Page 73 of The Alpha's Stolen Mate

I faced the brave men and women who were going to fight alongside me and took a deep breath to steady myself. I would be of no use to my Mate if I allowed my terror for her—or fury aimed at my ex-best friend—to overwhelm me.

“I want to go over the plan one more time,” I announced to the warriors.

I’d instructed the other Alphas to give this speech to their buses of warriors, too. It was crucial that we were all on the same page.

“Summer is being held in a building that is just over this hill,” I pointed to the dying field. “Does everyone remember what she looks like in her human and wolf form?”

All of the warriors nodded in response.

“She is our main objective. This is a rescue mission. Our main goal is to save her. If you find an opening between Rogue wolves, take it, and bring her to safety,” I stressed, wanting to make this point very clear. “Now, does everyone remember what Axel looks like in his human and wolf form?”

Again, everyone nodded.

“He will probably be with Summer,” I continued. “Once she is safe, the main objective will be to corner Axel and find me if I don’t get there first.” My fists clenched. “I am the only one who has the pleasure of killing that bastard.” I paused, and the bus was silent for a minute.

“Regarding the rest of the Rogues, if we can manage it, we need to keep some of them alive to gain information from them. We will bring them to my compound so that we can learn more about the Rogue army,” I announced and then looked down at my phone as it vibrated with a message.

“Our last bus to arrive is two minutes out. Once they get here, all of us will get into position. We have four teams surrounding the building Summer is in and we are going to rush the Rogues from all sides at once,” I explained as my heart ached for my Mate and the pain she must be in right now.

I’m coming for you, love. I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore.

Once the last bus was in position, we filed out. I told the bus driver to start driving away so she wouldn’t be in danger and I’d call her when we needed her.

At the bottom of the hill, I gathered the warriors together.

“We need to wait for all of our teams to be—” I started but was interrupted by a loud noise.

A loud snarl came from a short distance away and then a howl of pain.

Shit.

The Rogues had found one of our teams too early.

“We need to move!” I yelled to the warriors.

My team and I shifted into our wolf forms as the bus drove away. As my teeth sharpened and my nails elongated into dangerous points, I allowed the fury I’d been suppressing to fill me up until I was overflowing with rage like a boiling pot of water.

I’m going to save her.

Then, I was going to kill him.

I led the charge up the hill and felt the first raindrop hit my head as soon as I was on higher ground.

The Rogues were waiting for us.

Fifteen large wolves were stationed outside what looked to be an empty building. Even from this distance, I could see that their teeth were bared, the hair on the back of their backs was raised, and they were crouched, ready to strike.

Only fifteen of them?

There were thirty shifters in my group alone. This portion of our army was almost double their size. I hoped that was the same case for the other three battles as well.

Just for a moment, our two groups sized each other up, looking for weak points in the other's defenses. A couple of the Rogue wolves' eyes widened as they took in our army that was double their size.

Then, a loud crack of lighting came from above, and the sky lit up. It was quickly followed by a rumble of thunder.

As if this was our cue to start the fight, our two sides began running at the same time as rain poured down on us.

I dug my paws into the dirt and propelled myself forward, aiming for the largest wolf in their line. He was a giant gray wolf who saw me coming for him.

---