It takes me a few seconds to process everything. The wolves are here despite me being here for less than five minutes. The biggest is looking at me with hungry eyes, like he could devour me at any minute.

Let me kick his ass. He can't disrespect us, lurking at us like we are prey, Olivia.

Selene is full of animosity and ready to fight at any moment. Loud growls escape her mouth as she divulges her fangs to let the wolves learn we won't allow them to touch us.

We are outnumbered. I don't think fighting them when we don't know if there are more hiding, ready to assault us, is a good idea.

Try to think, Olivia.

Elijah, are you still far from me?

I try to manage the tension building in me. I don't want Alec to lose it. I need him to focus. He is the prince and has to protect our people.

I had to fight some wolves, but Eva and Joey must be nearby. What's going on, Liv?

Elijah perceives that something is wrong. I assumed my bond with Elijah would have weakened as the one with Alec strengthened, but it's not the case.

Don't let Alexander go rampage. I just met some old friends, and I wish I had a good excuse to flee their company.

As I share my uneasiness with my brother, hoping it will prevent Alec from feeling it too much, I catch Eli's anger blasting in him.

A threatening growl vibrates into the woods, making all bodies stiffen. Elijah is frantic.

As I inhale the air, I detect Eva's brownie scent and Joey's gingerbread pleasant smell. They have to stay hidden. I am sure I can obtain information out of this dull egocentric wolf.

Selene, can we stop them without the other wolves noticing?

If there is something to be done, she must know. She is the silver wolf.

Well, we are. And yes, we can do something. Just command them with your mind. Focus on them, and do as you did with Alec when you thought you had no wolf.

Selene's tone is gentle, but she is fixed on our opponents, so she can operate whenever we need it.

I try to breathe, looking for my two bodyguards' smells. Joey is on my left, hidden behind a bush, unnoticed by the wolves facing me. Eva is on the right: her eyes don't flutter as they watch over me. She is almost down on the ground but ready to jump at any moment.

I know they are both on edge. Joey wants to flinch in front of me to shred some throats while Eva fights her instincts as she cares for me and, curiously, the babies. But, as she sniffs the air, I see she also recognized who the large blond wolf is.

As Joey is about to move, I internally shout at them, hoping it will work.

Don't move. We can get information from them. Intervene only if my life is endangered.

I am sure it worked as surprise emanates from them. But, as the enormous wolf in front of me walks toward me, I expect they're about to step out of their hidden places.

Really imperiled.

As I command, I feel they dislike my choice, but they do not seem to be able to oppose my orders.

As the blond wolf moves closer, his musky scent makes me sick. His big gleaming blue eyes peer at me, a creepy grin on his wolf's mouth. Then, he suddenly shifts, his naked body exposed.

Selene growls as if she is outraged at the idea that he might consider we would be exhilarated about having him standing in front of us.

"See what we have here. Who would have thought you would turn into such a superb silver-gray wolf, sweetheart?" his voice utters, irritating my ears. Selene barks and that causes him to halt.

"Turn, sweetheart. We can't mind-link until we're mated," he adds, his voice filled with lust.

Before I can react, Selene jumps on him, but one of his wolves tackles me, and I fall to my side, hitting a rock.

One of my bones cracks, and that fucking hurts.

Are our babies okay, Selene?

Don't worry about them; they are safe and sound. Do you think Moon-Goddess would not plan anything to have our kids protected at all costs? Know better, Olivia.

Selene says as she stands up and snaps another wolf as he is about to bite us.

You never tell me anything, so no, I don't think about this as I don't expect perilous situations to happen every fucking minute since you showed up.

Am I getting into a fight with my wolf when other wolves are attacking us?

Watch your back. One is going to jump on us.

As I say that, Selene turns and crunches the dark brown wolf's neck, cutting his aorta wide open and blood gushing down his fur. It takes only a few seconds before his body returns to his human form.

Thanks, Olivia. See, you already learn without me instructing you.

