Page 68 of Wolf Marked

“That means you’ll have to get to Erec before it rises,” he explained. “Jerrick’s pack will be resting for the morning attack. They’ll be unsuspecting.”

“So I reach Erec the same time our warriors strike?”

“Yes. If we time this just right, you both can survive the curse and we can take down Jerrick.”

It sounded crazy, and too risky. But what other choice did they have? They were running out of time. “I can go a different path. Head east a few miles then turn south to get behind the camp and to the cage where they’re holding him. The warriors should take the same way Kalle, Bec, and I did. It’s a more direct route.”

“That’s a good idea,” he agreed. “Are you going to be okay going alone? I can haveBec join you.”

She stopped pacing and stared at him in disbelief. Was he actuallyaskingher instead of insisting she didn’t go by herself? He really had lost too much blood.

“No, I think this is something I should do alone.” As dangerous as it was going to be, Astrid wanted to be with Erec, and only Erec, to finally tell him how she felt, that she truly did love him. And if this Blue Moon was definitely their last, and they weren’t the mates the sky spirits had chosen for them, that was okay. There wasn’t anyone else she would rather spend the last remaining minutes she had alive with than him.

“I understand,” Filip whispered. “The Blue Moon is a moment you two should share together. And you’ll join in the fight afterward, I’m sure.”

She grinned. “If we both live through it, absolutely.”

He tried to laugh again, but it came out more like a shuddering gasp of breath.

“And what about you?” she asked. “Did Mila say when she thinks you’ll be able to get up and walk again?”

His expression became very serious, and he hesitated. “No, she hasn’t,” he said but there was caution to his words, as if he knew something he didn’t want to tell her. “All she said was that I’m not healing like I should be. It’s going to take me longer to recover.”

That made her nervous. She looked over her brother’s disheveled state, her gaze resting on the bloody bandages around his torso. There was no way he was strong enough to fight. Not like this. “I hope you’re not thinking about being a part of this attack. You need to stay behind and rest. Bec and Kalle can lead the others.”

His brows rose. “I will do everything I can to be there. I’m the pack’s alpha. They’ll be looking to me to guide them.”

She narrowed her gaze on him.

He let out another breathy cough for a laugh. “I guess we both got that same stubbornness from Father, didn’t we? And here I thought it was just you.”

“And now it’s my turn to tell you, ‘Don’t even try it.’” Even though her voice was firm, she couldn’t help the smile forming.

“Oh, how things have changed!” He was grinning now, too, and like he used to. Full and toothy, his brown eyes sparkling with warmth and laughter.

“You may have to get used to it.” Chuckling, Astrid walked over to his bedside and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Besides, you’ll be no use to us if you’re limping around andcan’t even swing a sword. You’ll only slow us down.”

“Ouch, Ash! That’s harsh.” Filip’s next attempt at laughter came out as a loud hog-like snort, and it only made her howl even harder.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The sound of rustling snapped Erec out of another patch of restless sleep. He looked up and blinked against the light of the evening sun. Exhaustion and paranoia had had him drifting in and out of consciousness for hours, but he’d made sure to never fall deep enough to be caught off guard. As his vision focused, he noticed a figure coming toward his cage.

With his senses on high alert, he sprang to his feet and sniffed the air for the stranger’s scent. Blackberries.

He was about to shout at Eva to leave him alone, but as she drew closer, his breath caught in his chest. One eye was swollen shut and severely bruised, and there was a gash across her cheek. The split in the middle of her lip was bleeding, and she licked it nervously when she got to the cage’s bars.

“What’s happened?” Erec gasped as his mind filled with the horrifying images from his dreams, ones of carnage and death. Astrid. Henrick. The west-side pack. His breathing sped up as the terror took hold. Had there been another attack? Jerrick had said the morning after the Blue Moon. It was too soon.

Erec glanced up at the naked canopy again to see the sky painted soft shades of pink and purple. He was guessing he still had about two hours before the sun set completely and the Blue Moon rose. Two hours left alive before the curse claimed him—Astrid, too.

“It’s not what you think,” Eva whispered, voice quivering. Her gaze dropped to the ground. “Your mate is still safe. So is her pack.”

Erec paused, his worry far from easing. If Astrid and the west-side pack were safe, then there was only one other person who could have caused Eva’s bruised eye and bleeding lip.

Jerrick.The anger slamming into him was so violent it stole his breath away. Hisentire body shook with the power of it.

“Jerrick did this?” He couldn’t control the volume of his voice anymore; it shot up with his temper.

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