We reached the Black Lupis pack house just before dusk. A majority of the road trip had been spent in quiet deliberation, discussing the logistics of a hybrid attack. Dylan asserted that he'd been preparing the Black Lupis warriors to battle the creatures since their first attack months ago, when Sarah died.

Raegan's main concern lay in how the little ring, which I'd slipped off of Savannah's mutilated finger, could somehow hold enough power to stop a hybrid attack. Truthfully, the more time I spent turning the cool metal over in my fingers, the more I started to doubt the magic, too.

My father, brother, and Lizzie listened eagerly to our tactics. Almost as soon as they stepped foot in the Black Lupis car, they lost contact with the rest of the Golden Walkers, so we had no way of knowing how the battle with the rogues went. We had no way of knowing who survived...

There was so much to worry about, and yet, I could only focus on one thing: Nolan.

My Alpha sat in the driver's seat, one hand clenched on the steering wheel while the other clasped over his mouth. His eyes locked onto the road like ice, an impenetrable, unreadable gaze. My eyes searched the rear-view mirror, any effort to connect with my mate who seemed so lost in his own. I'd have given anything to know what thoughts traveled through his mind

The SUV lurched to a stop in front of the Black Lupis pack house, and we filed out the back seat.

My feet hit the soil with a soft thud, and I let out a long sigh that I hadn't realized I'd been holding in. I'd never been so happy to be back on Black Lupis turf.

Immediately, my gaze searched for Nolan, and I found him stalking toward the front door of the pack house, barking orders at his second and third in command. "Raegan, make sure everyone has received the memo that patrols are to be doubled in size. Dylan, organize the fighting squadrons."

"How long do we have?" Sophia chased after them.

My feet instinctually started to move toward the front door, eager to hear Nolan's answer, and yet, my steps faltered. He'd barely spoken a word to me since I escaped the Golden Walker Pack. Maybe he needed space?

I frowned, lingering a short distance away from the four Black Lupis warriors, and decided I'd listen from afar.

"A day," Nolan growled, "Maybe two."

"Did Dominic tell you when the witches would be arriving?" Raegan questioned, and my heartbeat quickened.

Dominic survived? The last time I'd seen him, his scraggly, black wolf had been cornered by the Golden Walker Alpha himself. If Sehan didn't kill Dominic, then... Did Dominic kill Sehan?

The thought sent a shiver creeping down my spine, and a strange mixture of joy and sadness curned deep in the pits of my stomach. On the one hand, I owed Dominic my life. Not to mention, he'd also managed to inform the witches that we had found the talisman... And yet, I couldn't stand the fact that I was now indebted to him.

"Zephora and Angelina are gathering the rest of their coven," Nolan responded, although his back faced me, so I could only see his tensed shoulders. "They'll be arriving in a few hours."

A few more hours. And then we would have the protection of a coven of witches. I dared to smile at the thought, my heart beat quickening in quiet anticipation. For a moment, I managed to forget about the army of hybrids that wanted me dead.

Consumed by these thoughts, I hardly realized that I'd been blankly staring at the back of Nolan's head until the man turned around and caught my gaze. I immediately blinked and averted my eyes, but I'd been caught.

To my surprise, something in Nolan's demeanor softened, and he turned to murmur something to Dylan and Raegan, who simply nodded their heads and walked into the pack house.

"Sophia, would you mind showing our guests to their bedrooms?" Nolan nodded his head towards my father, brother, and best friend. The Golden Walkers who had risked everything in order to save me.

The dark-haired girl nodded to her brother and offered an award-winning smile to my family, "Come right this way! We'll find you all some fresh clothing, especially you, Lizzie.... Is that blood spatter on your shirt?"

I giggled as Sophia led the three werewolves into our pack house, gesturing toward various buildings and features like some sort of tour guide at a museum. Eventually, they disappeared inside of the doors, leaving Nolan and me alone for the first time since early that morning.

At first, neither of us spoke a word, and silence blanketed the space between us with an uncomfortable amount of tension. I fumbled with the little silver ring in my un-bandaged hand, tracing the smooth, cool edges with the tips of my fingers, while my front teeth tugged on my lower lip.

Finally, I mustered up every ounce of courage and let the words spill from my mouth, "Look, Nolan, I'm sorry that I ignored your calls. It's just that I was so close to getting the ring, and I didn't want to miss the chance... And you have every right to be angry with me, I just--"

Before I could ramble any further, Nolan took three long strides to close the distance between us, and crushed his body against mine. His arms wrapped around my waist, hoisting me up in the air until the oxygen had been all but squeezed out of my lungs.

But I didn't care. I wrapped my legs around his torso, pressing my thighs against his sides in order to keep myself elevated in his arms. He buried his head into the crook of my neck, occasionally nustling in closer as if he could not stand for there to be any space left between us.

I savored the scent of him, pine and peppermint, as it washed over me like a flood. I realized that, for a moment in the Golden Walker's pack house, I'd been terrified that I'd never smell my mate again. A whimper bubbled in my throat, and I clenched my arms a bit tighter around his neck.

"I thought I'd lost you," Nolan whispered against my hair, still trapping my body in a tight embrace.

Guilt gnawed on my insides, "I-I'm sorry..."

"Shhh," He interrupted, "You don't need to apologize. Not to me."

My eyebrows rose in suspicion, and I pulled back slightly so that I could better see him. "You're not angry?"

He shook his head, our noses nearly touching, "You're my Luna-- my mate. You make your own decisions."

It felt like a thousand butterflies had been unleashed in the caverns of my stomach, fluttering up toward my chest until my heart swelled with affection. The corners of my lips pulled up in an unrestrained grin, and I took the chance to press a kiss to his stubbly cheek. As soon as my lips made contact with his skin, the muscles around his face pulled up in a smile of his own.

"Although... Next time you plan on chopping someone apart, could I come with you?" Nolan teased.

I rolled my eyes, "I didn't chop Savannah apart! I strategically cut off a finger or two!"

"Pshh," Nolan scoffed, blue eyes dancing with mischief, "Judging by the blood spatter, it was more than just one finger, sweetheart."

"Fine!" I groaned, holding my arms in the air in feigned innocence. "Maybe I cut off four of her fingers!"

He laughed, nuzzling his head in the side of my neck once more, "Yepp, it definitely smells like it."

"Smells?" I questioned, cocking one brow up in the air. "Are you implying that I smell bad?"

"Charlie darling, you smell like a damn slaughterhouse," Nolan grinned, words dripping in playful jest. Before I could so much as react to his comment, one of my mate's hands moved dangerously lower, fitting perfectly around one-half of my tight glute-muscle. I gasped, which earned a masculine smirk from the Alpha.

"Let's go get you cleaned up, shall we?" The smirk on Nolan's lips only spread wider, as he started toward our little cottage.