Explosion

EVERETT

I pull the rest of my clothes on as fast as humanly possible and make a run for it down the hall toward the dungeon.

I hear Aurora’s footsteps running behind me.

~Goddess, I wish she wouldn’t come with me right now…~

~Who knows what kind of danger we’re approaching?~

“Aurora. Stay behind,” I say.

“I’m the luna now. I go where you go,” she says. “Besides, if someone is injured, I should be there to heal them.”

~She’s not wrong about that.~

~And I know that nothing I say will stop her from following me.~

My feet continue to fly underneath me until I reach the east wing of the packhouse and nearly run headfirst into Lucius and Ace.

They are standing in front of the iron door that leads down to the dungeons.

Or I should say they are standing where the iron door ~used~ to be.

There is now just an enormous hole in the wall. Beyond that, the stairs leading to the dungeon are covered with dust and debris on every step.

Damage like this would have taken some pretty serious explosives…

“What the hell is going on here?” I ask my beta. “Who did this?”

“The guards were monitoring the great hall,” Lucius says. “No one saw it happen.”

My face morphs into rage. “What?!”

“The upside of no witnesses is that no one got hurt,” Ace says, trying to calm me down.

“~All~ of the guards were at the party?” I say incredulously. “How is that acceptable?”

“You said you wanted all-hands-on-deck at the ceremony to keep Aurora safe,” Lucius says.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Aurora’s gaze shifting to look at me, a curious expression on her face. I never told her about Nickolas’s threat. And there’s no time to explain it all right now.

I take a few steps toward the staircase leading down to the dungeon, but Lucius puts an arm out in front of me, blocking my path.

“There’s no use going down there, Everett,” he says. “They’re gone. Nickolas and Victoria have escaped.”

“Someone must have known that the ceremony was tonight and snuck in to help them get out,” Ace says. “Probably someone from their old pack if I had to guess.”

~Nickolas was right…~

~There are other werewolves on their side.~

~And someone came to their rescue.~

“We have to go after them.”

“Who knows how far they’ve gotten?” Ace says.

“We have to try,” I snarl. “I doubt they’re stupid enough to wander into rogue territory, so we should head west into the forest.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Lucius says.

“I want to come,” Aurora says to me.

“No,” Everett says.

“But—”

“No ‘buts,’ Aurora. We have no time to waste and you can’t shift into a wolf. You’ll just slow us down. I’m sorry.”

I see that my words hurt her. But it’s not up for debate this time.

I start running toward the entrance of the packhouse.

~“Come on, wolfy,”~ I tell Chaos. ~“Your time to shine. Let’s get those fuckers.”~

In a flash, I’m running on four legs instead of two as fur sprouts from every inch of my skin.

Chaos has been unleashed—and he’s coming for Nickolas and Victoria.

RORY

I watch as Everett, Lucius, and Ace spring into their wolf forms and run off into the distance.

Even though I’ve witnessed it many times in my life, I have never gotten used to the image of a man erupting into wolf form.

My heart is pounding fast knowing that my mate is pursuing those two ruthless creatures.

I felt such peace in my heart knowing that Nickolas and Victoria were locked away for good.

But now, it has been replaced by fear again.

I can’t just stand here, staring at the damage that has been caused.

I need to do something.

The packhouse, which was full to the brim with pack members, is now totally empty and quiet.

I wander through the foyer and see that everyone has gathered in the front garden. They probably evacuated when the explosion went off.

I emerge into the garden, and in an instant, the librarian Melissa rushes over to me.

“Oh, Luna Aurora. Thank goodness you’re alright,” she says. “We were all so scared when we couldn’t find our alpha and luna after the blast.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m totally fine,” I say. “Have you seen my mother?”

“Yes, she’s just over there,” she says, pointing her long fingernails across the garden. I see my mother standing under a gazebo in her long silver gown.

I run over to my mama and she throws her arms around me.

“You’re safe,” she says. “Good. I can finally breathe again.”

“How are ~you~ doing?” I ask her.

“Shaken,” she says. “But better now that you’re here.”

I survey the garden from the gazebo. All the members of the pack are huddled together, looking scared and shaken.

~Is it my job to make some kind of an announcement right now?~

~How would a great luna handle a situation like this?~

I rack my brain for ~anything~ inspirational to say that might quell their fears.

But suddenly, I spot something in the distance that captures all of my attention.

~Two shadowy figures sneaking along the tree line, running straight toward rogue territory.~

~Holy shit.~

~It’s them.~

Everett, Lucius, and Ace ran in the opposite direction. They’ll never catch them at this rate.

~I need to go after them.~

“Mama,” I say, trying to keep my composure. “Can you go back inside and make sure that everyone has made it safely out of the packhouse?”

“Of course, dear,” she tells me.

As she makes her way toward the packhouse, I run toward the woods, following the fugitives.

I’ve lost sight of them now, but if I move fast, I may be able to catch up with them.

I know that Everett would be furious at me for doing this. But the Moon Goddess put a spell on the rogues, ensuring that they keep me safe.

Maybe they will even help me find Nickolas and Victoria and bring them back into captivity…

Moving as stealthily as a clumsy girl can muster, I finally reach the tree line, and a few minutes later, cross the border into rogue territory.

I listen closely for the sound of Nickolas and Victoria’s footsteps. This is where some wolf powers would ~really~ come in handy.

Suddenly I spot them again, slithering through the trees, hand-in-hand.

They’ve somehow managed to avoid any unwanted attention from rogues. I imagine that they are staying in their human forms so that it is harder for the rogues to scent them.

My eyes lock on their forms as I continue in close pursuit.

But just then, three wolves suddenly leap into my path. I nearly jump out of my own skin at the sight of them.

Frozen in fear, I stop in my tracks. By their sparse, straggly fur and wild, demonic eyes, I can tell that these wolves are most definitely rogues.

I take a step away as they shift into their naked human forms. The moonlight bounces off of their pale skin and I realize that I recognize them.

These aren’t just any rogues.

This is Red, Ian, and Eden—the rogues that I met in the dungeon. These boys kept me safe when my own pack tried to turn against me. I’m hoping they’ll do me the same kindness again.

“Remember us?” Red says, his lips curling into a smile.

“Of course I do,” I reply in a whisper. “Listen, I need help. There are two wolves in your territory right now. A former alpha and a luna. I need to catch them before they catch me.”

“How can they catch you when we already did?” Ian asks me. “You’re not going anywhere, sweetheart.”

“But—you’re supposed to protect me and keep me safe,” I stammer. “The Moon Goddess—she— “

“The Moon Goddess put that protection charm over us so that we would keep you safe from Nemesis,” Eden cuts in. “But then you killed Nemesis. And when you did, the charm broke.”

He licks his lips and takes a step toward me.

The others do too.

~Are they telling the truth?~

~Has the charm really been broken?~

~Have I really wandered into rogue territory with no protection charm and not even a weapon to my name?~

“So boys…,” Red says with a sneer. “Who wants the first bite of the not-so-forbidden fruit?”