Silence filled the beach as Winnie’s loud howl echoed in the far distance. Keenan stiffened and fear flickered across his features. He turned his gaze toward the sound as his body went cold.
"Alpha!" Theo yelled, his voice breaking the crippling silence the howl had left.
He turned to see Theo rushing toward him after giving Lily to the matron. From the far end of the beach, his feet hit the sand, scattering it all around as he ran past the bonfire.
"That sounded like Winnie," he said as he got close enough. "Didn’t she go to get Asher? Are we under attack?"
He was frantic as he spoke and his reaction charged the atmosphere. The people on the beach erupted into whispers; parents began searching for their children, while the children rushed toward their guardians.
"Calm down!" Keenan yelled out so his voice reached everyone on the beach. "I don’t know," he said to Theo with a tight jaw. "But we will get to the bottom of it."
They had to get moving. If they were truly under attack, they were very vulnerable right now. He needed enough people to protect the beach and enough people to go with him to Winnie.
"Alpha," a group of townspeople walked toward him. "What should we do?"
"Alpha," Agnes also walked forward. "Was that Winnie?" Her eyes were wide with fear.
"We do not know, but we need to act now. Agnes, I need you to keep an eye on things here."
"You can count on me, Alpha." She was already moving as she spoke, trying to calm the crowd and get them to do as she wanted.
"Thank you. Theo and the rest of you, come with me." He was ripping his shirt as he spoke, shifting before his shirt touched the ground.
The rest of the party followed suit, trying to catch up with their Alpha who took off into the night. As they went off, Agnes and the servants gathered the townsfolk closer toward the fire and a few of them took guard and kept an eye out.
The party was ruined and the air was tense. Questions were on everyone’s lips, but all they could do was sit around in a circle as they waited for their Alpha.
Keenan ran as fast as his paws would go. He could hear the fading sound of the waves crashing onto the beach as they sped away in what he hoped was the direction of the cry.
Theo wasn’t wrong—the howl did sound like Winnie, and it came from the direction he had pointed her toward when she asked about Asher.
Asher would have sent a signal or run to inform him himself. The fact that he didn’t was a reason for concern. He sped past the town and into the bushes, not caring what he bumped into or what scratched against him.
He was also worried about Maya. If they were under attack, there was no doubt that Vilhelm had a hand in it. Was it a calculated attack on a day most of the town would be at the beach? Or was it something else entirely?
Should he be worried about her? Should he send men to the main house? But if it was Vilhelm, then she must be in on her father’s plan. He had also passed through the town—there was nothing strange about the main house.
Theo made a noise beside him, pulling him out of his thoughts. He was the only one in the pack that could keep up with him.
Keenan perked his ears and sniffed the air. He could smell blood and the further they ran in the direction the howl came from, the stronger the blood smelled.
The blood was too strong to be mild bleeding. His heart sank to his stomach as he drew closer. The moon shone through the cracks in the trees but that didn’t increase nor impacted his sight.
Suddenly, Theo let out a howl, rushing past Keenan. He chased after him and his eyes caught the pale figure with golden hair in the midst of the bushes.
Winnie was leaning over something dark as tears streamed down her face. Keenan didn’t need to think to know, and he particularly didn’t want to think.
Theo stopped in front of his bleeding brother, whimpering as he licked his bloodied face. Asher wasn’t awake, and he was pale—too pale. For a moment, Keenan feared the worst but as he got closer, he could hear the slow beating of his heart.
He shifted back, stopping next to Winnie, who had her hand pressed to Asher’s chest to try to stifle his bleeding as best as she could.
"Alpha," she cried as he stood next to her. "His bleeding won’t stop."
"I will take him to the main house," he replied and dropped beside her to help.
He tightly tied Asher’s clothes around his chest, completely stripping Asher to stop the bleeding. The blood had soaked the clothes and had completely stained Winnie’s hands but Keenan concentrated on his task.
"Is he going to die?" she asked in a weak voice.
Tears still streamed down her face and he could pick up her fear. He didn’t want to think about her question. Right now, he would concentrate on what he could do.
"Not under my watch," he replied as he secured the knots.
Theo looked up at him, clearly waiting for orders, but Keenan pointed to one of the men. "Get the physician to the main house."
The wolf took off without hesitation and Keenan turned to Theo. "I know you’re faster, but I need you to do something else." His jaw tightened as he spoke.
Theo nodded and looked down at his brother, licking his face one more time before he took a step back as he waited for his orders.
"They couldn’t have gotten far," he said with closed palms. "Find them, Theo! I will be right behind you once I have secured your brother. Don’t chase them to the High Alpha’s territory. Just confirm our suspicions. You should be fast enough to catch up with them."
Theo took off as soon as Keenan stopped speaking.
"Go with him," Keenan ordered the rest of the wolves.
"Are you sure?" Winnie asked.
"I should be enough to take Asher back safely. I doubt we’ll run into danger with Theo sniffing them out."
If they were nearby or anywhere in his territory, Theo would find them—and fast. He was counting on that. For now, saving Asher was his priority.
---
Her head hurt. It was a piercing pain that radiated all over her body and it only worsened with the constant movement.
Movement?
Maya’s eyes opened and the first thing she saw was moving trees. But the trees weren’t moving—she was. The next thing she saw was a wolf she didn’t recognize running beside her.
She forced herself to concentrate, despite the pain, despite the nauseating feeling that only seemed to get worse with every movement.
Where am I?
She needed to figure this out quickly. She was lying on soft fur; she didn’t recognize the scent, or perhaps she was too out of it to place it.
She noticed she wasn’t bound and they were running at a pace that wouldn’t shake her off the wolf.
Are they Father’s men?
She was sure they weren’t Alpha Keenan’s men, which meant they must be from Father. She stiffened as the memory before she lost consciousness exploded in her mind.
Alaina attacked me! Did they sell me off to Father?
Maya rolled off the back of the wolf before she thought about it. She landed on the ground with a loud thud, her side hitting a rock sticking out of the ground.
She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out and forced herself to her feet. The wolves had noticed as soon as she rolled off and she had to start moving.
She was barefoot on the uneven ground, running as fast as her little legs could carry her. Sticks and stones pierced her feet as she ran but she didn’t dare stop.
She didn’t think she could outrun them but if she could delay them, she might be able to buy some time for someone to notice.
One of the wolves bit into her dress to try to stop her from running, but Maya didn’t slow down. The dress pulled against her neck and she could hear it rip as she forcefully pushed on.
She didn’t slow down. She didn’t even know if she was running in the right direction—she was just running away from the direction they were taking her.
She ran in a zigzag manner around the trees to avoid getting caught again. It was pretty clear they didn’t want to injure her, otherwise, they would have been able to catch her much more easily.
Suddenly, the wolves stopped running and one of them let out a short howl. She couldn’t afford to glance back to check what was going on.
A large wolf jumped in front of her and Maya let out a yelp. She lost her footing and fell on her back. Fear and pain radiated all over her body, she didn’t want to be sent back to the High Alpha.
She blinked in the low glow of the moonlight as the wolf hovered. He smelt like blood and drool escaped through his fangs as he growled over her.
"Theo?" She called as she recognized his scent and the color of his fur. She didn’t believe the name as she said it, he looked ready to attack her.