Daring Fate: Silver Tip Pack series

by Megan Erickson

  I held my breath until he said, “Same as you, Alpha. I’d do the same as you.”

  I clapped him on the shoulder and dropped my hand. “Well, let’s hope our instincts are right, then.”

  I turned to call to the pack, but G stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Did you discuss alternatives with Reese? Other options?”

  “What’s the point? He said he wants to go, that he feels the pull.”

  “What if your mate pull is stronger?” he asked.

  Reese was standing with his brother and sister, drinking from a canteen. He handed it off to Jude, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He laughed at something Selene said, and the vision of that joy was like a punch in the stomach. “It’s not, G.” The words barely hurt anymore. “It’s not.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Reese

  * * *

  My body, mind, and heart were three separate beings, all with different goals and ideas on what I should be doing. My heart wanted Dare. Full stop. It only wanted Dare, his arms around me, his mouth on mine, his whispered words in my ear. But I’d lied to him, and that was a deal breaker. I was done in his eyes, no matter the bond we shared. No matter what my heart wanted.

  My body wanted to run home to Astria right now. The pull was unmistakable. Just knowing some of my pack could be alive had me in flight mode.

  And my mind? It was a jumbled mess, trying to reconcile the heart and the body in a way that was logical. Except nothing was fucking logical in this. Fate had given me a True Mate in a fucked-up world during a fucked-up lifetime.

  Because of the mix of Were and werewolf, we decided to travel in our human forms to make communication easier. It was slower-going, though, which had Dare on a razor-thin edge. His entire body was tense, his hands balled into fists as he led us through Nowere land.

  He’d given us a game plan before we’d left the clearing. In the event of a Nowere attack, Weres were to shift and surround the wolves as protection. If we had to move like that, we would, in a sort of pod. In theory that was great. But we all knew if we met with a large Nowere pack, it wouldn’t fucking matter what kind of formation we had. It wouldn’t be an organized fight. It’d be a chaotic massacre.

  Selene held onto Hans, who only needed minimal help now. She was still wearing her dirty, blood-stained dress and her hair now hung in ragged, sweaty clumps. I couldn’t wait until we got home. I was going to burn that fucking dress. She met my gaze and shot me a wobbly smile, which I returned.

  Jude hadn’t left G’s side since he was rescued, gazing up adoringly at his giant. Even now, G’s hand was planted on Jude’s shoulder, a symbol of protection I appreciated.

  The injured Were, Nash, brought up the rear. Watching him try to walk was painful, and his gaunt face was pinched in pain. The Silver Tip pack had some great healers, and I hoped he wasn’t too far gone. I worried though, as he was as close to walking death as I’d ever seen. Other than Noweres, of course.

  The terrain wasn’t bad, a mostly wooded area. The underbrush was low and easy to walk through. Still, I worried we were making too much noise, and Dare must have had the same thought, because he would occasionally glare at someone who was hacking away at nearby branches too loudly.

  The path began to look familiar, and I hoped we were close to the Silver Tip compound when Dare stopped suddenly. His head went up, his nostrils flared, and he raised his hands as a signal for us all to stop. I expected someone to grumble, but everyone in our group must have sensed the alarm in Dare’s body language.

  Slowly his head turned, his eyes cutting right to me. For a moment we locked eyes, and when he parted his lips, my brain pulsed. Pulsed. As if there was a thought that was fighting its way out. My heart beat double-time, like an echo, and I gripped my chest. Dare looked away, and the sensation fled as fast as it had come. Had I imagined that?

  I didn’t have time to dwell, because the smell hit me next.

  Nowere.

  We all scented it, and Dare began to issue quiet orders. “Everyone shift. Weres, close ranks in a circle around the wolves. Wolves, surround the wounded.” He pointed at G and Rua. “We’re on the offensive. Everyone else, defense. Got it?”

  “Dare—” I began.

  “They’re coming,” Dare said. “I thought we had more time, but the pack must be moving.”

  “How many?” G cracked his neck.

  Dare sniffed, and I strained to listen, catching the unmistakable sound of Nowere chattering. “Fuck,” I muttered.

