Page 74 of Alpha Brock
A devious grin stretches her lips. “Damn right I do. See you on the other side,” she says, her long blonde ponytail swishing behind her as she goes to take her position. I’ve always liked Fallon- the girl’s fucking fearless. The shadow pack isn’t gonna know what hit them when it comes to her.
Gray is following closely behind his mate, giving me a little nod as he passes by. “Good luck out there.”
“Same to you,” I murmur, clenching and unclenching my fists and hopping from one foot to the other to get my blood pumping.
Reid’s squadron is positioned right beside mine, and he’s just staring off into the treeline, totally in the zone. I walk over to him and he’s so focused that he doesn’t even turn to me until I’m right up on him.
“Hey,” I grumble. “Astrid’s gonna switch to squadron six so I can keep eyes on her. But if anything happens to me…”
Reid gives a curt nod, picking up on my meaning before I even finish. “Yeah, of course,” he grits out. “I’ve got her.”
I nod, clapping him on the shoulder. “Thanks man. Give ‘em hell.”
“Back atcha,” Reid smirks, and I turn and stride back over to my assigned squadron, looking around for Astrid. She’d better work out a closer position, or I’m sending her ass back to the packhouse to wait this thing out.
I spot her walking my way, an angry looking Chris following closely.
“You can’t just swap things out at the last minute, Astrid,” he protests, his tone laced with annoyance.
She waves over her shoulder at him dismissively. “It’ll be fine, Chris. Cole said it’s fine. Just go back to your squadron.”
“But Astrid…” Chris argues, and the fucker has the nerve to reach out and grab her arm, yanking her back.
I charge in their direction, closing the distance between us in just a few strides.
“You got a fuckin’ problem?” I demand, and Chris immediately lets Astrid’s arm go, shrinking back.
Astrid rolls her eyes, folding her arms over her chest and positioning herself between us. “No problem. Chris is just a control freak about battle plans.” She turns and shoots him a glare. “But it isn’t the end of the world foroneperson to change squadrons, is it, Chris?”
His eyes narrow on her, his jaw clenching- but if he had any retort, he changes his mind about voicing it when his gaze slides over to me again. Chris heaves an irritated sigh, turning on a heel. “Fine,” he huffs, trudging back to take his position.
I shoot daggers from my eyes into his back as he retreats, then turn to Astrid, softening my expression. “So you’re on six?”
She nods. “I’m on six.”
The wail of sirens suddenly pierces the air, startling both of us. It’s our signal that the shadow pack has breached the border, courtesy of motion detectors in place that are designed to only detect and alert for larger animals. Like wolves.
Astrid’s big brown eyes fly wide, the fear in them evident. I’m scared, too- I’d be a fool not to be- but I keep it together, for her. I yank her into my chest, crushing my lips over hers. Kissing her like it’s the last thing I’ll ever do.
“Stay alert, stay alive,” I murmur against her lips, pulling back.
Astrid nods as the fear in her eyes is slowly replaced with a look of determination. She’s not weak- she’s a goddamn warrior. She’s got this.
That’s what I have to tell myself, over and over, as I turn away to leave her and return to my own squadron. With every step I take, my wolf thrashes in my chest in protest. Neither of us like being so far away from her, but I’ll still have eyes on her. That’s the best I can do.
The warriors in my squadron are all looking to me as I return to take my position among them. “This is what we’ve been training for,” I bark out, my gaze sweeping over them. Fuck, some are so young. They’ve only been on the squad for a couple of months, and they’re out here putting on a brave face, ready to give their lives for our cause. It’s not fucking fair.
I grit my teeth, focusing my mind. “Look out for one another and stick to the plan,” I say, and they all nod confidently, taking their places flanking me. All of us shuck our clothes, shifting to our wolf forms. Looking to the treeline and waiting.
The wait is excruciating. Time slows to a crawl. The cold breeze whips through my fur, fallen leaves rustle as they’re blown across the ground and crunch underfoot. I sink into a crouch, holding my position as the dull roar of an approaching army makes its way to my ears, the thunder of footsteps approaching faster, faster. I swear I can feel the earth rumbling under my feet as the sound crescendos and I see the first flickers of movement through the trees ahead.
As slow as time was moving on their approach, as soon as the first few enemy soldiers burst through the treeline and into view, time suddenly seems to move ten times as fast- Cole gives the signal for our advance, and adrenaline surges through me as I spring forward, jaws snapping, heart pounding. Leading the charge for my squadron to engage, the other leaders doing the same for theirs.
There’s so many of them. For every wolf that leaps from the treeline, two more appear, until there’s just a blur of fur and fangs heading our way. They advance on us as we advance on them, and all at once, our two sides collide.
It’s fucking chaos. Snarls and whimpers and snapping jaws, fur and blood flying. The sheer amount of movement is disorienting as we clash with the enemy, as are the sounds around me and through the mind-link in my head. I block it all out, get in the zone. Take down the first wolf that I see with a swipe of my paws, sinking my teeth into its neck and twisting until I feel a snap. Then I’m taken to the ground by another, and all I see are jaws snapping in my face as he tries to take a bite out of me. I’m stronger- I roll him over, tearing out his throat with my teeth. The metallic tang of blood swims in my mouth as I shoot back to my feet, eyes wide and wild.
All around me, wolves are tangled with one another. Some are fighting, some are dead. Some are dying. I look to my right, but I can’t see Astrid through the carnage- and as I try to look for her, another wolf tries to get the jump on me.