In total there were over five thousand wolves present. Plus, all my fraternity brothers had showed up. They literally dropped what they were doing, canceled their own spring break plans, and came to stand by my side. Even Chad was there, though I wasn’t sure what benefit he could possibly be, and I worried the big cats would eat him whole, but there he was, and it meant the world to me.
“You did this?” I asked Matt, looking around at my brothers.
He shrugged as I bro-hugged him. “What’s going down is wrong. We’re ready to stand by you. Brothers for life,” Matt reminded me.
“Brothers for life,” I repeated, feeling a little overwhelmed.
Later I pulled Matt aside to make certain he really wanted to go through with it. “I know you were ordered to fight with the cats. I don’t want you getting in trouble for this.”
“I spoke to my parents, right after talking with you the other day. They respect my decision to stand with the dogs. Enough that they refused to come at all. My family won’t stand with them to fight against you. Not all the cats are blindly following him,” he informed me.
“How many do they have? Do you know?” I asked, not a hundred percent sure I was ready to hear the answer.
“I don’t know. I considered checking in and going all double agent like, but that’s just not right. So, I’m gonna stick around over here and get to know as many of these dogs as possible so I’m not mistaken as the enemy when the time comes,” Matt said.
I laughed. “Probably a good plan.”
Jenna and I discussed trying to reach out to her parents one last time in attempt to stop it all, but the Grand Council forbade it, explaining there would be time just before the call for war began. The King had written in a negotiation period, making it very formal and civilized. We all knew that was up until the point he didn’t get what he wanted.
I spent a restless night holding my mate as we whispered until the wee hours of the morning. Exhausted and nervous after awakening, we met with Kyle and the Grand Council. A group of about one hundred would be walking out on the battlefield to meet with Jenna’s dad first. If all went south from there, which we expected it would, the remainder of the wolves would present themselves. If the sheer number did not make him stand down, then we’d fight.
“You ready for this?” I asked Jenna when the time came.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said a little too cheerfully. I could feel her nerves through our bond, betraying the smile on her face.
“Liar,” I said, making her laugh and smack my arm playfully just as her parents came into view. I didn’t have to ask for verification; the scowl on her father’s face gave him away.
Jenna wasn’t looking at them though, but she was beaming up at me, still caught up in our playful banter. I heard her mother gasp at the sight. I’m not sure what they had been expecting, but we clearly weren’t it.
“Beautiful, they’re here,” I said, nodding towards her family. As we approached, Tessa shot us both sad, apologetic looks as she stood with their parents.
Titus, as the largest and fiercest looking Grand Councilman, both in wolf and human forms, was chosen as the representative for the wolves.
“Edmond,” Titus spoke, greeting the King informally. “I am Titus. We spoke over the phone.”
King Lockhardt seemed thrown off by the informality for a second. “Yes, of course. I see you brought my daughter, but I’m sorry to say that wolf, who has corrupted her, appears to still be alive.”
“The Council has met, along with the Alphas from fifteen of our largest packs and we all have heard them out, and deliberated. We have unanimously agreed and found no reason to intervene here. Their bond has been tested, Edmond. They are true mates and we do not interfere with pairings ordained by God himself. That is a sacred bond to the wolves. And we will not do your dirty work for you by killing one of our own and devastating another, because make no doubt about it, Jenna as Chase Westin’s mate is one of us. She will be protected by her pack which has aligned with fourteen others ready to go to battle, and fight to the death, if needed, for Jenna and Chase.”
“Do not speak of my daughter so informally. She is a Princess of the panthers, part of this royal family, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep our bloodline pure, before she destroys us all,” her father spat back at Titus.
“My apologies, Princess,” Titus said to Jenna, otherwise ignoring her father.
Jenna nodded. “I thought you were only scared of the lions, Daddy? I beg you, please don’t do this. People do not need to die needlessly over this.”
