Mated To An Enemy

“Help!” Axel shouted, looking up the northern path. It hadn't been that long since the group had gone to meet the Valkyrie. Someone had to hear him. “Help, damn it!”

“Hush, boy…”

“Jonas…” Axel whispered, focusing back on the man he held tightly.

Jonas took in a weak breath.

“I'm… here, pup,” he whispered. “Just a little short… of breath.”

He took in a wheezing breath and hissed at the pain.

“Would you… be so kind… as to remove that from… my back….”

“I don't know if I should,” Axel said. Looking at the wound, the dark pooling of blood around it.

“We both… know… this is it,” Jonas said, patting Axel's arm. “In or… out… I aint got much left….”

Axel clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. He was fighting to hold back the tears. He reached back and broke the end of the arrow. Jonas let out a groan of pain as he did so.

“Help me… lay down..” Jonas whispered. His voice was getting weaker.

Axel eased him to the ground. Once he was down, he took hold of Jonas' hand.

“I'm sorry,” Axel whispered.

Jonas shook his head, a twitching smile on his bloody lips.

“We all gotta go someday….” Jonas chuckled weakly.

Jonas turned his head and coughed, droplets of blood falling over the snow. He looked back up at Axel, the color on his face was leaving. He took in another strained breath before he spoke.

“I love my girl… I am so damn proud of Nessie….” Jonas whispered with a nod. “But… you… Axel, you were the son I never got.”

Axel drew a sharp breath, letting it back out with a quiver. His eyes burned, and his stomach turned with frustration and anger.

He sniffled and shook his head as his jaw shook.

“Jonas…”

“Hush… you need to know… who did this,” Jonas insisted, his breathing ragged and weak. “The one.. that led the monsters…”

He paused to lick his lips and take another wheezing breath.

“It was… that fiery-eyed… fucker…”

Axel's eyes widened. Roman? Was he inside of Winter? And then Axel realized why Lily's Rest had been destroyed. The power of the Priestesses must have been connected to it.

Jonas coughed again. The blood was darker now.

“My wolves…I trust you..” Jonas whispered. “Take care of em…they are yours now… all of them…”

With a final gentle exhale, the light dimmed in his eyes.

Axel let out a heavy sob and leaned forward, hugging Jonas as he let out his tears.

Though he wanted to stay, to mourn, to honor the great man that Jonas was, Axel knew this was not the time. So he carefully laid Jonas back and got to his feet.

“Goddess…” came a voice from a few feet away.

Axel glanced up to see the same man that had been in control of the radio.

“I'm sorry,” the man said. “I heard a call for help… I tried to get back as soon as I could..”

“There was nothing you could have done,” Axel replied. “The arrow is made of silver.”

The man's eyes widened.

“He needs to be taken to the Safe Zone,” Axel said. “His body must be cleaned and returned to Broken Crag.”

The man nodded and moved to prepare Jonas for transport.

“Do you have the radio?” Axel asked.

The man swallowed and nodded, pulling out the radio and handing it to Axel.

He took the radio and switched it to be received by all channels. Axel took a breath and then brought the radio up to speak.

“This is Axel, Alpha of Winter,” he began.

In the north, Corrine's eyes lit up as she heard his voice.

Inside the hospital, Alice looked at Bell, and they both smiled.

“Our gates have been destroyed. Our territory has been invaded,” he continued. “We have been met by an overwhelming force.”

Families huddled close together, hugging each other tightly as he spoke. Children old enough to understand cried silently in the arms of their parents.

Alice's hand moved instinctively over her belly. Bell touched her gently as they listened to Axel's words.

“Today… allies from every pack have come to help us defend our home.”

Across the territory, wolves of Frostbite, Summer, Broken Crag, and Winter listened as they continued to fight the enemy.

Some let out soft howls, while others felt bolstered into fighting harder by the acknowledgment.

“And without the wolves of Broken Crag,” Axel's voice shook. “Without them, Winter would have already fallen.”

Murmurs and whispers of panic spread through the crowd of refugees.

“They have paid a heavy price for this alliance,” Axel said. Hot tears streamed down his face. “Alpha Jonas of Broken Crag has been lost.”

Crag wolves, not currently engaged in battle, looked toward the radio with disbelief.

Axel took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, steadying his heart.

“The enemy has taken one of our best,” Axel continued, his voice calm. “They have weakened us.”

Axel looked back at Jonas. He was seeing the grumpy asshole that always treated him like a child. The man that had forced Caleb to fight in silver and iron to prove to his wolves that Caleb was worth trusting.

Across Winter, they all silently waited for what he would say next.

Axel took a deep breath. He turned toward the sounds of battle in the distance.

“In weakness, we will find strength,” Axel growled. “We will cut down the enemy. We will avenge our fallen…. Winter will not fall!”

In response to those words, howls echoed across the territory from the wolves of Broken Crag. And soon after, by the wolves of Winter, Summer, and all the rest that fought side by side.

He took another deep breath, returning the radio to his lips as his eyes scanned the trees.

“And because I know that you are out there listening….” Axel whispered. “Know that I am coming for you… old friend.”

Deep in the forest, where he had slunk away after missing his intended target with the arrow, Roman smiled at the radio in his hand.

“So glad we can finally finish our game…” he whispered.