  “Close,” Dare said. “Another minute.”

  Selena and Hans were in an embrace, her lips moving as she spoke to him quietly. His focus was on her, nodding diligently. Jude was in G’s arms, and G had to forcefully shove him off before he dropped a kiss on my brother’s head and shifted into the massive Were that he was.

  The chattering was closer now, along with the sounds of many feet crashing toward us. Dare stood five feet away, still human despite the entire pack shifting. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Reese.”

  “Stay alive,” I blurted out. “You gotta stay alive.”

  He blinked, those green eyes flashing at me before they turned black. “You too,” he said. His hand shot out, and he grabbed me, hauling me in for a kiss as he shifted. The hair on his chin sprouted against my face, and I wondered if this would be the last time I’d see him.

  I stumbled back, and a fully shifted Dare roared so loudly the ground trembled beneath my feet. Did Noweres feel fear? Because that was fucking terrifying. I was still shaking as I shifted into my wolf form.

  I retreated behind the ranks of Weres just as the first Nowere crashed into view. He was missing half his face, and one hand dangled from a disjointed wrist. His fur hung in mangy clumps, and he fucking stunk. He gnashed his teeth as four Noweres arrived at his back. Then he charged.

  After that, chaos.

  We wolves huddled around Hans and Nash, prepared to take on Noweres who crashed through the ranks of the Weres protecting us. G was a massive tornado, his large body cutting swaths of carnage through the onslaught of Noweres—ripping off heads, stabbing torsos. Dare fought more efficiently, cleanly breaking necks and felling Noweres with swipes of his claws.

  Rua was a smaller whirlwind, ducking behind Noweres to kill them with a slash across their necks, never letting them gather a large offensive.

  The rest of the pack held formation, protecting us when Noweres got away from the main three killing machines and tried to make a run for us. I was well aware I wasn’t as equipped as the Weres. I couldn’t kill without getting too close, and even a scratch from a Nowere would bring me down. So I held back and growled and seethed, preparing to do anything I could to protect my family.

  A shout went up behind me, and I whirled around to see Caro down. Three Noweres were on him, dragging him away, and by the amount of blood on Caro’s body, I knew he was a goner. I didn’t have time to mourn, because his absence left a gaping hole in our ranks. Three more Noweres advanced, ready to infiltrate. Two were taken out by the Weres on either side of the gap, but one Nowere was heading right for me. His leg had a gaping thigh wound, exposing muscle and bone. He was missing an arm, but still had a full jaw—better to eat me with.

  I lowered my head to the ground on a snarl, searching his body for vulnerable spots where I could tear out a brain or spine or other vital part of his existence.

  His massive, clawed hand came swiping down, intent on taking off my head, so I leaped. He screeched, chattering at me, as I opened up my jaws, ready to rip out his throat. But his other hand lashed out, catching me in the midsection. The crack of my ribs drove a piercing pain through my chest, and the force of the blow sent me flying into a nearby tree trunk.

  I hit it on my other side, and another crack sent raging flames of pain across my chest. The edges of my sight began to darken, the pain consuming me. As I fell to the ground, the last thing I heard was Dare’s roar before everything went dark.

  Dare

  *
* *

  My heart stopped when I turned to see a Nowere swipe at Reese. His wolf body flew through the air until he hit a tree trunk with a pained squeal. An immediate crippling flare of pain slammed into my ribs.

  The pain, the sight of my mate’s crumpled body at the base of the tree, and the advancing Noweres sent me into a tailspin of destruction.

  I roared, power surging through me like I’d never felt before. I raced toward my mate, taking out Noweres on either side of me. I didn’t care about formation or rank anymore.

  Mate. Mine. Hurt.

  A Nowere was advancing toward his prone body, teeth bared, and I picked up the filthy, disgusting thing, bashing its head into the tree repeatedly until it was no more than a mass of bloody flesh. Then I slashed my claws across his neck and beheaded it.

