The night was cold and quiet save for the howling sound of the wind. The wind rustled the leaves, the branches of trees swaying in an ancient dance creating a beautiful symphony with the rest of the critters in the forest. The symphony was abruptly cut off, a more malicious air growing at the fringes of the Mountain Coast pack lands.
There was a palpable sense of tension in the air. Something was not right. There was an eerie stillness in the woods, a silence that feels almost deafening. It felt as if the animals themselves were holding their breath, waiting for the storm to break.
The sky overhead was dark and foreboding, with thick clouds obscuring the moonlight, casting everything in a murky grey hue.
Ava was in bed with her mate, their bodies drenched with sweat and heat from their consumption, her mind on her sister as her mate held her.
Gabrielle sat in the empty pack training grounds, her fists stained with dried blood as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.
Alex stayed awake thinking about his sisters. Was he really unfair to Gabrielle or was she being manipulative as she always was? His mind drifted to his soft spoken mate, Zinora and his lips turned up slightly, his mind suddenly at ease.
Cynthia sipped at cold juice waiting, waiting for the attack to commence. The trap had been set and baited. She found herself smiling. She had finally carried out her task, it was only a bonus that it would take care of Gabrielle as well.
Outside their houses, the air was heavy, almost oppressive, there was a feeling of imminent danger, a sense that something terrible was about to happen. Not that they were aware of it.
There was a movement in the shadows. The rogues drew close with low growls and snarls, and the sound of their claws scraping against the ground.
And in the dead on the night when the wolves of the Mountain Coast pack slept, the enemies attacked.
*****
Adrian woke up with a jolt. He hadn’t been asleep for more than a few minutes. There was a breach.
Ava sat up next to him blearily.
“Adrian?”
He was already standing up from the bed.
“Get to the safe house. We are under attack. The rogues just hit us.”
Ava gasped lightly and straightened, picking up her discarded clothes in a hurry.
“The safe house? Like hell, I’m going to hide. I’m coming with you.”
Adrian pulled on his shirt over his shorts. “I have alerted Calvin and Alex. Calvin is gathering the women and children of the pack in the safe house. I need you to go there.”
Ava came in front of him, her eyes sparkling.
“Don’t ask me to do this, Adrian. Not again. The last time…”
Shawn had happened.
Adrian inhaled deeply and pulled her close, dropping a kiss on her forehead before embracing her.
“Please baby, do this for me. The rogue’s numbers are the highest we’ve seen in a really long time. I need you to keep our people safe. If you fight next to me, I’ll be unable to focus on anything else. Please.”
Ava pounded at his chest, her shoulders shaking.
“Why? Why does this always happen to us whenever we find even a shred of happiness?”
Adrian opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. He had no words.
Ava seemed to steel herself and looked at him with resolute ocean-blue eyes. “I’ll guard our people, just come back to me. Safe and in one piece.”
Adrian dipped his head and kissed her, tasting the salt of her tears. Her eyes fell shut and another tear dropped to her cheek as she held him as though he would disappear from her arms at any moment.
“I promise.”
*******
“There are two dozen warriors and adult male wolves standing guard outside. Just keep them corraled and calm.”
There was no sign of the blushing Calvin of mere hours before. He looked tense yet resigned at the same time. Goddess, were the rogues that many?
Ava’s heart lurched. Oh, Adrian.
Calvin continued speaking, more hesitant now. “I told Alvin to show you the tunnels, we created them after the house was completed. If everything goes to hell, you need to take our people and leave.”
Ava glared at him. “I have faith in my mate. Nothing will happen. And if anything did, I would be at his side not scurrying away like a rat in some tunnels.”
Calvin gave an insincere smile burdened with worry.
“I wouldn’t expect any less from you, Luna. I must take your leave now to join the fight. Goddess keep you.”
Calvin bowed and he was off leaving Ava in charge of corralling women who might never see her as their Luna.
Ava looked around the safe house. Although newly constructed around the same time she’d started the training programs, it looked solid and defensible. It was made with solid oak and had a reinforced street overlay that had taken quite some time to figure out how to do it without human help.
They were in the hall inside the house. Ava saw the faces of most of the women she’d known all her life. And the sounds of children crying and running about filled the air.
They did not know that the probability they would live through this night was exceedingly low.
“Ava!”
It was Jenny pushing towards her with her mother, Gabrielle and a waddling Cynthia.
Ava met them halfway and hugged her mother. Grasping Jenny’s hand like a life raft, she turned to her mother.
“Mom, how are you? Where is Dad?”
Her mother looked pale but her features were drawn into a look of intense concentration and determination.
“He went to fight, said he wouldn’t hide with the women. He is one of the wolves defending the safe house. He is strong. He will be fine.”
It sounded as though her mother was trying to convince herself as well.
The elderly and infirm regardless of their gender were here as well. Her father was no elderly but she would have been happy to see him safe and protected by her mother.
“Don’t worry, Mom, he’s going to be fine. Adrian will hold the border. He won’t even need to fight.” Her mother nodded, her eyes still looking disturbed.
Ava squeezed her hand and faced Jenny, who looked even more worried. They had only just returned to meet this chaos.
“Sorry about the welcome attack event. Guess you did meet some of the excitement.” Ava tried to jest, then her tone turned serious.
“I know Nel will be fine. He is a strong warrior. Don’t worry, okay?”
Jenny nodded and hugged her.
“I just got him, I can’t lose him, Ava.”
If they had come a day later, they would have been… there was no need to consider what-ifs. Only surviving the present mattered.
“You won’t, Jenny.”
Pulling away from her friend, she noticed Cynthia was already engaging her mother in a conversation lightening up her mood, her hand on her belly. She owed Cynthia one. A very big one. She noticed Zinora was nowhere to be seen. She hoped she had not been caught outside.
No, Alex and Calvin had been notified first so Zinora would be inside this place as well.
“Cynthia, why don’t you go and rest in the infirmary? You shouldn’t be stressing yourself in this condition. Mom, please can you follow her?”
Cynthia opened her mouth to object then glanced at Ava’s mother realizing what she wanted her to do. Ava nodded almost imperceptibly to her and Cynthia kept quiet, sinking into her mother’s touch as though tired.
“Of course, dear. Gabrielle, would you like to come along?”
Gabrielle had been quiet throughout the exchange. She spoke curtly now.
“No, I’ll stay here. I should be out there fighting not here. The last thing I will do is to go and sit with the infirm.”
Her mother looked like she wanted to argue with her but thought better of it and merely led Cynthia away.
Ava was surprised at the similarities between their thinking. She also didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be out fighting not hiding. It was an inbuilt instinct for wolves to protect their women.
She could count on one hand the number of women that were actual pack warriors. She looked around with different eyes wondering how many of the women here could contribute to the defence of their pack held back by years of inbred instincts of staying at home and minding their family.
Jenny gave her a significant look and slipped away leaving only her and Gabrielle. Ava moved forward to talk to her sister when a burning pain in her chest made her fall forward.
Clutching her chest, she fell to her knees. Her vision blurred and something sucked her in, her mind-bending and warping until she found herself opening her eyes.
She was no longer in the safe house. She could smell the moisture of the soil and the leaves in the fall.
A wolf was coming at her, its claws out and its lips drawn into a snarl. Her paw went up and she sliced through the soft skin of its neck.
But it wasn’t her. She was seeing through Adrian’s eyes due to the intensity of the emotions in the bond.
She felt fear grip her. The rogues were many, outnumbering their fighters by far. All around her – Adrian – wolves fought, claws slashing, snarls and growls filling the air. The moonlight painted the scene in an eerie light, blood spilt as wolves fought and died on either side.