Page 66 of Alpha Wolf's Arranged Bride
“Yeah, I’m pissed,” Rex says, menace dripping from every word. “I need more intel. I’m going to have to tell our elders something. I can’t just leave Rose Hollow exposed to this kind of danger.”
I cling to Rex, trying to hold in my tears, but I can’t. Before, the threat of violence from my uncle and his strange obsession seemed distant, behind many layers of defense. Now, the danger of him feels extremely real. Near enough to be knocking on the front door.
He won’t be knocking, though. When he comes, he’ll blast the door right off its hinges.
The thought brings shocking images of my uncle busting through the wall, his eyes glowing red as he reaches for Jarrod with long, impossibly sharp claws. I cling closer to Rex, feeling my heart pounding rapidly in my chest.
“It’s okay,” Rex says, stroking my hair. “I will figure this out.”
“I know you will,” I whisper. “I trust you. I’m just scared.”
Rex rocks me for a few minutes until my heart begins to slow. I take a deep breath and wipe the tears off my cheeks, smiling up at Rex even though it still feels like my blood is burning with adrenaline.
“Jarrod will be up soon,” I say. “I better get started on breakfast.”
Rex nods, getting out his phone. “I’m just going to text a few other Shadows and try to figure out what to tell the council. We need to get Rose Hollow on alert, but I can’t revealthe agency. I need the full details on this—I can’t do anything without knowing exactly what happened.”
“Okay,” I reply. “I’ll make some coffee.”
As I go through the familiar motions of making breakfast, it strikes me as extremely absurd to be doing something so ordinary when only a few miles away, absolute disaster struck—and for all I know, it’s on its way here.
Chapter 22 - Rex
Before we leave the house, I get a code from Brad telling me where to meet. I drop Scarlett and Jarrod at school, telling them to stay alert.
The second I have news, I have to take steps to protect Rose Hollow. Then I can go after Azarian!
I can’t get the twenty dead Shadows out of my mind. Over the many years it’s been in operation, Wolf’s Shadow has dealt with incredibly powerful threats. Never before has an entire contingent been taken out at once.
Keeping my focus on the road is difficult, and it’s a relief to pull over and leave the car so I can shift and race into the woods. Being in my wolf shape comforts me, reminds me of my primal nature, and gives me a break from my complex thoughts.
When I arrive in the clearing, Malcolm is there, but Brad isn’t. I shift and hurry over to grab Malcolm’s hand. We both lean in and give each other a hard clap on the shoulder as we shake.
“Where’s Brad?” I ask.
“On his way, I assume,” Malcolm replies. “I’m waiting for answers as badly as you are.”
“What the fuck happened? Could you see anything?”
“I saw something,” Malcolm answers. “I just don’t know what the fuck it was. I was on the first ridge, so a few miles from Eccles but high enough to see the whole town. The guys were in constant communication, and I monitored the frequency.”
Malcolm looks away, a pained look flashing across his face. Then tension in me increases sharply, and I feel my wolf growling, ready to attack.
“First line moved into target,” Malcolm continues. “Our squad was behind. The first line was supposed to surprise and subdue targets, then our squad would secure the area. The first thing that happened was the radios all started screeching and crackling like they’d hit a ton of interference.”
“Like an EMP?”
“Yeah, maybe. Or something big that was putting out such an intense field, it disrupted the frequency.”
“Then what?”
“The radios cleared up just in time for me to hear the screams of the dying men,” Malcolm says, his face grim. “They howled as if they were being slowly skinned alive. Lots of gunfire could be heard both through the radio and from the ridge, but I don’t think they hit anything.”
“Any idea what did it?” I ask. “Any idea at all?”
Malcolm shakes his head. “I saw a glow, like there was a fire. It looked like it was moving quickly, so I was going to alert everyone, but then it went dark.”
I shake my head, looking at the ground as I try to process what I just heard. “Did anyone come to debrief?”
