Page 6 of Wolf Betrayed

She drew in a deep breath and let it out, looking around the room once before she began to speak. “I know we are all afraid, and that is perfectly okay. You have every right to be, but we are stronger than they think. We fight with purpose and out of love for those who still walk this earth and for those Pack Wolf Blood has taken. We will stay in this room together until we are given the all clear. Should the fight come to us, the younger women will change as needed to help protect those who cannot. Let us pray that it does not come to that.”

I fell back into the couch next to Willa and shifted my gaze around the room. There were a couple dozen of us women in here. I knew why they didn’t want us out there.

Alpha Dane saw women as breeders and nothing more. Any woman caught would meet a fate worse than death.

Willa grasped my hand with her cool, sweaty palm. “Jacob is out there. I can feel how nervous he is.”

I reached out with my mind. Sawyer was here, too. My heart pumped violently at the realization. No one here knew that Sawyer was on our side. They only knew about Lincoln. He could be killed by friendlies. Or killed by his father if he was caught helping us.

I put my hand over my heart and looked toward the window as I reached out to him with my mind.

Sawyer, please be safe.

His reply was almost instant. You too. Where are you?

The main house. All the women are being kept in the main house in the front room.

Sawyer was quiet for a long moment. My dad‘s given orders for us to bring any women in alive. I’ll do my best to keep everyone away from the house.

Willa squeezed my hand, bringing me back to reality. “It’s Sawyer, isn’t it?”

I turned to look at her, my mind racing. “What do you mean?”

She gave me a sad smile. “I know that look. You were talking to him in your mind, weren’t you?”

I moved closer to Willa so I could whisper in her ear. “Nobody knows about that. Not really, anyway.”

Willa nodded and looked down at her lap. “Sawyer was one of the only people who was kind to me. He protected me from the moment I stepped foot onto his pack’s land. If it weren’t for him, I’d have been dead before you even made it there. I owe him so much, and you too. Your secret is safe with me.”

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. “He is one of the good ones.”

“I’m glad he’s on our side. I hope he can make the difference in this fight.”

I hummed my agreement. Sawyer being on our side was huge, but it put him at risk. His role wasn’t going to be easy. People were going to die. Alpha Dane had already made that clear, and Sawyer had to play his part.

Willa shifted on the couch and ended up leaning forward so she could see out the window too. “How long, do you think? Do you think the fighting has already started? I don’t hear anything.”

I blew out a long breath. “I’m not sure, and I hope not long.”

The faster the battle ended, the more likely the outcome was not good. But the longer it was, the more casualties there would be. It was a lose-lose for all.

Willa squirmed. “I don’t think I can just keep sitting here. I can feel Jacob’s anxiety too, and it makes it all worse.”

I knew the feeling. With the way my heart was pounding so fast and the blood pumping through my veins, I wanted to be out there running, fighting, too.

“What did my mom say about the baby?” I asked.

We both needed something to take our minds off this.

Willa turned back to me. “It’s still too early to detect anything with any medical equipment. She said it could be a few weeks yet before that’s possible. But I can feel it. I think it’s okay. Your mom said that I looked good physically, other than my leg. Not being able to shift sucks. I didn’t think I’d get pregnant my first time. Honestly, I’m not sure we were thinking at all, but I’m happy.”

I put my other hand over the top of hers and patted it. “That’s good news, and my mom always says that everything happens for a reason.”

Even the bad things.

I rolled my shoulders back and tilted my head from side to side, but it didn’t relieve the building tension between my shoulder blades. “I’m sorry I didn’t come by to check on you sooner.”

My gaze slipped back to the window. I still couldn’t see anything out there. The deer were gone. I guess they finally came to their senses, or the fighting scared them off.

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