Page 68 of Eclipsed Heart

But when Bodey pulled to the side of the road and turned the car off, I could hear the growls of battle.

We’re here,I linked with Zeke.And they’re still fighting the queen’s wolves.

A flicker of trepidation came through from Zeke before he replied,Keep me informed of the status.

The only silver lining about that was that I hadn’t felt as many deaths from Lynerd’s pack as I had down here.

The other two vehicles pulled in behind us as Bodey and I shed our clothes and called our wolves. Seconds later, I was running on four legs.

As we darted between a blue house the shade of a robin’s egg and one painted a pastel green, the doors of the other vehicles slammed shut behind us. Bones cracked, informing me that they were already shifting as well, and paws soon padded in our direction.

All of us wanted to protect the wolf shifters here.

As we passed through the backyard, the stench of blood filled my nose and throat. The scent was so thick I didn’t want to see what lay ahead, but at the same time, I knew that if I didn’t, things would only get worse from here.

We ran into the woods, the sounds of battle now not even a quarter mile away. I dug my paws into the ground, pushing myself to reach them. Bodey ran beside me at the same pace.

As we breezed past a tree, I faltered.

Ten dead wolves lay in front of us, each one about twenty feet from the next. Each lay in a tangled mess on the ground with their throat ripped out.

A yelp drew my attention from the carnage, and I shook my head, trying to clear it. I needed to focus on the living, not the dead.

We need to stick together,Bodey linked, knowing exactly what my thoughts were.If they managed to do this to a whole pack, we can’t run in blind. They’re almost done here anyway.

I huffed, pawing at the ground. My wolf wanted to rush forward, but he was right. The queen was counting on me not thinking strategically.

The advisors, Samuel, and the dads caught up. We’d slowed for only a few seconds, but it had felt like a lifetime, knowing my people were in trouble.

I began darting through the trees again, Bodey beside me and our wolves right on my heels. We ran into a clearing.

Bodey’s hackles rose, and my heart stopped. There were at least fifty wolves attacking about thirty of my pack members in this area alone.

My wolf took over, lunging for a dark-gray wolf that had already slashed a smaller tan wolf in the shoulder. The gray wolf lunged, aiming for the tan wolf’s throat.

I leapt, soaring over the brush that blocked me from reaching them, and slammed into the dark-gray wolf just as his teeth broke the skin of the tan wolf’s neck. The tan wolf’s blood splattered my face as I knocked the rival wolf to the ground. I could feel the flicker of a bond in my chest, cooling once more.

I hadn’t been able to save her.

Anger like I’d never felt before boiled inside me, sizzling through my blood. This asshole was going to pay for what he’d done.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

The dark-gray wolfrolled over on his back, trying to get all four paws underneath me to injure and throw me off. Before he could manage to succeed, I struck, sinking my teeth into his throat.

Blood poured into my mouth, the copper taste invading my senses. I tightened my jaws, using my bottom teeth to sever his artery. I snarled, wanting the last thing the asshole heard to be me.

When the wolf gurgled, I wrenched my head back, finishing the job. He wheezed and flopped to the ground as I took a step back, surveying the area. There were plenty of enemy wolves still here and people I needed to protect.

Every one of us was now engaged in battle, and my eyes were drawn to Bodey, needing to make sure he was all right.

He was about twenty feet away, protecting one of our pack members who lay helpless on the ground. Bite marks covered his body, and he whimpered as he struggled to breathe. Bodey crouched in front of the injured wolf as a dark-beige wolf attacked.

I was moving to help him when my eyes caught on a hazelnut-colored wolf cowering in front of a tree while two foes approached her. She whined, not even pretending to want to fight, and my heart squeezed.

Her submissive nature seemed to encourage the auburn and slate wolves to descend on her, taking pleasure in her fear. For a moment, Charles’s and Pearl’s wolves replaced them in my mind, their demeanor so similar to that of my sister and her boyfriend.

Resentment spiraled inside me, making my legs move before I’d completely thought it through. If these were the type of wolves the queen encouraged, then she was no better than Zeke. The hazelnut wolf needed my help, whereas Bodey didn’t.

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