Page 51 of Talk Howly to Me

She's outnumbered, Kozue projected urgently. We need to move now.

But Ronan's wolf was already running as fast as he could, his powerful legs propelling him down the slope toward the estate. Behind him, his fifty Hale pack warriors followed, their formation spreading wide to counter Darius's forces. The sound of their approach—paws thundering against earth, low growls rumbling from powerful chests—carried across the night air like approaching thunder.

Darius must have heard them coming because he suddenly stopped his pursuit of Sloane and turned toward the tree line where Ronan's pack emerged. For one moment, the rival Alpha's face went completely blank. Then his ice-blue eyes widened as he took in the sight of Ronan's massive black wolf leading fifty warriors onto his territory.

Look at him, Kozue projected with dark satisfaction. The coward finally realizes what's coming for him.

Rather than stand and fight like the Alpha he claimed to be, Darius immediately pivoted and began running in the opposite direction—away from Sloane, away from the battle, abandoning his own forces to avoid facing the consequences of his actions.

"Protect me!" Darius shouted to his wolves as he fled. "Hold them off!"

But his rogue wolves and pack members were already hesitating, their confidence shaken by their Alpha's immediate retreat. Some held their ground, snarling and snapping as they prepared to fight. Others looked between their fleeing leader and the approaching Hale pack with obvious uncertainty.

The bastard's running away, Ronan projected with disgust. Letting his people die for him while he saves his own skin.

Just like twelve years ago, Kozue replied grimly.

The realization that Darius was exactly the kind of leader Ronan despised—one who demanded loyalty but offered none in return—only fueled his rage. This was the man who had shattered his family, destroyed his life, and now threatened the future he'd built with Sloane and Kozue.

Tonight he answers for all of it, Ronan projected to his pack as they closed the distance to Darius's forces. Tonight justice comes home.

Ronan's black wolf finally reached Sloane's position just as the fifty Kade wolves were closing in from the dense forest, their snarls echoing across the moonlit estate grounds. The moment his paws touched the earth beside her, she reached out instinctively, her fingers tangling in his thick fur. The contact sent a jolt of electric awareness through his wolf's body.

Get behind us, Ronan projected through their telepathic link as Kozue's enormous brown wolf flanked Sloane's other side. Let us protect you.

"No." Her voice rang with fierce conviction as she positioned herself between them, her bare feet planted firmly on the cold ground. "I'm fighting with you and Kozue. I'm not standing back while you protect our pack and our home."

The absolute certainty in her voice made Ronan's wolf beam with pride. This was his mate—their mate—refusing to cower when everything they'd built together faced destruction. Through the triad bond, he felt Kozue's matching admiration and protective instincts flare.

Then stay between us at all times, Ronan projected back. We fight as one, not separate.

Sloane's understanding blazed through their connection as she adjusted her stance, her fighter's instincts aligning perfectly with their wolf positioning. The three of them formed an unbreakable triangle—Ronan's black wolf on her left, Kozue's brown wolf on her right, and Sloane at their center like the missing piece that made them complete.

The first three Kade wolves lunged simultaneously, their coordinated attack designed to overwhelm. But they hadn't anticipated fighting a triad bond. Ronan's wolf dove left, his powerful jaws clamping around the throat of the largest attacker while Kozue's wolf spun right, using his momentum to knock the second wolf off balance. In the center, Sloane dropped low and rolled beneath the third wolf's leap, coming up behind it with deadly precision.

The synchronization was flawless—as if they'd fought as one unit for years instead of hours. When Sloane's hands found the wolf's neck and twisted with lethal efficiency, the sharp crack echoed across the grounds as the massive body dropped lifeless at her feet.

Perfect, Kozue projected, his mental voice thick with admiration as his own opponent fell beneath his claws.

Our warrior mate, Ronan agreed, pride blazing through their bond as he released his kill.

But there was no time to savor the victory. More Kade wolves poured toward them, their eyes gleaming with predatory hunger. Behind them, Ronan could hear his own pack engaging the enemy forces—snarls, howls, and the crash of bodies colliding in deadly combat.

"We need to get to Darius," Sloane said, wiping blood from her hands as she scanned the battlefield. "He's trying to escape."

They began moving as one unstoppable force through the half-mile stretch of dense forest toward Darius's estate. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, and every few hundred yards, more Kade wolves emerged to block their path. But each encounter only proved what Ronan had felt in his bones—they were meant to fight together. When Sloane snapped the neck of another massive wolf, both he and Kozue felt the fierce satisfaction through their bond. When his jaws crushed an enemy's windpipe, her pride blazed through their connection. When Kozue's claws raked across a rogue's flank, their combined strength multiplied.

By the time they reached the estate's front entrance, Sloane had three more kills under her belt, while Ronan and Kozue had eliminated five each. Their bodies had moved with deadly grace, anticipating each other's actions with an instinctive awareness. But now, Ronan's focus became laser sharp as the estate's front doors splintered beneath his wolf's shoulder.

The opulent foyer stretched before them—marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and a grand staircase that screamed of wealth built on others' suffering. And descending those stairs came Darius Kade himself, his eyes wide with shock as he took in the sight of two enormous wolves flanking a blood-spattered human woman. In each hand, he carried expensive leather suitcases, the picture of a man preparing to flee rather than defend his territory.

Sloane stepped forward, positioning herself at the base of the staircase with lethal calm. "You aren't going anywhere, Darius. You're going to pay for what you did to Ronan's family and pack, and for what you tried to do to me. You cannot escape your fate."

Darius's laugh was cold and calculating. "I told you, sweetheart, you don't understand this shifter world. I have resources everywhere. I can, and I will get away with this."

"I understand the shifter world perfectly." Sloane's voice carried quiet steel. "You fight for your home. You protect your family and your people, even if it kills you in the end. No amount of resources in the world can buy you that type of loyalty and love."

The truth in her words seemed to hit Darius hard. His confident mask slipped, revealing the desperate man beneath. But before he could respond, three more rogue wolves came flying down the staircase behind him while four additional reinforcements poured from the main corridor.