“No one needs to die needlessly. Turn the boy over to me for execution and come home, and all of this will be forgotten,” he said coldly.
Jenna held tighter to my arm, finding my hand with her own and linking our fingers. “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, Daddy. Why can’t you see that? He’s a good man. Just give him a chance. Please. I’ve never asked anything of you before, but I’m begging for this.”
I saw her father soften. His eyes showed remorse and confusion, but he quickly straightened his shoulders back and huffed his chest in a sign of dominance. It set my wolf on edge and I pulled Jenna behind me, raising my chin to meet his gaze in defiance. The challenge wasn’t quite as impactful as it would have been to a wolf, but it stirred the other wolves as they recognized my show of power, something I had rarely ever done. I was an Alpha, too. It ran strong in my blood. As the baby of the family it was often overlooked and unnecessary, but it was a part of me and fueled my wolf’s aggressive side.
“Your show of power does not scare me, boy,” the King said, but the scent he was giving off betrayed him. He was scared and my wolf was seeing blood because of it.
“It should, sir,” I said. Titus glared at me, but I didn’t care.
“You show your hands too quickly, Titus,” Edmond said. “I have brought ten times this pack of mutts.” He scanned the hundred or so people gathered with us. His eyes stopped and confusion, then anger flashed across his face. “You, you’re Doug Williams boy,” he said, calling Matt out. “You get confused along the way, son? You’re supposed to be back at the hill.”
“No sir, I’m not. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be,” Matt said, walking forward and placing his hand on my shoulder. “Once a dog, always a dog.” Howls broke out throughout the group, causing an eerie noise as it echoed across the land.
“Brothers for life,” I said, as he squeezed and side-hugged me.
“Damn straight,” Matt said.
“You were ordered to fight with your kind,” the King reminded him. “Your father will pay for your insubordination. What an embarrassment you have brought to your family today.”
“No sir, my family is proud of my decision to stand with my friends and fight for their right to love. If anyone is an embarrassment here, it is you.”
The King started to make an aggressive move towards us, causing a growl to bubble out of me before I could stop it. It halted him on the spot.
“The signal of war has not been given, Your Highness. An act of aggression towards these boys will void all your requests, and my wolves will be forced to act,” Titus warned, and even my wolf, already worked up and looking for a fight, cowered.
“Daddy,” Jenna tried one last time. “It’s not too late to stop this.”
“It’s not too late for you to come home,” he reminded her.
“I can do that, Daddy. I would be happy to come home for a visit and to discuss this like civilized creatures with you and Mother. Just call this off and we can work this out.”
Her mother looked up at her mate with tears in her eyes.
“Listen to her, Daddy,” Tessa begged.
“The boy dies today,” he said coldly.
“Hear my words,” Jenna responded just coldly. “Kill my mate, and I will kill you, and then I will kill myself because I will not live without him.”
“Jenna!” her mother screeched.
“Get her out of here,” Ti
tus said to me.
“No!” Jenna yelled. “This is about his control of me. I will not stand by and allow these people to fight for me while I cower back at camp. I fight, too. I fight for my mate, and I fight for myself.”
Howls went up all around us, and more came further in the distance.
“Time’s up,” Titus said. “What’s your word, sir?” He spat out the word “sir” like it disgusted him.
Edmond cried out a high-pitched squeal I had never heard before and suddenly hundreds of large cats began marching towards us. Some took to the trees before they even reached us.
“Shit, they’ve already shifted,” Kyle swore under his breath, speaking for the first time.
Edmond gave me an eerie grin. “Let the war begin,” he yelled.
I looked over my shoulder to see a hundred wolves shifting without bothering to even strip their clothes off, and a sea of wolves cresting the hill behind us. I looked back at the shock on Edmond’s face as he saw the sheer number of wolves present. I knew he had underestimated us. What he didn’t know, is that our wolves had orders to neutralize, to not kill unless it was a kill-or-be-killed situation.
