She nodded sadly. "I know. Be careful. You have to come back to me."

"There'll be a lot of blood on my hands by the end of this battle. You know that, right?"

She pressed her forehead to his. "Do you honestly think I'd judge you for protecting your family, your pack, your territory? Darryl obviously wants to die. a.s.sist him."

d.a.m.n this woman got to him. Never had she judged him not for being who he was, not for what he could and couldn't feel, and not for anything he'd done or was capable of doing. He kissed her hard and deep, urging her into him, taking strength from her in a way that he had never been able to do with another person. Breaking the kiss, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and took her scent deep inside him, let it flow over him and center both him and his wolf. He hated to leave her, especially right now. Every primal instinct he had told him to stay at her side and be her constant protector, but there was no choice. He couldn't tell the other males of his pack to face the danger alone that wasn't who he was and it wasn't what an Alpha did.

"I need you to promise me something," he said as he locked his gaze with hers. "I need you to promise me that no matter what you feel over our link, no matter what you think is happening, you stay here. You don't try to reach me, you don't take a chance out there just so you can heal me. You stay here with Grace, Lydia, Greta, Hope, Brock, and Selma. You focus on keeping yourself safe and our baby safe. Promise me." He wasn't surprised when she gave him a look that could kill. A lesser man would have cowered.

"That's not fair," she said through her teeth. "Of course I don't want anything to happen to the baby, but by asking me to make this promise you're asking me to choose between you both, and I can't do that."

He cupped her face with his hands as he insisted, "Yes you can and you will. I'm not asking you to choose, I'm asking you to keep yourself and the baby safe."

She blinked back tears. Her wolf whined inside her head. "If you died, I wouldn't survive it anyway."

"Yes you would. You're so G.o.dd.a.m.n strong, you could get through anything." It made him proud to have her. For the first time, he was actually glad that the mating bond was only partially developed as it meant that she had a better chance of surviving the bond being broken. Not that he planned on dying today, but there was always a possibility. "I have to go."

Reluctantly she uncurled her limbs from around him. "I love you, even though you're being an unfair p.r.i.c.k."

He chuckled, but the sound didn't hide the anger he felt with himself for not being able to give her those words.

Knowing what was going through his head, she gave him a cautioning look. "I don't need words, I just need you to come back."

"I plan on it." Having kissed her one last time, he turned to see Grace and Lydia both crying as they had a private moment with their own mates while Kirk and Brock hugged each other tightly. Although Cam, Rhett, and Kirk weren't enforcers and only ever worked as security guards for the gate, Trey couldn't afford to leave them behind. He needed all the wolves he could get, especially since they needed Brock to stay behind they wanted the females to have at least one male with them.

Dante had expressed concern about taking Kirk along with them since he was one of their suspects, but somehow Trey just couldn't see the informant being him. They would find out soon enough if it was Kirk, he would join with Darryl when they reached the gate.

As Dante, Tao, Marcus and Trick were saying their goodbyes to Taryn, Greta came and hugged Trey tight. "Take care, son. Rip the b.a.s.t.a.r.d apart."

"Always so bloodthirsty," he said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's alright."

He narrowed his eyes at her, still smiling. "Since when do you care about Taryn's welfare?"

"Since I heard she was pregnant." At his skeptical look, she shrugged. "Alright, I like her just a bit. She reminds me of me." She thumped him in the arm when he laughed. "She does. She's got spirit."

"Yep, she has plenty of that." He gave Taryn one last look in it was a warning to do as he'd asked, a reminder that she was too important for him to lose, and a goodbye. He then looked up at the others. "Everyone ready?"

Nodding, Dante, Tao, Marcus, Trick, Rhett, Cam, and Kirk followed behind Trey as he left the room. No one said a word as they exited the caves and descended the many steps of the mountain. As they entered the woods, Trey gestured for Dante to come close.

"You don't need to ask me to make sure she's okay if anything happens to you," said Dante quietly. "But we will win this, Trey."

"But if we don't, if you feel me die through the pack link, you leave the battle and you go to the caves you take her where Darryl can't reach her."

Dante swallowed hard. "You have my word on that, although I don't know if she'd survive the bond being broken."

