Chapter 338: Put My Name

Rebecca’s POV

​The next day, I was back on the training grounds with my father, pushing my body to its limits. Sweat ran down my face as I threw another punch at him, but Lord Drake caught my fist in his palm before it could connect. He barely moved.

​"Show-off," I scoffed.

​I pulled my hand away with a small frown as he stepped back and reached for the towel lying on the wooden bench nearby. "Are you going to join the special unit?" he asked suddenly. "The one the Alpha King is putting together?"

​I straightened immediately. "No."

​My answer came out so quickly that my father raised an eyebrow, but thankfully, he didn’t question it. "Okay. That is your choice."

​He wiped the sweat from his face before setting the towel back down. "I’m sending three warriors from my kingdom. They’re half Fae and half wolf, just like you. One of them can read thoughts when he’s close enough to someone. Another can make herself completely invisible and silent. The third can create illusions. Not for very long, but they’re realistic enough to confuse an enemy during battle. They’ve all agreed to join. Now we wait to see if the Alpha King selects them."

​My eyebrows rose slightly. Okay, I had to admit that was impressive. "That’s nice," I replied, trying my best to sound completely uninterested. The look my father gave me told me he wasn’t buying it, but I ignored him.

​The truth was, the whole thing sounded exciting. If the training had been taking place anywhere else, I probably would have considered joining. An entire group of gifted wolves and hybrids from different kingdoms, all with abilities I had probably never seen before? Of course I was curious. Unfortunately, they would all be gathering in Kaden’s territory, and Kaden himself would be involved in their training. So, no. Absolutely fucking not. I had spent three years building a peaceful life for myself, and I wasn’t about to willingly walk straight back into the one place I had spent all that time avoiding.

​Before I could say anything else, my mother’s voice suddenly entered my mind.

​Rebecca, please come home right now.

​I froze. There was something in her voice that immediately made my stomach tighten. Fear. My mother didn’t scare easily.

​Mom? What’s wrong?

​Just come home. Please.

​"I have to leave," I told my father, already stepping away from him. "My mother needs me."

​The amusement disappeared from his face. "Is something wrong?"

​"I don’t know."

​"Go."

​I didn’t waste another second. I pictured the main living room of the Stone Pack estate and allowed my power to take over. The training ground disappeared around me, and a second later, my feet landed on the familiar rug in our living room.

​"Mom?"

​"Rebecca."

​I turned toward her voice and stopped. My mother stood near the center of the room, her face unusually pale, but she wasn’t the reason my entire body suddenly went cold.

​Healer Garman was lying on the floor.

​"What the hell happened?" I rushed toward him and dropped to my knees. His clothes were torn and badly burned, and parts of his skin were completely scorched. Small black flames still moved across his body while another healer knelt beside him, desperately trying to close his wounds. It wasn’t working. Every time the healer’s magic touched his burned skin, the black flames seemed to fight against it.

​Garman groaned, his fingers digging into the carpet as another wave of pain moved through him. I stared at him helplessly for a moment before a thought hit me so suddenly that I stopped breathing.

​Stephanie.

​I looked around the room, but she wasn’t there. Three days ago, Stephanie had traveled with Healer Garman to the Plant Pack. He had been helping with her medical training, and the pack was known for its rare medicinal herbs, so they had gone there for research. They were supposed to return this morning.

​Together.

​I slowly looked back at Garman. "Where’s Stephanie?"

​Nobody answered, and the silence immediately made my stomach drop. "Where is she?"

​"Rebecca..." Mother began carefully.

​"No." I shook my head and moved closer to Garman. "Where is Stephanie?"

​He slowly opened his eyes. The pain on his face scared me, but the look in his eyes terrified me even more. "The Plant Pack..." His voice was weak and broken. "The tiger shifters attacked us this morning. They took the territory and surrounded the entire pack with Dark Fire."

​"No." I stared at him, already shaking my head. "No, no, no."

​"They captured everyone who couldn’t escape before the barrier went up. The Alpha, warriors, healers, civilians..."

​My eyes filled with tears. "And Stephanie?"

​Garman looked away, and that was enough.

​"No!" I screamed. "No, no, no! Where is she?"

​"They took her too."

​For a moment, I couldn’t hear anything else. Stephanie was in their hands. The same woman who had stayed beside me through some of the worst moments of my life. She had been there when I lost my baby, held me while I cried until I had no tears left, and stayed beside me during those weeks when getting out of bed felt impossible. Over the past three years, she had become more than my best friend. She was my sister.

