went wide and then stilled, unblinking. Just one more black mark on my soul. But worth it to get Wren free.
I tore through the woods again as Ender’s voice filled my mind. Hurry, he’s got her, and I don’t have a shot.
I pushed harder, breaking into the clearing, and then stopped dead. Fighting was happening in several arenas. Kingston and Locke were in their human forms, Puck was in his wolf’s, but I only had eyes for Wren.
A man with dark hair and leering eyes had her by the throat and was dragging her from a fucking cage. A growl tore from my mouth, and I poised to spring, but then Wren pulled something from her waistband and stabbed the man in the heart. He dropped to the ground.
He stared up at nothing as his blood pooled beneath him. A roar of appreciation escaped me, and I bounded toward Wren. Her gaze snapped up at my approach, and I wished I could mind-speak to her now, tell her how proud I was of her. But I wouldn’t have that ability until we all were mated to her.
Instead, I settled for headbutting her side and licking her chin. Wren’s fingers sank into my fur. “Brix,” she whispered.
Relief swept through me. She was okay. Alive. Breathing.
“Get her!” a man hollered, lifting a rifle in my direction.
Kingston leveled an answering weapon at him at the last possible moment and hit the man square between the eyes. He fell, but the two with him shifted and ran straight for us.
King tried to get off another shot but got pulled into a hand-to-hand battle with another man. I let out a low growl, bracing for the two wolves coming straight for Wren and me. Wren took up a fighting stance, her knife at the ready.
One of the wolves leapt into the air, aiming for Wren, but just as his jump reached its apex, an arrow hit him directly in the eye.
I didn’t have a chance to admire Ender’s aim because I was too busy taking on wolf number two.
The gold-and-brown wolf lunged, but I raked my claws across its flank as I dodged.
The wolf howled and snarled in response. He turned to face me head-on as my brothers battled the others. Saliva dripped from his fangs, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was drugged up, too.
He lunged again, nipping my already injured shoulder, but I dove to the side and rolled. Up on my paws again, I struck out. The golden wolf howled in pain but kept right on coming. I had no choice.
As he lunged a third time, I caught him by the neck. One swift jerk and I felt his spine crack. The wolf fell limply to the ground. Such a waste. And all because the creature had become indoctrinated by Bastian Boudreaux.
It was as if the shifter had some hold over them, feeding the darkness that lived inside and growing it.
“We have to move now,” Kingston shouted as he ran over to us. “Locke’s boosting one of their vehicles.”
As if to punctuate the point, the sound of an engine sprang to life in the distance. King pulled Wren into his arms and kissed her head. “You’re okay.”
She nodded quickly. “Let’s move.”
Ender sailed in on some kind of rope pulley he’d strung between the trees and dropped to the ground just as Puck ran over, still in his wolf form. Ender instantly had his bow and arrow ready as we moved toward the sound of the incoming vehicle.
Then, a voice boomed from the main house. “Do not let the traitor live!”
Everything happened in slow motion.
A man stepped from the building, a rifle lifted. Ender turned, aiming his arrow. Both shot at the same time. Ender’s hit true, striking the man right between the eyes. But the man’s bullet also made contact.
Kingston moved, shoving Wren to the side, but he wasn’t quick enough. The bullet hit him right in the chest. His eyes widened, flashing to his wolf as pain speared him. His body hit the ground with thundering force, and then the world went quiet.