*Maddox*
We push them back, every Alpha and Beta who dared showed their faces at the entrance to my fucking house, along with their armies. My force of five hundred feral, untrained warriors barely weaned from their mothers hammers the enemy line with every passing minute.
I am proud, but ‘mI also fucking pissed.
Who the hell do these Alphas think they are?
And also, where the fuck is Seth?
I hurry to put on a pair of pants and a shirt someone has tossed at me, fumbling with the buttons of my shirt. Everything is wet, and I am pumped with adrenaline to the point I’m trembling with it.
I don’t know how many wolves I’ve killed today, but I have a feeling that number is only going to increase. For now, there seems to be a brief respite in the battle. Dawn is still hours away, and warriors belonging to me and my allied packs mingle in small groups outside the castle gates.
It’s almost peaceful.
In the distance, I can hear the furious shouts and commands of the traitorous Alphas who had dared to try to take my throne in my absence. They are trying to regroup, but the forest is dense, and it’s dark.
We’ve pushed them back so deep into the woods they’re disoriented, and now my forces are holding them there, at least for a while.
But we’ve successfully cleared the front gates and given the warriors that Seth tasked with guarding the entrance to the castle a much needed break.
What I find odd is how little warriors he seemed to spare on the task. Where is he? He’s been my loyal Beta since my youth, and now, I can’t find him, and he’s not answering the mind-link.
Antony runs to my side, fresh clothes already soaked with rain. We’ve been patrolling in our wolf forms for the last hour with a handful of scouts to locate the groups of enemy wolves still lingering nearby.
I’d gone to find Isla before I went out with the scouts. I found her sleeping in my bed, her sheet of golden hair roping over her shoulders and her brow furrowed. She wasn’t sleeping deeply, but she was sleeping. That had to be enough.
I’d brushed a kiss over her forehead, holding her for a moment before I forced myself to let her go. That had been over two hours ago.
Poppy would take care of her until I could tear myself away from the fucking war at my doorstep. I had no plans to let this carry on through the first lights of dawn. This needed to end, and as soon as possible.
“There’s at least a mile between us and the enemy lines now,” Antony says, exhaling deeply. “We have warriors posted in the forest, scouts ready to send word if anything changes.”
“Then our enemies haven’t fully retreated?
Antony can only shrug, exhaustion lining his face as he tries to catch his breath and looks into the woods.
“And my Beta?” I practically growl, but Antony just shakes his head. He clearly has no idea where he is either.
“No one has seen him.”
“Stay with Vember, heed whatever commands he gives you,” I say, then turn and walk through the gates of my property.
* * *
Isla is pacing in our bedroom, her hair damp with perspiration and falling over her face and shoulders. I stand in the doorway, my arms crossed over my chest as I watch her go through each ripping contraction with nothing but grace and defiance.
She looks up at me through her lashes, a single tear rolling down her cheek as maids skitter across the room with towels, water, and baskets of supplies.
“I’m fine,” Isla says firmly. “Go.”
“I love you,” I say, gripping the doorframe before turning on my heel and stalking back down the hallway. Poppy sprints past me, and I catch her by the arm, dragging her to stop. “Mystica?”
“I don’t think she made it inside yet,” Poppy pants, wide eyed and frazzled. “No one has seen her. I’m worried.”
“Go to Isla,” I command, anger ripping through each word. I don’t look at her as I release my grip on her arm and continue to stalk the hallway, looking into each room that I pass.
I haven’t found Seth, but he knows I’m here. He has to know I’m here.
“Alpha Maddox!” Trinity screams, rushing out of a doorway as I round the corner towards the grand foyer, which is currently full of warriors taking a quick break and getting some warmth and food. I still can’t get over how much she looks like Rebecca.
“Where the fuck is Seth?” I ask her.
“Outside, of course. Where else would he be when we’re under attack!” she says with a shrug.
“I need to speak to him,” I say, starting to walk away but Trinity steps in front of me.
“I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried–”
“This battle is not over, Trinity,” I remind her.
“I know, I’m just saying that we didn’t know if you were going to make it here in time, and we’d be overrun. But now that you’re here–”
“I don’t have time for this right now. I need to find Seth.” I turn away from her again.
“Is Isla alright?” Trinity asks, her expression changing as she cowers under my sharp, annoyed gaze.
“She’s upset with you, Trinity,” I tell her with a sigh.
“Because I told you where she was?” she asks.
“Because you broke her trust,” I say sharply, which makes Trinity wince. “While I have my own opinions about the matter, you did, in fact, go against your word when you told me where she was, and why. That book–” I take a step toward her, “That book wasn’t yours, and you stole it from her.”
“I was worried about her. I didn’t want her to do anything she’d regret!”
“Or were you just trying to get her in trouble with me? Did you think I wouldn’t have gone after her?” I still didn’t know whether or not I could trust this woman who was initially sent here to kill me.
Trinity purses her lips and winces as Isla’s voice rips through the air, laced in pain.
I clench my fists at my sides, trying to ignore the pained noises coming from my mate while she brings our son into the world.
I’m finding it harder and harder to focus on anything going on right now.
“It was wrong of me,” Trinity says after a moment. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not me you have to apologize to,” I say, turning away from her. “Do not go near her, Trinity, not until this is over.”
By this, I meant the war. I also meant for her to stay the hell away from Isla, period, which I voiced to the warrior outside of my mate’s before going back outside the castle walls and into the courtyard. I wasn’t going to get between them; that wasn’t my place. I trust Trinity, but Isla does not, which means I have to choose a side.
I will always choose Isla’s.