"She would. Taryn could survive anything. Besides, it's only partially developed. And another thing I'd be lying if I said I hope she mates with someone else so she's not alone, I'm too much of a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to be that n.o.ble, but if she does you make sure that kid knows who its dad was." Satisfied by Dante's nod, Trey said no more as they progressed through the forest. His wolf was pacing inside him, all worked up by the adrenalin circulating through Trey's system. He hadn't wanted to leave Taryn's side, but he did understand that there was a nearby threat and that this threat needed to be eradicated.

It was odd to think that only a few months ago the most important thing to Trey had been his pack, his territory, and protecting both. He never would have thought anything could be more important than that, never would have expected that anyone could be important to him. Now he had other things to fight for his mate, his unborn child, their future. The woman had turned his life upside f.u.c.king down, turned him inside f.u.c.king out, and yet he wouldn't have it any other way.

It amazed him that he'd thought he was content before she came into his life. In reality, he hadn't known the meaning of the word. With Taryn he was content. She anch.o.r.ed him and made him happy in a way that nothing and no one had ever done before. He didn't want to lose that, refused to lose that. Dante was right; they would win this, because no other ending was acceptable.

Finally the forest thinned and they stepped out onto the clearing, bringing them within twenty feet of the main gate. Although Ryan had told him just how many wolves Darryl had brought along, Trey was still rocked by the intimidating sight it made. Had he been normal enough to respond appropriately to fear, he might have been tempted to stop the battle before it started. Not to save himself, but the others who might get hurt. He'd soon find out if it was a good thing or a bad thing that he wasn't normal.

Gathered on the fringe of the woods were Nick and a number of males from his pack, including his Beta, Jon, and bodyguard, Derren both of whom Trey recognized from their visit to his home. Not far from them was Lance with several from his pack, including his bodyguard, Zack, and two of his enforcers, Perry and Oscar. They all gave him a brief respectful nod before resuming scowling at Darryl and his followers.

The wolf shifters there were approximately fifty that had come to stand at Trey's side and serve as back-up were all grouped together near the security shack. They didn't look so eager to be there. Trey guessed it was because they hadn't expected him to be so outnumbered, placing them in a position where they would in fact have to provide back-up.

He stalked toward the closed gate with Dante and Tao flanking him, blanking his expression the way he had done as a child whenever his father and uncle decided to torment him for their own entertainment being stoic had always agitated the h.e.l.l out of both of them. Trey stopped as he came to stand directly where Darryl stood on the opposite side of the gate. His wolf growled inside his head, affronted by this male's scent and reaching for the surface with his eagerness to get to him.

Looking as smug as all s.h.i.t, Darryl grinned at him. "Time's up. You really should have just given in to me at the beginning, Trey. I'll tell you what, since you're my nephew and all, I'll give you one last chance to yield to me."

Trey couldn't help that his mouth twitched into a smile, especially since Dante and Tao were chuckling. "Yield? My mate's right; you do live in La La Land."

"You can't honestly mean to accept my challenge."

"And why's that?"

"Look around you." He gestured to his numerous supporters. "Forty against one hundred and seventy. I think it's safe to say that you're outnumbered."

"If that bothers you so much, let's keep this as a one-to-one battle. Let's take care of this Alpha to Alpha."

Darryl's fear didn't show on his face, but it could be heard in his voice. "I don't think so, Trey we both know your enforcers would attack me after I'd killed you. They have no honor."

Dante and Tao growled at the insult and gave Darryl looks that promised he'd pay for that. But Darryl was Trey's.

"You can't win this, nephew. You never had any chance of winning it. Not even mating with the daughter of an influential wolf could help you out with this. I'm looking forward to becoming better acquainted with her, even if she is latent."

A growl trickled from Trey's mouth. His wolf wanted to sink his jaws into this male's throat and feel his blood gush into his mouth. "I'm p.i.s.sed enough with you as it is, Uncle. If I were you, I'd be very careful about pushing me even further."

Darryl laughed, but there was a nervous tremor to it. "One last chance. Give in to my requests, and we can avoid this battle."

As Trey backed away from the gate with Dante and Tao, his uncle smiled obviously believing Trey was backing down. Snort. Like that would ever happen. "Ryan, open the gate." The smile immediately fell from Darryl's face and was replaced by a dark scowl.

