Warnings

EVERETT

As I sprint toward the university, pushing my body to the limit, one thing keeps repeating over and over in my mind:

~Aurora’s in danger.~

Because of our mate bond, I knew the ~exact~ moment something went wrong…

But since no one has been allowed into or out of the university since the attack, I have no way of knowing whether she’s okay.

I run through the tree line, coming to a halt when I see a blockade of cars and yellow tape that makes a makeshift barrier around the portal.

Four campus security wolves stand by, guarding the entrance.

~Shit.~

I turn to Lucius and Ace, who are already waiting for me by the tape.

“Any news of Aurora?”

Lucius nods gravely. “Someone uploaded this to social media ten minutes ago.”

He shows me a shaky video, taken by someone on the campus quad. Screams fill the air in the background.

In the distance, I can see Aurora and Xander running into the library.

My heart sinks when I see a rogue right behind them.

~Goddess…~

~We don’t have much time…~

I make my way to the tape, but there are several University Security Warriors who immediately rush to block my path.

“Please step back, sir,” one of them says.

I glare at him.

~Who the hell does he think he is?~

“Are you kidding me?” I cry out. “I’m an alpha. Let me through, my luna is in there.”

The man shrugs, shaking his head.

“It doesn’t matter who you are. We can’t let you in.”

Suddenly, I remember that since Lupus University doesn’t belong to any one pack, my alpha status won’t work on them.

“Sir, turn around and go back to your pack,” he says. “We still don’t know how many rogues are in there, and we don’t know if they have hostages. Just let us deal with—”

I grab his collar, bringing him inches away from my face.

“I don’t give a single shit,” I roar, “I’m going through that portal, and if you try to stop me, I guarantee, rogues will be the least of your worries.”

He practically shrinks before my eyes, stepping out of the way.

~That’s right.~

~Who’s your alpha now?~

I wave for Lucius and Ace to follow me as we approach the boulder, touching it and teleporting into the middle of the grassy quad.

It takes a second to get my bearings, but when I do, I almost can’t believe my eyes.

There’s not a soul in sight. The whole university is a ghost town.

Everywhere I look, I can see the signs of the attack. Blood splatters. Shattered windows. Broken-down doors.

An anger rises up inside me as I look at the destruction all around me.

In the history of this school, nothing like this has ever happened. Hidden away, I thought this was going to be the safest place for Aurora.

~Goddess, was I wrong.~

We turn and run toward the library, stepping over the broken-down front door covered in claw scratches.

In the pit of my stomach, my anger rises as I follow a trail of wreckage, retracing her steps down into the archives below.

~Where are you, Aurora?~

But then, I hear something in the darkness.

The angry growling of a wolf. The sound of wood shattering.

I sprint toward the sounds, turning the corner to see a fight in progress. Using magic, Xander brings a giant piece of wood down onto a rogue, crushing him.

Behind him, on the floor, Aurora lies there—lifeless.

I rush over, my heart sinking when I see the thick pool of blood all over the ground. But when I inspect her body, it doesn’t look like she has any wounds.

I’ve seen her die like this a dozen times by now.

But no matter how many times I do—I never get used to it.

Mia—her bully—sits beside her, eyes wide in shock.

She looks at me. “Is…is Aurora going to be okay?”

I nod. “Yeah. But just so you know, she saved your life.”

I look at the lifeless rogue, covered in books and smashed pieces of wood. The professor gives me an exhausted look, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Everett,” he says breathlessly. “Glad you could make it.”

“Thanks for keeping her safe, Professor,” I say, standing up. “Is that all of them?”

“I think so,” he says, nodding. “Thank the Goddess.”

But then, in a flash, I see something leap from the shadows behind him. A rogue with outstretched claws.

I push the professor aside, falling on my back as the wolf tackles me.

It growls, trying to snap with its jaws, but I grab him and roll him over, locking my arm around his head.

He struggles, but I’ve got him, and eventually he passes out.

The professor gets up, adjusting his glasses.

“Thanks...” he says. “I’m just glad it wasn’t me in the chokehold this time.”

I chuckle, glancing back at Ace and Lucius.

“Tie this rogue up and take him back to our dungeons,” I say. “We’re going to have a little chat with him later.”

They both nod, grabbing him as I turn back to Aurora.

~She should be waking up any moment now.~

~***~

RORY

I open my eyes, gasping out a breath of air.

~I’m alive.~

The first thing I see is Mia, kneeling over me. Running mascara stains her cheeks, and her outfit is soaked in blood.

But thank the Goddess—she’s completely healed.

“Aurora...,” she cries out. “You’re alive!”

I sit up, smiling weakly.

“Yeah, so are you.”

I nod, bracing myself for the worst. You don’t usually get this far in a conversation with Mia without her throwing out a snarky comment.

Knowing her, she’s probably going to call me a freak or find some way to make me feel terrible about my powers...

But instead, she just throws her arms around me and pulls me in for a hug.

“You saved my life,” she says. “I-I can’t thank you enough. Especially because I know I’ve been so cruel to you...”

She looks down, struggling to say something.

“I was just...jealous.”

I widen my eyes in shock. ~Jealous?~

“Everyone is jealous of you! You’re mated to the alpha, you have such a big heart, and you’re so talented at everything... I guess I just couldn’t stand that you’re obviously a better person than I am.”

~Is this really the same Mia?~

~It’s like she’s a completely different person.~

“...Can you forgive me, Aurora?”

“Of course,” I say. “And call me Rory. All my friends do.”

She beams, pulling me in for one more hug.

When I pull away, I turn to see Everett, standing to the side.

My heart melts when I see him. I’m so happy to see my mate. He reaches out to take my hand.

“C’mon,” he says. “Let’s go home, little one.”

***

EVERETT

I step back up to the ragged rogue, chained and held up by restraints against the dirty cell wall.

I grab his hair, pulling his head up to stare into his familiar face.

Once we dragged him back here and he shifted back to human form, I recognized him as Eden—one of the wolves that followed Red.

The same one who swore revenge on us for killing his leader.

“I’m going to ask you again…,” I growl. “What were you trying to accomplish by attacking the university?”

But he keeps his mouth shut, staring at me with a burning hatred in his eyes.

I throw my fist into the rogue’s stomach one more time for good measure.

He groans out in pain, his voice echoing in the cell, but we’re far underground in the dungeon. No one can hear him down here.

Honestly, I’m not going to pretend that I like doing this kind of thing. But I also don’t feel an ounce of guilt, either.

Rogues killed my parents in cold blood, and this wolf has proven he’s no different. He was part of the attack on the university—which shows me he has absolutely no problem attacking innocent people.

But even after all my efforts, he still hasn’t said a word.

He’s testing my patience, especially because I just want to be with Rory and comfort her after everything that’s happened today.

But the rogues are getting more and more aggressive. They might be planning something big soon, and I need to know what that is.

“You can’t stay silent forever,” I tell him. “If you tell me what I want to know, you have my word I’ll move you to a nicer cell and give you a hot meal. How does that sound?”

Eden looks up at me, then bursts into laughter. “Maybe you give me a few hours alone with that little luna of yours, then I’ll talk.”

I roar, completely losing my cool. I throw punch after punch, but he just keeps laughing.

“We’re going to destroy everything you’ve built,” he cries out. “You think your pack is safe? You think your luna is safe?”

I stop punching and glare at him. His eyes are glistening with an evil twinkle.

“Just you wait…,” he says. “We’ll attack again. And when we do…”

He howls with laughter.

“…It will be the end of the Shadow Blood Pack.”

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