I hated my thoughts at the moment because all I could think was that Melissa and Lila had so much time with their mates and I felt like I haven’t had any. I just wanted to go away somewhere and hold him in my arms forever. I wanted to live my life with him by my side where something like this would never, ever happen. I wanted to grow old, watching our kids shift into little wolves for the first time. I just wanted him forever.
I felt myself being pulled off of Joey and I couldn’t hold in my breakdown anymore. I turned in Lila’s arms, crying into her shoulder. She holds me tight as I hear footsteps behind me, telling me that they were leaving. Melissa set her hand on my back, ushering us out of the house and into the car so we could go to the hotel. I sat in the back with Melissa, laying my head in her lap as I held her hand in silent support.
Once we get to the hotel, we go up to the room since my family was already there. When we walk in, we’re bombarded with hugs from my parents and sister. Emilie holds onto me, moving me to the couch where I sit to lay my head on her shoulder as my thoughts are plagued with dark things. He’s going to come back. I can feel it.
Elder Collins appears from a bedroom, hugging Melissa and Lila before patting my head. He turns towards everyone with a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. We all need to be prepared because if something happens to Joey, then Kade will be hurt too, so if he just starts freaking out, that’s why. Our doctor is within minutes of us and if we need him, he can be here.
My parents nod their heads, looking concerned for me because they don’t want anything bad to happen to either of us. I glance at Melissa who was pacing behind the couch and I immediately get up, knowing that she needed someone to be there for her. When she notices me, I hold my arms out and she walks into them, letting me hold her against my chest. I realize that the room gets quiet as they’re probably trying to give us a moment of silence to breathe.
Lila walks over to us with tears in her eyes and I pull her into my arms as well because it wasn’t just my man out there, it was theirs too. My father-in-law and best friend were also out there, fighting for our lives and I wished I had given them hugs before we left because it could really be the last time I see them.
In that moment, I was filled with regret and fear.
Joey’s POV
I watched as one of my men went down due to a bloodthirsty rogue and I rushed over, fighting with it for a bit before biting into its neck, receiving a howl in pain before it fell to the ground at my paws. I kept moving forward, helping any of my men that needed it. We had been fighting for the past two days, swapping out so no one got too tired and made mistakes that could cost any lives. I was covered in cuts and bruises, nothing too serious except for a claw mark on my back, but it was already healing due to my adrenaline.
I looked out in front of me to see wolves upon wolves, all fighting together. We had all decided to do this shifted since that’s what the rogues were doing and a bullet wouldn’t stop them unless you hit the perfect spot. I had lost my dad and Cody when we first started, but I’ve seen glances of them through the mess, so I knew they were okay. Oliver had found me and stayed by my side for a bit before we were, unfortunately, separated.
I saw a rogue fighting one of my men and I started running over but was too late as they fell to the ground with blood dripping over their entire body. I immediately attacked the rogue, receiving a yelp in surprise as we rolled in the dirt to each gain control. I was much stronger than them and when I had the chance, I let my canines sink into their flesh to slow their heartbeat. When I lifted my head, I saw the poor wolf shifting and almost threw up when I saw who it was.
Monica, one of my front gate guards, was bleeding out on the ground in front of me. I shifted back into my human form, reaching out to take her hand in mine as she stared at me. She squeezed my hand tightly as my other hand covered her wound that was definitely going to kill her at the severity. I looked up at her face when she tried to clear her throat. I killed him, I’m so sorry, Alpha.
I look over at the wolf that she just killed to notice that he was one of the members of the other packs that were helping us. I notice that the wolves’ eyes were a dark purple that resembled a red that matched a rogues’ and I could tell how she would get confused between the two. I look back down at her, keeping a hold on her hand. It’s okay, you were confused, it’s alright. You did what you had to.
She shook her head, closing her eyes as tears fell out of them. Their eyes looked so s-similar.
I know, I promise you, it’s okay, I whisper, hating that I was watching one of my friends die due to my assumption that she was a rogue for killing one of our people.
She gave me a soft smile as her eyes started to flutter. Thank you, Alpha, for everything.
My heart broke when her head fell to the side as she took her last breath. I stayed there for a few moments to calm down before knowing that I needed to get back to protect others in need. I caught a glimpse of Cody before rushing over to him, noticing that he was having some problems with a particular wolf. I helped fight them off before he gave me a silent nod and ran off to help others.
I took a second, noticing that the entire field smelt of blood. Bodies of wolves laid on the ground, mostly rogues. My paws were covered in dirt and blood, making leaves stick to them whenever I walked. I noticed that a few of my pack members had injuries on their bodies, but kept fighting for us because they knew it wasn’t their time to take a break. Last I heard, only 20 of our fighters were killed during the battle while the rogue’s count was much higher.
Joey ! Cody yelled to me as he ran towards me in his human form. I shifted to match him, meeting halfway with him as he let out a long breath while he leaned on his knees.
What’s going on ?
I just got word that they found Reece’s body a few minutes ago and the fighting had somewhat ceased. I think we can end it and just tell the other rogues that we’re letting them leave because we don’t want any more casualties, he tells me.
My eyes widen as I hear what he says. We did it ? We really did it ? Reece’s dead ?
Yeah, a few wolves teamed up together and attacked him. They said he put up a good fight, but died within a few minutes. As soon as some of the rogues heard about it, they started to retreat, he tells me, holding his hand on his shoulder where there was a bite mark that was starting to drip blood. I reached down, ripping my shirt before placing it on the wound to help stop the bleeding for him.
I shifted back into my wolf form before letting out a loud howl, letting all my fellow wolves know that we were done and to start heading back to camp. It also let the rogues know that their master was dead and to leave before I got my hands on any of them. I watched as everyone started leaving at fast speeds, probably wanting to get home to their families like I wanted to do.
After a few hours of visiting with everyone that was transferred to the pack hospital to check how they were doing, Cody, my dad, and I got into our cars to make our way to the hotel that our mates were at. I don’t know if they’ve even got word that fighting had ceased because it’s been so hectic since it’s happened, but I was so excited to see everyone. I missed Kade like crazy and my body was tingling at the idea of seeing his beautiful face again.
Cody had gotten a few stitches since his body basically ran out of healing power once his adrenaline dropped down, but it should be healed within a few days. My dad had a claw mark that didn’t require stitches or anything, he just had to keep it covered until it healed. I got checked out by someone and they told me that nothing was too deep to need stitches or any treatment. The death count at the moment for our people was 37, but it could rise within the next few days since some people were still hurt pretty bad.