My father was deathly focused on Valdov.
Not a muscle rippled under his fur. His lips curled in clear distaste, revealing his massive canines. A threatening rumble issued from deep within, an abyss of anger boiling under the surface.
“Callum,” Valdov said briskly. “How very lucky you could join us. It’s just entirely too bad you’re too late, after all the hard work it took you to get here.”
Rourke’s hand slipped into mine, squeezing as he pulled me close again. There was an urgency in his grasp, and I glanced to my right following his gaze.
Selene leaned casually against a tree with her arms crossed in front of her, clearly amused by the new turn of events. I’m sure she’d been hoping the New Order wolves would do her dirty work for her, sparing her from chipping her pretty nails killing me herself.
We both watched as she pushed off the tree and strode confidently into the mix. Her mane flowed behind her, her eyes blinking with the first hint of red. It appeared her flight into the forest hadn’t left a scratch on her. Damn. Seeing that creamy porcelain skin marred would’ve been incredibly satisfying.
But she wasn’t the one standing next to Rourke, his possessive growl telling the world not to fuck with what was his.
I smiled.
I already had what she wanted most.
She sashayed over to Valdov, who looked like he’d eaten the canary as well as the whole cage. She’d clearly been his ace in the hole the entire time, and he wasn’t shy about letting us all know.
“You see, Callum, it seems my Queen has invoked the favor of a Sorceress this time,” Valdov told my snarling father in a singsong lilt. “If you so much as move one furry paw in my direction, I will have the lovely Selene strike your darling off-spring dead where she stands. Are we very clear? Or shall I repeat?”
My father turned his massive head slowly toward Selene. His power rushing outward in one solid beat, making every molecule in my being leap. All of his wolves responded to it in kind. We all bared our fangs and made terrifying noises. Our Alpha had control, and we would follow. I snarled fiercely.
How Stuart and his band of ingrates thought they could possibly take the most powerful Alpha who’d ever lived was beyond me.
My father was magnificent.
Selene kept her cool, ignoring his steady, piercing gaze as she stopped next to the vampire. Only an infinitesimally small quiver of her hands gave her away. Her fingers were already glowing with a spell, so the red tremor had been easy to detect. She steeled herself for a moment before glancing up to meet my father’s stare, her face wearing the same haughty expression she’d donned before.
Honestly, Rourke had fallen for that?
“Come on, big bad wolf. Give me something to play with here,” she toyed. “There’s nothing on earth I’d rather do tonight than annihilate your entire bloodline. Why don’t you come over here and get me?”
My father watched her, his gaze unfaltering.
“Where’s the huff and puff, fella? Not so tough when a Sorceress is involved?” Selene taunted. “I thought you’d be a pansy. I guess I was right.”
Tyler surged forward in a volley of snarls and barks.
Selene turned a lazy glance toward him and tinkled. “Oh, does your little wolf boy want to be first instead? How very noble of him.”
My father snapped his muzzle once. Tyler stopped like someone had pulled a plug on his vocal cords.
“That’s a good doggie,” she crooned. “You should listen to your daddy more often.” Selene turned to face my father again. “Honestly, wolf, you need to keep your pups on a tighter leash. My fingers are especially twitchy tonight and I wouldn’t want any … mistakes to happen.”
As far as I knew, Selene couldn’t fight off multiple wolf attacks, even as a self-proclaimed Goddess. Sure, she could kill me, and maybe a few more, but she couldn’t kill them all before they managed to tear her apart. Werewolves were resistant to magic as a rule, but not immune. Someone as powerful as Selene could inflict major damage before the strongest ones ripped her to pieces.
I wasn’t sure if my father would be affected by her magic, but I wasn’t willing to chance it. She wanted me, she could have me.
I made a move to step forward.
Rourke yanked me back to his side immediately. “Don’t move, Jessica,” he ordered in a harsh whisper. “Selene is unbelievably dangerous. She’ll kill you if she gets the chance. Even if it means her own life is forfeit— she’ll do it just to spite me. I’m not going to allow that to happen.”
I locked eyes with him. This was not a good time for an in-depth discussion on the ins and outs of “allowing” me to do anything. “Rourke,” I whispered, “I’m not going to stand back and let her kill my family without a fight. You can’t stop me from doing that even if you tried, so don’t take it too hard. If the vamps want me, they can have me, but I’m not going to let my family—or my Pack—go down because of me.”
Right then my brain shattered into a million pieces.
The pressure of the fracture was so strong I reached out blindly and grabbed on to Rourke’s arm to steady myself. He kept me upright automatically and without question.
Jessica! My father raged. Jessica! Drop your barriers right now!
My barriers? What barriers?
Dad … I’m here! I’m here! I clutched my head with my hand. A sledgehammer would’ve been gentler. The ache was incredible. Rourke held me firmly around the waist as he growled his alarm. I think you just shattered any barriers I had left. I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were up. I have no idea what I’m doing or how I’m keeping them up in the first place.
Jessica, listen to me right now. You have to get out of here. Don’t worry about Selene. Take Rourke with you and run. I can’t let them take you. I won’t allow it. If you leave now, we can corner the vampire and deal with the Sorceress. Do you understand me?
Dad, I can’t—
Run, GODDAMN it!
My blood seized at the command and I latched on to the front of Rourke’s shirt. He understood at once, pushing me ahead of him as fast as he could, his back blocking the sounds of my Pack as they jumped as one on the vampire and the Sorceress.
We’d only made it into the woods a few feet when I pulled up quickly, Rourke rocking into me from behind, his arms circling my body protectively.
There, lurking all around us, were wolves. More wolves than I could count. Each one baring their teeth, their yellow eyes dancing with excitement. There were twice as many wolves in the shadows than had been in the clearing. We could not take them on and survive.
Rourke pulled me closer and twisted us around, putting his back to the growling wolves.
Before we could come up with a concrete plan, there was a long, angry howl behind us.
Tyler.
I broke out of Rourke’s grasp and ran. He pounded right behind me.
I tumbled into the clearing to a completely unbelievable sight. Valdov stood over my father, his bony finger extended, tapping my father’s still muzzle like a naughty child. The rest of the Pack snarled and paced around them, too uncertain of the vamp’s intent to react. None were willing to jeopardize their Alpha in any way. James howled the loudest, his anger searing the air. He was fierce in his wolf form, with a coat of blue-gray and nearly as tall as my father. It killed him not to act.
My father was locked in some kind of binding spell.
Selene looked smug, and a wave of indignant rage swirled inside me. My wolf let out a sorrowful howl, followed by a nasty snarl. I gnashed my teeth.
“Ah, Callum. Did you honestly think we would come unprepared after the last time we met?” Valdov tsked. “It looks like you’re woefully outnumbered this time, and desperately unprepared for this battle. Oh well, better luck next time. We will be taking your daughter now, but don’t fret overly much. I will make sure she’s kept … alive.” He grinned, flashing his fangs. “At least for the time being anyway.”
My father’s fury raged through my veins. I felt it as clearly as if it were my own. My wolf responded with a yelp of anger.
