Chapter Sixty-Nine

Another explosion rocked the ground beneath them, and Saffron’s wolf reacted, lurching her forward, as yet another explosion rocked the foundation of the forest floor, sending them both crashing to their knees.

Driven by blind panic, Saffron crawled forward, unsure of which way to go, but having just one clear mission; she had to get to Ryder.

A bullet whizzed through the air, narrowly missing her by an inch, as it hit the tree behind her, getting stuck there.

Saffron froze mid-crawl, shock rendering her immobile for a few seconds, as she tried and failed to comprehend what was going on.

Her ears were still ringing, and her vision was still blurry, until it wasn’t.

She could now see clearly from where she laid on the ground, and she had no idea why, until she realized that she was sharing her vision with her wolf, through her eyes.

She was yet to shift, but for the first time, she could feel her wolf trying to wrestle control from her human form, so she could take over, and protect them both, while Saffron tried to make a sense of what was going on.

Saffron couldn’t even have a moment to rejoice at the progress she and her wolf were making, even though the latter was trying to take over completely, but she knew in the back of her mind that if she didn’t cooperate, then there was a real chance that she might never get to shift today, and she needed that.

She needed the strength that she knew her wolf possessed, and she needed it now.

So, she tried to meet her wolf halfway, wanting to share control with her, just like Ryder had told her to do, but another string of bullets shot towards her direction, missing her once again by a couple of inches.

One of the bullets had hit Shivani however, and the scream of pure agony that left her lips sent shockwaves through Saffron’s body, rendering her immobile once again.

Shocked, Saffron whipped around frantically, trying to locate the fallen werewolf but the sound of feet scuffling on leaves had her facing forward, and on her feet before she could blink.

Run!

Run!

Run!

The instructions circled through her head, as she sprinted for cover, shutting down her mind, and allowing her wolf to take the reigns completely.

She had no idea how easy it was to just give in to her wolf, until this moment.

Yes, she had experienced moments when she had blacked out, and her wolf had come out to play. But this time around, it was different.

This time, she had chosen to give her wolf control, and it was freeing, and somehow weird.

She could see, feel, and hear everything just like she normally did, but it was somehow amplified, like she was there, but also not there.

But, she didn’t stop to dwell on the mechanics of sharing her body with a wolf, she sprinted as fast as her tiny body and wolf strength would let her, allowing her nose to guide her towards her mate.

***

Ryder palmed the knife he was holding, and hurled it through the air to his left without thinking, the blade lodging itself straight into the neck of a Silver Moon wolf.

The wolf’s growl turned into a breathy whimper that made Ryder’s nose wrinkle with distaste, before he walked ahead, leaving the wolf behind.

The silver blade will keep him from healing, and he would be dead within the next ten minutes, so there was no need for him to stay and finish the job.

He took down six more wolves using the same technique, before he made it to the heart of Silver Moon territory, which surprisingly looked deserted.

He shared a glance with his comrades, a frown tugging at his lips, as he looked around the empty expanse of space, which until minutes ago had been rife with activities, through the feed they had been watching.

Had they been fooled?

Did Silver Moon Pack know that they were coming?

A loud explosion rocked him to his feet, sending him back fifteen feet, where he had come from.

Two more explosions sounded in succession, rocking the ground before he could get to his feet.

He laid there for a moment, waiting for the fog in his head to clear, and the ringing in his ears to stop.

And when it did, when he finally rose on shaky legs, he found himself surrounded by Silver Moon Pack enforcers, their guns aimed straight at him.

Other members of his pack were still trying to find their footing, and when they did, they also had guns aimed at them.

Ryder wasn’t even surprised by it to be honest. The whole situation made him want to laugh, but the thought of Saffron being out there unprotected had any trace of humor wiped out of him.

Stoically, his eyes found each of the enforcers, daring one of them to take aim at him, so he could rain hell on them. But, neither of them took the bait.

It was like they were waiting for someone.

Their Alpha maybe?

Or the traitor within Blood Moon Pack’s ranks who had sold them out.

For a few precious seconds, nothing happened. And then, all hell broke loose, as silver bullets went flying, firing shots exchanged between both packs.

Ryder was able to dodge most of the bullets that came at him, taking aim and shooting through the ranks of Silver Moon Pack with dead efficiency.

A bullet grazed his arm, but he paid no heed to the burn the silver bullet had left in its wake, his focus only on annihilating his enemies.

What he hadn’t fathomed in that moment however, was Saffron’s appearance in the melee.

Shock at hearing her voice had him forgetting where he was, and the next sound that left her mouth was one he was never going to be able to forget for as long as he lived, as she leapt in front of him, shifting into her wolf for the first time, and taking a bullet that was meant for him.