Chapter 181
Aizen runs into the house. His serious expression turns into a huge grin when his eyes land on the cameras and the Pop Mart bag on the coffee table.
“Hi, Mom,” he gives me an awkward side hug and runs for the stairs before I can say a single thing to him. It takes him seconds to rush back down with his laptop under his arm and the charger in the other.
“You’re smiling big. I take it he didn’t react the way you thought he would.”
I bump Knight as he watches Aizen set up his laptop to help Ayrie. He gave me a side hug when he arrived and rushed out a hello before running up to get his computer. What the hell, man?
“He told me I was the best King Dad,” he says quietly.
“Aww, all I got was an awkward side hug. Did you talk about Ayrie with him?” This is my favorite team–up so far.
“She’s the one who told him to get out of her room. Not the other way around. He was very upset about her telling him he stinks.”
“Is there anything we can do about that?” I ask.
“Nothing. They’ll work things out,” he says with confidence.
“Daddy,” Ayrie waves him over.
As he steps towards them, a cold flash washes over me. Without thinking, I reach out to grab his wrist. I look back towards the door. Midnight is up and ready to jump in if needed. My ears ring for a moment, making me dizzy.
“Phoebe?” he says with urgency.
“Something’s wrong,” I say. Mr. Knightly is by our side immediately.
“Stay with the pups. Dad, run formations with the guards. I’ll get the betas,” Knight orders.
When Mr. Knightly turns to go for the door, my body takes over, and I reach out to grab his shirt. I pull him back as hard as I can, just as the double doors that Knight and our son just walked through not that long ago explode.
I stumble forward and smack right into Knight. He wraps his body around me just as I hit him, and I’m pinned under him as a second explosion goes off. I turn on all fours and crawl out from under him, going for the twins.
“Mommy,” Ayrie cries out.
I skid to a stop beside them and pick her up. I pull Aizen to me and tuck him under my arm. I rush up the stairs as wolves in their pelt rush in. I keep going and hear both Arnold’s and Knight’s wolf howl. I run into our room and head for the closet.
“I need you two to stay here,” I push the back wall the way Mr. Knightly taught me. The two of them go inside without question. “No one can come in here. Just mommy, daddy, and pop–pop.”
“Don’t go,” Aizen grabs my arm. “She has to stay.”
“Who?” I ask. The two of them point at my belly. I take a knee and kiss the two of them on their head. “Please, don’t argue. I need you to get along for now. Okay? I can’t be worried about you as well. You promise?”
“Mommy.” Ayrie hugs me.
“Do you promise?” I growl. Aizen takes her hand and pulls her back.
“We promise,” he swears. “Be safe.”
07:10 Wed, 2 Jul
Chapter 181
tlook them over and step back to shut the door. I tap the sequence to shut them in, and I reach for the shotgun inside the think and the bullets, along with a couple of other weapons, Mr. Knightly said I was going to need. I wiggle into the holster he left for me. I can feet Midnight on the edge of abaret end and she begins.
You can do this. The full moon is too close. We won’t have control, she reminds me.
This is for our family and our pack-
I take a few deep breaths and place my hand over my belly. I load the shotgun and hold it up the way Knight taught me. The lights go out as I step out of the closet. I shut this door behind me and fix the rug as I move toward the exit.
Everything turns red, and my senses flare. I let go of my hold on my wolf and allow her to push forward alongside me, the way Allison and I have been practicing. I clear the hallway, listening to the sound of wolves fighting below. This is important, I remind myself
“Remember which ones are ours,” I say, and begin to make my way down.
My body moves instinctively as soon as I touch down on the first floor. Four wolves are trying to take down Arnold’s wolf. I fire, hitting the one on his back. I pump the shotgun and fire at the second one. The third lets go, and I reach for the handgun in the holster. I fire three times into its mouth before it can get any closer.
It hits the floor, and before I can claim victory, my body drops, and I spin around to fire at a wolf coming at me mid–sprint. It skids across the tanned tiled floor, leaving a blood trail in its way.
“Knight!” I call out.
I hear his snarl and then a cry. I stand when he jumps out from behind the kitchen doors. He growls at me, shaking his head disapprovingly. He doesn’t get to let more out when another wave of wolves rushes in. I fire, hitting one of them in the head as he goes for more of them.
“Alpha Rizen!” Allison runs into the room with Ren behind her. As soon as she sees me, she shifts into a dark brown wolf.
“Start closing the back doors. Clear the rooms,” I order. The two of them don’t have to be told twice. Other hunters with them rush after them. Jason runs over to me. “Let’s start pushing them back. No intruder in the pack house lives.”
He growls in agreement and takes the lead. He fights the same way Knight and his father do. The difference is that he’s entirely in control when the Knightly’s fully give in to the hunt. Other wolves join him. Buddy jumps out in front of me when I get to the door. He snarls, urging me to step back.
“Move,” I growl back. He steps forward, sniffing at my belly. I groan, burying my hand in the fur on his neck. “I know, but think of the ones that are already here, upstairs. I need them to be safe. We’re the alphas of this pack, and we need to help them. Watch my back. We have to show them they can’t fuck
with us.”
