“Holly,” Jackson gasped, his eyes turning glassy.
“It’s okay. I’m going to Noah.” Her hand fell away, her arm going limp as her heart gave one last sluggish beat. “My home. My mate.”
Fury and heartbreak rippled outward as Holly gave her last breath. The eyes of an alpha wolf glowed with the fire of his vengeance. Holly’s death brought her a peace she’d longed for since Noah had passed, and it was the ammunition that drove the packs forward, justice in the song of their hearts, and the deliverance of death.
Chapter 49
Eva
In all the times she’d imagined this moment, it had never been this chaotic. There had never been a baby in her arms, not even a week old, thrust at her on a mother’s last desperate attempt to save the infant she’d carried for months. And she’d never been alone, lost in the forest that was now her home and yet a foreign land.
Stumbling through the undergrowth, Eva cradled the baby to her chest with one hand, her other gripping the hand of the little boy who’d claimed her as his own. Mathew showed no fear as he ran beside her, his footsteps far more graceful than hers. It had been he who’d snapped her from her first panic attack, he who’d tugged on her hand as Anna’s screams of a blood-soaked future rang out into the world, and the enemy broke down the door.
Time had hit fast-forward then. They’d all scattered out of the half-finished wall of the cabin someone had smashed through to free them from their attackers. She’d followed Olivia at first, Cassady with her baby, and Evan, her mate, leading a small group into the trees.
Head for River Run, Evan had said, kissing Cassady and then his baby before staying behind to give them a much-needed head start. But more wolves had appeared only moments later, the beasts so much more terrible than Eva could have ever imagined. They were savage, mindless, seemingly empty of humanity as they cut into the group.
Before Eva knew it, it was only Cassady, her baby, and Mathew with her, and as a wolf had prowled out of the trees, Cassady had had no choice but to hand over her newborn and fight the enemy as Eva fled with the children.
Dashing through the trees, they came to a small stream. Eva had no idea where she was or if she was going in the direction of River Run, but behind her, the cries of fighting could be heard so forward she would go.
“Come on, Matty.” Eva bent, scooping him into her arm and doing her best to hold the two children at once. “Not far to go now,” she whispered, hoping her words were true. The baby wiggled in her arms and let out a cry. “Shush, shush, shush,” Eva murmured.
Please stay quiet. Please, baby, please.
Water soaked her jeans, the ice-cold stream instantly numbing her feet. But Eva jogged on, fear a dark cloud above her as she made her way through the moonlit night.
“This way,” Matty instructed quietly, pulling sharply on her hand.
Following the small boy, Eva tripped in the dark, falling down on one knee, the impact jarring up her body as she used all her strength to protect the baby and not herself. The baby let out a wail, shrill and piercing, protesting as Eva forced herself back to her feet.
Mathew guided her forward into the gloom of the forest, the light all but gone as the tree canopy above became too thick to let moonlight through.
“Matty, stop,” Eva said. “It’s too dark. I can’t see.”
“This way,” he repeated, tugging again. “This way.”
With no other choice, Eva put her trust into a two-year-old boy and stumbled her way through the trees, and as the forest opened up ahead, the faintest glow of light urging Eva on she heard the rumble of a wolf behind them.
“Quick,” Mathew insisted.
But no amount of tugging was going to save them. Eva wasn’t faster than a wolf, and even as she reached the forest edge and saw Jackson’s house looming in the distance, she knew it was no use. Saliva mixed with blood dripped from the wolf’s mouth, its growl deadly as it stalked toward them.
“Go, Matty, run!” Eva ordered.
“No,” he answered, a small rumble of a growl answering their attacker.
“Run, buddy. You need to run!” Eva stepped back, again and again, her arms cradling the baby, her gaze unblinking as death took one step then another toward them. “I said, run!” Eva screamed, pushing Mathew into action as she fled.
The ground vibrated beneath her feet; the huffs of the wolf close at her back. Mathew raced ahead, only slightly faster than Eva, and as the wolf breathed down the back of her neck, its claws a whisper over her skin, Eva hoped it would be enough. The house was close, the wolf closer, but Mathew would make it. Her boy would be safe.
The wolf slashed at her leg, tearing into Eva’s calf muscle, and she crashed to the ground, twisting to protect the baby at the last second. Eva cradled her body around the baby’s tiny form as claws tore into the flesh on her back.
Mathew’s screams echoed in her head, the baby’s cries breaking her heart, but as Eva looked up one last time, she saw Mathew was safe. He’d made it to the house.
John! Her mind screamed out, searching for a link she’d never understood, and as darkness descended over her, Eva was sure his answer danced on the night wind. The howling anguish of the man she loved, wrapping around her as she was plunged into darkness.
Chapter 50
Zackary
He’d lost control of his form minutes after the first wave of attackers. The change to wolf as instinctive
