Chapter 164

• We both sigh, and she grips my arm tighter, her breathing shallowing, and I look up to see what has her gasping. The dark figures of a combined pack of fifty or more wolves move through the fog as one fluid unit. I spot them too. Heading towards the mountain, it’s obvious, even from here, that the most familiar figures, our mates and our sub-pack, are leading the way. Still leaders, even under a spell. It’s a sight that crushes me.
• We both stand stock still, holding breaths, watching them disappear into the fog, and my heart sinks as I lose sight of him. A fire emerges in my stomach and burns in my chest as rage builds from heartbreak.
• “Screw the fates. Screw vampires…. We won’t take this lying down. We WILL get our pack back. Our men. What’s the point of being some hybrid with gifts if I stay in here crying over this? You’re right. I AM something special, and maybe us pursuing this witch and doing what we need to do will change something… if not, at the very least, we get our mates back. We make her help us and prioritize our pack above all.” There’s a tinge of anger in my voice, and I stand up rigidly, letting that despair turn into icy determination, that pain turn into a stubborn decision, much like so many months ago when I left to run free alone in the mountains and forests to find my own path. Wasn’t that when the fates started to give me nudges for help? When I let my decision and instinct take over, I went looking for a solution to my predicament.