Reinforcement
1401 Words
Eva’s POV
The air shifted the moment Isak stepped across the pack’s border.
Even before he said a word, his presence alone made every wolf on Moonstone land stiffen with unease. Royal aura rolled off him like thunderclouds, calm but undeniable. Power radiated from his stance, from his silence, from the way he stood in full black, silver insignia of the Lycan King pinned to his chest.
Trent’s arms dropped slowly to his sides.
His jaw flexed once. Then twice.
“Isak,” he said, voice low but steady.
“Alpha Prescote,” Isak replied without missing a beat. His eyes never left mine. “You’ve been busy.”
I stepped forward instinctively, heart pounding. “You came.”
Isak’s lips curved faintly. “Of course I did. You think I’d let you handle this mess alone?”
Nathan’s small hand tugged at my side. “Mama… is that?”
I crouched down quickly. “Yes. That’s Isak, remember? We talked about him.”
His eyes lit up. “Isak from home?”
Isak crouched too, his tall frame folding with ease. “Hi, champ.”
Nathan grinned and threw his arms around Isak’s neck. “You came to see me!”
Trent tensed beside me like he was being stabbed.
I felt it, and for a moment, I didn’t care.
“Let’s talk. Now.” Trent’s voice cut through the soft moment like a blade.
“I agree,” Isak said, rising to his full height, Nathan still clinging to his side. “But not like this. I didn’t bring royal warriors here for a show.”
“You brought an army,” Trent muttered.
“I brought protection,” Isak corrected. “For Eva and the boy. Word of rogue movement reached the capital. Our scouts say Moonstone’s border is no longer secure.”
“My territory is under control.”
“Is that why you closed it off?” Isak raised a brow. “To protect them… or to trap them?”
“I did it to keep her safe,” Trent barked, stepping forward.
“From who?” Isak asked, eyes narrowing. “You?”
I stepped between them. “Stop it. Both of you.”
“Eva...” Trent began.
“No,” I snapped. “This isn’t about you two marking territory. This is about keeping my son alive.”
“He’s not...”
“Finish that sentence, and I swear, Trent, I’ll break your nose.”
He went silent.
I turned to Isak. “Let’s go inside.”
Trent tried to step in, but Isak blocked him with a shoulder. “She said inside.”
Inside the packhouse, the tension followed us like a ghost.
Marge had taken Nathan to the guest wing. The pack council was dismissed. It was just the three of us now in Trent’s private war room.
“You knew this would happen,” I said to Isak.
“I suspected.” He leaned against the table. “Royal intelligence intercepted messages. The rogues know where you are.”
“How did they find out?”
“That’s what I’m here to figure out. But first” he looked directly at Trent. “You will explain why you detained Eva and her son.”
“I didn’t detain them. I protected them.”
Isak scoffed. “By isolating them and cutting off outside access?”
Trent slammed his hand on the table. “I don’t need to explain myself to you!”
“You do now.”
“Enough!” I shouted. “I’m sick of both of you barking over me like I’m some prize.”
They fell silent.
I took a breath. “Let’s be clear. I don’t belong to anyone. Not you, Trent. Not you, Isak. And Nathan doesn’t need either of you playing Alpha with his life.”
“I wasn’t...” Trent started, but I raised a hand.
“Don’t. You’ve done enough.”
A knock interrupted the tense silence.
Beta Henry entered, looking pale.
“Alpha. We’ve received a report from the south patrol.”
“What is it?” Trent asked, standing straighter.
“Dead rogues. Four of them. All bearing the same mark.”
“What mark?” Isak asked, voice suddenly sharp.
Henry handed him a scrap of bloodstained cloth.
Isak paled.
I leaned in. “What is that?”
“It’s from a group that answers to one man,” Isak said quietly. “A former high-ranking wolf. Known to be ruthless. Strategic. He vanished years ago but…”
Trent folded his arms. “But what?”
“He’s rumored to be building something in secret. A rogue army. Small, deadly, loyal only to him.”
“What’s his name?” I asked.
Isak looked at me.
Then back to the cloth.
“Dale Garcia.”
The room went still.
My knees buckled slightly.
“Eva...” Trent stepped towards me, but I waved him off.
“No. No. That’s impossible. My father is dead.”
“Or he made you think he was,” Isak said gently. “We need to assume he’s alive until we know otherwise.”
Trent stared at the cloth. “That bastard.”
My voice cracked. “He… he wouldn’t. He disowned me. He left me, why would he…?”
“Because he never stopped controlling things,” Isak said.
Athena snarled inside me.
I forced myself to breathe. “We need to find out the truth.”
Outside, the royal guards set up temporary security stations.
Inside, we argued.
“We need to move her,” Isak said. “Moonstone is compromised.”
“She stays here,” Trent replied. “She knows this territory. We can protect her better here.”
“She doesn’t want to stay here,” Isak retorted.
“Don’t speak for her.”
“Enough!” I shouted again. “Both of you. Stop using me like a pawn.”
I looked at Isak. “Thank you for coming. But I’m staying.”
Isak frowned. “Eva...”
“If my father is out there… if he’s behind these rogues, then I need to face him. And I can’t do that by running.”
Trent nodded silently, eyes never leaving mine.
“You have my support,” Isak said at last.
“Good.” I looked between them. “Because now… we go hunting.”
The first wave came at dawn.
We were caught off guard.
Explosions near the eastern gates jolted the entire pack awake. Screams followed. Warriors shifted into wolves mid-run.
Trent was already in Alpha form, black fur, golden eyes, tearing through the air as his Beta scrambled to organize the troops.
Isak shouted orders in royal command, his own warriors moving with perfect unity.
I ran toward the training yard.
“Eva, no!” Marge grabbed my arm. “You can’t go out there.”
“My son is here. My fight is here.”
“But...”
My hands sparked. Golden light flared from my palms. Healing magic. Raw and pulsing.
“I’m not helpless anymore,” I said.
Then I ran.
Rogues had breached the first line. They were fast, violent, coordinated.
I blasted one with a beam of healing fire, it screamed as it disintegrated.
Two more charged.
A guard threw himself in front of me, but I spun and hit one with a shock pulse. The second knocked me down his claws grazing my shoulder.
Trent appeared from nowhere, snarling and ripping the rogue’s throat out.
He shifted back instantly. “Are you okay?”
I winced. “Yeah. I’m...”
Another rogue launched from behind. Trent shoved me aside, took the blow.
Isak tackled the attacker seconds later.
“Stay down!” he barked.
“I don’t stay down!” I yelled, blasting another rogue mid-air.
Trent looked at me, bloody and bruised. “You’re insane.”
I grinned. “Takes one to know one.”
It took over an hour to push them back.
Bodies littered the yard. Blood soaked the grass. But we survived.
Barely.
Isak stood with me, Trent on my other side.
“We need to find their leader,” I said.
“We need to find your father,” Trent corrected.
And then, without warning, a wounded rogue, half-dead and crawling, looked up at me and whispered,
“He’s coming for the boy.”
- Writer
