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They fought like the savage wolves they were, and even with guns, the soldiers didn’t stand a chance. Half of them ran off, a few pissed their pants, and by the time silence descended, all of them were either dead or severely wounded, softly whimpering in pain. Mostyn felt no remorse, no guilt, not even a little bit.

When Bray growled softly, he trotted back to where he’d dropped the scans and picked them back up. The white string immediately turned red from the blood coating his mouth. He did a quick check, but everyone seemed okay. Bloody, but okay. Only Palani looked the same, so he must’ve hidden. Smart.

Bray took the lead with Isam in the rear as they began their journey back to the ranch. It took a while to get out of the city because they had to hide every time more soldiers came by. And they passed a lot of them as they kept arriving in truck after truck. It was an invasion, really.

Once they were out of the city, they should be able to set a good pace. Mostyn estimated they should be able to make it back in about an hour.

But as soon as they hit the fields where thigh-high cornfields hid them from sight, Palani’s pace slowed more and more until he finally collapsed. Oh god. How would they get him home? It was an hour if they ran while in wolf form, but for humans, it would take much, much longer. And none of them had shoes. They hadn’t counted on having to travel in human form. Now what?

After a long look between Enar and Bray, Enar shifted. The absolute devastation in his expression as he lifted the unconscious Palani—still in wolf form—and draped him over his shoulders was almost unbearable to witness.

There was no way Enar would be able to carry him back to the ranch, but as soon as Mostyn realized that, Isam gave him a quick bump on his nose and then ran off. Oh, he was getting help. Good. They would stay with Enar. If Palani became too heavy for him, maybe Bray could take over?

But it quickly became clear that Palani’s weight wouldn’t be the problem. It was the lack of shoes. Enar’s feet turned bloody as he walked barefoot through the field, hitting thorns and thistles, rocks and rubble, dips and declines. Just when Mostyn figured Enar couldn’t possibly go on, Isam returned, Lidon on his heels. Mostyn had never seen the pack alpha in wolf form, but he recognized him instantly. Not only was he bigger than anyone else, including Isam and Bray, but his power radiated off him.

The pack alpha had a bulky pack on his back that Isam tore off with his teeth. As soon as it was off, Lidon shifted back, and Mostyn groaned with the impact, dizzy for a moment. When he was himself again, Lidon had already put on boots—that had been in the pack he’d carried—and now leaned in to press a tender kiss on Enar’s lips. Then he took Palani from him, draping him across his broad shoulders.

Enar shifted back, immediately taking up position next to Lidon as they started the walk back to the ranch. Mostyn couldn’t bear to watch them. Their pain and grief were so palpable that it made it hard to breathe. But Isam walked next to Mostyn the whole time, bumping his shoulder every now and then or seeking a quick touch of their noses in quiet comfort.

Mostyn kept it together, even when they finally reached the ranch, where a pale Vieno stood waiting for his mates’ return. Only when Mostyn had shifted back, and both Isam and Servas wrapped their arms around him, did the endless flood of tears come.

14

Isam’s heart was heavy when he awoke the next morning, and it wasn’t because he was short on sleep—though he was after coming home very late and waking up at his usual time. By unspoken agreement, the three of them had slept together in Servas’s bed. It was tight, yes, but he’d needed them close, and judging by how much they’d clung to each other, he hadn’t been the only one feeling that way.

When he woke up, Servas was already gone since the construction crew always started early to avoid the heat, and Mostyn was still next to him, blinking sleepily when Isam’s alarm went off. He kissed his forehead. “Get some more sleep, baby.”

The word slipped out easily, automatically, as if he’d called him that a thousand times before. Mostyn smiled softly before his eyes drifted shut again.

Isam hauled himself out of bed despite his lethargy. He got dressed quickly, then headed to his own cabin, forcing himself to stick to his routine—one hundred push-ups, one hundred crunches and sit-ups, fifteen minutes of using the heavy boxing bag in the corner of his bedroom, followed by a cold shower. Breakfast was a full bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee, and then he was off to work with another thermos of coffee on him.

Few words were spoken as he met up with the others. A thick blanket seemed to hang over the pack, like a weight they all carried on their souls. Even the weather had turned gloomy, with endless gray skies and not even a peek of sunshine in sight. As if even nature was grieving the inevitable.

Palani was dying. They all knew it. And there was nothing they could do. Nothing anyone could do. Isam had asked Mostyn the night before, and the beta had been teary-eyed as he’d shared the harsh truth: not even surgery could save Palani now. Even if the hospital had been fully functional, even if the best brain surgeon in the country had been available, it wouldn’t have made a difference. His tumor was inoperable.

How did they process this? Palani was the very heart of the pack. Yes, Lidon might be their alpha, their head, but Palani was the soul. How would they all survive without him?

His mates, first and foremost, of course. God, Isam’s heart broke as he thought of Lidon, Enar, and Vieno. Would they even be able to function with one quarter of their foursome missing? Jesus, they were fated mates. Would they even survive? If the legends were true, their lives might be at risk too. Losing Lidon would be… It would not be just the end of the pack but of everything. He was the True Alpha, the only hope they still had.

But even if they did survive, there was the matter of little Hakon, who would grow up, never knowing how amazing one of his fathers had been. But also Kean, who was so close with his brother, like twins almost. And Rhene, their other brother.

And no, the pack didn’t come first here, but still, how would they ever recover from this? By the time his lunch break came up, he was no closer to answers.

He came to a full stop when he spotted Mostyn and Servas waiting for him at Jawon’s House, where he had intended to pick up his usual sandwich combo. Gia and the others who worked in the kitchen always took good care of the guards, especially the single men among them.

“Hey,” Servas said, and there was so much sadness in that one word that Isam opened his arms without thinking. Both his mates stepped in and they hugged tightly, standing there for maybe a full minute.

And all Isam could think about was how deeply grateful he was that he didn’t have to carry this burden alone, that in the dark days that were to come, they could lean on each other.

Servas’s heat never came, and when he asked Maz about it, the doctor told him other omegas had reported the same, as if the whole pack was suspending everything, awaiting what was to come. When Servas told Isam, he wasn’t even surprised. They were all so deeply connected that it would’ve felt wrong on so many levels to have that kind of sex.

Or any kind of sex, for that matter.

They slept together, literally, but all they shared were hugs. Isam’s body didn’t want anything else, as if the need for sex had also been suspended. And so they spent as much time together as they could, quietly talking as they got to know each other. They shared stories about growing up, about their first sexual experiences, about their families and friends. They talked about their jobs, their favorite colors and bands, about foods and movies, and about all the ordinary things people share while dating.

None of it felt even remotely normal.

That heavy blanket remained, and as Palani grew weaker, it only became thicker, more suffocating, like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the air. Isam watched Bray carry Kean at some point, the beta’s whole body shaking with sobs as he lay in his mate’s arms. Isam’s throat grew so tight that every breath hurt.