Chapter 107 Kaden's POV
The alarm came at three in the morning.
I jerked awake to the sound of my phone ringing the emergency tone reserved for critical threats.
"Alpha, we're under attack." The border patrol captain's voice was strained.
"Eastern sector at least twenty Erebus followers armed and organized need reinforcements immediately."
I was out of bed and dressed in seconds. "I'm on my way to hold the line."
I called Ethan as I ran through the pack house corridors. "Eastern border under attack gets every available warrior there now."
"On it."
We met at the armory, quickly distributing weapons to the warriors who'd responded to the call. Silver bullets. Wolfsbane grenades. We had to fight Erebus's followers.
The drive to the eastern border took twenty minutes that felt like hours. I could hear the sounds of fighting before we even arrived gunfire, howls, the clash of wolves in combat.
The scene when we reached it was chaotic.
Our border patrol was engaged with Erebus's followers in a brutal firefight. Bodies on both sides. Blood everywhere the acrid smell of gunpowder mixing with the copper scent of spilled blood.
"Alpha's here!" Someone shouted.
I shifted partially, my claws extending, my wolf surging forward. Then I threw myself into the fight.
Erebus's followers were well-trained. Professional. They moved in coordinated units, covering each other, using tactics that suggested military experience.
But they weren't expecting an Alpha in full combat mode.
I tore through their lines, my claws rending flesh, my teeth finding throats. My wolf was in complete control, feral and violent and absolutely focused on protecting our territory.
Ethan fought beside me, his own wolf just as brutal. Together we pushed into the enemy formation, breaking their coordination, forcing them to scatter.
The battle lasted hours. By the time dawn broke, we'd driven them back into neutral territory. Fifteen of Erebus's followers were dead, five captured and the rest had fled.
But the cost on our side was heavy too.
Eight warriors died, fifteen more wounded, some critically. The eastern border station was partially destroyed. The defensive perimeter breached in multiple places.
"Get the wounded to medical," I ordered.
"And secure the prisoners. I want to know who sent them and what they were after."
Damian arrived with his medical team within the hour. They immediately began triaging the wounded assessing who needed emergency surgery, who could wait, who was beyond saving.
I watched him work, remembering our fight from yesterday. How he had blamed me for Elara's collapse. How I'd nearly attacked him for it.
But right now, all of that seems petty and pointless.
"How bad is it?" I asked when he had a moment.
"Bad three probably won't make it. The others need surgery and extended care."
He looked exhausted. "We're going to be working through the night."
"Whatever you need resources, supplies, additional staff you have it."
"What I need is for Erebus to stop attacking us long enough for us to breathe."
I couldn't give him that so I just nodded and moved on.
The cleanup took all morning recovering bodies. Repairing the border station. Strengthening defenses that had been breached.
I was overseeing the reconstruction when I saw them.
Elara and Kara walk through the makeshift medical area that had been set up in one of the border buildings. They were carrying trays of food and water, distributing them to the wounded warriors who could eat.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, approaching Elara. "You should be resting."
"I heard what happened. I wanted to help." She gestured at the warriors. "They need food. Comfort someone who cares. I can provide that even if I can't fight."
I watched her move among the wounded. Offering water, speaking words of encouragement, smiling despite the horror around her.
The warriors responded to her. I could see it. The way they sat up straighter when she approached. The way they accepted food they'd been refusing the way they called her Luna without hesitation.
She was becoming what I had always known she could be what the pack needed. And something in my chest loosened just a little.
Maybe things would be okay, maybe we would survive this.
My phone rang. Xavier.
"I heard about the attack," he said immediately. "How bad?"
"Eight dead fifteen wounded eastern border station damaged but we held the line."
"Good. Do you need reinforcements? I can send warriors-"
"Not yet but I might take you up on that if the attacks continue."
I walked away from the medical area for privacy. "This was coordinated, Xavier. Professional. They knew exactly where our weak points were. Where to hit to do maximum damage."
"Inside information."
"Has to be" which means the traitor we suspected is still active. Still feeding Erebus intelligence."
"Have you made any progress identifying them?"
"No. And frankly, I've been too busy dealing with crises to conduct a proper investigation."
Xavier was quiet for a moment. "I could help with that. Send some of my people to do discrete inquiries. Sometimes outsiders see things pack members miss."
"I would appreciate that, thank you."