Page 10 of Betrayed Mate

I glanced over my tail, but there was no sign of anyone behind me.

What the hell?Briar, do you sense anything, or is it just me?

I…I thought I was imagining things. I don’t see or smell anything around us.

A yelp sounded close by, and my blood turned to ice.

The pack link to one of the scouts who’d been running the stretch beside ours grew cold, indicating he’d died.

I was instinctively lifting my head to howl in mourning when Fred linked with us all,Everyone. Get ready to fight.

CHAPTER FOUR

Ididn’t need an alpha connection like Dad had in order to know our pack was terrified. My heart pounded against my rib cage, and adrenaline had my wolf senses even more on edge.

Dad responded as my legs pushed me closer to our home.What happened to John?

Despite knowing he’d just woken to the kind of nightmare no alpha wanted, he sounded fully aware; the burden of the pack’s health fell heavy on his shoulders. A burden I didn’t even want to imagine.

I don’t know. He linked, saying he needed help, but then he died before he could explain.Fred paused, most likely to collect his thoughts, and it felt like hours rather than mere seconds before he continued.He wasn’t able to indicate who attacked him.

A whimper came from my side, and I turned and saw fear in Briar’s eyes through the faint glow of magic from the pack link.

My stomach knotted. I wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but I couldn’t make that promise. If the Grimstone pack hadn’t been able to fight off these attackers, I feared we wouldn’t be able to either. Then again, our pack had about the sameamount of strength, but none of our strongest fighters would run off. We’d fight and die together.

I’m—Carol connected but never finished as her pack link cooled.

We need help. Now!Garret sounded close to hysterical.

My tongue lolled out of my mouth as I picked up my pace. Still, I couldn’t run too fast and leave my sister behind as I was certain we were being watched. Terror clutched inside my chest at the thought of her getting hurt or worse.

Where are you?Dad linked, his words slow and steady, exuding calm. However, I knew the truth. He was a bundle of nerves but was pushing through them to be the alpha everyone here deserved.

Instead of a verbal response, Garret’s pack link turned cold.

A sob choked me, but I held it back. I couldn’t lose focus. I had to protect Briar if it came to that.

What do we do?Briar panted hard next to me.

She was struggling to keep pace, and I couldn’t push her harder. But then the sound of paws from the direction of the Blackwood pack hit my ears.

Do you hear that?Briar glanced behind her toward the Blackwood territory and slowed down a smidge.

A smidge we couldn’t afford right now.Yes, I hear it, which means we need to get back to the others now. We can’t let them surround us and close in on us before we can reach the rest of the pack. We can’t risk slowing down.Were the Blackwoods attacking us? I linked with the others, informing them of my suspicions.

Briar focused forward and quickened her pace.

Good. Let adrenaline push her.

Making sure not to leave her behind, I listened to the sounds of the woods as we dashed by. There seemed to be no wildlifein the area, making my insides coil. Clearly, they’d sensed a predator, same as us.

The trees blurred as we pushed our animal forms to the fullest extent possible.

Another yelp cut off into a gurgle, and another pack member link disappeared. My heart fractured. Between losing four pack members and my future with Reid in a thirty-six-hour window, I’d had the security of my world stripped from me. All because of the fucking bond I had—er—hadhad—with Reid.

Dad connected with Briar and me.Girls, I need you to run to the Asher pack for help. Everyone is now in wolf form, and the attackers are closing in on us. You’re on the outskirts, so I need you two to peel off and get them.

My wolf wanted to growl, but I didn’t want to alert anyone who might not be aware of us to our location.You want us to leave when our pack needs protection?

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