  I picked up Reese, cradling his wolf body in my arms. His eyes didn’t open, and when I ran my hands over his sides, I could feel his cracked ribs beneath his beautiful gray fur. His white throat was stained with blood, and I screamed, my lungs burning as I filled the forest with my frustration.

  When I turned around, my pack was watching me. There wasn’t a Nowere in sight. Jude had shifted back to his human form and he clung to a bloody, heaving G, also in human form. “We dispatched the pack,” G said, his voice hoarse.

  I shifted back, still cradling Reese’s body to me. Selene ran to us as I knelt and placed Reese on the ground amid some softer brush. Now that I could look at him closely, I determined he was breathing, although labored. The blood on his throat came from his nose and a cut on his mouth.

  I ran my fingers down his spine, testing for any injuries to his back, and a front paw twitched. Selene wasn’t making a sound, but tears ran down her cheeks, and she pressed her fists to her mouth as she blinked up at me, pleading for me to do something.

  We were vulnerable here, and I didn’t like it. With my mate injured, I didn’t have a choice. I could carry him the rest of the way home, but the thought of hurting him worse during transport was unacceptable.

  My pack stood around us, silent and restless. Rua hadn’t taken her eyes off me, and it hit me that she was concerned about me too. If Reese died, so would I. My main priority was to keep him alive because he was Reese.

  I shifted him slightly so his head was cradled in my lap. G handed me a wet cloth, and I carefully wiped away the blood on his fur, my stomach churning when his beautiful white throat remained stained pink.

  His instinct had been to protect. He hadn’t cared that the Noweres were really no match for a wolf his size. He’d do anything he could to protect those he loved. I wanted to see those pretty blue eyes, that cocky grin. I wanted to feel his arms around me, his lips on mine.

  “Reese,” I said softly. “Wake up, baby. Wake up.” His tail thumped once. I stroked the fur on his head. “Let me see your eyes, little wolf.”

  His sides heaved, and a shudder ran through his body. His eyes opened, the blue cloudy, but they were open, and he was alive, blinking at me as a whine started low in his throat.

  He shifted immediately to human form with a pained cry. He landed on his hands and knees, head low between his shoulders and livid bruises covering his sides.

  His head swung to me, and through a cut lip and bruised cheek, he whispered hoarsely. “Hurts.” Another tremble traveled down his spine.

  I gathered him in my arms, pressing him to me as tight as I dared as he buried his face my neck, curling against me like my skin would make him feel better.

  “I hit the tree and thought that was it.” His voice was muffled. “I thought he broke my back and I was done.” He blinked up at me with a popped blood vessel in his left eye, and managed a grin. “I guess I’m hard to kill.”

  My throat was closing up, and I was dangerously close to breaking down. “Good. I like you alive.”

  “I like me alive too.” He twisted his body to look over his shoulder and immediately cried out, clutching his side. “Okay, well, I’m alive but I’m seriously fucked up.”

  “Reese,” I said.

  “Yeah?”

  “I felt it.”

  “What?”

  I ran a hand down my side. “When you hit the tree. I felt it.”

  My words took a moment to process, and then his eyes widened. “What the fuck? The power draw and now this? Can you read my mind yet?”

  I shook my head. “I thought earlier I could. I felt a pulse in my brain?”

  Reese gripped my arms, his nails digging in. “Me too!”

  “Fuck, I wish this wasn’t happening now…”

  My voice trailed off. There was no point dwelling on it right now. When we got back to the Silver Tip compound, maybe we could investigate it a little more. Before he left.

  I rose to my feet, Reese pressed to my side. I was about to address my pack, when my nose caught a scent.

  No. No no no. G smelled it too, and his eyes widened a half second before the chattering reached our ears.

  Another pack, and this time, I wasn’t confident at all we’d make it, not with our ranks depleted. Most of my Weres were hurt, and my mate severely injured.

  For the first time in my reign as alpha, I didn’t know what to do. Reese’s nostrils were flaring, and he was muttering “oh fuck, oh fuck,” as he smelled and heard the Nowere pack drawing closer. We couldn’t run, we could barely fight, and how had I let this happen? My gaze met Reese’s, and this time there was no grin, there was only resignation.

