Chapter 52 Saving him
Zoe's POV
I heard the alarms from the inn.
Three long blasts. Pause. Three more.
Attack.
Enemy at the borders.
My wolf stirred. Alert. Worried.
"It's not our problem." I told her. "Let them handle it."
But she wouldn't settle. Kept pacing. Kept pulling.
MATE. MATE IN DANGER.
"He's not in danger. He's an Alpha. He can handle himself."
The alarms kept sounding. Louder. More urgent.
People ran past my window. Warriors. Armed. Moving toward the eastern border.
"This is a big attack." I whispered.
My wolf howled inside.
GO. MUST GO. MATE NEEDS US.
"No. We stay here. This isn't our fight."
But my feet were already moving. Toward the door. Down the stairs.
"What are you doing?" I asked myself. "Stop. Turn around."
But I couldn't. The bond was pulling. Hard. Urgent. Screaming.
I ran. Following the warriors. Toward the sound of battle.
Snarls. Growls. Clashing. Fighting.
I reached the tree line. Climbed a tall tree. High enough to see.
The battle was chaos. Wolves everywhere. Blood. Bodies. Fighting.
But something was wrong. Very wrong.
The enemy wolves... they weren't fighting everyone. They were pushing through. Targeting someone specific.
Targeting Jeremy.
I saw him. His large Alpha wolf. Fighting. Fierce. Strong.
But surrounded. Overwhelmed. Outnumbered.
"He's fine." I told myself. "He can handle it."
But then he ran. Leading the enemy wolves away from the pack.
Away from safety. Into the forest.
Toward me.
"No. No, what are you doing?" I whispered.
He was trying to protect his pack. Drawing the danger away from them.
Stupid. Brave. Selfless.
And so, so dangerous.
I climbed down. Followed. Quiet. Keeping my distance.
The enemy wolves chased him. All of them. Twenty. Maybe more.
All targeting him. Only him.
This wasn't a random attack. This was planned. Professional.
Someone sent these wolves to kill Jeremy. Specifically.
He reached a clearing. Turned to fight.
I hid behind trees. Watching.
He fought well. Took down three. Four. Five wolves.
But there were too many. Too coordinated. Too trained.
They were wearing him down. Hurting him. Backing him up.
Toward the cliff wall. Toward the stone.
"Get out of there." I whispered. "Move. Run."
But he couldn't. They had him boxed in.
His back hit the wall. Trapped. Cornered.
Blood covered his fur. His breathing heavy. His movements slower.
The enemy wolves closed in. Snarling. Ready to finish it.
"Not my problem." I told myself. "He can... he can..."
One wolf lunged. Bigger than the others. Stronger. Leader.
Went straight for Jeremy's throat.
Jeremy was too slow. Too tired. Too hurt.
The wolf's jaws opened. Ready to kill.
And something inside me snapped.
NO!
My wolf exploded. Took over completely.
I shifted. Fast. Violent. Without thinking.
Power surged through me. Different. Stronger. Hotter.
The baby's power. The superpower. Activating.
My body grew. Bigger than normal. Stronger. Faster.
Seven times more powerful. The priestess had said.
I felt it. Every muscle. Every nerve. Every cell on fire.
I launched forward. Faster than I'd ever moved.
The world slowed down. Everything clear. Sharp. Precise.
The enemy wolf's jaws were inches from Jeremy's throat.
I hit him. Full force. Like a boulder.
He flew backward. Slammed into a tree. Didn't get up.
The other wolves turned. Stared at me. Shocked.
I stood between them and Jeremy. Snarling. Ready.
My wolf was huge. Bigger than any wolf there. Bigger than an Alpha.
My eyes glowed. Not normal gold. But silver. Bright. Burning.
Power radiated from me. Heat. Energy. Danger.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" The words came out as a growl. Deep. Commanding. Terrifying.
The enemy wolves backed up. Uncertain now. Scared.
They'd been sent to kill one Alpha. Not to face... whatever I was.
One brave wolf lunged at me.
I moved. So fast he didn't see it coming.
Grabbed his throat with my jaws. Threw him. Thirty feet. Into the rocks.
He didn't get up.
Another attacked from the side. I spun. Clawed his chest. Deep. Fatal.
He fell. Dead before he hit the ground.
The power was incredible. Overwhelming. Intoxicating.
I could feel everything. See everything. Move faster than thought.
The baby's gift. Protecting itself. Protecting me. Protecting...
Protecting its father.
Even though the baby didn't know. Even though this was instinct. Biology. Nature.
The baby was protecting Jeremy. Through me.
Five more wolves attacked together. Coordinated. Smart.
I didn't care.
I tore through them. Like they were nothing. Like paper. Like air.
Claws. Teeth. Power. Speed.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Down. Dead. Gone.
The remaining wolves backed up more. Fear in their eyes now.
"LEAVE!" I roared. "OR DIE!"
They looked at each other. At their dead packmates. At me.
Then they ran. Fast. Desperate. Retreating into the forest.
I watched them go. Made sure they were really leaving.
Then I turned.
Jeremy was still against the wall. Staring at me.
His Alpha wolf. Large. Powerful. Injured.
But nothing compared to what I was right now. What I'd become.
"Margaret?" His voice. Confused. Shocked. "How did you...?"
I shifted back. The power fading. My body returning to normal size.
But still... different. Still stronger than before.
I stood there. Breathing hard. Covered in blood.
Not my blood. Their blood.
Jeremy shifted back too. Naked. Bleeding. Hurt.
"You saved me." He said. Disbelief in his voice. "You... what are you?"
I didn't answer. Couldn't answer.
Because I didn't know what to say.
My wolf had taken over. The superpower had activated. And I'd saved him.
The man I was supposed to hate. Supposed to destroy. Supposed to make suffer.
I'd saved him.
Instinctively. Without thinking. Without choosing.
Because of the mate bond. Because of the baby. Because of...
"Why?" Jeremy asked. Moving closer. Limping. Hurt. "Why did you save me?"
"I..." My voice came out rough. "I don't know."
"You should have let them kill me." He stopped in front of me. "After everything. After Mia. After the baby. You should have just walked away."
"I should have." I agreed. Quiet.
"But you didn't."
"No. I didn't."
We stared at each other. Blood. Sweat. Pain. Truth.
"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you for saving my life."
I wanted to say something cold. Something distant. Something that pushed him away.
But no words came.
Because I was angry.
Angry at myself. At my wolf. At the bond. At the baby.
Angry that I'd saved him. That I'd revealed my power. That I'd shown I cared.
When I was supposed to hate him. When he was supposed to die. When this was all supposed to be different.
"Margaret..." He reached for me.
"Don't." I stepped back. "Don't touch me."
"But..."
"I saved you because..." I searched for a lie. Any lie. "Because the pack needs their Alpha. That's all."
"That's all?" He didn't believe me. I could see it in his eyes.
"That's all." I turned away. "You're welcome. Now let's get you to the doctor."
"Margaret, wait..."
But I was already walking. Away from him. Away from what just happened.
Away from the truth neither of us could deny.
I'd saved him. With power I shouldn't have. At a time I should have let him die.
And he knew. He saw. He felt it.
The connection. The bond. The truth.
And everything... everything was about to get so much more complicated.