Chapter 103 PANDEMONIUM
WILLA’S POV
My heart stilled when the attention of every rogue wolf shifted to me. But it went cold and plummeted when their gazes zeroed in on Gillian’s and Calisto’s small cowering forms.
Every fiber of my being went alight with my protective instincts.
I adjusted my stance, no longer trying to be furtive with my movement, just so I could shield my kids away from the rogue wolves’ view.
Or at least shield them as much as I could.
Then I sent another warning growl, making sure to put more threat in each gritty note.
Gallahan echoed me without hesitation. But the sound coming from him rang louder and deeper that it almost made me shiver.
It was a sound that could make any other wolf tuck their tail between their legs. One that told a history of violence. One that promised a grim fate to those that wouldn’t heed his warning.
But oddly enough, it had soothed my rabbiting heart. It assured me that everything would be alright. At least for me and for our twins.
I couldn’t be too sure I could say the same for the rogue wolves that were now closing in on us with manic predatory hunger in their eyes.
Gallahan unwaveringly stood his ground, though.
He didn’t dare take another intimidating step forward, likely unwilling to provide an opening for a possible attack on me and the twins. But he also didn’t retreat. Not even a single step.
He remained guarded, poised mighty and imposing.
The three rogue wolves, once they were all less than five yards away from us, started circling us with their heads slightly dipped down in caution.
Their watchful gazes continued to glint with their thirst for unnecessary gorey bloodshed, flickering towards Calisto and Gillian over and over again. And every time I caught notice of such gazes lingering for longer than a second, a hot wave of anger and vigilance would surge in my veins.
‘Gallahan,’ I called. This time, urgency had intermingled deeply with my desperation. ‘Gallahan. Let me call for my family. From anyone from my pack.’
Still, nothing. It failed like any other time.
Damn it!
Things weren’t looking good at all.
No one was backing down.
Gallahan’s attempt to intimidate the dominant rogue wolf fell short and flat, and I exacerbated the situation by drawing attention. Because I could almost swear its eyes were leering at me from time to time.
As if…
Oh, bloody hell.
My stomach swooped and churned uncomfortably as a realization of what the leeringg meant dawned on me.
It was as if the dominant rogue wolf had every intention to defeat Gallahan and kill our pups so it could claim me as its mate.
And Gallahan seemed to notice the same thing, given the way he mirrored the steps of the dominant rogue wolf as it circled around us, only paying half a mind to the other two.
I further considered the situation with a pounding heart.
If things escalated between the two, it would leave me and the twins utterly unguarded, forcing me to fight the other rogue wolves. Unless of course they would opt to stand back and watch the two Alpha wolves battle it out—an unlikely possibility.
But fighting wasn’t something I was too inclined to do, even though I wouldn’t hesitate to risk my life for the sake of our children. Because I didn’t want to risk shifting my entire attention away from children for a fight that could get bloody.
My other option would be to ask them to run as fast as they could and to escape this nightmare with the best of their abilities. But I also didn’t want the possibility of them being caught anyway.
After all, one rogue werewolf could possibly preoccupy me well enough already. So the other one could chase after the twins.
Oh, fuck this.
I tapped into my mind link with William, uncaring anymore for Gallahan’s pride as my mate, and without a damn to give about the undeniable strain that still plagued my relationship with my brother.
‘William! William! Please come and help us. Rogue wolves. Three of them. I’m with Gallahan and the twins. Please, William. I… I know things have been rough between us. But please come. I need you. We’re on the trail on the far eastern side of the moorland. Gallahan and I could take them fine on our own but with the twins around… I couldn’t risk having them unguarded for longer than a second. I…’
A loud howl, reverberating with anger and fright at the same time, tore from my throat as the dominant rogue wolf finally dared to launch itself at Gallahan.
Then, to make matters worse, silver-tipped arrows came shooting from every direction out of thin air.
‘Creature hunters!’ I internally cried out as I quickly ushered the twins to run.
I barely even registered how one of the rogue wolves was hit by an arrow. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to kill it. After all, the arrow had only pierced its left hind leg, leaving the wolf aggravated.
‘Run! Run! As fast as you can,’ I urged the twins, pushing them with my nuzzle.
While I could just carry one of them by the scruff of their neck with my mouth, I also didn’t want the other to feel as if I had forsaken them to run on their own. Doing so would also leave the other lagging behind, which I would never allow in this circumstance.
So shielding them with my own body and urging them to be quick on their paws were the optimal decision my brain had decided to make.
With adrenaline pumping faster within my veins, I mentally mapped the moorland I knew like the back of my hand, hoping that, even in the chaos of the situation and the panic rampaging my mind, I could think of a quick escape for the twins.
Or at least a refuge that was just far enough to be safe from the pandemonium of the fray, but near enough that I could head back quickly for Gallahan.
But we were in a moorland. Not in a dense forest that could generously offer good hiding spots safe enough to put my mind at ease.
‘Mommy,’ Gillian’s shaky voice suddenly echoed through the mind link. ‘Mommy, I’m scared. What about Daddy?’
‘Just run, love. Don’t look back. Trust Daddy. He’ll be fine,’ I replied as confidently as I could.
But as soon as I finished giving Gillian the much needed assurance, a yowl of pain pierced the night, turning my blood to run ice cold.