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 for goddamn living. How could I forget the priority of her safety?

“I remember,” she whispered staunchly, her heart in her eyes, even though her hold on me was fierce, even though she was trying, verbally, physically, emotionally, to tell me she was okay.

So I gritted my teeth, bearing with the fact that nothing about this was okay, and left her with Ethan after I made her repeat the code to me. I heard her moan, which keyed me into the fact that Ethan was saying farewell the same way I had, and I stormed out of the house, not waiting on him to join me as I ran down the stairs.

When I saw the door was wide open, probably from Daniel and Austin’s exit, I shifted, launching myself down the final ten, and howling with rage as I slammed on the speed and began to move toward the forest.

My howl, I knew, would tell any wolf within a twenty-mile radius that I was calling them to action. My second howl told them we were at war.

To be prepared.

I snarled as I scented more of the fucking scum around my land, and though I wanted to leave Ethan with Sabina, I knew I couldn’t. I needed him. I needed every man and woman to fight.

Within seconds, I heard the racing of paws as Ethan caught up with me as I scouted out the perimeter. And though the stench of hyena was strong, it was scattered, and it was, predominantly, powered by a dozen or so individual males. But there were definitely females here. Shifted females, as well as humans.

I turned to Ethan and ground out, “Am I losing my mind, or can you smell shifted and human females?”

“I can.”

“Cannon fodder?”

“I doubt it. You know how whacko they are about their women.”

I did, but nothing else made sense to me.

“Where are they?”

I heard more feet, scented more wolves approaching, and figured they were coming in from town, only now just reaching our running lands. When they scattered around me, I howled, calling more of my pack to my side as I carried on scenting, trying to figure out what was happening.

The odor was too wide spread to discern from where they were based, so I raced forward, entering the woods, veering toward the circle.

The notion hit me then that was where Sabina should be.

Fuck!

How could I have forgotten how she fared better while in the sacred circle?

Regret hit me, but I had to hope and pray that the safe room would protect her where the circle might not. Hadn’t Choi told me only yesterday that his sacred circle had been breached?

We’d been nourishing ours, cherishing ours, but who the hell knew what would stand up to a siege and what wouldn’t?

When another solitary howl made itself known to me from the other side of the woods, I gritted my teeth, recognizing one of Berry’s pack.

The noise stirred me on. Relieved me, in fact.

“It’s Berry,” Sabina whispered into my mind, confirming what I knew. “She’s on her way. She didn’t leave.”

“No.”

“I thought she had.”

“You missed her.”

“I miss her now.”

Me too. She’d have been keeping Sabina safe, dammit.

“We’re heading to the totem,” I told her, unable to think about my mother or her role as Sabina’s guard dog, because if I did, then it would split my focus even more.

Of all the times for her to be without protection, it had to be tonight, didn’t it? And after I’d yelled at Berry earlier in the day, chasing her off… Mother, I was fortunate she was willing to return when she had to know we were fighting.

“Anyone in the pack there already?” Ethan asked.

“No. I can’t sense anyone there. Most of them are gathered with you now, some are still in town. Mostly women.”

“Call them to the totem. We may need them. The hyenas are shielding their presence. Last thing we need is to be outnumbered.” More than I already knew we’d be.

I felt her fear, but I couldn’t respond to it.

“I’ll let them know.” Then, she sucked in a sharp breath. “Austin.”

“What about him?”

“Where is he?” Ethan demanded.

“I don’t know. I can’t sense him anymore.” Her fear morphed into panic.

I was already running at full speed, but her words had me increasing my pace until it took barely a few moments to find myself at the totem circle.

What I saw was a sight I prayed Sabina couldn’t see. I knew she’d somehow tapped into Berry’s sight, had seen us the night the council attacked, but this was a nightmare unfolding.

Dozens of naturals were being torn to shreds by what looked to be a full clan of hyenas. There were human mates wandering around, armed with guns, and that was what I figured they’d been shielding—using their piss to cover the scent of cordite. Which was, I knew, their way in.

They’d gone hunting and had destroyed a natural pack in the process.

I braked to a halt when I saw Austin on his back, Daniel at his side, the pair of them slouched over, blood pooling beneath both their heads. Ethan snarled at the sight, but I snapped, “Can you feel his heartbeat? Is he still alive?”

“Can’t sense it over the noise in the clearing,” he growled into my mind, his maw on full display, saliva dripping over his fangs as he took in the carnage.

The naturals had been slaughtered, anything from pups to full grown wolves, a pack that I’d spent a good ten years trying to even out their numbers, decimated.

Rage, so pure and violent, hit me square between the eyes, but I knew if I acted on instinct, they’d just shoot us.

I knew we needed help.

“I can sense his heartbeat,” she whispered into my mind. “It’s faint. You three and Knight are usually the first things I sense but—”

“There’s a lot going on tonight,” I said, trying to soothe, but I knew there was no point. This was any woman’s worst nightmare. Fuck, this was any alpha’s, too. “We’re going to have to charge our way in, Sabina. I need you to prepare for what might happen.”

“No! There has to be another way!”

Her scream tore into my mind, ripping into me, but even worse, it had the entire pack juddering in response. It took me a few moments to realize that we weren’t the only ones affected. The hyenas and their human mates had stopped. Their silenced guns no longer randomly popped, and they were no longer feasting on the dead wolves, but their heads were whipping from side to side, as though they could hear that endless scream too.