Chapter 67
[ 905 words ]
The front line
67: 67.
The front line Aria
As we pass through the pack center, Dex approaches, already mid-report.
“First group is out,” he says.
“They’ve got the children and elderly moving toward the safe house.”
My chest tightens.
“They left already?”
“Had to,” he says.
“They’re the most vulnerable.
The sooner they leave, the more space they can put between themselves and any tracker teams the Assembly sends out.”
“And the second group?” Kade asks, leading us to the enforcer building.
“Getting ready now.
Juveniles, submissives, and a few dominants for protection.
Theo will be taking the lead.”
“What group am I in?” I ask.
Dex glances at me, then back to Kade.
“Final group. The first with Ronan and Kade.”
His words finally land.
What?
Are we not all going together?
The doors to the enforcer building open, and Sebastian tilts his head and leads us inside one of the rooms.
“Why split up?” I ask.
“Wouldn’t it be safer together?”
Sebastian answers this time, stepping forward.
“No,” he says.
“A large group is an easy target. Too visible. Too predictable.”He gestures at the window, toward the forest.
“Multiple smaller groups divide the risk. If one group is intercepted, the others still make it.”
I nod slowly.
It makes sense.
It just doesn’t make it feel any less terrifying.
Ronan is in the room looking over a map of the forest terrain.
Theo is to his left, strapping on a pack.
His movements are efficient, focused.
When he looks up and sees me, he doesn’t hesitate.
He crosses the distance in a few long strides and pulls me into him.
His lips find mine in a quick, firm kiss—grounding, steady.
“I’ll see you when you get there,” he murmurs.
My fingers tighten in his shirt.
“You’d better.
I’m done losing people, so you hear me.”
He smirks.“Are you confessing your undying love to me?”
“I guess you’ll have to see me later to find out.” I wink, keeping my emotions light even though foreboding twists together in my chest.
The door to the enforcer building slams open unceremoniously, causing me to jump, and the male’s eyes to laser in on the sound.
“Are you kidding me?!” Quinley storms in, eyes blazing as she heads straight for Kade.
“You put me in the second group? That makes zero sense!”
Kade groans under his breath.
“Quinnie—”
“No,” she cuts him off.
“Explain it to me because I graduated from kindergarten, so I can’t follow the logic.”
My eyebrows lift, and I have to choke down the laugh that jumps from my throat.
I haven’t been around many submissives, but Quinley is demolishing the assumptions I may have had about sweet, docile natures.
Maybe it’s all the brain rot from the fantasy books I read, but I never really imagined them being so fiery.
My wolf growls in approval.
“You will be safer in group two, and you can help manage the juveniles. They love you,” Kade says.
“The first and second groups already have healers,” Quinley continues, pacing.
“Why would you not place one in the final group, too?
What if you need me?”
“Well, be fine,” Kade says firmly.
“The longer you stay, the higher the risk—”
“The higher the risk of being targeted,” she finishes, eyes narrowing.
“Yeah. I figured that part out.”
The first and second groups…
They’re not just evacuation waves.
They’re protection layers.
And the last group?
My stomach drops.
“We’re the front line,” I whisper.
“I would put you in another group, but with the way Aldren was staring at you, I feel like he will have a target on your back. It’s safer to keep you with the stronger group,” Ronan explains.
I get it.
It makes sense.
If I’m in a group with more fighters, there is a better chance of survival for us all.
“Exactly. You could get hurt if we’re attacked,” Kade gives her a pointed look.
“This is bullshit, and you know it,” Quinley scoffs.
“You’re not thinking logically—you’re being protective.”
Kade glances at Ronan for backup.
Ronan raises his hands slightly, a smirk tugging at his lips.
“Oh no,” he says.
“You got yourself into this one.”
Sebastian steps forward instead.“It’s reckless to put a submissive in that kind of danger,” he says.
Quinley whirls on him.
“Oh, eat shit, Bash. You can fuck right off with that.”
I blink.
Okay.
I definitely did not expect that.
The tension spikes as they stare each other down.
Sebastian’s posture stiffens, dominance pressing outward, but Quinley just dismisses him, turning back to her cousin.
“I’m an empathic healer, remember. It will be a hot day in Alaska before I let some muscle-bound ditz get the best of me.”
That gets everyone’s attention.
Ronan’s smirk fades, replaced by consideration.
Kade still looks conflicted.
“She has a point,” Ronan says slowly.
Kade exhales sharply.
“You can’t be serious.”
“She’s right,” Ronan counters.
“She could be very useful in gaining the upper hand in an attack.”
Quinley crosses her arms, chin lifting.
“Thank you.”
A beat passes.
Then Kade mutters something under his breath and runs a hand through his hair.“Fine.”
Victory flashes in Quinley’s eyes.
I step closer, lowering my voice slightly.
“That was impressive.”
She looks at me, and just like that, the edge softens into a small smile.
“Sometimes dominants forget how to think when their protective streak kicks in,” she says.
“Someone has to be around to fix that.”
My wolf huffs in agreement.
“And it’s nice to see you again,” Quinley adds.
“Even if the circumstances suck.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“Same.”
I glance up and catch Sebastian staring at her.
Hard.
There’s something in his expression I can’t quite place.
Frustration, maybe.
Or something more intense, hotter.
Marcus elbows him, and he looks away instantly.
Interesting.
Ronan’s voice cuts through the moment.“The second group is moving out now. Sebastion, I want you to take Quin’s place,” he announces, moving a radio away from his mouth.
“We follow in thirty minutes.”
Sebastian nods and says his goodbyes along with Theo and Kiara.
Thirty minutes.
That’s all we have left here.
Then we’re running for our lives.
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