** Ryder’s POV **
I don’t want to let go of Paige’s hand. It feels perfect in mine. Like it should always be there.
Today has been one of the best days of my life, actually… it’s the best yet.
Waking up with my beautiful mate’s body next to mine. Then a wonderful morning with my son, whoseughter lights up my life in a way I can’t describe. Followed by an afternoon alone with Paige. It’s been perfect. They’re perfect.
We walk up the path to her house and I slow my pace, wanting to squeeze everyst second out of this
time with her. We reach the door far too soon. I’m still not ready to let her go. I know the minute we go
back in there, her brain will <b>go </b>into overdrive again.
I’ve watched her struggle to navigate the pull of the bond all morning. Her mind and emotions are all over
the ce and I wish I knew what to say to make it easier for her.
Paige stands in front of me, one hand still gripping mine, the other on the door handle. She’s flushed from the heat, her hair a little wind–swept.
I want to kiss her, and I think she knows it. Her eyes drop to my lips and I take that as my cue. But just as I’m leaning in, a sharp bolt of pain slices through my head. The mind link res wide open, flooded with
panic, and then…
“Danger. North woods. Hunters. Wolfsbane. Ambush.”
It’s Callen.
“Where are you? What happened?” I demand.
For half a second, I don’t believe it. It can’t be true. They can’t have found us. Then I feel it, his pain and
fear through the pack link.
“Sh*t,” I growl, stepping back.
“Ryder Paige says, sounding <b>confused </b>as she reaches for me again.
I cup her face and force her to <b>look </b>me in the eye. “Inside. Now.”
She freezes “What’s happening?”
“It’s Callen. He’s been ambushed. It’s hunters, Paige.” I press my forehead to hers. “Lock the doors. Don’t open them for anyone but me, Parker, or Remy Please.”
She shakes her head. “Ryder, wait…
“Please.”
“I have to get Jaxon,” she says, taking off down the path.
? Chapter 34
I grab her arm, pulling her back. “He’s safe. We have a n in ce at the school. He is safer there. No one
can get to him, trust me. Go inside, lock the door, and don’t leave until someonees for you. Promise
me.”
Her eyes search mine, and then she nods. “Save Callen and thene back to me.”
“I will.”
I take off towards the woods. Pushing my legs <b>as </b>fast as they’ll go. The moment I break through the tree
line, I’m already halfway through shifting. My bones crack, muscle tears, and fur rips through my skin as
the ground bes a blur beneath me.
My only focus is getting to Callen. Hisst message was faint, distorted. But I caught enough.
“Not alone. They’re here.”
I push myself deeper into the trees, the wind howling past my ears, my paws pounding the earth. The pack
is moving too, Remy, Parker, and a handful of enforcers crashing toward the same point from every
direction. The forest is alive with urgency, the scent of wolfsbane so thick in the air it’s hard to breathe
deeply.
I catch Callen’s scent and follow it through broken branches and disturbed dirt. The copper tang of blood
hits next and it just fuels the fury burning in me.
How’d
How dare theye into my territory. they ambush my brother and put my entire pack in
danger. Including my mate and my son.
We burst into the clearing like a storm.
Callen is slumped in the center, barely upright, blood trailing down his chest and pooling in the dirt beneath him. The hunters haven’t noticed us yet. We are too fast, and they’re too busy deciding how to
carve him up.
I don’t give them a chance to speak. The stakes are too high. This needs to end fast.
I m into the nearest one <b>as </b>he crouches in front of Callen. I knock his weapon out of his hands before
my jaws crush his throat. He doesn’t even have time to scream.
<b>To </b>my right, Rerny takes another to the ground with a sickening crunch, his ws already tearing through fabric and flesh. Parkerunches into a third, while the enforcers secure the perimeter, checking for any hidden hunters.
The one Parker is fighting ms the butt of his rifle into Parker’s head with a thud, then raises his rifle to fire, but a snarl rips <b>out </b>of me <b>as </b>I lunge. His shot goes wide, the dart flying past my ear as my weight
crashes into his chest. I don’t hesitate. I finish him.
It’s over in minutes. The hunters thought they were prepared, but they weren’t prepared for <b>us</b>.
The clearing is quiet again, except for the ragged sound of Callen’s breathing.
I shift back and drop to my knees beside him. “Callen. Hey, hey, look at <b>me</b>.”
His eyes flutter open, his pupils blown wide <b>and </b>unfocused. “They… knew… Jax.<b>” </b>
“It’s okay,” I soothe, tearing at the restraints with wed hands. “You did good, Cal. You held on.”
“I told you…” he tries to smile, but ites out more like a grimace. “Strongest… alpha you’ve ever met.”
“Yeah,” I choke out, “You are.”
