Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
Her clothes were askew, and I noticed that she had blood smeared down the side of her neck too. On closer inspection, it was a gash that hadn’t closed up yet.
“Bri, we’re going to need you out here. Got some wounded staff that could use your and Oli’s attention,” I called over my shoulder as I guided her to the sofa. Good thing it was black and wouldn’t show blood, because when I cast a glance around the rest of the group, I saw that only two didn’t have blood somewhere on their person. One of those two was buck naked, clearly having shifted to defend herself.
That’s what I’m talking about. We don’t take anybody’s shit in this pack.
“Everybody, make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll see about some fresh clothes and snacks while the docs do their thing.” I used my most soothing cruise director voice and didn’t even jump when Bri and Oli burst out of the bathroom like bats out of hell.
As soon as they started checking folks over, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bunch of bottled water from the fridge to pass out. A very naked Shay appeared at my side and grabbed a bunch of jerky sticks and followed me back into the main sitting area.
Olivia seemed to have forgotten about her anxiety about the tunnels, because she was all efficiency as she examined wounds and administered first aid from a kit they must have found in the bathroom while they were in there. Pride surged in my chest at how we all pulled together, tending to our new friends seamlessly.
Brielle straightened as I finished handing out my last water bottle. “Kane and his team have landed. They’re checking the perimeter now. They’ll be heading in shortly.”
A quiet cheer went up around the room, and I smiled as I went on the hunt for clothes.
They had to be in here somewhere because we shifters were always losing our clothes. It would be a massive oversight for whoever set this place up to have forgotten. I poked around in the large bathroom without luck, then headed into the bunk room. It was bigger than it looked from outside, opening up into a room with twenty bunks tidily made up around the walls of the room. The center of the room was open, a large Persian rug making the space look cozier, despite the cold stone walls.
I checked under a bunk or two and then made a beeline for the door at the end of the room.
“Bingo!” I crowed when I found a walk-in closet. Shelves had been drilled into the stone. Each one held clear bins full of clothing all tidily labeled with a size and whether it held shirts or pants.
I grabbed a few sets of medium sweatpants and T-shirts, then headed back to what I’d decided to call the living room. When I walked back out, a large projector screen had been dropped from the ceiling, and Cristian was flipping through security footage with a remote.
“Dude,” I mumbled with my eyes glued to the screen as I offered the clothes first to the naked woman. She accepted them with a smile.
“Thanks, and yes, I didn’t even know this was down here. But I’m sure glad it is,” she said sadly as she glanced around. “I can’t believe they got past the perimeter. And poor Mary let them in before Cristian could stop her, and they killed her.” She choked on a sob as she settled the T-shirt over her head.
“They’re going to get what’s coming to them,” I said with a snarl.
“There were just so many. I don’t know what eight men are going to do against more than thirty,” she whispered.
“Cristian took out at least five himself before we got to the tunnel. Did you have any idea he could fight like that? Because I didn’t,” another woman offered, squeezing the first’s hand. “The high alpha has the power of the packs. He’ll have no trouble wiping them off the face of the planet,” she said with a bloodthirsty curl of her lip.
“I agree with-” I paused, not knowing either woman’s name.
“Ivy.” She offered me her hand to shake, blood and all. “And this is Gabby.”
I shook it and then turned to Gabby to do the same.
“Nice to meet you both. I agree with Ivy. Kane and his crew are going to wipe these assholes off the map.”
Shay sucked in a worried breath, and I spun around to see what was wrong. Cristian had stopped the video feed on a massive black wolf that could only be Dirge, still holding his ground in the Alpha’s suite.
He had a gaping wound on his side that slowly dripped blood into a good-sized puddle on the ground, but four other bodies littered the floor of the room, all shifted back to naked strangers in death.
“Why would they do this?” I asked no one in particular.
Cristian was the one to answer my question. “With High Alpha Kosta recently murdered, they probably thought now was a good time to strike, before High Alpha Kane could establish a strong foothold in his father’s place. But what they’ll do instead is cement the idea that he’s already stronger than they bargained for. Believe it or not, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, save poor Mary’s loss.” He sounded remorseful for the first time, despite his overall stoicism.
“That’s on them. They didn’t have to kill her,” I reminded him, grinding to a halt as we all watched in silent horror when three midsized gray wolves charged Dirge.
“Cristian, let me out of these tunnels,” Shay demanded.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I’m on strict orders from High Alpha?-“
“That is my mate! I’m a capable fighter, and if he dies, I die anyway!”
“My orders are that you are to remain here with the other females.”
Shay’s eyes turned gold, her wolf shoving her way to the forefront as hair sprouted along her arms, and her fingertips turned deadly sharp with claws.
All that came out when she tried to speak again was a feral canine snarl.
“Cristian”-Brielle spoke cautiously-“I think it’s best we let Shay out, if it’s possible to open the door from the inside?”
He froze, indecision warring with duty, the battle playing out across his features for all to see.
“Shay is capable, and she’s right, she can absolutely help Dirge. He’s clearly injured. Also, she’s immortal.”
“If you give me a direct command, I cannot ignore it,” he said warily, “but I strongly urge?-“
“Let her out, please. Now.”
“As you wish.” He bowed stiffly and ran for the tunnel.
Shay bolted ahead of him, already fully in her shift.
I held my breath as the three wolves attempted to circle Dirge, who dropped into a crouch and moved to keep them in front of him.
One lunged in first, jaws wide, and he defended with a claw to the throat. The gray wolf yelped and dodged, but while Dirge’s focus was split, the other two charged him at once. One aimed for his throat, the other his already-wounded flank.
Dirge leapt into the air, using his superior size to clear the wolf that charged him head-on, landing on the other wolf’s back and latching onto his back with deadly sharp fangs.