Page 30 of The Alpha's Silent Mate

Daniel nods. “There was an attack.”

I rise from my knees and turn to face the cold fireplace, folding my arms across my chest. Shay glances at me, but he doesn’t ask me what’s wrong.

“Is everyone alive?” Shay asks.

“Yes. There have been some injuries, but we’re holding them back.”

“Who?”

Aron.

Why Aron would organize an attack back at the courtyard when he knows I’m not there doesn’t make sense. But maybe he expected me and Shay to be there and sent his men to attack, only to stumble over us beside the lake on our spontaneous picnic.

“Don’t know, but there’s a lot of them. And they’re vicious. They targeted the women and children first.”

I squeeze my eyes shut.

“And?” Shay’s voice is chilling.

“We pushed them back. They sent a message that all we needed to do was send one person out, and they would leave. It wasn’t even a member of our pack they wanted.”

Me.

“What did Ewan say?” Because of course, since the alpha isn’t there, it’s the beta in charge.

“If they made the same demand again, they wouldn’t survive it.”

“Good.” Shay doesn’t sound surprised by Ewan’s response, but I am. I hadn’t expected any loyalty from his beta when I’ve spent more time hiding under my bed than I have getting to know the rest of the pack.

“I tracked you here, but if I did it…” Daniel’s voice trails off.

“Others can,” Shay finishes. “So we’ll move. We were going to return to the courtyard this morning, but it sounds like it’s a good thing we didn’t.”

“Or I could leave,” I say as I turn from the fireplace, ignoring Daniel’s eyes widening in surprise when I do. “I could go with them, and then the attack would end.”

Again, Shay glances at me, but his next words aren’t for me. “What are their numbers like?” he asks.

“At least a hundred. Maybe more, and they know what they’re doing.”

My eyes widen. Ahundred?

Where did Aron get that many men from?

“We’ll move now. I’m assuming Ewan has all the women and children tucked away?”

Daniel nods. “It was the first thing he did. They’re all protected.”

“How soon does he think he can deal with them?” There’s not an ounce of doubt in Shay’s voice that Ewan can handle things without him.

Hearing the absolute certainty makes me feel a little more hopeful the pack will survive, and that they won’t suffer the same fate as mine did.

“Depends how hard you want us to push. That’s part of the reason I’m here. He can go hard, but that’s going to involve taking some risks. He thought you would say—"

“Hard.” Shay’s voice is all growl. “Don’t worry about leaving even one alive. In fact, I’d prefer it if he didn’t.”

A dark smile curves Daniel’s lips. “That’s almost word for word what he said. If hard is what you want, Ewan said it would take a day, maybe a little more.”

“Do it. Lexa and I will move now. You can clear our tracks before returning to the pack. Tell him to send men—only when the fighting is over—to the east forest cabin. He knows the one. You got that?”

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