“I’ve got your back, big brother,” Chad told me. He seemed eager and excited to be part of the action this time, as he shifted into his chubby little squirrel form.
“Watch your back, little brother,” I told him as he nodded his head, causing his fat cheeks to jiggle, before giving me what sort of looked like a thumbs-up, if a squirrel had thumbs.
As the call of war sounded, I watched Chad take off at lightning speed and hone in on two large panthers by a tall tree. He leaped into the air and landed on one of their heads as he used it to elevate himself into the tree above. The bigger cat roared in fury and they both began climbing after him. I sure hoped Chad remembered that they climb trees, too.
I nodded to Jenna and we shifted simultaneously. As I sideswiped a cougar, and dodged a puma, I was careful to keep Jenna at my side at all times. I couldn’t help but glance up every now and then, worried for my tiny friend.
Chad had climbed out to the very tip of a limb. One of the panthers was closing the gap slowly between them as he taunted the cat with squeaky chatter. As the panther tried to pounce at the last minute, Chad bounced on the limb then, like an acrobat, flew even higher into the tree. His abandoned branch snapped forward and smacked the panther in the face, knocking him off balance. Letting out a loud roar, he fell to the ground with a thump.
The next remaining panther gave chase, climbing higher still into the tree after Chad. It was dizzying to watch him climb even from the ground, but he maneuvered the thin branches with grace defying his round body. The panther climbed as high as he dared and began shaking the treetop. It swayed back and forth before Chad went airborne. I stopped and gasped, but he easily grabbed a branch on the top of the closest tree and appeared to be heckling the panther from his new position. Knowing he was safe, I turned back to the fight on the ground.
Kyle and Nikolai were working side by side holding off the King from me. Tessa was at Jenna’s other side, both attacking nearby cats while Tessa was protecting her sister. Her mother hissed at them, but moved on to help her mate.
I chanced a look around and saw several fallen, both dogs and cats. A vicious battle between Matt and another jaguar was going on. The large male was getting the upper hand. I yipped, and Patrick’s red wolf was immediately by my side. I nodded at Jenna and he took my place as I ran to help my friend.
A black panther joined the fight. I couldn’t tell which side she was fighting for. Knocking into Matt while grabbing hold of the other jaguar’s tail at the same time, she was then knocked out of the way just as I was coming onto the scene. The cats leapt into the air and massive paws swiped at each other as they both fell hard to the ground.
I watched as my stomach lurched into my heart. I finally reached them and stood over my friend, willing him to get up. He didn’t move. The panther that had joined the fight shifted. Anita! I hung my head as she checked him and collapsed across his still body, sobbing. Not Matt, please Lord, not Matt!
I looked towards the sky and let out a painful howl for my fallen friend.
Kelsey arrived seemingly from nowhere. She dropped to her knees, pushing Anita aside and got to work on Matt. It only took a minute before her fist slammed into the ground. She had tears streaming down her face as she raised her eyes to meet mine and shook her head.
“I’m so sorry, Chase,” she whispered.
I looked around, sickened by the amount of similar scenes around me. Jenna! I turned and forced my way through a few fights in search of my mate. Patrick had been joined by Cole Anderson, protecting her. Her father was descending on the both of them. I shoved my way into the skirmish and pushed them aside. When they didn’t back off, I barked and let go of some of my own Alpha powers. They each took a step back and dropped their head in submission.
Jenna brushed up against my side, her opposite mine, watching my back. Her father began circling us, but between the two of us, I knew we were protected. He was searching out weaknesses and would find none. After several laps around us, he stopped on my exposed side. As he lunged to take a bite, I turned, and Jenna smacked her massive paw at him, hissing. The fur on his back was standing on edge.
Her mother approached as I watched her closely. When she reached us, she shifted back to human form. “Stop. Please, stop this now,” Jenna’s mother cried, and her father halted and let out a loud roar to call off the cats.
