Any ideas? I called desperately across the link, my eyes searching for anyone that looked like a shielder, but nothing visually identified a power.
Bit busy, Chann panted, taking down a large, gray wolf midair.
I looked for Zev and saw him facing off with a smaller red wolf. Shaw, he hissed at me.
Fuck her up, I growled, as I searched the perimeter again. Ian moved like oil, darting and striking, hitting target after target and pulling away again. It took me a moment to understand he was incapacitating as many as he could as quickly as he could in an attempt to find the shielder.
My wolf was beating at me, demanding to help, but I couldn’t leave Shannon alone. Already, the circle around us was slightly smaller, pushing us a step closer to the heat of the alpha battle raging at our backs. When her power dropped, I would be needed to protect them both. Again and again I searched, before realization struck me.
Ian! I called down the link. He’s submissive. The shielder or shielders, they’re submissive. I sent him a memory of the shielder we had seen at the hotel, the way he had curled in on himself, rocking and picking, refusing to meet our eyes and turning away from us. It’s why they’re keeping all of the submissive wolves here, he or she’s one of them and they’d run if they had the chance, I explained frantically.
Oh, shit, Chann muttered. We can’t knock all of them out! Our allies will turn on us just as fast if we go after them.
Good job, kitten, Ian praised. Look for the eyes if you can. If nothing else, see who they don’t want us near! If we get too close, they’ll turn us back.
I sighed, hoping they’d be able to find them fast, but the field was huge and the wolves were spread out, constantly moving. I glanced back at Alarick and Due, at the bloody wounds decorating their flesh as they slammed their power into each other over and over again. They hadn’t even shifted yet, and they were already torn up. What was going to happen when they finally shifted? I clamped down on the panic, refusing to let it cross to him through the bond.
“Hello, Pixie.” I yelped, turning to face the female who’d slipped from the trees. Her hair was shorter now, and there was a hint of gray in it—she must have added a dye at some point. Shannon hissed and Luna sobbed as Rhiannon stepped toward me. “You know, this is all your fault,” Rhiannon told me with a smile, her eyes glinting.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ve been down this road.”
Guys, Rhiannon’s here, I announced down the bond. If she takes my head, I’ll need one of you here fast before she gets to Shannon and Luna. Shannon, I’m taking her farther away. I’m sorry, but you have to keep Luna safe for a bit. I don’t trust her this close to you. Zev was closest, but he was fighting off three red wolves now, and I didn’t know if he’d be able to make it to me before I got to them.
“It’s true. Just like you killed your mom.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself, and Rhiannon froze. “You’ll need a new trick. That only works if I was feeling guilty about it, and I’m not.”
Her lips peeled back in a snarl. “Oh, I’ve got plenty of new tricks,” she retorted flatly. “Thanks to you, I had no time to do anything but learn new tricks. You got me banished.”
“You got yourself banished,” I countered, shifting closer to her to keep her away from Luna. “I had nothing to do with the fact that you suck at following orders or that you’re a murderous bitch. And I know all about your new tricks,” I hissed at her as fury rode me. “How dare you use one of my pups that way? Your own brother?” I stalked her now, pushing her back, and whether it was the fury that pumped from me or purely coincidence, the other wolves moved from her path.
Her eyes widened for a moment before she smirked. “I see you know some of it then. Like I said, it’s your fault. If you didn’t have me banished, I would have had other things to do. I would have had friends and family and a mate.” Her eyes shot to Alarick for a moment before they returned to me. “I