Page 201 of The Delta's Rogue
Maddie and Reid break into hysterical laughter, and even Harrison cracks a smile.
“You’re all dickheads,” Wesley mutters. “I didn’t give a speech. This is Micah’s mission, not mine.”
“It’s Sarina’s mission,” Micah corrects him. “I’m just a figurehead.”
“It’s your pack,” I say, passing the proverbial torch back to Wesley.
He sighs. “They don’t need a speech. They all know what’s at stake.”
“I still wish we could have had Haven command them all to stop and surrender.” Reid crosses his arms.
“She just had a baby,” Maddie reminds him as Wesley’s jaw clenches.
“She would have done it.” I remember how quick she was to offer me her help last night. “If you’d asked, she would have said yes.”
“The more we expose her, the harder it is to keep her true identity a secret.” Wesley shakes his head. “It probably wouldn’t work anyway. When Pierce challenged me for Haven, he had his witch protect him from King Malachi’s commands with a spell. I’m sure these witches will do the same or similar.”
Reid scoffs. “They don’t know that we know that they are coming. I doubt they’d plan for—”
Wesley raises his brow. “You’d risk your luna’s life on an assumption?”
Reid’s mouth snaps shut, and he shakes his head emphatically. “I know there are too many what-ifs for it to be a viable option. I was just saying it would make it all easier. And faster.”
“I think we’d all like this to end quickly,” Harrison agrees.
“I wouldn’t like that.” Sebastian’s grip on my hand tightens, and his eyes linger on the scars on my neck and wrists. “I’d like their deaths to be drawn out and brutal.”
Reid shudders. “As long as you don’t make me watch.”
We’re silent after that. We wait, staring across the grounds, all of us keeping our nerves and our fears unspoken, using them as fuel for our battle against the traffickers.
The sun disappears behind the trees and works its way down towards the horizon. Rays of light disappear and reappear between the trunks of the dense forest. The tension between and within all of us increases as the light decreases. We’re on edge, waiting for the attack, waiting for them to show themselves.
A single wolf sprints out of the forest, zooming over the grounds and towards the lake. Not a werewolf, but—
“Is that— Is that Cav?” Reid’s crossed arms loosen as Cav’s purple tutu bounces with the momentum of his movements.
Wesley’s eyes widen. “Fuck!”
Reid’s eyes stay locked on the projectile that is Cav racing across the pack grounds. “I thought he went to Peter’s with Haven?”
Cavalier kicks up massive amounts of dirt and rocks as he sprints to Cassandra and Nolan, before he spins around, his teeth bared and his hackles raised. Cassandra and Nolan stare at him in confusion and surprise. Cav growls and readies himself, glaring at the forest’s edge. Nolan’s and Cassandra’s gazes follow his, and her book drops as another wolf—a werewolf—breaks through the tree line.
The large, all-black werewolf hurtles towards Cassandra, Nolan, and Cav. His yellowed eyes narrow as he hones in on his targets, and drool froths in his mouth as he revels in delight at the thought of tearing into them.
“Someone get Cav out of there!”Wesley bellows through the pack link.“Throw him in the cells or something. Just make sure he’s not anywhere close to the fight!”
Cassandra and Nolan leap into action, both trying to grab Cavalier to get him to safety. But Cavalier stands his ground, digging his paws in and not letting them move him from his position.
The black werewolf draws closer.
Wesley jolts, darting towards the back door, but his dad and Reid both grab him, holding him back. He snarls and fights against the hold on him, and Sebastian grabs onto his arms, helping them keep him inside.
My heart gallops, pounding as fast and as loud as the paws of the black werewolf hitting the ground as it sprints towards them. Wesley roars and breaks loose from their hold right as the black werewolf leaps towards Cav, jaws wide open and ready to clamp down onto him.
But Cav is prepared. He darts away, out of reach from where the werewolf lands, and pounces on him. Cav latches onto his ear and tears with all his might as he jumps over the werewolf, his claws raking across his ribs at the same time.
The werewolf yelps in surprise and then howls in pain as Cav lands on his other side, shaking his head side to side with the detached ear between his teeth. Blood splatters fall onto the grass and stain his purple tutu, but there is a gleam of triumph in Cav’s eyes as he drops the ear and leaps towards the black werewolf again, aiming at his jugular.