Kyle mimicked him with a howl that was echoed by each of the Grand Council members that brought the dogs to a screeching stop. As enemies faced enemies in a standoff, awaiting the call back to action, she pleaded, “This has got to stop now. Look around you. How many more must die today? The seer was wrong. It has nothing to do with the lions. It has nothing to do with Jenna. Can’t you see? It is not the pride that will bring on the demise of the panthers—it is YOUR own pride! Look. See what is happening. Only you can stop this now.”
King Edmond Lockhardt shifted and stood beside his mate. He looked around at the devastation. Both dogs and cats lay dead or injured all around. Kelsey was running from one to the next trying to heal as many as she possibly could before it was too late. When she leaned down over a dying panther, Edmond hissed.
“What is she doing?” he asked through gritted teeth.
I hadn’t noticed that Jenna had shifted back to human form, too. She was still kneeling on the ground. Knowing how uncomfortable that made her in front of others. I moved to cover her. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
“Kelsey’s a healer, Daddy. She’s helping the fallen.”
“But that’s a panther?” her mom said, astonished.
“It doesn’t matter. Every life is worth saving. Kelsey knows that. She shouldn’t have been here today. She’s pregnant and unable to shift, leaving her vulnerable, but she knew she could still save lives here, and insisted on coming,” Jenna told them. “She’s my Pack Mother,” she added.
Her father tensed, and took a step back when Kyle shifted on the spot.
“Let her do her job, sir. It would not be in your best interest to try to stop her. My mate is very powerful,” Kyle told him. He was trying to appear calm, but I could see how tense he was, sensing a threat to Kelsey.
Edmond raised his arms in surrender. “My daughter fights as equal alongside her mate. I realize now that no matter how this plays out, I’ve already lost her. I am done.” He gave another of those awful screeches and the cats that could, turned and walked back in the direction they came.
Kyle barked, followed by the Grand Council as the dogs began to retreat as well. The battle was over. It had been senseless. No one won today. Matt Williams was dead. My best friend was gone. The pain of that was difficult to handle.
Brothers for life, and beyond, I thought.
“Chase, come forward,” Jenna’s mother said. She looked me over critically. “I do not know how this is even pos
sible. I can’t begin to understand it, but I watched you during the battle. One eye on your enemy, and one on my girl. You only left her side once, to help protect your friend, a cat no less, and only after a very strong and capable wolf took your place to protect her. If you had left her exposed for even a second, I would have snatched her up like the cub she once was and been gone in a flash. It will take some time. Old prejudices are hard to overcome, but there is no doubt in my mind that you love my daughter.” She began to weep. “And at the end of the day, what is more important than that?”
She then turned to Jenna and, without meaning to, I protectively wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer to me. I couldn’t protect her from all that had happened, but I would shield her as best I could from any further physical or emotional damage that her family could cause.
“My little princess. You grew up when I wasn’t looking. He seems like a good man. All I’ve ever wanted is happiness for you and Tessa. If you’ve truly found that, then we’ll find a way to accept it.” She glanced back to where her mate was standing, watching, but unwilling to reach out. “Give him time. He loves you. I know he too will come around.”
I was torn as I loosened my grip on my beautiful mate, but as she cried in her mother’s arms, a smile lit her face. They said their goodbyes and Tessa grabbed her in a huge bear hug.
“I’m proud of you and I’ll see you at home. The girls and I have decided we aren’t leaving the ARC. We’re ready to take our stand, too,” Tessa whispered to her before kissing her cheek and turning to follow their parents.
I held my mate as we watched them leave.
“Do you really think he’ll come around?” she asked.
“I think we have to have faith he will.”
Jenna
Epilogue
I walked into the cabin, dropped my purse on the table then collapsed onto the couch. My last final of the semester. I was amazed I’d made it. Life had changed drastically upon returning to Archibald Reynolds after spring break, and not all for the bad.
Confusing Hearts (Westin Pack Book 4) Page 28
