As the afternoon sun bathed the forest in gold, the pack seemed to exhale collectively. It wasn’t relief-not entirely. Relief didn’t come easily when survival was an endless game of balance, of vigilance. But the camaraderie among us felt stronger now, a bond reinforced by battle.
I leaned back on the cool grass by the river, letting the sound of flowing water calm my frayed nerves. Mal sat beside me, her arms folded as she stared at the sparkling surface. For once, there wasn’t a hint of her usual restlessness. She looked… at peace. It was rare to see her like this.
“Feeling better?” I asked, breaking the silence.
She glanced at me, then down at the faint scars left by the rogue’s bite on her shoulder. “Yeah, I guess I am. Whatever doubt I had about my place in the pack… last night shut it down.” Her lips curved into a wry smile. “Not bad for someone who almost lost control.”
“You didn’t lose control, Mal. You used it. There’s a difference.”
She chuckled softly, her golden eyes glinting with faint humor. “Sure. Let’s go with that. Honestly, I thought Logan was going to chew me out even harder. He’s got this whole ‘alpha responsibility’ thing down to an art.”
“He believes in us,” I said, my voice thoughtful. “But he also carries so much on his shoulders. He doesn’t let himself show it, though.”
Her brow furrowed. “Think it’d kill him to admit he’s human? Or, you know, mostly human.”
I laughed. “I think it might.”
A shadow crossed her face then. She kicked a pebble into the river, her expression tightening. “Do you ever feel like you’re… like you’re one misstep away from completely falling apart?”
The question hung in the air between us. I didn’t answer right away because I knew she wasn’t expecting reassurances or hollow encouragement. Mal didn’t want answers. She just wanted to know someone understood.
“Sometimes,” I said honestly. “But that’s why we have the pack, right? We’re not doing this alone.”
Mal nodded slowly, the tension in her shoulders easing. I could tell she wasn’t entirely convinced, but she was trying. That was enough for now.
Behind us, a loud splash broke the silence, and we turned to see Liam standing waist-deep in the river, grinning like a fool as he tossed water at one of the younger wolves.
“Anyone else feel like relaxing instead of sulking?” he called, his mischievous tone a stark contrast to the somber mood that had lingered all morning.
“Not sulking!” Mal shouted back, though her smirk said otherwise. “And it’s called thinking, you dolt.”
“Sure, sure. Thinking. What’d that get you last night? Oh right, a claw to the shoulder!” Liam retorted, ducking under the water just in time to avoid the rock Mal chucked at him.
“Idiot,” she muttered, though she couldn’t hide the amusement in her voice.
I smiled, feeling lighter already. Moments like this-brief glimpses of normalcy-were what made everything bearable.
As the day wore on, Logan gathered us back into the clearing. His piercing blue eyes held a different energy now, less exhaustion and more determination.
“Alright, listen up,” he began, pacing in front of us. “Last night proved two things. One, we’re stronger together. And two…” His voice hardened, the command in his tone unmistakable. “The rogues aren’t backing down. If anything, they’ll hit us harder next time. Which means we hit harder first.”
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the pack, heads nodding as we absorbed his words.
“They’re holed up somewhere deep in the eastern woods,” Logan continued, pointing toward the darker, denser section of forest. “It’s unclaimed territory-neutral, technically-but they’ve made it clear they intend to make it theirs.”
“Are you saying we should go after them?” Liam asked, frowning. “Isn’t that playing their game?”
“It’s our game now,” Logan said firmly. “They’ve forced our hand. If we don’t act, they’ll see it as weakness. They’ll keep probing, testing our defenses until something cracks. That can’t happen.”
Beside me, Mal shifted uncomfortably, her eyes flickering toward the forest. I could tell she wasn’t entirely sold on the idea of striking first, but she didn’t speak up.
Logan’s gaze swept over the pack, meeting each of our eyes in turn. “This isn’t about revenge. It’s about sending a message. We don’t tolerate threats. We don’t let outsiders endanger our home. We end this before it gets worse.”
For a moment, the only sound was the wind rustling through the trees. Then Liam stepped forward, his jaw set. “I’m in.”
One by one, the others voiced their agreement until the clearing buzzed with shared resolve. Even Mal nodded reluctantly, though her expression was guarded.
“When do we move?” I asked, my heart pounding.
“Tomorrow night,” Logan replied. “That gives us time to scout the area, learn their movements. No surprises this time.”
The rest of the day passed in a blur of preparations. Logan split us into teams, assigning roles and laying out plans with the precision of someone who’d spent years preparing for moments like these.
Mal and I were paired together for patrol that evening, our job to sweep the eastern perimeter for signs of rogue activity. It was a quiet shift, the forest eerily still as though it, too, was holding its breath.
“You think this plan will work?” Mal asked, her voice low as we moved through the trees.
“I think we don’t have a choice,” I said. “It’s either fight now, on our terms, or wait for them to make the first move again. And after last night…”
She nodded, her golden eyes scanning the shadows. “Still feels like we’re walking into the unknown.”
“We always are,” I admitted. “But we’ve got Logan. He’s got a plan. We trust him, right?”
“Yeah,” she said softly. “We do.”
When our shift ended, we returned to the den to find the pack gathered around Logan. He was standing by a crude map he’d drawn on the ground, his expression sharp and focused.
“We move just after sunset tomorrow,” he said, pointing to the eastern woods. “We’ll flank them here and here. They won’t see us coming.”
As he outlined the strategy, I couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope amidst the tension. We weren’t just reacting anymore. We were taking control.
When the meeting ended, I caught Logan’s eye. He gave me a small nod, and for the first time, I saw something in his gaze beyond determination.
Pride.
Tomorrow would test us in ways we couldn’t predict. But standing beside my pack, with Logan leading us, I knew we’d face it together. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I believed we could win.