He shook his head. Panic consumed me. I was going to die. I knew it. I understood it. Dalton had been an alpha for almost two decades. His strength was well known. I was a new alpha and a badly incapacitated one at that. I was no match for him. I accepted my fate, but I couldn’t accept what Dalton had planned for Jules. I summoned every ounce of energy I had left in me. I needed to make Jules listen. I wanted it to be the last thing I did, but I couldn’t muster as much as a glimmer. There was no way I could alpha him, so again, I whispered, “Run!”

Jules’s eyes were as black as The Brothers’ had been. His jaw was set. His mind was made up. He was going no-where. He took several steps forward and lowered his stance, bracing for impact. My view of him was suddenly obscured by a small figure. A very small figure. Petite, almost dainty. A small figure that cast a very long shadow. She looked down at me fondly and to my endless amazement, I saw that Mrs. O’Malley was right.

I did have my momma’s eyes.

Streaks of amber bled and radiated out from her pupils. Her eyes were lit from within. Her long, silver hair whipped around her shoulders as she turned to face Dalton. The way her hair moved made her look magickal. It looked like she was generating her own wind. And maybe she was. I certainly wouldn’t have put it past her.

“Dalton Cleary, I challenge you for the position of alpha of the Cleary pack.” Her voice was firm, but calm. Eerily calm. Scarily calm.

Dalton stopped moving, hesitating for a second. He looked around. Most members of the pack weren’t moving. They were rooted where they stood. Several were pale. Tears were streaming down Jules’s mom’s face. Lilac and Lola looked bizarrely entertained. Mrs. O’Malley’s lips were moving. It looked like she was saying a prayer, though given that it was her, an incantation seemed more likely. Every member of the pack heard my mother’s challenge. As much as Dalton wanted me dead, there was no way he could ignore it.

“You stupid bitch,” Dalton snarled, extending his claws. They were long and immaculate. “I’ll kill you and then I’ll gut your runt son.”