I shook my head. Even if that were true, I wouldn’t let him. I refused to have his death on my hands.
“You’ve heard her decision.” Declan’s voice behind me had me whirling around to face him.
“Yes, Alpha,” Caden said as he brushed passed us, heading back to the safety of the Compound with his head bowed and shoulders hunched.
We both followed his retreating form. “You know you can’t protect him forever,” Declan told me.
“I know. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”
He nodded before pulling me into his arms and nuzzling my hair. “You’ll make a great mother.”
His words had me jolting out of his embrace as I stared wide-eyed at him.
“W-What?”
He gazed down at me, and I felt his hesitancy through our bond. “I just meant that you’re protective. Like a shifter mother with her cub.”
I eyed him warily but accepted his explanation though all of a sudden I felt off-kilter. Declan and I had never discussed having children. Did he want them? Did I?
I shook the thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time.
“Everything ready?”
Declan reached out and cupped the side of my face. “You don’t have to do this. I can—”
I shook my head. I knew he wanted to spare me, but I needed to see this through. “We already agreed,” I reminded him.
“Can you blame me for wanting to keep you safe?”
I shook my head and reached up on tiptoe to brush my lips against his in a gentle caress.
A deep rumble vibrated up his chest as he leaned down to deepen our kiss, uncaring of those around us.
Heat pooled between my thighs, and I fought the urge to rub my body against his. We had an audience, after all.
“We have time. We could—”
I laughed and pulled away. “Later, when we have something to celebrate.”
He nodded and released me but didn’t look happy about it.
I wished we were alone. That we had more time. I didn’t know if I would make it out of this. But God, I wanted to. I wanted to be alive when all of this was done. To come home to this beautiful man standing in front of me.
I needed to believe we were both going to make it. Tomorrow, I would wake up in his arms, and all of this would be behind us. We’d be alive. We’d have each other.
Some of us wouldn’t make it back. That was inevitable when you went into any battle. But I needed both of us to come back from this. Our stories were just beginning. I wanted that happily ever after with him. And I’d do whatever it took to get there. And when we returned, then I could freak out about any potential future babies.
Robert strolled up beside Declan, dressed similarly in sweatpants and a cotton tee and wearing a grim expression.
“It’s time. Are you two lovebirds ready?”
Fire coursed through my veins. This was it.
I nodded and we headed toward the dozens of Pack vehicles that awaited us. Close to two hundred shifters in casual clothing stood beside their doors.
I took a deep breath.
These were our people. They were going to fight beside me. Die for me if it came down to that.
And I would do the same for them.
Every shifter in front of me had volunteered for this fight. I wouldn’t have anyone forced into facing my mother. This was my battle. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go it alone.
Declan lifted his face to the full moon and roared, drawing all eyes to him.
“Tonight, we eliminate the threat to our Pack. We show them their bias and bigotry will not be tolerated. There are no rules in this fight. This is the enemy and we will show them no mercy.”
Shifters cheered. Howls filled the air, and the song of the hunt thrummed through me.
He’d just given everyone here free reign with their beasts. There would be no leash. No rules. No restrictions. Only blood.
A no-holds-barred battle was something shifters rarely allowed themselves to indulge in. Giving in to bloodlust could push a shifter one step closer to going rogue.
Every shifter had a choice. They could retain their humanity—maintain a balance between man and beast while leaving man in the driver’s seat—or they could give in to the beast and go rogue. Rogues murdered everyone and everything they came across. They turned into monsters with no remorse. No empathy. Only rage and the need to destroy.
Once a shifter went rogue, there was no coming back. The Pack put them down. To be more specific, the Pack Hunter did.
No one would go rogue. Not today. But everyone would let their beasts ride them, if only for one night.
We piled into the Pack Hummers and set off. I rode in the passenger seat with Declan driving.
His expression was grim but determined. He reached out and squeezed my hand.
I squeezed back.
“You can still change your mind. It’s not too late.”
I smiled, knowing he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to protect me. He just hadn’t yet realized this wasn’t something he could protect me from.
I shook my head but gave him a smile in thanks. He meant well.
Declan nodded, and we drove the rest of the way in grim silence.
I sat crouched behind the nearest building, Declan beside me. He’d shifted into his between form. A blend of man and tiger. Nearly seven feet tall, he towered over my five-foot-seven frame in a gruesome mix of man and beast.
Thick black stripes wrapped around his arms. Five-inch claws stuck out from each fingertip. And every inch of exposed skin was sheathed in thick white
