The Hunted

Forty-Two

Blake

The wall came down at precisely six-oh-three in the morning with the first glow of dawn breaking on the horizon.

Blake didn't feel it when it came down but from the howling of wolves and the gunshots echoing in the distance, she knew that the assault had started. It was an effort for her to stay concealed where she was on the flat roof of the clinic. A sniper rifle had been assembled and rested on the ledge, just barely in view of those on the ground. She peered through the scope, looking for movement in the forest.

She barely let herself think of Red or Monroe or Henry in the woods. Or of her other friends – Phillip, Li, Deacon, Lucas, Hope, Juliet, Jenny and countless others who Blake had come to care for. No, it was easier to focus on the task at hand. Of Lucy in the building below. The Luna had been in labour for about four hours and the baby was still firmly inside of her. Still, every so often Blake heard a pained cry and knew that the contractions were coming more frequently.

Soon. The baby would be here soon.

Blake wondered what kind of world it would emerge into. She hoped it was a good one. Filled with love and peace – not bloodshed and hatred.

It had been too late to move Lucy, especially given that the baby was a few weeks early. That, coupled with the stress she'd been under during this pregnancy meant that Henry wanted his Mate in a place where she had access to medical care so they'd stayed at the clinic and the plan had changed.

Those who weren't to be fighting had been moved to a secure location on pack territory that only Henry knew about. He'd commanded them to leave and not to tell anyone where they were headed and then he'd commanded those staying behind not to follow or ask questions about where they'd gone. The Alpha was adamant that those vulnerable pack members wouldn't be found but he hadn't kept the same optimism about Lucy.

The decision had been made for Blake to stay here instead of luring Malachi away. She and Henry had known that it would be futile – that the hunters' arrival today was occurring because someone in the pack had told them exactly when Lucy had gone into labour so that they'd known when the pack would be at their most vulnerable. Which meant that they'd likely also already told Malachi precisely where to find the Luna.

Really, this was the only place for Blake to be right now. Sitting atop a building waiting for Malachi to arrive so that she could apprehend him – but not kill him. As much as she hated him, that kill belonged to Henry. He deserved to slaughter the man that had nearly killed his daughter and had conspired to tear Sanguis Ridge apart.

So Blake sat, and watched, and waited, and did her damnedest not to think of the fact that Red was out there right now fighting for his life. He would be waiting for his gun-wielding packmates to push the hunters right into an ambush spot where the wolves were waiting but it was a dangerous plan and she was worried.

Blake had hardly had a moment alone with him before they'd needed to go to their respective spots for battle. Just one minute outside of the packhouse where he'd stared at her with those forest green eyes as if he were memorizing her face in case it was the last time he ever saw it. They'd held each other, gripping tightly for a moment that was much too short and then he had kissed her with more ferocity than he'd ever done before. The kind of kiss that said 'I love you' and 'goodbye.'

Red hadn't said either of those things before he'd left for the front lines though. He'd simply said, "You are my life, my heart, my soul...Keep them all safe for me today."