Zara
Ryan growled as the wolf approached us, his intelligent eyes fixed on my trembling form. My head felt heavy, my muscles utterly helpless. When he shifted in his arms, my head fell to the side. Like a magnet, pulling us together, I t Kane’s gaze.
His golden eyes were fixed on , his entire attention focused on my trembling shoulders. Even from a distance, I could feel the surge of all-consuming desire and a protective aura emanating from him. His entire body was tense, and I knew he, too, was fighting the urge to co and take .
"I can’t be here. They’ll die because of ," I almost scread through clenched teeth.
I couldn’t afford to distract Kane. He needed to focus, like the other wolves. I was a burden, a huge nuisance who could cost the lives of countless wolves. I wanted to fight, I needed to, but I couldn’t. It made want to scream in anger, if only I had the strength.
"Get her out of here, Ryan," Kane growled through the telepathic link. "I can sll her from here. Get her sowhere safe, just get her out of here."
Besides Kane, Ryan was the next best option for getting to safety. A wolf in heat wouldn’t affect family mbers. Since Ryan was my brother and a mber of my family, he was the safest person to be around.
"Mason, protect them both," Alpha growled. "Keep an eye on them until they escape."
Mason’s wolf slowly approached us, visibly tensing as soon as he caught my scent. I saw the determination in Mason’s eyes and admired his strength. Fighting my instincts was one of the hardest tests for a werewolf.
I wish I could say I was that strong, but the fire spreading across my skin paralyzed any attempt at resistance. I weakly extended my hand toward Mason. A pleading plea, asking him to take away the fire that had consud my body.
Mason’s wolf snorted softly before lunging at the nearest allies, sinking its teeth into his neck. His wolf was the color of coal, with dark patches of fur. He could sll , too, but he was having a much harder ti controlling his instincts. A snarl pierced him.
When he looked at Ryan, considering him... An enemy who was hiding what he wanted.
"son, if you touch her... I swear I’ll kill you!" Alpha’s voice was so blinding that I groaned internally. "Ryan, take her to Sophia. She’ll be safe there."
"No!" I tried to moan, but it ca out as a muffled sob.
Ryan knew, I told myself. He knew I shouldn’t have gone to her, that Marcus and Holly would be there too. They don’t react to a wolf in heat, but even though I trusted Marcus, it wasn’t enough to trust him not to take advantage of the situation.
I saw the allure of my scent fade in son’s eyes, and I watched him shake it off, as if shaking it off. He nodded at , his eyes silently apologetic. They did as they were told, driving off countless brown wolves and werewolves from us.
So of our warriors were distracted, rushing Ryan to get to . They threw our warriors aside, leaving them dazed but unhard.
I had no idea where we were going and couldn’t think clearly enough to see my surroundings. I drifted in and out of consciousness, but my wolf continued to pull out of the darkness. Its overwhelming need to quench its fire overwheld everything else, even as I fought to give in to the darkness.
When I opened my eyes again, Ryan was lifting into the backseat of the sedan. He had put on sweatpants and was covering with a blanket.
A pained hiss escaped my teeth as I tried to find the strength to rip the blanket off. It was too hot, too hot. The blanket rely held the heat, making feel suffocated.
"Don’t take to Sophia." My words were slurred, but clear enough for him to understand. "Marcus and Holly..."
"I know, Zara. I’ll take you sowhere safe," he replied, gripping the steering wheel tightly as they sped through the deserted city streets. "Everything is far from the city. The best thing is to take you away from this fight and find shelter in one of the empty houses."
He continued speaking, but I could no longer make out his words. The fire burning within hadn’t lost its intensity. It was still strong enough to cause blinding pain, but not enough to knock unconscious.
I was dood to endure every agonizing minute until Kane ca and relieved of the pain, if he ca at all.
I forced myself to push those thoughts aside. He would survive, they all would survive. Kane’s voice penetrated the ntal link, sohow calming the flas enough for to understand the words racing through my head.
"Your father is here, Zara," Kane growled, as if pushing an adversary away. "No matter what happens, I love you, I love you so much. Never forget that."
***
Kane’s POV
One week, an entire week of planning escape routes, defensive strategies, and safe evacuation. Surviving that week knowing my blue rose was constantly in danger was the hardest challenge I’d faced since becoming an Alpha. Every minute, I felt the ntal connection between us was closer to going insane.
The day my blue rose surrendered to her father, Zeke found in my office. Most of the furniture was destroyed, scraps of paper scattered across the room. None of it mattered. Not the docunts outlining potential treaties and alliances, not the computer that held countless emails between other Alphas in need of help.
Zeke was the only one I told; the only person, besides my Beta and Zara, I trusted completely. Zeke and my Beta managed to get my attention, talking into it before I razed the house to the ground. At that mont, I could do nothing but prepare for the inevitable. Zara had her mission, and I had mine.
Between searching for safe places to evacuate the city’s residents, I found ti to break the news to Zara’s family. Zara had asked to tell them the truth when she was away, as she already knew how her father would react.
Her father blushed, no doubt experiencing the sa helpless anger as I did. Ryan placed his hand on his father’s shoulder, holding him in his chair.
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