Selene retorts. I don't have time to respond before she clutches the leg of the wolf who tackled us before, flinging him away down the hill. He plummets for a dozen feet before he hits a tree. I can see the wolf turning into a human form, too.

Before we can react, the large blonde wolf jumps on us to bite our neck. I barely have time to take over Selene, my instincts rushing in me to protect us and make a move. Instead of our collar, he deeply bites our back, making me whimper in pain.

Did he try to mark me?

Selene asks, flabbergasted at this asshole's move.

Run, Selene. I'd rather be dead than him biting us ever again.

For the first time, Selene listens to me without arguing. As we run straight into the woods, I know he is pursuing us. I sprint as fast as possible to where I think Elijah might be. If I meet Elijah, Alec won't be long to join us.

Suddenly, something hits my chest from the side, and this wolf is fuckingly enormous.

Lycan.

I catch my breath. A sharp pain hits me. As I study my right leg, I notice a knife in it.

This bastard fucking stabbed me.

"You should unshift, sweetheart. You'll heal faster," the blond wolf says as he returns to his human form. He kneels beside me and caresses my wolf. My whole body shivers in disgust.

It takes me a lot to stop Selene from chewing his hand.

"I don't want my future Luna dying," he says with an eerie voice.

Selene, let me shift. Go to our nest and try to get Ares to bring Alexander here. I'll deal with him. Trust me, please.

Selene sighs loudly before she lets me retake control and disappear as I turn into my human form.

As I turn, he attempts to caress my face, but I snap his hand away and stand up despite the pain in my leg, moving to a tree. I pick up some bags that contain clothes in the branches. There are some in the forest, in case we have to dress away from the packhouse. I'm lucky they stopped me there, so I can cover my body instead of being eye-raped by this prick.

I put on an oversized t-shirt before I take another one that I tear in two. I take out the knife and bandage the wound. I don't think it will take me more than a minute or two to heal, but I don't want them to learn I'm incredibly fast at healing.

Then I put on some shorts.

As I'm done, I sit on the ground, breathing heavily. It's not that I need to respire that loud, but I think that playing the poor woman being defeated will buy me some time with this egocentric asshole.

"Why are you here, Nick?" I ask, looking at him.

"Getting my Luna, obviously." He comes closer, and his hand brushes my face, making me shudder in disgust. This man is so blinded he takes it as desire.

"I told you the attraction between us was real. Can you deny it, now?" he asks in a husky voice.

"I think you don't realize what happened on my birthday, Nick. I can't live with you," I say in a friendly voice.

"You know I can't deny a lycan's claim, right?" I ask him.

"I did not really appreciate what happened during your birthday night, sweetheart. You, rejecting me, and Prince Alexander, stopping me from getting you before claiming you." His voice is full of bitterness, and his eyes turn crazy, shining with some insanity in them.

"Prince Alexander is my mate, Nick. No matter what I may feel for you, you can't alter this," I add, uneasiness growing in me.

"Your father knows he can't sacrifice his pack for you to have a Luna, Nick," I had, touching his cheek.

As he looks at me, I see amusement in his eyes. But it's some deadly amusement, and it creeps me out.

End of the lovely girl game.

I push him away and stand up.

"What have you done, Nick?"

"Well, let's say my time had come... and my pack needed a stronger Alpha than my too kind father." He looks up at the sky, faking a sad face.

"He's probably okay by now." Then, a deranged laugh escapes his mouth, sounding that the last dust of sanity had given up his mind.

"What have you done, Nick?" I ask, but he answers nothing.

"I asked you something, Nick!" I shout at him, using my Alpha voice.

"I helped my father join the Moon-Goddess he adored so much. My mother hated me for that, but I think she's better now. The meds seem to calm her down. I think having you to keep her company will help her get over the loss. She likes you very much," he says as if it was some constant conversation.

"She is still alive? Nick, do you have any idea how unbearable the pain is from losing your mate?" I ask him, remembering the kind face of his mother. The poor woman, just like her husband before he died, is one of the most thoughtful people I've ever met.

