In Times of Danger

EVA

I’d been sitting quietly, listening to the chatter for the past two hours. I hadn’t said a word, doing my best to ignore the judgmental glances from some of the alphas in the room.

What a bunch of idiots.

The rogues who’d attacked Alpha Devin’s daughter had hit four other packs in the last two weeks. It was a miracle no one had been killed.

Two alphas had been seriously hurt, only recovering a few days ago. That was because of the poison on the silver knife they’d been attacked with.

News of little Sarah’s survival had spread, so the attackers had upped their game.

Alpha Devin told us that smaller packs had been targeted, and he’d decided to hide his daughter, his only successor, among humans.

He didn’t say much about how he’d done it, considering he wasn’t known for being friendly with humans. But Patrick didn’t push for details. It didn’t really matter.

I gently rubbed my belly, sitting close to my mate, trying to calm him through our bond.

He’d been on edge these past few days, increasing patrols around our borders and pushing everyone hard in training.

He’d even come up with a plan to keep the women and pups safe by modifying the basement of the pack house.

Now, he was trying to convince the alphas that this was an inside job.

There was no way the rogues could get their hands on silver knives like that or use such sophisticated poisons.

They had to have help, or they were being used by someone who knew each pack’s weaknesses.

So far, only my father, Alpha Devin, and a couple of other alphas were smart enough to see that Patrick was right.

Alpha Devin had taken it hard when his only child and heir almost died at the hands of rogues.

There were rumors he’d wanted a son, but his mate—who he loved deeply—had complications after Sarah’s birth and couldn’t have more children.

Most people thought he’d choose his beta or one of his warriors as his successor, given his pack’s traditional ways. But he surprised everyone when he announced his daughter would be the next alpha.

He had no idea of the bright future that awaited her, and honestly, I didn’t care enough to enlighten him. But he was right about his daughter’s abilities.

Everything would become clear in a few years.

On the bright side, this incident had made him rethink his dislike for humans.

He admitted he was still wary of them, but he respected Estella from the moment he found out she was caring for his child.

I hadn’t met the girl yet, but from what Estella had told me, they were on their way to becoming the close friends they were meant to be.

Sarah was warming up to her, which made sense given Estella’s sweet but stubborn nature. She had a way of winning people over. At least, the ones she cared about.

I tuned back into the meeting, only to hear the same old arguments.

“I know it’s hard to accept that there might be traitors among us, but we’re all in danger,” I said, raising my voice above theirs.

They all stopped talking and stared at me.

Some looked surprised, others angry, but I held their gaze, bolstered by my father’s approving nod and the love I felt from Patrick.

I’d seen things in my visions far scarier than their disapproving looks.

They couldn’t intimidate me.

“I thought your mate was just here to observe, Patrick,” Alpha Erol sneered. My father shot him a dirty look.

Thankfully, he’d decided not to bring Caleb, even though he’d told him everything. There was no room for subtlety; Caleb was the future alpha.

He needed to know what was going on.

But he was too young to be here, and since no one else had brought their successors, it would have been inappropriate. Just like it was for me to be here.

“I see my luna as my equal. I respect and value her opinion,” Patrick replied calmly, making my heart flutter.

“So, I suggest you watch your mouth when you talk about her, or I won’t hesitate to shut it for you.”

“I didn’t mean to insult your precious luna,” the man said, less aggressively this time, but there was still a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“But a woman doesn’t know much about these things.”

“Yet, she’s more insightful than most of you.” He chuckled. “Your stubbornness will put us in more danger than we already are.”

“My alpha is right,” I said. “As are Alphas Devin, Rohan, Peter, Mark, and Solomon. It’s highly unlikely that these rogues could be so organized and effective without help.

“They couldn’t get such well-made weapons or poisons without someone supplying them.”

For the first time, they all fell silent, considering my words.

Some of them were so thick-headed. My argument was no different from what they’d been discussing, but only now did they really take it in.

PATRICK

The meeting was exhausting. If it weren’t for Eva, I don’t know what I’d do. At least I didn’t have to tell my pack we might be in danger.

Unlike most of the alphas, I’d already told my pack after the second attack. It was clear then that it wasn’t a coincidence.

I’d told them we needed to be extra careful and announced measures to keep them safe. Hopefully.

I’d asked Max to prepare a stock of antidotes for the poison. It seemed they weren’t using the same poison twice. I also told him to keep Estella away from the pack, but he was already on it.

Since she was human, she’d be safe as long as she stayed away from us. Max had already taken care of it.

I expected nothing less from him.

“Tell me you’ve seen the traitor in one of your visions,” I whispered to Eva’s belly that evening.

“I wish I could,” she sighed. “But like I’ve told you a million times, it just doesn’t work like that.”

