Page 12 of Finding Forever with the Alpha Pack

“Initiate protocol.” The words crackle over the radio, the crew chief dropping beside me with a small box in his hands. His fingers hover over a button that looks far too small to carry the weight of destruction we’re about to witness. I catch his eye, and he gives a tight nod. This is it.

“Fire!” The command echoes through the radio. His hand slams down on the button, and time seems to stutter for a heartbeat before the first explosion hits. The ground trembles beneath me, a deep, primal rumble that vibrates through my bones. Fear shoots up my spine, gripping my chest like a vise. I brace myself against the berm as the charges go off in quick, deafening succession, each blast sharper, closer. I can feel the shockwaves in my lungs, the force of it all making me instinctively shrink down further, every muscle tight with anticipation.

Then, silence. It’s sudden, almost unnerving. I hold my breath, waiting. One beat. Two. Three.

I poke my head up cautiously, my heart pounding in my ears. The smoke curls lazily around the mouth of the cavern—well, what used to be the mouth. It’s buried now, hidden beneath the rubble. I exhale slowly, understanding why Nicolai insisted on sealing it first. The contained blast worked like a charm, keeping the debris from flying, but the air is thick with dust, and the forest seems to hold its breath with me.

Chapter 9

Nicolai

The charges go off,and a flurry of notifications lights up my phone, but the momentary satisfaction is cut short. Something feels off. My gut twists, the kind of twist that warns me this is too easy for the scale we’re working on. It’s unsettling how smoothly everything is falling into place.Too smooth.

When the dust settles, we’re supposed to head to the designated mine shafts. The northern one is mine. Grace and Ethan will head to me. Ambrose is teaming up with Griffin for the southern most mine. By all accounts, the northern system is the largest, making it the likeliest place for them to be hiding.

Pacing back and forth, I keep my eyes glued to the dirt road leading to the northern mine.Where are they? They should’ve arrived by now. My hand hovers over my radio, ready to call—when I catch sight of movement. Ethan’s wolf crests the horizon, Grace close behind. They’re carrying their packs in their mouths, clothes bundled between their jaws, and I feel the tension in my chest release slightly.

I lead them to the nearby tent, where they shift back immediately, muscles rippling under their skin as they return tohuman form. Ethan reaches for his clothes first. “We’re ready,” he says, pulling his shirt over his head.

Grace slips into her tee and leggings, her voice steady as she asks, “Have you heard from the others?”

“Radio silence until nightfall,” I remind her, my voice low. “Just in case the rogues are listening for any chatter between us.” I pull her into a hug, pressing my lips to her temple, and offer a smile. “The chief said you did an expert job closing the tunnel. That’s high praise coming from him.”

Grace blushes, a hint of pride in her smile. “You guys gave me a ton of instruction on how to run the machine. It was like playing that claw game at the arcade.” She chuckles, but Ethan’s already pulling her to him, his hands roving over her arms and sides, making sure she’s unharmed.

Once Ethan’s satisfied, we step out of the tent, hand in hand, taking in the wolves from all packs standing just inside the tree line, their eyes fixed on the mine entrance. Grace’s voice cuts through the tension as she asks, “How long do you think it’ll take before they surface?”

I glance at my watch, then at the sinking sun. “Not long, I hope. Five out of seven mine shafts have been sealed, so their air is getting thin.” Concentrating, I reach out through our bond to the beta at the southern shaft. Nothing. “No movement there either.”

Grace nods, but then suddenly freezes, her body going eerily still. The shift is instant, almost like she’s no longer fully present. “What do you know, Grace?” Ethan’s at her side in a flash, gripping her arms as his eyes dart around, scanning the area.

“Something’s coming,” she murmurs, her voice hollow, detached.

A chill prickles down my spine. “What’s coming?” I ask, stepping closer, placing a hand on her arm, trying to anchor her back to us.

“It’s not me,” she whispers. “It’s Griff... He feels it.” Her eyes sharpen, snapping back to us as she exhales sharply. “The rogues are on the move. It could be a diversion to pull us to the other tunnel.” Her voice falters on that last part, uncertainty creeping in.

Before I even have a chance to decide whether we should head toward the southern tunnel, rogues pour out of this one. There’s no time to think, no time to plan. My shift is instant, bones cracking, skin tearing, and the next moment, my wolf takes over.The battle begins.

The air fills with snarls, growls, and the metallic tang of blood. Wolf on wolf as far as I can see, a chaotic blur of fur, claws, and teeth. I recognize some of them—defectors from our neighboring packs. It tears at me to see their faces, familiar expressions twisted in the madness of battle. But there’s no hesitation. No mercy. I crush their windpipes, tear through their flesh. They made their choice, and I have no choice but to end them.

My heart tightens as I dispatch another rogue. There’s no joy in this, only the bitter reality of survival. Then a massive force slams into the fray, and I feel a surge of relief. The Kodiak sleuth has arrived, and they’re tearing through the rogues like they’re nothing. A half-ton of angry bear versus a rogue wolf? The rogues don’t stand a chance. Limbs are tossed like broken twigs, bones shattering under the sheer weight of the bears’ fury. They’re cleaning house.

Nearby, Ethan and Grace move like a deadly pair, in perfect sync. It’s like watching a well-oiled machine in action. When he lunges, she retreats to guard his flank, and when she strikes, he’s already expecting the next move. They fight with the seamless connection Ethan once described when they hunted the ones who took our daughters. It’s like they’ve been fighting together for decades, not just this past year.

‘It’s the way of sired wolves,’my wolf murmurs in the back of my mind as I rip the throat out of another rogue, the blood spraying warm across my muzzle.

‘I still don’t like it,’I snarl back, moving toward my next target with deadly precision.

‘You don’t have to. It simply is.’My wolf falls silent, leaving me to focus on the next rogue hurtling my way.

Grace’s words resurface, haunting me as I tear into my opponent.What is happening behind the scenes that we don’t know about?There’s a dark undercurrent here, something deeper, more dangerous than just a rogue attack. I can feel it, like the tension before a storm. We’re fighting on the surface, but something tells me the real danger is still hidden, waiting to strike when we least expect it.

But for now, there’s no time to dwell on it. There’s only the fight, the blood, and the question that gnaws at me:What don’t we know?

Several hours later…

The fighting has finally stopped on our end. I draw in a deep breath, the scent of blood and dirt heavy in the air. The surrounding battlefield is littered with bodies—some still, others twitching in the final throes of death. My eyes land on Grace’s silver-white pelt, now streaked with vermillion. She stands tall, her breath coming in deep, steady gulps, but there’s a gleam in her eyes that tells me she’s not done. Not yet. Ethan’s wolf has his head resting over her shoulders, scanning the surroundings. I can’t tell who’s holding who back in that pair, but I’m just thankful they’ve got each other under control.For now.

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