Isla's POV
"Kyree, they're coming. I can hear them in the trees."
I was standing outside the tent, barefoot in the dirt. My chest was tight, and my hands were shaking. Ava had been growling inside me for the last ten minutes and now the sounds were clear. Branches cracking, heavy feet moving fast.
Engines roared across the camp. Men shouted as they grabbed rifles and blades. The Brotherhood was moving quickly, but not fast enough.
Kyree turned to me with his cigarette between his teeth, his shirt half buttoned. He looked me up and down. "Stay in the tent. Do not move."
"They'll come for me first," I said.
His eyes narrowed. "I said stay in the tent." Before I could answer, Cutter stormed forward, rifle slung across his chest. He jabbed a finger toward me. "This is because of her. Logan's hunters would not be here if you hadn't dragged her in."
Kyree didn't even flinch. "Shut your mouth and load your gun."
Cutter spat in the dirt. "She is dead weight. Hand her over and the fight ends before it starts."
Bikers behind him muttered in agreement. One of them said, "Drake or Logan. Either would take her. We don't need her."
I clenched my fists, my throat burning. "I'm standing right here. Say it to me."
Cutter's lip curled. "You? You're nothing but bait." Kyree moved so fast that I almost missed it. He grabbed Cutter by the front of his vest and slammed him against the nearest bike. The impact shook the metal.
"You ever question me in front of her again," Kyree growled, "I'll cut your tongue out and hang it on the wall."
Cutter choked, fists clenched, but he didn't fight back. Kyree shoved him away hard enough that he stumbled.
"Gear up," Kyree snapped to the rest. "They're already on our border."
Engines roared louder this time. Men strapped knives to their belts and chambered rounds into rifles. The whole camp smelled of oil and blood.
Kyree turned back to me. His voice was low but sharp. "Inside... Now." He shouted.
I opened my mouth to argue, but Ava's voice cut through. "Do it for now. We can't fight him and the hunters at once."
So I went into the tent. My heart still hammered, but my ears picked up everything outside, both shouts and boots pounding. Then, finally, the first clash.
Immediately, it started with a gunshot, then another. Then snarls and screams. I pulled the blanket tight around me, but it didn't matter. The sound of fighting grew closer.
Men shouted. "They're in the trees!" "Push them back!"
I grabbed the knife Kyree had left on the crate by the bedroll. My hand shook as I gripped it. Ava's voice pressed hard. "If they come in, you stab. No hesitation."
The canvas shook and a shadow fell across the tent. Someone cut through the flap and stepped inside. It was a hunter with black armor and glowing eyes. His mouth curled into a grin when he saw me. "Found you."
I stumbled back, knife in hand. "Stay away."
He lunged. I slashed clumsily, the blade cutting across his arm. He hissed, but it only slowed him for a second. Ava roared inside me. 'Again. Harder."
When he grabbed for me, I drove the knife into his side. He grunted, shock flashing across his face, as blood spread across his shirt.
I yanked the blade back out, shaking all over. He staggered and then collapsed.
My chest heaved. I couldn't breathe. I had just stabbed someone and he wasn't moving again.
Before I could even process it, two more hunters pushed into the tent. My knees locked, fear flooding me.
One of the bikers, young and wide-eyed, stumbled in behind them with a bat in his hands. He froze when he saw me. "She killed him."
The hunters smirked. One reached for me, but the biker swung the bat, knocking him back. The other lunged at me and I swung the knife again, catching his shoulder.
We all collided in a blur of fists and blades, while outside, the camp erupted louder.
Kyree's POV
The forest shook with the fight. Gunfire cracked, men shouted, and engines revved as my brothers used bikes to cut through hunters. Blood sprayed across the dirt, the air full of smoke and iron.
I tore a rifle from one man's hands and cracked it across his skull, then pulled the trigger on another. My fists were raw, my wolf clawing under my skin.
Darius growled inside me. "Ronan is near; he wants her and he is calling her."
I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pull. "Focus." But I could hear it too. "A howl in the distance, deep and vicious. It is Logan's wolf... Ronan. The sound rolled through the trees, rattling everything. My men faltered at the sound. Some froze for a second. "Keep fighting!" I roared.
But then I smelled it, Isla's fear. Sharp, cutting through everything else. I turned and saw her tent. Hunters had already broken through.
I sprinted, ripping a knife from my belt. When I shoved through the flap, one hunter was on top of her, forcing the knife from her grip. She was screaming and kicking him, her hands clawing at him.
Rage exploded through me. I grabbed him by the back of his neck and ripped him off her, slamming his head into the dirt until it cracked.
Another swung at me, blade slicing my arm, but I didn't stop. I drove my knife through his throat and shoved him away.
The last one backed up, with eyes wide. He looked at Isla, then at me, and ran.
I turned to her. She was on the ground, shaking, with spills of blood on her hands.
"You're alive," I said. She glared at me, her voice trembling but sharp. "Because I fought. Not because of you."
My jaw tightened. "You would be dead if I hadn't come in."
Her hand shook as she pointed at the body on the ground. "I killed him before you came. Don't you dare tell me I can't fight."
For a second, I couldn't answer. Her eyes were burning, her chest heaving. She had blood on her hands, but she was still standing.
Darius rumbled. "You see, she is ours. She fights beside us and with us, too."
The howl came again, but this time it was louder than before. Ronan. Isla clutched her chest, gasping in pain.
She collapsed to her knees. "No... make it stop." I grabbed her, holding her upright. "Stay with me."
She shook her head, tears streaking her face. "He's pulling me. I can feel him pulling me."
My own wolf snarled, claws raking at my chest. The bond was tearing at both of us. I lifted her, dragging her out of the tent. "Cover us!" I shouted to the bikers nearby.
Gunfire cracked as they pushed back another wave. Cutter shouted over the noise. "How many more die for her, Kyree?"
I ignored him, hauling Isla toward the bikes. She clung to me, with her face buried against my chest.
"Kyree," she whispered, her voice raw. "How long can you keep me alive before they all turn on us?"
I didn't answer. Because I didn't know. The hunt had only just begun and already the ground was soaked in blood.