"I told you she is well taken care of. And the bond will disappear... Eventually. You'll see when you'll lose your prince." I feel his hot breath on my skin as he approaches me. He leans a bit, and I put my hand on his chest, my nails turning into claws to keep him at a distance. He looks at my neck and grins.

"I bet you will beg me to mark you once you see how your mate's precious stone already owns his heart," he says.

"And soon his neck," he whispers in my ear.

My heart freezes at his words. Alec's precious stone. His neck. Doesn't she dare to touch him?

This time we can kill her?

Selene is back for my greatest pleasure.

Before I can answer, Nick grabs my throat and pushes me against a tree, his fangs approaching my neck.

I clasp my hand around his forearm and hear his bones cracking as I tighten my grip.

"Put one of your dirty hands on me ever again, and I swear I'll make sure you never touch anyone your entire life," I spit at him.

"You little..." he starts before loud growls are heard as wolves get out of the woods to circle us. They are big, really big, probably lycans.

One comes close to me and brushes her nose against my abdomen. She whimpers as she feels my irritation. As she keeps caressing me, I feel she wants me to calm down.

"I'm fine, Eva. Thank you," I say, placing my right hand on her head. She whines in approval before staring at Nick again, her fangs out, ready to attack.

"We can stop this before it's too late, Nick. Surrender and follow us to the packhouse. We can avoid useless deaths." I try to convince him. He may deserve to die, but my people don't.

"All you have to do is to come with me, sweetheart. Mate with me, and this whole chaos ends," he says, coming closer, despite his broken arm.

"If I were a completely deranged, creepy Alpha, guilty of patricide, I would not touch her," a voice advises, coming out of the woods.

Jackson comes next to me and looks at me, scanning my face, exhaling with relief. Then he notices the bloody cloth around my leg.

"Shit. He's going to be pissed," he whispers. He turns to Nick and points at my leg.

"Do you realize how enraged his mate is gonna be? You should really listen to her. Maybe Prince Alexander will show some mercy," he says.

"I don't think your prince will care after today." The smirk on Nick's face is absolutely scary.

Even if I know this is not true, I hate the idea of losing Alec. The statement makes me nauseous.

"And so, what, Nick? Do you truly assume I'll let you touch one of my sister's hair?" Elijah gets out of the woods, his body covered with blood.

"It's not like I'm asking for your permission, Elijah. I'll take what's mine," Nick says, quickly turning into his wolf to jump on my brother.

As he does, other wolves appear, a pestilent smell on their furs. Almost instantly, lycans and wolves, from both sides, start to bark at each other, sounds of fangs meeting skin and bones enveloping us.

"Olivia, look at me," Jackson says.

"You run and don't stop until you're in the packhouse. No matter what you hear or see, you run and don't stop. Am I clear?" I nod and turn to run into the woods. I shift and race, avoiding trees, trying to ignore the whimpers and growls that echo in the forest.

I'm almost at the packhouse when I see a man, probably a lycan considering his immense body, maintaining a woman in his arms. She is struggling to flee from his grasp.

Get the girl, Olivia.

Selene shouts as she stops us. As she says that, I meet the woman's eyes, and she bends her head.

A flow of protection rises in me. I growl at the man, walking toward him.

She is ours, Olivia.

What do you mean, she is ours? Alec is our mate.

I say, not understanding what Selene means.

Force her to shift. You will understand.

For whatever reasons, I howl at the girl. She abruptly moves her head, aiming for the man's neck, while shifting. And here she appears in front of me in her wolf form.

Here we stand at the genesis.

A dark gray wolf, his teeth stained with the blood of the men she just killed.

Instinctively, I walk toward her and lick her muzzle.

They have another one, Alpha.

She naturally mind-links me as if she was awaiting me.

Where?

I ask her. As she sighs, I understand she has no clue.

Do I really have to follow Jackson's orders when another gray wolf is somewhere, possibly used as a living incubator for future gray wolves?

Why can't everything be simple?