As the gate creaked open slowly, more wolves stepped out of the trees some from behind Trey, some from his left side, and some from his right, until there were approximately one hundred and fifty wolves standing with him. It didn't make the numbers strictly even, but it was pretty d.a.m.n close. He noticed Quinn was grinning like a kid in a toy store. The other nine Alphas that Trey had met at the diner only yesterday looked just as eager and bloodthirsty.

Darryl's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. His face was a question mark.

Trey c.o.c.ked his head. "You didn't really think I'd reveal to the entire pack just how many wolves were joining me when I knew you had an informant who could tell you, did you?" Darryl's eyes widened even more, though Trey wouldn't have thought it was possible until then. "Oh yes I know all about that." Finally the gate was fully open. "Know this: it doesn't matter how many wolves you have protecting you, Darryl. I will get to you and I will kill you."

Red in the face, Darryl howled. Taking that as a signal to attack, his supporters instantly shifted into their wolf forms and began galloping through the gate. Trey's own allies followed his lead as he ran and leapt, rapidly shifting midway through the leap into his wolf form, and clamped his jaws closed around one of his enemy's throats.

"It's started," Taryn told Greta, Brock, and Hope. Grace and Lydia, who were on either side of her, already knew through their link with their own mates. Echoes of Trey's anger and rage reached her through their bond, along with his determination and focus. Even though she knew just how strong and powerful he was, she was so d.a.m.n scared for him and so d.a.m.n p.i.s.sed off that she couldn't be there. Of course she knew it was best that she wasn't, but the idea that he could at some point be hurt and she wouldn't be there to heal him was haunting her, mocking her healing gift.

Lydia, who was fidgeting crazily with worry, rubbed a hand over her face. "G.o.d, this is nerve wracking."

Grace's smile was weak. "They're going to be fine." Shakily, she added, "They have to be."

At Taryn's wince, everyone looked at her. "Trey's gone feral."

"In this instance, it's a good thing," said Greta.

Grace grabbed the gla.s.s beside Taryn that was filled with another weird concoction of hers. "Here, drink the rest of this."

Taryn shook her head and placed a hand to her stomach. "I couldn't eat or drink a single thing right now, I feel too nauseous."

"So do I," mumbled Lydia.

"It's the nerves," Greta told them. "Where's Selma?"

"In her room," replied Hope. "She's refusing to come out and she won't let me in. She says I've betrayed her because I've chosen to give my loyalty to Trey and Taryn. To be honest, I always thought Selma would do that too after a little while. I've never seen her so worked up before."

"Maybe you should go see her," suggested Brock with an understanding smile. "Selma acts tough, but she must be worried. No one should be alone right now." Hope nodded and left the room.

"How long do you think it will go on for?" Grace asked Taryn.

It was Brock who answered. "Could be twenty minutes, could be forty-five minutes. It depends whether or not Darryl's winning. If he's not, some of his allies might leave. It's unnerving to think that some of them might have already gotten past our own wolves and are on their way to the caves."

Lydia made a low whining sound. "Don't say things like that."

"We have to be prepared for it happening. There are only forty of us out there. Darryl will have brought at least a hundred, if not more."

Of course Taryn knew there were more than just forty on their side, and she might have said as much after all, if the informant was sitting in this very room with her, there wasn't anything they could tell Darryl that he didn't already know at this point but then her vision blurred a little, startling her.

"Taryn, you okay?"

Triple-blinking to clear away the haze, she looked to Grace. "Yeah, fine. Just feel kind of woozy. You don't think it's Trey, do you? You don't think he's hurt and -"

"Calm down, use your link."

Taking a deep breath, she felt for Trey and found him immediately. His a.s.s had gone totally feral. Despite a few twinges of pain, he wasn't seriously hurt. She exhaled a sigh of relief. "He's fine."

"The pregnancy will have you feeling a little off-balance at first. Don't worry."

Brock gestured to the half empty gla.s.s. "Grace is right, you should drink some more of that...whatever it is. You need the nutrients."

Taryn shook her head, grimacing. "No, I don't feel good."

