the command held her, and she shifted in front of them, I ran toward the alphas. Their power pushed at me, wanting to shove me off my feet. My wolf shoved against my skin, snarling her rage. We were not weak. We would do this, and we would win. The battle raged around us, the sounds and smells trying to distract me.
Kitten, no, Ian roared, but he was on the other side of the field, still searching for the shielder. Chann’s and Zev’s cries rushed across the link, but they were too far to reach me as they battled through the bodies between us.
I pulled my power forward, the same way I had when I challenged them so many weeks ago, letting it spread across my skin. My wolf howled her approval as it coated us, rolling in a wave.
“Marine!” I screamed the word as I dove between the two, my eyes locking on Alpha Due’s for a moment as his magic dropped away instantly. “Marine!”
Alarick’s strength battered me, tearing into my body as my wolf shrieked. “Penny!” His cry was anguished, and I could hear Gwyar’s laughter ringing in my ears. My body turned of its own accord, searching Alarick out as if an invisible tether combined us. He grabbed me, his power pulling me to him as he yanked it back in, hauling me into his arms.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Pixie
“Well, that was unpleasant,” I murmured, blood trickling from my lips as Alarick cradled me against his chest.
“Impossible!” Gwyar screeched, falling onto his ass.
“You have a stupid codeword,” I told Alpha Due. “Your mate’s at the pack house with Tala.”
Alarick’s face was gray, his blood dripping onto me as he patted me down. “You’re okay, you’re okay,” he chanted, and I shoved at him, stumbling gracelessly to my feet. Silence reigned across the battlefield, and I feared for a moment I had gone deaf as wolves of all color stared at me, many in the middle of different battle holds.
“That should have killed you,” Alpha Due explained conversationally, though there was a quaver to his voice now, his blood spattered face stark. Around us, the wolves began to move again, but for many, it seemed the battle was over. Alarick wove his arm around my waist, carefully supporting me. His eyes were full of pain as he stared at Alarick. “I’m sorry, my friend,” he murmured.
“I understand the love of a mate,” Alarick replied, leaning down to kiss my head. “I will not begrudge you yours.” He reached across the divide between them, and the pair clasped hands before turning to face Gwyar. The shield around him was already flickering—it might have been for some time, covered as it was before by the blinding glow of the two alphas’ powers. The pair snarled madly as they watched the fumbling male.
“Your plan’s fallen apart, Gwyar,” Due spat. “My mate is safe. Half of your followers are decimated.”
“You cost the lives of dozens of good wolves today,” Alarick roared, waving a hand across the battlefield that was littered with bodies as the shield around him flickered again. “The wolf shielding you won’t last much longer.”
Although Gwyar was gray with fear and sweat slicked his skin, he lifted his chin. “You think this will end it?” he hissed. “What are you going to do with the rest of these wolves?” He waved a hand at the ones who had returned to gather behind him. “Execute your new packmates?” He laughed, his shoulders shaking. “Your grandfather banned executions. How do you know which ones I forced to fight? Which ones I made a manipulator influence?” Alarick had stiffened beside me as Due snarled. “What about the ones who aren’t your pack? Are you going to kill them all? Start more wars that will fall at Lupine Hollow’s feet?” He inclined his head at other wolves now, ones I assumed weren’t members of Starlight Woods. “They may not be here with their alpha’s knowledge, you know. They may have been manipulated too.”
“You will still die today.” Due’s voice was icy, his blood a steady drumbeat as it dripped onto the ground while he continued to stare at the other man, merely waiting for the last flicker of the shield to die away. Alarick released me, shifted into his wolf, and stepped forward, his howl echoing across the field.
“I won’t die alone,” he cackled madly as the shield fell away, and Alarick pounced, the man dying with a squawk of horrid glee.