Remy’s here now, face pale, eyes locked on Callen’s wounds. His hands are <b>shaking </b>as he pulls the darts from him. “We need to get him to the healer. Now.”
Parker’s already mind–linking ahead, calling the medical team, and the enforcers give us the ‘all clear‘ to
move.
I’m going to carry him,” I say, and no one argues.
Callen groans as I lift him, but he doesn’t fight it. He just leans against me, head on my shoulder. He’s burning up, sweat slicking his skin, but he’s breathing. Still alive, which means there’s still hope.
We move fast, Remy at my side, Parker guarding our backs as we head through the trees. I wish I could feel Paige. Wish I could mind link with her, but withoutpleting the mate bond, there’s no way for me to
connect with her.
I try anyway, sending her one thought. “I’ve got him.”
When we reach the healer’s cabin, they’re already waiting. Callen is pulled from my arms and ced on a
table, hands working fast, voices barking orders.
I step back, my heart hammering, and blood drying on my skin and under my nails.
Remy’s still beside me, wide–eyed<b>, </b>silent.
“They knew about Jaxon,” I whisper.
His head snaps toward me. “You’re sure?”
“Callen heard them say it.”
Remy’s jaw tightens. “Then either we have a mole or Paige is <b>working</b>..
“Don’t you f*cking dare,” I cut <b>him </b>off with a snarl, stepping into his space.
He flinches, his jaw going tight. “I was just saying…”
“Well, don’t! You know darnn well, Paige wouldn’t betray us.” My voice shakes. “She’s my mate. Your future Luna and <b>Jaxon’s </b>mother. She’s mine. She didn’t do this.”
Remy swallows hard and nods <b>once</b>. He knows I won’t listen to his opinion on this a second longer. I won’t have him use my mate of anything.
The tension breaks when the door swings open behind us.
Chap 34
Ronnie rushes in, breathless and red–faced, his eyes wild, until theynd on the table and he stops dead.
His eyes drop to Callen, syed out pale and bloody with three dart wounds still oozing around fresh gauze. A healer leans over him, whispering something urgent, while another injects him with something to slow the spread of the toxin.
“Oh goddess,” Ronnie chokes, stumbling backward, hand flying to his mouth.
He doesn’t make it to the bin before he’s sick, retching into the corner of the room. His whole body shakes like the sight of Callen physically broke something inside him. I get it. I feel the same way.
Ronnie wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve and turns to me, his face full of horror. “How did they get that close? How the hell did this happen?”
“We’re still figuring that out,” I grit out. “Right now, I need you focused. I need you steady.”
He nods, swaying a little, but holding it together.
I turn toward Parker. “Take Ronnie and two of your best. Pull the kids from the school, now. Do it quietly. I
don’t want a panic.”
Parker’s face hardens. “On it. What about Paige?”
1
I hesitate. My wolf growls low in my chest. The idea of her alone, even for a second, makes my instincts scream, but at the same time, I don’t want her anywhere near this. She’s human. They have no reason to go after her, but I won’t settle until I see her. Plus, Jax needs her. I need her.
“Get Paige too. Bring her back here. I want her and Jaxon in our house and under guard before sundown.”
Parker nods and turns to leave, motioning to Ronnie. He lingers for just a second, casting onest look at
Callen, then follows.
I step outside, dragging in a breath of fresh air like it might clear the storm inside me. It doesn’t.
I turn to the remaining guards. “I want the perimeter patrols doubled. Rotate every three hours. If you even think you see movement, you raise the rm.”
“Alpha.” They nod in unison before taking off.
Being Alpha means control. It means staying objective and calm, but right now, all I feel is panic. My brother is barely clinging to life on a healer’s table. My <b>son </b>is at a school on the other side of town. My mate is in a house alone, probably scared out of her mind, and someone <b>knows </b><b>our </b>secret.
My fists clench so tightly I feel my ws pierce the skin. I hadn’t even noticed my hands partially shifted.
<b>again</b>.
I don’t <b>know </b>how they found us. I <b>don’t </b>know how they know about my son, but now they do. They’lle
for him.
No.
Not while I’m breathing. They won’t get near him.
I storm back inside the healer’s cabin, Callen’s unconscious now, twitching they’ve pumped him with.
Pain despite whatever drugs
I walk to his side and grab a damp cloth, pressing it gently to his forehead. His skin is on fire. It takes everything I have not to fall apart.
“You held them off, Cal,” I whisper. “You saved us. I swear, I won’t let them touch what you fought to
protect.”
Remy appears beside me, quieter now. “We’re <b>going </b>to find who did this.”
“We’d better,” I breathe. “None of us are safe until we’ve taken everyst one of them out.”