The Wolves and the Vipers

Chapter 40 - In a Heartbeat

Last update of 2022, I guess. Happy New Year everybody! If you need a quick recap of where we left off - Jaden found his mate, promptly ripped her father's throat out, and now we are in the middle of all-out war between Riverside and New Dawn. Naturally, I thought I'd use this chapter to calm everything down a bit.

"They're panicking - look at them," one of the fighters murmured. Unlike me, they could keep their heads up, which meant that, unlike me, they could see what was going on.

The other one grunted his assent. "Well, yeah. Of course they are. Their Alpha's dying. There's no leadership, no plan beyond killing Jaden..."

I knew they were frustrated to be stuck in here, unable to help their packmates, but they hadn't uttered a word of complaint yet. They must have realised that their job was more important in the grand scheme of things. If Riverside killed me today, it would start an entirely new feud.

There was a thump as someone collided with the jeep, and I did my best to just keep breathing, slow and even. The seconds passed painfully slowly. I actually resorted to watching the expressions on the fighters' faces just to gauge how the fight might be going.

"It looks like they're retreating from our territory," one of them said, after what felt like a lifetime. "Maybe even retreating altogether. But either way, we'll have to stay here until the area is secured, Luna."

"I know," I replied. "Is... Does it look like Alpha Darren is dead?"

He shrugged at me. "I don't know, Luna. He's not moving."

So maybe the feud was over. Maybe the next Alpha of Riverside wouldn't hold his predecessors' grudges. On the other hand, maybe we had just made things worse. Another death meant a fresh cause for hatred.

"Their pack is starting to retreat now," the other guy added after a minute. "They wouldn't do that if he was alive."

Another minute passed, and I dared to poke my head up again. I couldn't see anyone fighting now - just panting, bloodied wolves on both sides of the river. Only our pack remained. And most were actually starting to shift back, so they must have been confident that the threat had passed.

Some were starting to treat the injured with pressure on wounds and gentle manoeuvring into the recovery position. Finding clothes had not been their priority, understandably, so I averted my eyes again. None of them had any reason to think a woman - let alone their Luna - might be nearby.

"Everyone gets first-aid," I heard Jace say from surprisingly close to me. "Is that understood?"

"You want us to help them?" someone demanded, not bothering to hide the disgust in his voice.

"Yes, I do."

There was no further complaint about it, but I could imagine the looks on the fighters' faces well enough. I wasn't sure what Jace was playing at, because this was entirely the wrong time to be making goodwill gestures towards Riverside.

The man in the driver's seat pressed his car keys, and a clicking sound reverberated through the door beside me. I didn't quite understand why he had unlocked the car until the door actually opened. Jace was stood on the other side, littered with minor bite wounds. He had, thankfully, put on a pair of shorts, although not all of his men had managed to do the same.

"Come on," he told me in a low voice. "Let's get you home."

I got out of the car to join him. This was expected. But there was a man behind Jace whom I had not been expecting to see. I'd thought he would still be lying in a heap somewhere, but Jaden was on his feet. His face was bloody, and he was limping heavily, but his healing had done enough to keep him upright.