that happening.”
“They’re canny fuckers,” Ethan groused.
“I know.” Another howl. Mournful.
Shit.
A million thoughts fired through my brain as I tried to process what our next moves should be, and ordinarily, I’d have been A-Okay with just leaping off the balcony and heading straight into the fray, but Sabina was here.
Sabina. With our son. And if she died because of our actions, Knight would be left alone.
Just the thought was enough to stagger me, to have me leaning harder on the balcony railing than I ought to, because the wrought iron might as well have been wet cardboard in comparison to an alpha’s strength.
“What is it?” Ethan rasped. “What’s wrong?”
“I can hear you,” Sabina said dryly, “even if you think you can try to hide it from me.”
My mouth tightened. “We wade into battle, and one of us gets injured, that’s it. We’re all gone.”
Her processing of the situation was rapid fire, and though she moved her hand to cover the back of Knight’s head, what stunned me was her resolve. “Lara could look after him,” she whispered.
“What?” I gaped at her.
“They’re not here to make friends, Eli,” she rumbled. “We can’t live with the fear of dying ruling everything we do. What are we supposed to do? Just let them overtake us? I love you, you love me, but we have to act. We’re leaders, not sheep.”
I knew we did.
I didn’t need her to tell me that, but fuck. The ramifications of everything just hit home to me in the most phenomenal way imaginable. But the way she took up the mantel of her position? If I wasn’t worried for her and our son, I’d have kissed her.
She was all omega at that moment. All fire and vim.
“They have to be here for Lara,” Ethan rasped, messing with my head even more. “What happens to Knight then?”
“The Mother told me my children wouldn’t die. I have to have faith in her, I have to believe in her.” She gritted her teeth. “Go. Do what you have to. Secure our land, keep us safe, and ram the message home that no one can mess with us, one that will protect us for years to come.”
She moved into my arms, her hands slipping into my hair as she sandwiched Knight, ever in his baby sling, between us as she leaned up on tiptoe. Then she kissed me like it was our final night on this earth. Like she knew what she couldn’t know—hyenas were wicked. Vindictive, spiteful. Mean fighters. Hard to kill because their numbers were different than ours.
We had one child, they could have several. Thanks to how they selected their sexual partners—choosing one for genetic compatibility rather than matters of the soul. Our mating process was different as we had tens of thousands of packs around the nation, whereas there were a handful of clans in the entirety of the States. Population control was different as a result, but it boiled down to the fact that we’d be wading into this battle with a few dozen wolves, and they could be here with hundreds.
But I couldn’t think of that, couldn’t transmit my fear onto her.
Instead, I kissed her back like I fucking meant it. I thrust my tongue against hers, fucking her mouth like I wished I’d had time to fuck her body. Like I would fuck her. When her goddamn milk moon was over.
Mother, I missed her. I missed her so goddamn badly, even though she was standing here, right in front of me, my arms around her.
As I pulled back, the scent of hyena piss floating on the air worse than burning wood come winter, I nipped her bottom lip and rasped, “Stay here. Stay safe. We can communicate from afar, and we can use you as a means of transmitting our intent with our people.”
She nodded quickly, and because I wanted to stay with her, keep her safe, protect her against anything and everything, I had to accept that wasn’t my lot in this life. I had to protect her by protecting my land. By protecting my people.
“Make sure, if you see them approach, you go to the safe room.”
Her eyes widened, because I knew she thought I was infallible—but I wasn’t. Not with the numbers we were going to be facing.
“You remember the code?” I’d told her months ago, back when the council had attacked and we’d had the safe room moved, but that was too long ago. Fuck.
I’d grown lax.
I’d become too happy—she was my reason