Page 27 of Chosen Destiny

They flanked me, and the three of us moved in tandem. Our paws hit the mulch, helping keep our steps quiet.

A piercing howl rang in my ears.

They found us,Pearl linked.

Shit, we were still five miles away. I linked to Lucas and Miles,They found Pearl and the others. Can you run faster?I hated to push them, but there was no time to spare.

Don’t worry about us,Miles linked.Just go. We won’t lose pace.

Holding them to that, I took off toward my family.

My paws pounded against the ground, and bits of dirt flew up behind me with each step. My tongue rolled out of my mouth as I panted, trying to keep up the pace.We’ll be there soon.

Two miles away, just as I locked on the scents of Mom and Dad, I heard snarls and whimpers. They must all be together, and I wondered if Kel’s wolves had coordinated it that way.

How many enemy wolves are there?I asked.

Fifteen,Dad replied, confirming my worst fear.

They were outnumbered.

Tapping into my wolf, I allowed her to take control. Each step took what felt like a lifetime as whimpers and yelps sounded. I had no idea which side they were coming from, but I was certain it wasn’t only the enemy.

After what felt like forever, the ground curved downward and gravity propelled us faster. A few minutes later, the fight scene came into view.

It was the same location where Bodey and the other three advisors had taken me after Charles, Pearl, and their friends had attacked me when I was alone in Hells Canyon. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me.

A brown-and-gray wolf was on top of Pearl, biting her shoulder. I hunkered down and jumped, ignoring the stench of blood that assaulted my nose, then slammed into the brown-and-gray enemy.

I knocked him onto his side and into the Snake River with a loudsplash. Pearl blinked at me, blood running down her sides from the wolf’s teeth marks. She had a bite mark on one leg.

They had taken a beating, and I wasn’t sure if we would make things much better. I probably should’ve brought more wolves, but I didn’t want to risk the main pack since we had no idea how many wolves had been sent there.

Get up,I linked, running around her head. If she stayed down, another wolf would be on her in seconds.

As I ran into the water toward the enemy, he got back to his feet. I threw my weight forward, splashing river water in the wolf’s face, then sank my teeth into his neck and ripped. The metallic taste coated my mouth, and I forced myself not to think about it as I spun around to assess the next threat.

Along with my kill, two other enemy wolves lay dead on the ground, leaving us with twelve. When my gaze settled on Josh’s beige wolf, vomit burned my throat.

The enemy clawed into his stomach, splitting it open. Blood poured out.

No wolf could survive that without a witch.

His eyes widened, and he stumbled, and I glanced elsewhere, only to find Fred’s charcoal wolf cornered by three of our enemies.

Without a thought, I raced toward him, sick over not even trying to help Josh. But Josh was as good as gone. Fred wasn’t.

I snarled, and two of the wolves turned their attention to me. Their eyes focused on my chest, where I’d learned that, even in wolf form, my tattoo was visible.

They knew who I was.

The two of them left Fred and charged at me.

CHAPTERNINE

I hunkered down,ready for the fight.

The two enemy wolves, one with copper fur and the other with gunmetal-gray fur split apart, running at either side of me.

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