Page 33 of Runt of the Pack
Shock roots me in place. The knife clatters forgotten to the snowy ground. As I straighten, the figure turns—Enrico, my most trusted enforcer. Joy and disbelief war within me.
“Enrico? What are you doing here?” I demand in a harsh whisper.
His eyes gleam with emotion in the moonlight. “Searching for you, Alpha. Since you disappeared, we’ve been half-mad with worry, scouring the land for some sign of your whereabouts.”
Around us, my Roman pack emerges from hiding, yipping and gasping at this reunion. I clasp arms with Enrico, overwhelmed. Loyal to the last, they never stopped looking for me.
“How did you find me?” I have to ask.
“Your sister Samara sent us your location,” Enrico explains with a shrug.
I can’t help but smile. My witchy sister knows more than one way to work her magic.
As we embrace, the rest of my Roman pack also steps out from the shadows, until we are surrounded by our combined forces. For the first time since this nightmare started, hope surges within me. With our two packs united as one, we will be unstoppable. Enrico meets my gaze and nods firmly, a silent promise that we will fight to the death to defeat our common enemy tonight.
“Brothers, listen!” Enrico addresses the crowd. “We know the Alpha Krov pack holds our Luna captive.” His face hardens with resolve. “The time has come to unite and take back what is ours.”
Murmurs of assent ripple through the group. Enrico meets my gaze unwaveringly. “Command us, Alpha. We stand ready to fight and die at your side tonight.”
Emotion constricts my throat. But with my pack beside me again, strength and purpose flow back into my veins. Together, we will be unstoppable.
I lift my head and let loose a bone-chilling howl that echoes through the silent woods. One by one, my wolves join in until our combined voices shake the very stars above. The final battle is at hand.
Under cover of darkness, we approach the towering manor house looming ahead. My hackles bristle with hatred for the beasts inside, and what depraved acts Anya may have suffered at their hands. Rage simmers in my blood, hungry for violence. I yearn to tear them all apart.
Crouching low, I swiftly outline the plan. At my signal, Enrico’s unit will storm the front entrance as a distraction, while Thane’s team scales the crumbling west wall. My warriors will infiltrate through the forested east wing. Surprise is our greatest weapon. We must be swift and merciless.
Enrico grips my shoulder, eyes blazing gold. “This night heralds the downfall of our enemies. Anya will be safe again before dawn.”
I meet his feral gaze and nod. Then, with lightning speed, I bound forward and launch myself up and over the high stone wall in a single graceful leap. I land in a silent crouch amidst the deserted gardens. Soft footfalls behind me signal my team has cleared the wall after me. The stillness of the night settles heavily around us.
It’s time.
I make my way swiftly across the grounds and slip inside through an unguarded terrace door. As I creep down the darkened hallway, I spot a katana displayed prominently on the wall. I take the blade down, the well-oiled metal hissing free of its ebony sheath—Roan’s own weapon, now turned against him.
At my signal, Thane’s fighters scale the walls and tear into the flanked guards with savage fury. Gripping the katana, I lead the charge through the east wing, the singing blade spraying hot blood in a ruthless arc.
We are an unstoppable tidal wave, dealing swift death under the moon’s cold light. No mercy for these monsters, no quarter given, only pure and savage vengeance. They have lived far too long already.
With each life I take, each cry silenced, my only thought is of reaching Anya. Is she here, somewhere in this labyrinth? Is she hurt, or worse? The possibilities fuel the berserker rage rising within me.
I reach out with my mind, trying to sense Anya through our mate bond. But I’m met only with deafening silence. Our connection is being blocked somehow. Dark magic must be at work here.
Still, I push the message into the void with all my might: “I’m alive, Anya. I’m coming for you. Wait for me, my love.”
The silence persists, but I cannot give up hope. Sword blade singing, I cut a ruthless path through Roan’s minions, drawing ever nearer to where I now feel Anya’s spirit resides. She cannot sense me, but I know exactly where to find her.
A guttural roar of fury echoes above the chaos. At the top of the grand staircase stands the hulking form of Roan, pale eyes burning with psychotic rage.
“You vermin dare invade my home?” he thunders. “I will bathe in your blood!”
He shifts into a massive grey wolf and charges down the steps, swatting aside my wolves like rag dolls. But I stand firm, blade leveled unwaveringly at my foe.
“This ends tonight, Roan.”
With a bellow, he lunges. I spin nimbly aside, my sword carving a slash along his shoulder. He roars, lumbering around, but I am smoke on the wind. My katana flashes, a lethal streak of silver, biting into fur and flesh.
Blood sheets down Roan’s heaving flanks. Yet still he comes on. A massive paw catches me across the ribs, launching me into a stone column. The air explodes from my lungs. I roll aside just as sledgehammer blows shatter the marble where I lay seconds before.
