Chapter 48 BLACKWOOD ATTACK

Chapter 48 BLACKWOOD ATTACK
Dalton's POV

My ribs hurt where the Blackwood Alpha's claws had raked across them. 

The Blackwood Alpha circled me, grinning with bloodstained teeth. 

"Your pack is weak, Grey," he taunted. "This is what happens when you let sentiment cloud your judgment."

I blocked his next swing and drove my fist into his ribs. 

My father appeared beside me. His face was covered in cuts, and one eye was swollen shut, but he was still fighting.

"Together," he growled.

We moved as one. Father went low, I went high. Our attacks came from different angles, forcing the Blackwood Alpha to choose which one to block.

He chose wrong.

My claws found his throat. 

Father kicked out his knee, and the Alpha went down hard.

More Blackwood wolves flooded into the packhouse. 

Pack members fought desperately around me.

I had sworn to protect them and keep Pine Ridge safe.

The Blackwood Alpha got back to his feet. Blood ran down his neck, but he was still smiling. "Your pack is broken, Grey. Surrender now, and I might let some of them live."

My father snarled. "We do not surrender."

But I looked around at the burning packhouse and at my people dying. 

"Fall back!" I shouted. "Everyone, fall back into the forest!"

Every Grey pack member stopped fighting and stared at me.

"Now!" I roared. "That is an order!"

Tom grabbed Sarah and pulled her toward the back exit. Others followed. One by one, my pack retreated through the smoke and flames.

My father stood frozen beside me. He looked at me with something between disappointment and understanding.

For the first time in Pine Ridge history, a Grey Alpha had surrendered territory.

The Blackwood Alpha laughed. "Smart choice. Maybe you will live long enough to regret it."

I backed toward the exit, keeping my eyes on the enemy. My father moved with me, watching our flanks.

We burst out the back door into the cold night air. The pack was already scattering into the trees.

Behind us, the packhouse burned. 

I ran into the forest. Branches whipped my face. 

We regrouped in a clearing half a mile from the packhouse. Twenty-three pack members. That was all.

Some were missing, others were dead.

Tom limped over to me. His arm hung at the wrong angle. "What now, Alpha?"

Before I could answer, a scream tore through the trees behind us.

I spun around. Three Blackwood wolves had followed us. They had Lisa cornered against a rock, and she was bleeding from a cut on her arm.

"Form up!" I shouted.

But my pack was exhausted.

The lead Blackwood wolf lunged at Lisa. She dodged but stumbled. He was going in for the kill.

I launched myself forward. Grabbed him mid-leap and slammed him into the ground. We rolled across the grounder.

I got him in a chokehold and squeezed until he went limp. Dropped him and turned to face the other two.

My father and Tom had already engaged them. The fight was quick and brutal. Within seconds, both Blackwood wolves were on the ground.

"Are they dead?" Lisa asked.

"No," my father said. "Unconscious. We are not murderers."

I helped her to her feet.

"Thank you, Alpha," she whispered.

I nodded and turned back to the group. We couldn't stay here. The Blackwood pack would send more wolves.

Victoria's voice came through the radio on my belt.

Victoria's voice came through the radio on my belt.

"Dalton." Her voice was urgent. "Dalton, can you hear me?"

I grabbed the radio. "I am here. What is your status?"
"The hospital is secure. No explosion. I am guessing Joyce stopped Vane before he could detonate."

The hospital was safe, and Joyce was probably alive. There is hope.

But Victoria was not done.

"Dalton, Vane is talking. The hospital was never the real target. It was a distraction."

Ice flooded my veins. "What do you mean?"

"He says there is one more bomb. Bigger than all the others combined. It is set to detonate at the Christmas Eve bonfire tomorrow night."

Tomorrow night. The biggest event of the year in Pine Ridge. Hundreds of people gathered in the town square to celebrate the holiday.

"If it goes off," Victoria said, "it will kill everyone in town."

The world tilted. I braced myself against a tree trunk.

"Where?" I demanded. "Where is the bomb?"

"He won't say. Just keeps laughing and saying we will never find it in time."

My father stepped closer. He had heard everything on the radio.
"We evacuate," he said. "Cancel the bonfire. Clear the town."
"And show weakness? The Blackwood pack already thinks we are broken. If we evacuate, if we let fear control us, we lose everything. They will move in and take over completely."
"Better than letting our people die."
He was right. But Vane had spent months planning, manipulating, pulling strings. He would not leave the location of the final bomb to chance.

I looked around at my scattered pack.

"We stop running, and we figure out how to stop Vane before it is too late."