A Mate For Christmas

Chapter 12

Evie felt tears prick her eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Dave had made her feel like she was not enough. Like she should be grateful he stayed with her.

But Gideon made her feel like she was everything.

"I do not want you to lose everything because of me," Evie whispered.

"Then we make sure it does not come to that," Gideon said. He stood and pulled her to her feet. "We fight. We prepare. We show the council and Raphael and everyone else that you are exactly where you belong."

A knock interrupted them. Victoria opened the door without waiting for permission. "Gideon, we have a problem."

"What now?" Gideon asked, his voice tired.

"Treasure wants to speak with you. She says she has information about an attack. Tonight."

Gideon's expression hardened. "Where?"

"Here," Victoria said grimly. "On the estate. She says Raphael is sending rogues to test our defenses."

"Then we will be ready," Gideon said. He looked at Evie. "Go to your room. Lock the door. Do not come out until I come for you."

"No," Evie said.

"Evie—"

"No," she repeated firmly. "If there is going to be an attack, I need to see it. I need to understand what I am up against. Hiding in my room will not help me get stronger."

"It will keep you safe," Gideon argued.

"Safe but ignorant," Evie shot back. "You said I need to learn. Well, this is part of learning. I want to see how you defend the pack. I want to see what real danger looks like so I am not caught off guard later."

Gideon looked like he wanted to argue more, but Victoria spoke first.

"She has a point," Victoria said. "Sheltering her completely will only make her more vulnerable when she inevitably faces danger alone."

"She will not be alone," Gideon said. "I will always protect her."

"You cannot always be there," Victoria said gently. "None of us can. She needs to learn to protect herself."

Gideon's jaw clenched. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. But you stay behind our defensive lines. You watch from a safe distance. And if I tell you to run, you run. Understood?"

"Understood," Evie said.

"Good," Gideon said. He turned to Victoria. "Call the pack together. Battle positions. If Raphael wants a fight, we will give him one he will never forget."

They spent the rest of the afternoon preparing. Evie watched as pack members armed themselves with weapons she had only seen in movies. Silver knives, reinforced crossbows, what looked like modified guns.

"Silver hurts us," Delilah explained, seeing Evie's confused expression. "It does not kill us like the myths say, but it burns our skin and slows healing. Rogues often use silver weapons because they are cheap and effective."

"So you arm yourselves with silver too?"

"To fight fire with fire," Delilah said. "Plus, we know how to use these weapons properly. Rogues usually do not."

As darkness fell, the pack took their positions. The estate had been turned into a fortress. Guards on every entrance. Scouts in the surrounding woods. Even the children and elderly had been moved to a reinforced safe room in the basement.

Evie stood on a balcony overlooking the grounds, flanked by two large guards Gideon had assigned to her. From here, she could see everything. The snow covered lawns. The dark forest beyond. The pack members spread out in defensive formations.

Gideon stood at the front gate with Jayden and Julian. Even from this distance, Evie could see the tension in his shoulders.

Through the bond, she felt his emotions. His fury at Raphael for threatening his home. His fear for her safety. His determination to protect every member of his pack.

"They are coming," one of the guards beside Evie said suddenly. He pointed to the forest.

Evie squinted, but she could not see anything. Then movement caught her eye. Shadows between the trees. Lots of shadows.

"How many?" the other guard asked into a radio.

A crackling voice responded. "At least thirty rogues. Maybe more. They are spreading out, trying to surround us."

Thirty. Evie's heart hammered. That was so many.

"Positions," Gideon's voice rang out across the grounds. "Hold the line. Protect the estate."

The rogues burst from the forest all at once. They were in wolf form, huge and savage looking. Their eyes glowed yellow in the darkness, and their snarls echoed across the snow.

The pack met them head on. Wolves and humans fighting together with brutal efficiency. Evie watched in horrified fascination as the battle unfolded.

It was nothing like movies. There was no dramatic music or slow motion. It was fast and violent and terrifying. Rogues fell, wounded or dead. Pack members fell too, though they got back up faster than the rogues did.

Gideon was in the center of it all, his black wolf form unmistakable. He moved like death itself, tearing through rogues with ruthless precision. Beside him, Jayden's red wolf and Julian's gray wolf fought just as fiercely.

The battle seemed to go on forever but was probably only minutes. The rogues were being pushed back, retreating toward the forest.

Then Evie saw something that made her blood run cold.

Three rogues had broken away from the main fight. They were running toward the house. Toward her balcony.

"We have rogues heading to the east side!" one of her guards shouted into the radio.

But before help could arrive, the rogues reached the house. They shifted into human form and started climbing the wall, using balconies and decorative stonework like a ladder.

"Get inside!" the guard yelled at Evie, pushing her toward the door.

Evie ran. But before she could reach the door, it burst open. A rogue stood there, a man with wild eyes and a savage grin. He had a knife in his hand, silver and gleaming.

"Hello, little Luna," he said.