Alpha King’s Wolfless Mate by Scarlett Higgins

Chapter 129

**Nora POV

“They can’t really be that powerful,can they?” Christian asked.“This is just arrogance, right?”

Blake looked at Margot.“Is there anything that you’ve seen that might explain this?”he asked.“Why would Graham be so confident in his victory that he wouldn’t even leave guards to keep us trapped?”

Margot looked pale and I worried that she might throw up. She had to clear her throat before she could speak.“There have been strangers coming into the town over the past few weeks. Men with cold eyes and lots of scars. I can’t say who they are for sure, but…”

“Rogues,”Maisi e growled angrily.“That bastard has inflated histroops with rogue mercenaries.”

“Of course!”Blake exclaimed inshock.“That’s what my uncle has

been up to. He must have made connections during the short time he was in the rogue zone.”

“Between him and Kelly, therewould be dozens of ruthless rogues they could call on to attack the castle,” Maisi e explained.“They will kill everyone.”

“We have to get to the castle beforeit’s too late!” Christian cried out desperately.

“How?”I asked.

It was a long run back home and I would just hold everyone back. Without the ability to shift or my wolf’s strength to fall back on, I wouldn’t be fast enough.

We were all beginning to panic. I could see the defeat on Margot’s face and the anger and desperation in Maisie’s and Christian’s. My own anxiety was making my heart race at a concerning speed. The only person who didn’t look like they were on the verge of a breakdown was Blake.

“Maisie, rendezvous with group A,then head home,” Blake ordered.

A determined look came over her face and she nodded once. I had forgotten about the groups that Blake had strategically placed between Lanecreek and our border.

I tried to take a deep breath and calm myself. We had protections in place. Even if this was worse than we thought, it wasn’t as though our pack was completely unprotected. I had to hold out hope that our defenses would hold.

Blake turned his eyes to Christian, who stood at attention immediately.

“Christian, you take Margot andrendezvous with group B, then get to the castle. Nora and I will get to group C. If you reach the rally point and they’re already gone, proceed directly to the castle. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” Christian answered.

Without further hesitation, Christian, Margot, and Maisie shifted into their wolf forms and took off toward the forest.

“You should go without me,”I toldBlake firmly.“I can’t shift, I’ll only hold you back.”

“I am not leaving you in enemyterritory,”he stated.“Come on, we need to find a vehicle.” Blake started to walk toward town. I hurried after him, but I was confused.

“Why?”I asked.“I doubt we’regoing to find a car sitting there with the keys in it.”

“No,”he agreed.“Which is why I’llhave to hotwire it.”

I stared at his back in shock. Why the hell would someone raised in a royal family have that skill? I knew better than to ask right now. I sped up my steps so that I could keep pace with him.

I hoped that the precautions we had taken back home were

working. The shelters were fully staffed and stocked with enough food and water to keep the pack taken care of for a month and every facility had medical supplies and a healer assigned to it.

If the castle was attacked, the staff knew how to access the panic room. I had warned Charles and Vera to keep the younger staff close by this week. I had told them that something bad was on the horizon and that I was worried for their safety.

I was glad that I could trust them both enough to warn them and know that they wouldn’t spread any rumors that could start a panic. Goddess, please let them be okay.

“There,”Blake said suddenly,pointing ahead. He broke into a run and I hurried to follow him.

There was a pickup truck parked in an alley between two businesses. It was older and a bit worse for wear, but as long as it ran, it would do the

job. Blake threw the driver’s side door open and crouched down. I couldn’t see what he was doing.

“Get in,”he ordered.

I rushed around to the passengers side and got in. By the time I had shut the door, the engine was roaring to life. Blake jumped in and threw the truck into reverse.

I didn’t even know that he could drive.

He tore through the streets and in a matter of minutes, Lanecreek was in the rearview mirror. It was scary the way he was weaving around the trees to get to the rendezvous point, but there was no way around it. The troops were placed in clearings away from the main paths so that they wouldn’t be spotted.

Blake rolled the window down and howled at the top of his lungs. A responding howl went up from somewhere nearby. He howled again, and the forest around us burst into motion. From all around

us, huge wolves appeared from the trees, all running toward our borders. Blake didn’t slow down, he kept gunning the engine toward home.

After several minutes, more wolves appeared around us. I looked out the window and saw Maisie running toward the front of the crowd. We had managed to catch up to her group.

Another wave of howls went up and it seemed like everyone picked up speed. It was hard to gauge from inside of the truck.

My heart was thundering and a sick feeling had settled into my stomach. I was so scared. All I could do was pray to the god dess for mercy. Mercy for our pack and the innocent people back home who had nothing to do with this struggle for power.

Graham was unbelievably cruel to launch an unprovoked attack like this. I never would have imagined

that he was capable of something like this. He had fooled so many people for so long.

Howls echoed through the trees, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. There was a scent that was growing stronger—copper and burning wood. My heart dropped as I realized what I was smelling.

Blake’s foot slammed down as he pushed the old truck to go as fast as it possibly could. We were almost home. We blew through the border crossing with no sign of anyone. There were dark stains on the ground, but no bodies to be seen.

The fight had moved into the city.

Blake slammed on the brakes without warning and they squealed loudly as the truck skidded to a stop. He threw the gear shift into park and jumped out of the truck. I scrambled to follow after him.

The sound of screams and howls was deafening. We were in front of the castle. The garden was in

flames.

The grounds were crowded with men and women fighting viciously. Some were in their normal forms while others had shifted, but all were locked in a battle for their lives.

The wolves that had run alongside us did not hesitate to jump into the fray. The reinforcements were clearly needed. We were terribly outnumbered.

I stood beside the truck, unable to move. I didn’t know what I could possibly do to help.

I had never felt so completely powerless in my life. Without my wolf, there was nothing I could do to save my people.

I could see Graham with Kelly by his side. They were standing at the top of the stairs near the main entrance with ghoulish smiles plastered on their faces. They were clearly enjoying the sight of all of the bloodshed.

I hadn’t wanted to believe that Kelly was fully involved in this, but I was wrong. She was just as culpable as Graham was. She was standing there, watching her former packmates suffer, and she was smiling.

I didn’t realize that my legs were moving at first, but I was running. I heard Blake call out after me, but I ignored him. I ran into the garden, ignoring the heat of the flames, and made my way past the garden and to the side of the castle.

I picked up a brick from the garden wall and used it to smash through a kitchen window. I climbed in as carefully as I could so that I wouldn’t cut myself. The invaders didn’t seem to have made their way into the castle yet. Thank the goddess.

Without pausing, I made my way up to Blake’s office and activated the emergency alert system.