Alec, have any of your men reported a woman held captive by someone, most likely a lycan?

Alec will know. Alec can find her. I'm not alone on this. Alec knows about gray wolves: he will understand I have no choice but to help them.

North to the packhouse, near the high school. Why do you ask, Olivia?

Alec worries as he answers me.

Join me there as soon as possible. We have to take her with us.

I race through the woods, entering the packhouse clearing where wolves are fighting everywhere. Some stare at me as they notice the gray wolf running by my side.

Strangely, I don't have to say anything to her. Instead, she follows my lead, sidestepping the wolves on our path. I think I am safe by her side and trust her without even knowing her.

After a five minutes run, we finally reach the building, and everything is abnormally calm. No wolves are attacking the building, nor defending it.

My unexpected teammate and I tiptoe as the aroma of vanilla makes Selene react. The other wolf seems to smell it too.

We walk around the building to join the field behind. In the middle is one woman on her knees, with a lycan by his side and Nick holding the woman's hair.

"So they were right. You come for the other gray wolves, Olivia. So what do you think of it? You become my Luna, or I'll kill every single gray wolf I find, hunting them until you accept your fate," Nick barks at me, his Alpha aura all out.

Even if it is discreet, I discern the lycan tightens his fists as Nick threats me.

I shift back to my human form and walk to come closer. I stop, the gray wolf still by my side, then address the lycan.

"Will you really let him kill your mate?" I ask him. The moment I say those words, his face reveals I am right. The girl is his mate.

"How can you trust a man that imperils your mate? What can be more important than your mate?"

As he hears my voice, his body stiffens. I am sure I'm right. He won't let his mate die.

Olivia, we're almost here. Thirty more seconds.

Alec enters my mind, and I'm sure he is rushing to us.

Get the other girl.

That's all I mind-link to the gray wolf by my side before I shift again. I've got to make sure Nick lets her go. I bounce on him as he turns into his wolf. He bites my right front leg, but I kick him with my two back paws. He is thrown away, cracking my flesh open.

The second woman shifts into her wolf, and like the first one, I lick her muzzle. Then I come closer to her mate and lick his face.

Take him to the packhouse. Tell Prince Alexander or Alpha Elijah to sniff him if they are here before me. They might show some mercy.

Thank you, Alpha.

That's all she says before she lies down for her mate to climb on her. Thus, she races away.

I get my attention back to Nick, who is fighting with the first gray wolf. Before I can join her, Nick bites her neck, and she whimpers in pain. I jump to bite his back, so he lets her go.

I can't make another move before I see Alec jumps at Nick, fury radiating from his body. Despite Alec's strength, Nick frees himself and escapes into the woods.

How can such a coward think he can be called an Alpha?

I recognize the horrid fragrance. Amber. She runs after Nick without stopping but still glares a victorious eye at me.

Alec stares at the wolf beside me, in shock. I know he wants to know.

I can't explain: they're just here. Feel free to kill this asshole. And be careful with your neck. I don't want Amber to mark you.

He rubs my nose with his and goes after Nick, two lycans and three wolves accompanying him.

I look at the gray wolf, who stumbles and falls before turning back to her human form. The holes in her neck are already healing. Despite that, she seems drained of all her energy.

"He was my mate," she whispers while sobbing.

I realize that the man she killed was her mate. She must be heartbroken by the broken bond. Yet, she merely has the strength to climb on my back, weakly holding my fur.

I run to the packhouse. My moves are as smooth as possible.

The race seems so as I am exhausted like I am losing all my energy alongside this woman who sacrificed her mate. I barely have time to reach the packhouse, enter the hall, and shift back to my human form before I collide with the floor.

As I turn on my back, I stare at the ceiling. All the surroundings are inaudible. I have to struggle hard to keep my eyes open. I sense the two gray wolves are safe in the packhouse as their auras touch me. Next, I see my favorite red-haired girl kneeling by my side. I wish I could open my mouth and tell her I am fine, but I just feel sleepy.

Terribly sleepy.