“You haven’t seen those rogues attacking us, have you?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“No,” she said slowly. “But I promise to tell you if I see anything.”

“Thanks, babe. I just want everyone to be safe. You and the kids are my top priority, but…”

“You can’t stand the thought of anyone in your pack getting hurt,” she finished for me, her fingers running through my hair. “I get it. I feel the same way.”

I nodded and kissed her belly. I was hoping for a little girl this time. Maybe I shouldn’t admit that, but boys, as much as I love ours, can be a handful.

So, this time, I wanted a girl, one that looked just like Eva.

I was head over heels for my mate. What can I say? That’s why I wanted to keep her safe. I was worried about these attacks.

I thought all the alphas would feel the same, but they turned out to be more stubborn than I expected.

Only the three alphas who had been attacked, Eva’s dad, and one other alpha agreed with me. They saw the obvious: the rogues weren’t acting alone.

“Worrying about it will only stress you out more,” Eva murmured.

“What if they come for us, and I can’t protect everyone?”

“Sweetheart, you’re doing everything you can. I might not have seen the traitor’s face, but I know we’ll get through this.”

“But what if…”

“Hush,” she said, cutting me off. “We’ll be okay. Don’t start panicking now. If you do, you’re bound to make a mistake, and we can’t afford that.”

She was right. She was always right. So, I pulled myself together and decided to stop feeling insecure.

Honestly, my dad made being alpha look easy when he was training me to take over. Did he ever doubt himself?

If he did, he hid it well. But maybe his long vacations with my mom were a sign of how tired and stressed he really was.

In the six years I’ve been in charge, I’ve never had to deal with anything like this.

All packs have rogue attacks from time to time, but this was different. This was more than random attacks.

Whoever was behind them was smart and powerful. The fact that they were targeting alphas and their successors meant someone was trying to take control.

For all I knew, it could be one of the alphas at this meeting. If I was right, my pack was probably next.

But I wasn’t planning on dying anytime soon, or losing my kids or my pack.

So, I tripled the patrols and agreed with Alphas Devin, Rohan, Peter, Mark, and Solomon to help each other if there was an attack.

But as Alpha Rohan suggested, there should be a limit to how many warriors each pack had to lend to the others, based on its size.

As he wisely said, we couldn’t leave our territories vulnerable. One attack could be a distraction to hit two packs at once.

In that case, each of us had to protect our own first.

Rohan is the second oldest alpha of us all and the only one without an heir to his pack.

At thirty-two, he still hadn’t found his mate, which was unusual, and he’d decided not to settle for just any she-wolf.

He was the first alpha they attacked after Austin and his daughter, and he barely escaped.

For the week after the meeting, there were no attacks, but like Alpha Solomon said, and I agreed, that wasn’t a good sign.

UNKNOWN

She hadn’t seen Max or Cal in weeks.

She’d talked to Cal on the phone, and Max still drove her to and from school, but he said she couldn’t come to the pack for a while because it was too dangerous.

And he couldn’t stay with her for long.

When she asked why, he explained that there had been several attacks after the one on Sarah, and all the packs in the area were on high alert, including Cal’s pack.

The only person she saw every day and could talk to was the alpha girl who still went to the human school.

For some silly reasons, according to Estella, she was still resisting being friends, but she was a lot less hostile than before.

It was a big step forward that they sometimes sat together during breaks, even if they didn’t always talk.

Estella had learned a lot about Sarah’s pack. She would love to visit because it sounded like a beautiful place, but she knew they didn’t like humans.

Sarah’s parents had been really nice to her, though, and thanked her for taking such good care of their only child.

She always kept an eye on her reluctant friend to make sure she stayed out of trouble. She even made her come with her after school every day, so Max could drive them both home.

Right now, it was the weekend, and she was home alone because her aunt and uncle were visiting some friends, and Estella was too bored to go with them.

Now that she wasn’t alone, she couldn’t sneak out to see Max and everyone in his pack.

He had warned her aunt and uncle that his territory wasn’t safe right now, and Uncle Julian, who was a little overprotective, made sure they knew where she was all the time.

Just to be safe, they asked Max to drive Estella straight to their work if they weren’t home when school let out.

She thought all the precautions were a bit much, but she didn’t mind hanging out in her aunt’s office. She even helped out by making copies. So, it was kind of fun.

But now it was time to “break free.”

She waited about ten minutes to make sure they were gone and wouldn’t come back because they forgot something, then she put a couple of sandwiches in her bike basket, hopped on, and pedaled away.

She hadn’t planned on sticking around for too long. She was certain Max would give her a piece of his mind for being so daring and not following orders. But deep down, she knew she was safe as long as her friends were close by.

Approaching the pack, she noticed the heightened security. Her brow creased in concern.

Something was off here.