Page 50 of Rejected Wolf

Brody threw the cabin door open, letting in a blustery gust of ice and snow. “Stuart, Mary, do what you can to hold the intruders off. We’ll get the kids out. Meet us at the waterfall.”

The two large gray wolves gave a nod of understanding, then they darted through the door and disappeared into the night.

I had no idea what time it was, no concept of what was happening. My hands shook as I struggled to pull on my coat and slipped my feet into my boots. “Does that mean our plan failed?” My breathing was short and shallow, tiny sips of air, but my chest was too tight to catch a full breath. Were they dead? Wouldn’t I have felt something through the mating link if they were?

Brody ignored me. “Here.” He thrust Pax into my arms, but when I tried to protest, he gave a short, sharp growl to get my attention. “I need you, Morgan. Do you understand? I need you to carry Pax, and I need you to keep him safe. Can I trust you to do that?”

“I-I...” I stammered.

Pax was staring up at me with these wide, trusting eyes. Out of all of us, he was the only one who showed no sign of fear. A small part of me wondered if he was just too young to understand, but at my core, I knew that with his sight, he’d already seen this play out before. I told myself that ifhe wasn’t afraid, then he must already know we would be fine.

“Yes,” I said, nodding once. “I’ve got him.”

“Good.” Brody picked up Wynn, and Sasha took Mal’s hand, the young child trying to keep a brave face. “Keep low, move fast. Do. Not. Stop. We’ll try to stick together, but if we get separated, head for the pond. The kids are the first priority. Got it?”

I nodded mutely, not saying a word about the doubts taking root in my head. I was just a human. What chance did I have against armed soldiers? I was just as likely to get us all killed! Wherever Vesta disappeared to, she was probably safer than we were. We had no idea how many assailants there were, and the moon was barely a sliver in the sky, leaving me blind.

We waited until the gunfire was at a peak, the shooters distracted. “Okay. Ready? Go!” Brody went first, then me, with Sasha and Mal bringing up the rear.

In the dark, I could barely make out my hand in front of my face, and the forest ahead was nothing more than a dark void. The snow was deep as we ducked between the cabins and made for the trees, and Sasha caught my arm as I stumbled. If it weren’t for the feel of Pax’s tiny fingers clasped behind my neck, I probably would’ve curled up in the fetal position in the snow and awaited my fate. Thatwasn’t an option, though, so I pushed forward, keeping close enough to Brody to hear his labored breath.

We made it into the tree line without anyone being shot, but the gunfire had stopped. Did that mean they were all dead? We kept moving, and while there was less snow here, there were plenty of other obstacles. My pace slowed as I worked to avoid running into trees, and every step I took seemed too loud. Brody was no longer in sight.

As slow as I was, I felt Sasha falling behind. Mal’s legs were too short, and he was still tired. I tried to reach back and take Mal’s other hand, but then a bright beam of light cut through the trees, blinding me. I ducked down, but it was too late—we’d been spotted.

“They’re over here!” someone shouted. I saw at least three flashlight beams converging on our location as they moved to cut us off. One of the beams fell, the guard’s blood-curdling scream cut short with a wolf’s snarling.

I could see Sasha too easily now, his blond curls stuck to his sweaty forehead. His jaw was set, a determined gleam in his eyes. “Go,” he gritted out as he scooped Mal up into his arms.

We gave up all attempts at being stealthy. We needed distance between us and them, giving our guards and our packmates time. We went barreling through the brush and bracken as fast as we could. My shoulder glanced off atrunk, sending a sharp pain down my arm, but I managed to stay upright.

Off to the left, another of the flashlight beams went off suddenly at an angle, the man shouting in panic as he fired blindly at whoever was attacking him.

Someone shot in our direction, the bullets sending wood splinters as they shattered a sapling to my right. I ducked, tucking myself around Pax protectively. I thought we were okay, but then another barrage of shots echoed through the forest, and Sasha cried out.

I spun back and gasped, seeing him lying on the ground, the back of his shirt soaking through with blood, his legs paralyzed. He pushed Mal toward me. “Run!” Sasha begged the child, but I knew enough about the precocious child to recognize the stubborn jut of his lips.

I was about to run back and grab Mal, when a soldier stepped into sight. He wore camouflage fatigues, a flashlight strapped to his bicep, and he held an imposing rifle in his hands. He wore a sneer as he raised the barrel.

“No!” Malachi shouted ferociously, stepping in front of Sasha. “Don’t you dare shoot him, or you’ll be sorry.”

The soldier laughed darkly, lowering the gun only an inch or two to stare down at the child. “Or what? You’ll kill me? I don’t think so, half-pint. I know enough about your kind to know you can’t turn into a wolf yet. I’mbigger and stronger than you.” His lip curled in disgust. “We’re supposed to keep you kids alive for testing, but how will they know? I say, the world is better off without you. You’re all a bunch of unnatural freaks.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Brody’s horrified expression as he shifted to his wolf, cutting back through the forest, but he would never make it there in time. The soldier raised the gun to his shoulder, finger on the trigger. I cried out, trying to reach across an impossible distance, but just as the gun went off, a large gray wolf leaped into the gap. The soldier went down with a gurgling scream, the wolf’s teeth sinking deep into his neck.

Brody made sure the guard was staying down, but the man had quickly gone quiet. Mal sat crying beside Sasha’s immobile form. I stood frozen, unsure whether I should run to the pond or stay to help. In the end, it was Pax who told me what to do. He pointed a pudgy finger toward where Brody had taken his skin.

I stepped forward carefully, listening for more bad guys. Brody, tears streaming down his face, was stroking the gray wolf still lying half on top of the dead body. “Mary? Mary, come back to me.” The wolf lay still, their chest no longer rising and falling.

Kneeling in the snow beside the others, I checked over Mal first. “Are you hurt?”

He shook his head, not looking away from Sasha. “I tried to be brave like my papa. Is Sasha going to be okay? Did I save him?” he whispered somberly, his chin quivering.

Pax let go of me and went to curl up with Mal, the two of them comforting each other, while I put my fingers to Sasha’s neck. I felt a pulse, though it was slow. Lifting his shirt carefully, I saw a bullet wound through his spine. I knew shifters could heal quickly, but how far did that go?

We were all backat camp by the time the others came tearing in, the vehicles fishtailing through the snow. Joe’s security guards were still on high alert, but Brody waved them away. Tristan left the engine running, focused solely on reuniting with his family, the headlights casting the small camp in crisp white light.

I only had eyes for my mate as he raced across the clearing to get to me. “Morgan!” Jude clung to me, breathing in my scent, pulling my jacket open so he could touch my stomach to make sure we were both unharmed.

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