Ben is lingering in the courtyard, talking to a warrior as he lifts his head at my approach.
“Isla?” he asks.
“She’s fine. You saved her life, Ben. I will be forever indebted to you for that.”
“The warrior who caught her is the one you should be indebted to,” he replies. I arch my brow at him and open my mouth to ask what the hell actually happened but decide now is not the time. Part of me doesn’t want to know, honestly. It would just be another thing to think about when I had a million other issues going on at once.
Shouts erupt from the gates, and I blink through the rain still pelting overhead as the gates swing open, and Vember runs toward me, wiping rain from his face. He stops short of me, breathless.
“They’re coming back–”
“Come on,” I say to Ben, who whistles loudly to alert the warriors lingering just inside the doors to the castle. “Vember,” I shout as he starts to retreat back toward the gate. “Seth, where is he?”
“I haven’t seen him, but we have the healer. She’s tending someone just outside the gate–”
“For the love of the Goddess,” I breathe, breaking into a run, Ben hot on my heels. I shout Mystica’s name as I reach the gate, finding her crouching in a puddle in front of a warrior who looks as though he’s only nursing a sprained ankle. “Get inside, now. See to the Luna.”
Mystica looks up at me with an expression I can’t decipher, then slowly rises to her feet and walks away. I glance at Ben, who is watching her with the same look of confusion and suspicion currently on my own face.
“What the fuck is going on around here?” I say quietly so only Ben can hear. Warriors rush past us out of the gates, several of them shifting as they funnel out into the forest.
I sigh, unbuttoning my shirt again.
“Do you want me to stay here, with Isla?” Ben asks. I nod my head, turning to face him.
“You’re the only one I trust right now,” I say, trying to make sense of the situation. “Apparently, my Beta is missing, so you’re acting as my second now. Stay with the Luna and guard the castle. If they get through the gates… take her into the tunnels and get her out of here.”
I don’t wait for Ben’s reply before shifting and trotting off through the rain, blending in with the warriors making their way through the underbrush as they fan out over the forest floor.
I can take the road straight to where the Alphas were making camp, probably somewhere comfortable and dry compared to what their warriors were going through, but I mean to take them by surprise.
I slink through the trees, separating myself from my warriors with each step until I’m padding a wide circle around the battlegrounds.
I don’t have a lot of time to end this, not with Isla in labor back at the castle.
Hearing noises ahead, I lay on my belly, crawling across the forest floor until I get a view of the enemy warriors resting in a clearing around a sputtering warming fire.
None of them are in their wolf forms, and they seem at ease despite looking battered and beaten to a pulp.
I can’t tell which pack they belong to, but it doesn’t matter. The message I’m about to send will be clear to every single Alpha trying to come for my throne and my mate.
* * *
*Isla*
“Mystica,” I say through gritted teeth, clutching the sweat soaked sheets. “How long do I have?”
Mystica pops up from between my legs, a soft smile on her face. “You can start pushing now.”
“No,” I pant, shaking my head. “Maddox needs to be here.”
“I’ll go ask the warriors if he’s back yet,” Poppy says, squeezing my hand before letting go and hurrying out of the room.
It’s no longer raining, and I’m not happy about it. Now all I can hear through the windows is the sounds of a battle taking place nearby instead of the steady pattering of rain. Howling cuts through the air in a constant loop, followed by the sound of people and wolves retreating again. They’ve been doing this for hours now, and I’ve lost track of whether it’s the enemy retreating once more, or Maddox’s forces retreating back to the castle grounds.
“I want him here. I need him,” I whisper. I know I’m losing strength. I can’t hold this baby in if he wants to be born.
“Isla,” comes a male voice from the doorway. I snap my head to the entrance of our room, finding a rain-soaked Seth standing in the doorway, his face bloodied and eyes wide with shock. “I didn’t know–”
“Get out and find Maddox,” I cry, wincing as my body begs me to push. “I need him, Seth. Go! Please!”
The thought that Maddox had come back to the castle to check on me and also look for his Beta flutters in and out of my mind. That had been hours ago. Surely, they had crossed paths.
But if Maddox is still fighting, why is Seth here?
Mystica is stroking my calf, making shushing sounds as she tries to comfort me. I’m beyond comforting now.
“Where were you?” I ask, squeezing my eyes shut and letting my body push, even though my mind, heart, and body are at odds about it.
“I got separated from the group shortly after we started towards the castle instead of going through the tunnel,” Mystica replies, placing a cool rag on my forehead. “I saw you and Ben and tried to catch up, but I was cornered, and then a group of our warriors rescued me. You were gone by then, I didn’t know where you were.”
I try to listen as Mystica explains what happened when we first arrived at the castle. She’d been running around, blocked at every turn, and ended up stopping to tend to the wounds of the injured, enemies and allies alike.
“Is Maddox coming?” I ask breathlessly, crying out as my body pushes against my will. “Oh, Goddess. Where is he?”
Poppy slides past the doorway, yelping as she rights herself and runs through the door.
“Where is he!” I cry. Poppy grabs my hand, reaching up to stroke the hair from my face.
“He’s coming, Isla. He was right behind me–”
“Isla,” Maddox says from the doorway. I turn my head, tears welling in my eyes as he steps into the light of the room.
“What happened?” I ask, sucking in my breath at the sight of the blood covering his hair, his skin, his face. He looks like a demon sent straight from hell.
“She’s okay, Alpha,” Poppy says, swallowing hard as she silently begs Maddox to go away and get cleaned up. Dread settles in the pit of my stomach as the look on his face, that of regret and pain, rips into my soul.
“What happened?” I repeat, but he’s already gone.