Page 51 of Rejected Mate Bride
But none of them had any time to waste trying to figure out how Alpha Sier had convinced everyone—including the women he had kidnapped—to show up for this confrontation. The evil alpha was moving forward now, and Camden needed to get down there. Fast.
As he ran toward the scene, he saw his pack moving forward as well, rallying around Flora to protect Sofia. The women were forming a defensive barrier, shuffling his mate andchild backwards out of harm’s way without leaving them open to any attacks as the men rushed forward to protect the front of the line. If he hadn’t been distracted by fear, he would be proud that they were taking his training to heart and using their strengths to work as a team.
“Jasper, right,” Camden said, barking orders to his squad. “Marbles, with me. Thompson—”
“Got it, boss,” Cillian said, swerving to the left to get around their pack’s formation and distract the warriors from Ironbrand on the east side of the valley.
With quick movements, they dashed to their places, joining the fray as both packs attacked each other. Some fought in human form, others as wolves, according to their preference and abilities. Camden had been sure to show everyone he trained how to fight in both forms to achieve maximum impact. In an area as small as this, being in wolf form had its own risks. There simply wasn’t enough space for sixty wolves to move around here, and transforming made them an instant target for the opposing side.
Even now, he could see his people taking down their wolves one by one, clearing a path for him and Marbles to reach the center of the fray.
“Sier!” he screamed, using his loudest and deepest voice to pierce through the din of the fighting.
Demetrius’ eyes flashed toward him, and he lunged forward, away from his pack and into the middle of the Silverrose warriors. Immediately, he was converged upon as men and women bit, clawed, scratched, and kicked to injure him by any means necessary. He returned fire left and right, his attacks much more powerful than any of theirs.
Still, the sheer number of people he was facing had him at a disadvantage. He had separated himself from the rest of his people, leaving his flank unprotected.
Unlike Demetrius, Camden didn’t have to avoid any of the Ironbrand warriors as he fought against his counterpart. The men and women of Silverrose weren’t allowing any of their enemies through their defenses as they focused on keeping Demetrius cut off from help. On the left and right, his squad pressed the invaders in and back so that Silverrose wouldn’t be overrun. Flora and Sofia had made it to the rear of the line and were huddled in the middle of a circle, surrounded by four wolves who watched for anyone to break through the line.
“Argh!” Demetrius yelled, ripping a smaller brown wolf from his leg as he stalked forward toward Camden. “Call off your dogs and come face me yourself!”
Camden stood in the middle of the turmoil, untouched, ten feet away from Demetrius. He watched as the alpha was forced to stop again and again, beating back attackers who never stopped coming.
“You messed up, Sier,” Camden said. “You forgot that real alphas don’t have to force people to fight for them. Real packs protect each other because of loyalty, not force. That’s why you’re going to lose. They aren’t attacking you because I asked them to; they’re doing it because they want to.”
Demetrius screamed in pain as another wolf clamped onto his bicep. He drew back his fist and punched the wolf in the eye, forcing it to release him. He lunged forward, transforming into a wolf as he did, but Camden was faster. Before Demetrius’ four legs hit the ground, Camden was there, claws outstretched. He raked his razor-sharp claw against the alpha’s carotid, and blood poured from the wound. A strange gurgling sound camefrom his ruined throat as he collapsed on the ground, and in seconds, he was dead.
Silverrose was still outnumbered, but as soon as the Ironbrand pack saw that their alpha had fallen, the tides of the battle shifted at once. As soon as he was down, the women turned and ran. Camden didn’t blame them. Many were only there because they had been kidnapped and forced to participate. They had likely been hoping for Alpha Sier’s death as much as Camden had.
As more women left, a few men followed suit. Faster and faster, they fled, until almost no one remained except the injured who couldn’t escape under their own power.
“Everyone, stop!” Camden shouted, and a hush fell over the valley. The last few remaining attackers looked around, saw that they were severely outnumbered, and fled into the trees behind the rest of their pack. “Anyone who is injured should be taken to the infirmary for care immediately.”
“What about the Ironbrand wolves?” someone asked in a loud voice.
“I don’t care what pack they’re from,” Camden clarified. “If someone needs medical attention, they’re going to get it.”
The pack began to help the fallen, helping those who were mobile to their feet and back up the hill, while a few people ran back to the infirmary for stretchers to carry those who couldn’t walk. When Camden could see that everyone was being taken care of, he hurried to Flora’s side.
“Are you two alright?” he asked, kneeling on the ground beside her. “Did he hurt you?”
“We’ll be okay,” Flora said.
Sofia threw herself into Camden’s arms, and he felt a lump in his throat. He had barely gotten to know his daughter, but he loved her more than he could possibly describe. Knowing that she felt safe with him was the greatest gift he could ever receive.
“Are you okay, Sof?” he said quietly.
“That was scary,” she said, her face buried in his neck.
“I know,” he said, rubbing her back. “Come on. Let’s get you both to the infirmary so the healers can check you.”
With Flora walking beside him, Camden carried Sofia up the hill and into town. The infirmary was set next to the pack house, and he saw that it had already become a hive of movement. He found a cot for Sofia, who was immediately seen by a healer, and turned to Flora.
“I need to go back and help,” he told her.
She gave his hand a squeeze and nodded. “Go,” she said. “We’ll be here.”
***
