As we reached the thickest part of the battle, I prayed I looked as confident as the twins. The more I scanned the scene, the more dead I saw and the fewer living I noticed. Wolves blurred together, indistinguishable by color or other features. Kat, Zack, and Carlos were nowhere in sight.
Fear and rage jabbed at me, reminding me of the cold clutches of Mabel’s power. The memory snapped something inside me, breaking the restraint I once had.
In one swift motion, I drew from all the wolves fighting, friend and foe alike. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of flames flickered or burned brightly, some fading, some strong.
I didn’t need to exert much force; just a small tug sent warmth flooding through me. Within moments, my head felt lighter, the colors brighter somehow, even through the dried blood caked on my skin. I felt the puncture wounds in my shoulders begin to close.
As tempting as it was to hoard all that power for myself, I released it downward, into the earth. I could sense the sharp pulse rippling beneath the ground before the earth trembled. Wolves were thrown aside, toppling over each other. A crack split the street, kicking up dust and knocking over a stop sign.
The only area unaffected was where the twins and I stood. When the dust settled, the fighting had ceased. Thousands of eyes bore into me, not all friendly-daggers of hatred and rage, flickers of hope and desperation.
Kieran dropped Maverick’s body with a sickening thud, but I refused to flinch under so many gazes. Some instinct buried deep wouldn’t allow me to show such weakness. The crowd parted as two wolves charged to the front-one with pale eyes and silver fur, the other with my friends’ fiery locks.
Zack and Kat, covered in blood like many others, stood with heaving chests. But it was Zack I couldn’t look away from. His eyes widened as he stared down at his father’s lifeless form, a surprise I could only faintly feel myself. After a moment, he looked up and nodded at me.
Raising my voice as loud as I could without shouting, I addressed the bloody crowd. The once lilting tone of my voice now deeper, raspier.
“This is the man many of you chose to follow willingly. I won’t punish you for your choices. I won’t make the same decisions that led Maverick to this end-lying dead at my feet.” I paused, jaw clenched as I held their gaze.
“Those of you who never had a choice, here’s your first one: stand down and return to your families, or continue killing in the name of a dead man.”
Many eyes weren’t on me but on the dead man at my feet. Silence stretched so long I wondered if it would ever break. Confusion and disbelief hung thick in the air, stronger than the rage from Maverick’s supporters. Those who had no choice had never considered a life free from the whims of another.
Some wolves slunk into the forest, retreating with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Others shifted or limped back to half-destroyed homes. The scent of blood still lingered faintly, but there was finally a sense of closure.
In action movies, the battle itself is often depicted as the worst part-bloodshed and violence at their peak. Yet, in reality, it’s the aftermath that proves the most harrowing. Counting the dead, assigning names to lifeless faces and bloody wolves.
It’s easier to kill when you don’t see the target as a person.
I stepped back from Maverick’s lifeless body as Carlos approached, now in human form, accompanied by Eve, her face smeared with dirt and dried blood. Strands of her onyx hair were singed, and she stood swaying on her heels with an elated grin, holding stacks of clothes she’d salvaged. Two piles she set down in front of Ethan and Kieran.
“The bastard’s really dead,” Eve laughed, her tone teetering on the edge of tears as it echoed into the open air.
The hours that followed were darker than the battle itself. Just when I thought Maverick’s depravity couldn’t sink lower, Carlos and I stumbled upon his secret holding cells in the mansion-where he kept his prized white wolves. Concealed behind a false wall, we found thirty women, many holding infants or visibly pregnant, emerging from rooms identical to the one where I had been imprisoned.
Even the twins’ touch couldn’t dispel the chill that gripped me as I watched these women, some appearing serene and hopeful, others with a dimmed inner light.
“Some of these women might not want to keep their babies,” I murmured to the twins once the women were safely outside and out of earshot. The trauma etched deep into some of them, along with the detachment from the lives they carried, was palpable. It was natural, given what they had endured, but both mother and child deserved a chance. “If they choose to keep their children, they’ll have all the support they need. If not, they should be free to decide their own path.”
Nearly eight hours after the battle had ended, we left Maverick’s pack. Some wolves stayed behind to salvage what remained of their homes, while others chose to follow the twins, Kat, and me back home.
