Falling For the Alpha's Daughter

Chapter 30

Anastasia's P.O.V.

I stood on a rock overlooking the trench as members of the Ashworth and Blackwell helped set up the barricade that should hopefully hinder wolves from the Nightwalker pack if they tried to get in again. I jumped down to help a guy hoist the spike up.

"Thanks," he heaved and I nodded as he walked off to get another pile.

So far preparations had been going along smoothly, half the trench was already filled with spikes. Members from the both packs worked urgently as an understanding of the danger we were in hit home yesterday.

I rubbed my neck as my mark tingled. Luke and I have never been away from each other since we've met and my wolf and I didn't like the distance between us now. If I focused hard enough I could feel the mate bond thrumming with his emotions faintly but now, I felt nothing and it set me on edge.

Ari came up behind me and poked my cheeks, "You're scaring me. Smile Ana, please."

I offered him a weak but strained one. It was no use hiding my true emotions from Ari, he reads me like a book. "I hate this."

Ari wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we looked out at the work. "I know you do. I'm sure you would feel better if you were with them instead of here." I nodded and he squeezed my shoulder. "It's the end Ana."

"We'll make it Ari," I looked up at him. I broached his mind, something I never do with Ari; we both liked the privacy of our minds. I bit the inside of my cheek as I saw what he couldn't say.

"You're not going to lose anyone," I said softly but firmly. "Not Dad. Not any one of your brothers. Not Hayley. You're not going to lose me."

Ari pulled me into a hug. "I hope not because hell will look like paradise if I do."

I smiled, remembering the words I said yesterday and breathe in deep as a warm sensation filled my chest, as if someone put a piece of me back in. "They're back," I grinned as four...not five howls echoed through the forest.

My smile vanished and my blood ran cold as Ari whistled the signal we had arranged between Ari, Asher, Jared, Rowan and I. Everyone's faces were grim as we ran to the clearing.

I ran to Luke as he appeared. The acrid scent from his chest didn't deter me as I wrapped my arms around him and pressed a kiss to his mark.

"Ana," Luke breathed my name softly as he tilted my head up to kiss me softly. I ran my fingers along the scratch, like mine was when it was fresh, the skin was reddish purple and raised. His hand drifted to the small of my back as he turned his attention to the conversation.

"It was an ambush," Damien was saying. He and his wolf were barely containing their anger. "We've got intel but they've got Harvey."

Deep down inside, part of me was relieved that Luke and my brothers made it back alive but Harvey was in grave danger and this was a great blow to the Blackwells.

"He was alive as they took him. I lost the link as they knocked him unconscious," Luke's grip on me tightened as he talked. Bryan appeared in the clearing, his face unreadable as he heard the news.

Jonathan and Dad stood at the centre of the circle. My brothers were here, as well as the Blackwell council, Jason, Seth and Bryan. This was an impromptu meeting of most importance.

"We need to rescue Harvey," Jonathan said, he was good at hiding his emotions, "do we negotiate or attack?"

"Negotiate," came the reply from the Blackwell council. Luke and I growled lowly, both of us were tired of playing defence.