Page 58 of Wolf's Whisper

Chapter 14. The Alpha

We were standing on a pile of bodies. At least twenty, thirty men were scattered around us. Throats cut, limbs torn off, too much blood wasted. It was a massacre.

Did the six of them really do all of this? Was that even possible?

"Round one goes to us," Darren grimly said, spitting out blood as he inspected a long slash on his chest. He seemed rather unbothered by it, but then again, maybe he was used to this.

Danny wiped blood from her cheeks and I noticed that oddly enough, it matched her hair colour. "We still have a long way to go. There are more of them waiting up the hill."

I followed her gaze and felt my stomach tighten. She was right. More men had gathered on the hill as they were watching us. They were probably trying to tire us out and overwhelm us, until they were sure they had the upper hand and could kill us off. We'd never make it if I kept being so useless and kept getting myself in trouble.

A soft hand found my lower back. "You're still safe. I'm glad," Ashleigh whispered, a deep gash splitting open the skin on her forehead.

"Ash!" I cried out, almost literally jumping into her arms. I wasn't sure when or how she had gotten back up, but all I knew was that she was alive and standing. What about Aspen? Was he okay?

I scanned the corpses for my other mate, silently begging he wouldn't be one of them. But if he had died, if either one of them had died, wouldn't I have felt it? Wouldn't my wolf have felt it?

Holding on to that, I let my eyes glide over the bodies, until they landed on a naked heap. Aspen was curled up in a ball on the ground. He was rocking himself back and forth, and while part of me felt relief, another felt a sharp pang of guilt. I had broken a promise to Ashleigh and had let both of my mates down. I was supposed to protect Aspen, to keep him out of the fight, to keep him safe. But I hadn't managed to do any of that.

Now he was reduced to a miserable pile, clearly in pain, struggling to keep himself conscious.

Why was I so useless?

I was ready to start beating myself up again, but there was no time for more self-loathing today. I guess I would have to schedule it in tomorrow. If there was a tomorrow for me, at least.

JP had just jogged back to our huddle and smiled gratefully when I handed him his knife. He also gracefully ignored the fact I had almost got myself killed like an idiot.

Regan and Danny ran towards us and I noticed that Regan was lagging a tad behind her. He looked somewhat different than usual, but I couldn't put my finger on it. That was until they rejoined us and I noticed he kept lingering behind her. It finally clicked as I realised he was using his broad shoulders and chest to shield Danny from any potential incoming attacks, even if the immediate threat was gone.

I felt the corners of my mouth tremble in an almost smile. I wasn't sure if she knew he was doing it or if he even did it consciously. But it was easily one of the sweetest things I had ever seen.

Glad the rest was okay, I turned back to Ashleigh, ready to shamefully beg for her forgiveness. I had let her and her brother down, I needed her to know how sorry I was.

I was met with two eyes looking warmly and affectionately at me, like I was the only person in the world. Even in the middle of a circle of corpses, she somehow managed to take my breath away and whisk me to another place. A place without death, war, or the scent of battle.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Will Aspen be okay?"

Ashleigh gritted her teeth and nodded. "Just barely."

Before I could apologise, Darren rejoined our little group to reclaim his blade and nudged to the rest of our enemies standing on the hill. "What are we going to do about those?"

Regan grunted as he stretched his arms and cracked his neck. Danny was admiring a sword she had looted from a corpse and tested it out by swinging it over her head. After all the killing and fighting they had just done, they looked plenty revved up. This definitely wasn't their first fight.

"C-Can we take them?" JP asked, wiping his glasses with shaking hands. He barely resembled the ninja I had seen on the battlefield and I was amazed at his sudden transformation.

Ashleigh tilted her head back. "I believe Camille is with them. She has finally shown herself. With Aspen tired out and Akira to protect, I think we could get ourselves in a lot of trouble."

Danny nodded, tying up her red hair and readjusting the straps of her clothes. "We're in a bad situation here. Aspen can't keep fighting. It's already bad enough he shifted again. I don't want to die tonight, but our lives shouldn't cost him his soul."

In unison, the rest of the group nodded as we worriedly glanced at Aspen. His naked body was covered in mud and dirt and while he was hugging himself. He seemed to be muttering words as he rocked back and forth.

He was obviously having a hard time staying in control of himself and I felt for him. Both my wolf and I felt for him. We could sense how his soul was being driven in a corner, how his mind was fogging over, how his control was slipping away. It was terrifying.

"I-I don't think we have t-time to discuss what to do," JP alerted us, pointing at the nearest hill. Three men were jogging toward us, the blades of their swords glinting in the last sunlight of the day.

"Damn it, looks like Camille wants to tire us out," Danny cursed, crouching down to dig in the pile of satchels and backpacks. With a rattling sound, Danny revealed a long metal chain. Why did they carry that around?

Danny threw one end at Regan and skillfully, her mate caught the chain and wound it around one his wrists. It was a weapon. With a nod, they confidently strode towards the three incoming attackers.

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