  “Go on,” said a craggy voice. Next to us, Nash stumbled to his feet. He waved his hand at me. “Now. Go.”

  “What do you mean?” Reese asked.

  “Nash—” I began.

  He was walking away from me, his ribs sharp beneath his skin. “I’m heading out to meet the pack. It’ll distract them long enough for you guys to get away.”

  “No,” I said firmly. “Absolutely not—”

  He turned to me with a snarl. “Don’t. An alpha’s job is to do what’s best for his pack. What’s best is for you to sacrifice one to save many. You know it. I know it. I’m half-gone anyway.”

  Reese’s hand tightened on my arm as he sucked in a breath. The Nowere stench filled my nostrils, searing my lungs, and the chattering distracted me. Nash was right. Fuck, but he was right. To save my pack, I had to let him go. Allow him to sacrifice himself.

  “I don’t want to do this,” I said.

  He chuckled darkly. “I know, but as alpha of the Silver Tip pack, you will.”

  I nodded. “I will.”

  Nash’s shoulders sagged in relief. He met my gaze. “C-can you tell Bay?”

  I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to tell him. So I said what I planned to tell my brother. “I’ll him you’re a hero.”

  Nash made a sound in his throat, like a sob, before smiling. “Perfect.” He gave himself a shake, face hardening. “Now, fucking go.”

  Right, if Nash was willing to do this, then I had to make sure his sacrifice was worth it. “Everyone shift,” I ordered. “I’m carrying Reese, we gotta really put some distance between us and the Nowere pack, all right?”

  When I was surrounded by Weres and wolves, I shifted, picked up my mate, and we all began to run.

  I glanced over my shoulder, and the last I saw of Nash was his broad back, head high, as he crashed through the forest on his way to the pack of Noweres.

  He was a hero, all right.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Reese

  * * *

  Every jarring movement of Dare’s heavy and swift footfalls was a bolt of agony through my body, but I gritted my teeth and rode it out. He panted at the burden of my extra weight as he ran at a relentless pace with the rest of the pack. I’d shifted back to my wolf form, and he wore me across his shoulders and neck like a scarf, holding onto my front and back paws as he ran. My injuries were too severe to heal quickly and would take time.

  I think I passed out a couple of times from the pain, going limp only to flinch awake with a whole new level of suffering.


  The only good news was that we saw zero signs of Noweres. After encountering two deadly packs back-to-back, fate was taking it easy on us the rest of the way. Still, the speed we were traveling was nearly impossible to sustain with the amount of injuries we bore.

  Dare directed us to stop at the same clearing where we’d rested on the way. Everyone shifted and took the time to rest up, eating and drinking what provisions we had left.

  My mate hadn’t let me out of his sight; in fact, he hadn’t let me out of his arms. We sat against a tree on the soft ground. He ran his fingers through my hair, over my ribs and the bruises on my face and back. “You’re healing well,” he muttered.

  The broken bones had begun to knit, which was not a comfortable feeling at all. “Yeah.”

  He held my head in his callused grip, studying my face before sliding one finger down my forehead. “You’re in pain, though, I can see the tenseness.”

  I nodded. “It’s okay, Dare.”

  He frowned, his nostrils flaring once, before shoving a canteen of water in my face. “We’ll get you healed up. You’ll be fine. No worse for wear.”

  “I know.” I wanted to dwell on the care Dare had shown me after I’d been wounded, but I was sure it was only relief I hadn’t died. As he’d said, if I died, he’d perish shortly after. The True Mate bond fucked him that way. He was sending me away; my welfare was only important because he needed me to stay alive.

  He ripped off a piece of jerky with his teeth, chewing half and giving the other to me. He stared at the grass beneath us while swallowing. “When I saw you fall to the ground, my skin got hot, like I was burning from the inside out.” He shook his head before lifting his eyes to me. “Never felt that before.”

  I moved closer. “Right before the pack hit us, did you…” I couldn’t think of words to describe the sensation. “Did you feel like something was in your brain?”