Page 67 of The Red Moon

Alexey’s face twists with annoyance. “Okay. I take out three towers and reinforcements by myself, and you can sing songs of my victory in the afterlife when princess here rips you limb from fucking⁠—”

“Alexey,” Nik says and cuts him off.

It doesn’t matter, though. He said enough. He said the same thing we’re probably all thinking. I can’t control it, and there’s no telling who I will hurt when I transform. My stomach drops, leaving only a vat of acid and raw bile in its place.

“I am not leaving them,” Dimitri says again, this time a harder edge in his tone.

“He’s right,” I interrupt, earning confused glances from the three of them. “None of us know what’s going to happen tonight. Not even you, Nik.”

Nik doesn’t argue, nor does he attempt to reject my statement. Because we both know it’d be a lie. He only stares into my eyes—my entire soul it feels like—and waits for me to finish.

“If I hurt you, either of you, I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself.”

Dimitri shakes his head. “You wouldn’t, Ms. Nat.”

“We have no way of knowing what I might do when I …” I say, my voice trailing off, the word change hanging on the back of my tongue. “Besides. Even if Alexey won’t admit it, he needs your help.”

Alexey gestures to himself. “Me? Look, Uncle Alexey doesn’t need help from anyone to kill wolves. Not even from that big bastard. He’ll just get in my way.”

“You will both take point on the western side of the property as planned,” Nikolai finally says, leaving no room in his voice for rebuttal. “The farther away you both are from anyone turning during the blood moon, the better. Don’t take chances. Keep all wolves at a distance.”

Dimitri draws a deep inhale through his nose but ultimately nods in agreement.

“I’m going to be fine, Dimitri,” I say, delivering what could be an Oscar worthy performance. I’m not fine. Not one fucking bit. And with every inch the sun descends, the damning realization of what I will become eats away at me like an entire pack feasting on my insides. I need to be strong, though, at least for his sake.

“I’m not worried about you, Ms. Nat,” Dimitri says, crossing his large arms and staring forward. It takes a moment to realize what he means. He’s not worried I’ll get hurt. The thing that’s troubling him, the reason he’s so insistent on being nearby when things kick off, is because of who I might hurt. And maybe a part of him, the man who watched his sister become a monster, is afraid I’ll do something I can’t come back from.

“Clément,” Nik says and nods at the alpha across from him. “Try and suppress your transformation for as long as you can. Your wolf will be inclined to help fight alongside your pack, and the closer I can get you to the house before you turn, the better. I’ll need all the help I can get with my father and Viktor.”

Clément Duval considers this for a moment and clicks his tongue off the roof of his mouth. “Eh.”

Eh? What in the hell does eh mean? He’s not going to help Nik? He’s just going to leave him to face two of the strongest werewolves on his own?

“I will help you with your brother, Nikolai, if my wolf allows it that is. But you will need to face your father alone.”

The air in the truck seemingly disappears as the two of them stare at one another. Nik’s eyes, a fierce gold, and Clément, an unyielding and bloody red.

The leader of the Duval wolves hunches forward, resting his elbow on his knee. “My history with your father is no secret. Every pack around the world knows of our past. His claims that I was after his seat. If I kill him, it will only be seen as another power-hungry alpha seizing control by force. The survival of our kind is at stake, and we will need to be united for what lies ahead.”

The silence lingers, and no one, not even Nik says a word.

“It has to be you, Nikolai,” he continues. “You are the heir. Firstborn son of Vlad Vostik. You must be the one to stop your father.”

Nik’s features soften, and he tips his head with understanding. He knows Clément is right. That if anyone else besides him challenges his father, it wouldn’t be seen as an heir claiming their birthright anymore, but a rebellion led by an opposing pack. He’s going to have to do it alone, and I can’t help wondering if he’s thinking the same thing I am. Can he do it alone?

“We have movement,” Alexey says, typing on his laptop at incredible speed. From the computer screen, we all see a group of people being led from the front doors in rows of four with large hoods covering their faces. Vostik soldiers positioned on each side, they escort them at gunpoint to the eastern part of the property, stopping only a few hundred yards from the tree line.

No. No, no, no. I count each person in my head, doing my best to remember how many captives were locked in the cage with me. It can’t be happening this soon. Not when the sun is still out. But it is. And all I can do is watch from Alexey’s computer as these humans are herded like cattle.

Nik sucks in a breath to keep the snarl from spilling out of him, but it doesn’t stop the deep vibrations trembling his chest. “It’s starting.”

FORTY-THREE

NATALIE

They park the trucks a few dozen yards away from the tree line just outside the eastern edge of the property. None of it looks familiar, not with the fleeting sunlight casting an eerie shadow over the treetops, but I know a fence is in there somewhere. The same long stretch of fence I used to escape. Had the rest of the captives listened, some might’ve made it out. Some of them could’ve survived whatever hell Viktor intends to put them through. They didn’t. And now, with the sun on the verge of setting, it’s only a matter of time before they will have no choice but to run for their lives against an entire pack of monsters.

The Duval wolves waste no time. From the moment a new crate hits the dirt, one of our allies is there to rip it open and pull out the armor for the rest of the pack. The urgency is infectious, as is the way all of their heartbeats seem to match the same rapid rhythm. Clément and Jade are the only two in the bunch who manage to keep their hearts under control. Can’t say I’m surprised, but it’s hard not to be envious when my chest feels like it’s been set to vibrate mode.