Alpha Queen (Claimed by Wolves #4) - Callie Rose Page 0,81

Nearby, two witches stand with their backs to me, flinging magic at a group of shifters who are attempting to dart in and stop them. I shift course and run for them, then leap at the witches’ backs, taking them both down with a well-placed paw between their shoulder blades.

They hit the dirt face first, and then the group of shifters they were attacking turn the tables on them.

For several moments, I ravage my way through the melee, knocking down witches with vicious speed and snuffing out lives with a cold, hard detachment that doesn’t even feel like me. But it’s because I only care about one life, a new life. My mind is on Sable and the baby, and how I’ll protect them both at all costs.

Even if it means annihilating every last member of this coven.

A blast of energy races past my face, so close that I feel the wind of it. I dart away, but the magical assault wasn’t meant for me. I whirl around to see a witch behind me falling to the ground, clutching his chest like a man in the throes of a heart attack, and I glance up at Sable.

She’s a small form on the ridge, watching grimly as black smoke billows from her hands. Protecting us from above, like Archer told her to do.

My beautiful, brave, determined mate.

Turning back to the fight, I launch myself at another witch and fall back into battle with single-minded determination. The tides have turned so that we’re coming out on top, which gives me another burst of energy that spells death for several of the enemy.

I don’t know how long we fight for. It feels like fucking forever, and the sun drops below the horizon as we battle. But then I hear a loud cry go up, echoing from inside the bunker.

All of the remaining witches on the battlefield freeze for a fraction of a second, shock passing over their faces.

And then they’re running.

A mass exodus of the last surviving witches flees the plain, jumping over their own dead in their haste to get away. Stumbling, shouting, grabbing at each other as they sprint down the mountain and away from the battle. Some shifters make a half-hearted attempt to stop them, but most of us just watch the coven go because we recognize what it means.

That cry was a signal. They know now that Cleo’s dead.

It’s been pretty obvious that the coven leader’s own hatred and the force of her will were what made these people hunt us and fight us. With her gone, the drive to kill shifters can’t outweigh the will to live. From what Gwen said, plenty of the coven members just went along with Cleo’s machinations out of fear of what would happen if they didn’t.

That makes them spineless cowards in my book, but it means they’re no longer a threat without her to spur them on.

Howls and yips erupt from all around the plain, and several wolves chase the last of the witches, nipping at their heels until they reach the tree line and vanish into the woods.

Amora appears in the midst of the celebrations and plops down on her haunches next to me. I can smell blood on her fur—her blood. But she’s clearly not dying, so I don’t mention it. I learned early in our friendship not to mention any weaknesses she might have, unless I wanted to get kicked in the nuts.

Sable safe? she asks, even her mind speak tone worried.

Sable is safe, I assure her. We left her on the ridge, but she’s coming down right now.

I can sense my mate traversing the steep slope, taking her time with every step so she won’t go tumbling down the mountainside. Archer’s already halfway there to help her, or else I wouldn’t still be sitting on my ass, watching the pack celebrate their victory.

Fewer of us dead this time, Amora observes.

Thankfully.

She shakes out her fur, sending little droplets of blood flying, before shooting a glance back at the stronghold. I’ll handle organizing the cleanup if the alphas want to storm the fortress.

Great plan.

She sets off, letting out a sharp, piercing howl to get the pack’s attention. I remain sitting where I am until Sable arrives, flanked by Archer, Trystan, and Dare.

I lost track of the other three alphas in the thick of the battle. I hoped like hell they were okay, trusting their skills and their intelligence to get them through this alive. But seeing them all intact and