Whatever had been developing between Kat and Zack was abruptly interrupted when Kat insisted on returning. An hour later, Zack, Carlos, and Eve announced they were coming too. Carlos and Zack had business to discuss with the twins, while Eve’s family planned to visit the twins’ pack for a change. I suspected Zack had more than post-war planning on his mind.
I knew trouble awaited us when we turned onto the street where the twins’ house stood. Nearly a dozen cars lined the street, four parked in the driveway, none belonging to their parents.
As we found a spot further down the street and approached the front door, muffled voices could be heard through the screen.
“She’s dead, Sebastian,” Krystal’s mother hissed, flipping back her golden hair with a manicured hand.
“Mom-” Krystal began, her tone hard and warning.
Spotting them through the screen, she looked at least apologetic for hurting her mate. “You have another daughter who’s been trained to take over.”
Krystal and I locked eyes through the flimsy screen. Her whole body tensed, seafoam eyes wide, golden curls wild. Then, a roguish grin spread across her face, and she turned to her mother.
“You know what? I don’t want to lead Dad’s pack. In fact, I can’t think of anything I’d rather not do,” she chuckled as her mother’s red lips floundered open and shut, making a sputtering sound. “Actually, I think I’ll enroll in university.”
“Someone has to take care of the pack, Krystal,” her mother snapped, trailing close behind as Krystal swaggered past her and through the screen door. “You won’t have time for school when-”
Her words died on her tongue as she locked eyes with me, a stern version of her daughter. Lips pursed in a perpetual frown, eyebrows knit together. There was disappointment, but beneath it, a faint satisfaction that I hadn’t perished. Some people were cruel, but not to the extent of wishing death upon others.
Fortunately, the twins and I were no longer covered in blood and grime. We had stopped at a hotel on the way home. Riding the high of our victory, we had stayed up the entire night. Amid frantic touches and my brief escapes to the bathroom before one of the twins dragged me back to bed, I heard Kat and Zack arguing in hushed tones.
“Sophia?” Sebastian’s voice called from the kitchen, growing louder as he finally emerged through the front door. His face showed the deepest concern I had ever seen, and just this once, I allowed the ache in my stomach to win. When he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, enveloping me in a slightly crumpled suit jacket that smelled of peppermint and tobacco, I savored the moment, burning it into my memory. I blinked back tears that stung my eyes because his concern was finally genuine. He wasn’t worried about the future leader of his pack; he was concerned for his daughter, fighting a battle far larger than herself. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke.
“Last we heard, you were captured. Your twins aren’t the best at keeping us informed.”
“I was, and it was awful. The twins and Kat rescued me,” I began, “There’s a lot to explain, and-”
“Actually, I’d like to take some credit,” Eve chimed in as she jogged up the driveway, Kat keeping pace. She had swapped her old headphones for Bluetooth buds she consistently misplaced throughout the trip home. Her tardiness to the conversation didn’t deter her from joining in. “Zack may have let your guys in, but who do you think was instrumental in his little plan working?”
“So, you’re a white wolf too?” I raised an eyebrow at Krystal’s tone, watching how she leaned forward, eyeing Eve up and down.
Eve noticed the scrutiny, smoothing the dark fabric of her skirt as she ascended the porch steps. I saw their eyes meet, both on guard. A gentle breeze passed between them, causing both girls to stiffen. Krystal appeared more taken aback than Eve, realization dawning in her eyes, lips parting in a strangled gasp.
My own eyes widened as I felt their bond snap into place, an unbreakable tether binding their souls. Glancing at Kat, who took a moment to catch up.
“Krystal, you need to explain this right now,” her mother’s voice cut through, concern seeping through her firm tone.
Kat sprang into action, guiding Krystal’s mother into the house.
“That’s exactly what we’re not going to do. You’ve pushed her away enough; don’t screw this up too,” I heard Kat grunt as the screen door slammed shut behind them.
Ethan and Krystal each planted a soft kiss on my forehead before heading inside to reunite with their own parents waiting anxiously in the kitchen. Sebastian’s eyebrows shot up, eyes darting between his daughter and her mate. While Krystal’s mother hesitated, Sebastian displayed surprise and a whisper of joy for his daughter.
“I’ll explain everything inside,” I said, unable to contain the smile spreading across my face as I linked arms with Sebastian and stepped into the welcoming scent of the twins’ home.