Page 75 of Moonlight and Mischief
Weapon. I need a weapon.
There’s nothing. I’ll have to shift. My hands grapple with the tactical gear. I have to get it off or I’ll be tangled up.
The dark wolf growls, its hackles rising, making it look huge. Another step, and my vision narrows as my heart races so fast my chest aches. My hand slips on the buckle, fear numbing my fingers.
The wolf lowers, its haunches bunching, preparing to leap. This time I can’t help the shriek that tears from my mouth.
With a dull thud, one of my daggers embeds into the wolf’s ribcage, throwing him back against the wall. The body slides down to the wood floor, leaving a slick of blood on the old wallpaper.
“Don’t fucking touch my mate,” a voice growls. Slowly, I tear my eyes off the dying wolf and turn toward the gravelly voice.
Jasper stands on the other side of the sofa, naked with blood smeared across his mouth.
16. Strategies and Schemes
MARIGOLD
Cashel meets us at the edge of his territory. His mouth is a grim line, but he doesn’t hesitate to help us.
“I’m sorry to be coming to you like this,” Hazel says, head high despite the child in her arms and the exhaustion weighing her down. “Until we can regather our forces to take back our home, we don’t have many other choices.”
“We have the resources and the space. Isn’t this what allies are for?” Cashel reaches out to grip her shoulders. “They will regret every second they dared to spend in your territory.”
Jasper’s hand tightens over mine. Under his sweats and t-shirt, bruises cover hiship and ribs, causing him to limp. He’s wiped his face the best he can, but blood spots his clothes and hair - and mine too.
The Valley Pack opens up a handful of cabins for us while their team puts together a second dinner that we share in a large meeting space. Like the Raven Pack, they have one central pack house, but with more individual cabins surrounding it.
Jasper eats with one hand, his other hand gripping my thigh possessively. Hazel eats across from us until our team from the Raven Pack returns. As the door opens to reveal more of our packmates, she launches herself across the room into Slate’s arms with a cry.
Heath limps in, his arm over Cedar’s shoulders. Fisher follows, his mouth a grim line. They should be returning home victorious, but Granite Ridge swept that out from under us.
Jasper leans over and kisses my cheek before rising to follow Heath, Slate, and Hazel. Suddenly alone, I curl my arms around my knees.
A shadow blocks out the overhead light for a moment before my father sits beside me.
“You’re okay!” I squeak, squeezing my arms around his shoulders. Tears prick in my eyes for the millionth time in the last few hours. “What happened up there?”
The gray streaks glint in his reddish hair as he shakes his head. “They surrounded the pack buildings and Nyx was so sure that all the security doors would hold. But in less than an hour, they broke windows and simply unlocked the doors from the inside.”
“They weren’t reinforced?”
“Most of them were.”
“How could she be this stupid?”
Sighing, my dad picks up his bowl. “She’s stayed so far away from everyone else, I don’t think she had any idea what they were capable of. Maybe she believed they would never actually attack.” He takes a bite of his dinner and I make no attempt to fill the gap in our conversation.
“How’d it go back home? I didn’t get much information,” he finally says. The tremor in his voice tells me how deeply he feels this, even if his words are casual.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I slowly exhale. “Within minutes of everyone’s departure, Granite Ridge arrived. They were everywhere. I gathered the kids I was watching into your cabin. So it’s a bit damaged, I’m sorry.”
He cocks his head. “What do you mean a bit damaged?”
“I may have stabbed someone in the living room.” His mouth twitches, prompting a grin to spread across my own face. “Three guys came in, so I stabbed one, and then Jasper took the other two out.”
“Jasper,” he says, more contemplative than questioning. “I saw him in Raven. He went back?”
Swallowing, I nod. “He’s the reason most of us made it out. He realized Granite Ridge wasn’t with Ironcrest in the attack and guessed what they were doing. He reached me just in time, and Hazel rescued a few others.”