​"I have to go." I pushed myself to my feet so quickly that I almost stumbled. "I can teleport inside. I can get her out."

​"Rebecca," Mother warned.

​I ignored her and closed my eyes, desperately trying to picture Stephanie. I reached for my power, but nothing happened. Fuck. I tried again, searching my mind for somewhere inside the Plant Pack that I could clearly picture, but I had never been there. I didn’t know where Stephanie was being held or even what the inside of the territory looked like.

​Still, panic wouldn’t let me stop. "Come on," I whispered desperately, squeezing my eyes shut harder. "Come on."

​"Rebecca, stop!" Mother grabbed my arms.

​"Let me go! I have to try!"

​"You can’t teleport somewhere you can’t picture!"

​"I’ll find a way!"

​"And what if you appear inside the Dark Fire?" she shouted. "What if it stops your magic halfway through? What if you appear in the middle of their army? We don’t know what that fire can do to your Fae abilities."

​"I don’t care!" I sobbed, trying to pull away from her. "She’s my best friend, Mom! She’s like my sister. I can’t just stand here while she’s trapped with them!"

​"Well, I care!" Mother tightened her hold on me. "And you won’t leave her there, but you have to think before you act. If you rush in and get captured too, how does that help Stephanie?"

​I finally stopped struggling. Tears continued running down my cheeks as I stared at her, hating every word because I knew she was right.

​Mother slowly released me before turning toward Garman. "How did you escape?"

​"They let me go," he whispered.

​My brows pulled together. "They let you go?"

​Garman nodded weakly. "They could have captured me, but their commander stopped them. He said someone needed to deliver a message."

​Mother’s expression hardened. "What message?"

​Garman swallowed painfully. "He said to tell Alpha Kaden that the Plant Pack belongs to them now. If the werewolf army tries to force its way through the Dark Fire, they’ll start killing the prisoners one by one. He also knows about the special unit."

​Mother and I both stared at him.

​"What?" I asked.

​"He knows Alpha Kaden is gathering gifted wolves. He said Kaden can gather as many as he wants. It won’t save the packs they’ve already taken, and it won’t stop them from taking more."

​For several seconds, nobody said anything. They knew the Werewolf Kingdom was preparing to fight back, and instead of being afraid, they had sent a fucking message. Worse, they were using innocent people as protection. They were using Stephanie as protection.

​Well, so much for staying out of this war.

​Less than an hour ago, I had stood in front of my father and confidently told him I wasn’t joining Kaden’s special unit. I wanted my peaceful life. I wanted to train, spend time with my family, travel, and leave wars and council meetings to the people who actually enjoyed sitting around giant tables arguing with each other. I had already survived enough, and I didn’t want another war.

​But apparently, the war hadn’t bothered asking what I wanted.

​They had taken Stephanie, and that changed everything. Laura snarled inside my mind, angry and restless, and for once, I didn’t tell her to calm down. I was angry too. I was terrified for Stephanie, but beneath that fear was an anger that grew stronger with every second I stood there.

​I wiped the tears from my cheeks and turned toward my mother. "Put my name on the list."

​Her eyes widened. "Rebecca."

​"I’m serious."

​"Five minutes ago, you were trying to teleport blindly into enemy territory. You’re upset. You don’t have to make this decision right now."

​"Yes, I do."

​Mother stared at me for several seconds. "You understand what joining that unit means, don’t you?"

​Of course I did. It meant Kaden’s territory. After three years of avoiding his name, his pack, his events, and practically anything that could put us in the same place, I was going to willingly walk straight into his territory.

​That alone would have been enough to make me refuse, but not anymore. This wasn’t about Kaden. It wasn’t about our past or whatever awkward disaster would happen when we eventually saw each other again. Stephanie was trapped behind that Dark Fire, and if my abilities could help bring her home, then I would use every single one of them.

​"I know exactly where I’m going," I told Mother.

​"And you’re sure?"

​My eyes moved toward Garman, still lying on the floor while the healer struggled to control the Dark Fire burning through his wounds. Then I thought about Stephanie trapped somewhere behind that same fire, probably terrified and wondering whether anyone was coming for her.

​When I looked back at my mother, I didn’t have to think about my answer.

​"Put my name on the list," I said firmly. "I’m joining the special unit."