Lydia flinched and moaned. "Some a.s.shole just chomped on Cam's hind leg. He's okay though, thank G.o.d. Ryan helped get the other wolf off of him."

Grace gave her a sympathetic smile. "Rhett's received some pretty decent scratches and bites, but he's not tiring or in any real pain. G.o.d, I hate this s.h.i.t."

"I need to walk around. Not outside," Lydia quickly a.s.sured them, shifting from foot to foot in restless, nervous movements. "Just through the tunnels. Standing still is killing me."

"I'll go with you. Coming, Taryn?"

"Thanks, Grace, but I feel too woozy, I need to sit."

"I can stay with you if you want."

"She's fine, she's got me and Brock," said Greta, waving Grace and Lydia out of the room. She turned back to Taryn, frowning. "Don't worry so much about him." It was chastising rather than comforting. "G.o.d knows he's been through enough battles and he's always come back, alive and well."

"That's not going to stop me from worrying." Nothing would stop her from worrying short of Trey standing before her.

"Darryl's nothing but a little fart anyway. That's why he's brought so many with him he knows he'd never win a one-to-one challenge with Trey."

"Why do you think he wants the packs united so badly?"

Greta huffed. "Darryl's problem is that although he was born an alpha, he was a weak one too weak to be a Pack Alpha. His little brother, Rick Trey's father on the other hand, was very strong. He was also a horrible b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Darryl spent his life walking in Rick's shadow, overlooked. But that didn't stop him from lodging himself so far up Rick's a.s.s that he ended up being made Beta. Then Trey was born and even as a little boy you could tell he was a powerful alpha. Both Rick and Darryl saw him as a threat and treated him very badly."

Taryn couldn't help that her upper lip curled in anger. "Yeah, I heard a little about that."

"When Trey almost killed his father, Darryl was ordered by Rick to beat him, punish him. But Darryl wouldn't he knew he couldn't. That was why talk of banishing him started. My guess is no one in the pack forgot Darryl's fear of a fourteen year old boy and so he's not being respected or obeyed as Alpha."

"Makes sense. If he had been, half of his pack wouldn't have turned up here to check on my welfare."

Greta nodded. "Unless he shows his pack that he can overpower Trey and fix the divide in the pack, he'll be challenged soon enough and lose his position."

Greta said more but Taryn couldn't make any sense of the words as her hearing suddenly went weird, like she was underwater or something. Seconds later it returned to normal, but then her vision went blurry again.

"Taryn, Taryn, you alright?"

She wasn't sure who asked and she didn't care as the sudden urge to vomit had her ready to dash for the nearest bathroom. But she didn't make it. She hadn't even gotten halfway out of the room when she doubled over with pain and projectile vomited all over the kitchen floor. Then again. And again. And again. Then she flopped onto her side, panting, moaning and sweating. Worse, she was way beyond woozy and close to pa.s.sing out. She felt Brock pick her up.

"Go get Grace," he told Greta. "I'll take her to lie down in her room."

She retched again, but this time nothing came out. She doubted there was anything left in her stomach, especially since she'd hardly eaten anything that morning. The feeling she now had wasn't all that different from when she had hit her head. It was a little like she was weightless, like a dream state was creeping up on her. Her vision alternated from being fuzzy around the edges to being totally blurred. Her head seemed so unbelievably heavy and she felt sort of detached from her body. This could not be good for the baby. Fear shot through her as she wondered if this somehow meant she was losing the baby.

s.h.i.t, that sun was bright.

Wait, what? It occurred to her then that, hey, she was outside. And she should not be. "Where are we going?" she slurred. Her body jolted crazily and she realized they were descending the steps of the mountain face.

"Sorry, Taryn, but this is just the way it has to be."

His voice was sharp, clipped, cold. This was not the Brock she knew. "It's you. You're the informant."

He peered down at her, clearly surprised. "So you knew. Doesn't matter now. All that matters is getting you to Darryl quickly."

"What did you do to me?" she moaned as a spasm wracked her stomach.

"It's just a drug to make you sleep. I slipped it in that weird juice. I've no idea how you can drink that stuff Grace makes."

Another retch. Still no vomit.

"I'm not sure why it's making you sick." Not that he sounded concerned.

"Why, Brock? Why help Darryl?"