Darryl laughed, but there was a nervous tremor to it. “One last chance. Give in to my requests, and we can avoid this battle.”

As Trey backed away from the gate with Dante and Tao, his uncle smiled – obviously believing Trey was backing down. Snort. Like that would ever happen. “Ryan, open the gate.” The smile immediately fell from Darryl’s face and was replaced by a dark scowl.

As the gate creaked open slowly, more wolves stepped out of the trees – some from behind Trey, some from his left side, and some from his right, until there were approximately one hundred and fifty wolves standing with him. It didn’t make the numbers strictly even, but it was pretty damn close. He noticed Quinn was grinning like a kid in a toy store. The other nine Alphas that Trey had met at the diner only yesterday looked just as eager and bloodthirsty.

Darryl’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. His face was a question mark.

Trey cocked his head. “You didn’t really think I’d reveal to the entire pack just how many wolves were joining me when I knew you had an informant who could tell you, did you?” Darryl’s eyes widened even more, though Trey wouldn’t have thought it was possible until then. “Oh yes I know all about that.” Finally the gate was fully open. “Know this: it doesn’t matter how many wolves you have protecting you, Darryl. I will get to you and I will kill you.”

Red in the face, Darryl howled. Taking that as a signal to attack, his supporters instantly shifted into their wolf forms and began galloping through the gate. Trey’s own allies followed his lead as he ran and leapt, rapidly shifting midway through the leap into his wolf form, and clamped his jaws closed around one of his enemy’s throats.

“It’s started,” Taryn told Greta, Brock, and Hope. Grace and Lydia, who were on either side of her, already knew through their link with their own mates. Echoes of Trey’s anger and rage reached her through their bond, along with his determination and focus. Even though she knew just how strong and powerful he was, she was so damn scared for him and so damn pissed off that she couldn’t be there. Of course she knew it was best that she wasn’t, but the idea that he could at some point be hurt and she wouldn’t be there to heal him was haunting her, mocking her healing gift.

Lydia, who was fidgeting crazily with worry, rubbed a hand over her face. “God, this is nerve wracking.”

Grace’s smile was weak. “They’re going to be fine.” Shakily, she added, “They have to be.”

At Taryn’s wince, everyone looked at her. “Trey’s gone feral.”

“In this instance, it’s a good thing,” said Greta.

Grace grabbed the glass beside Taryn that was filled with another weird concoction of hers. “Here, drink the rest of this.”

Taryn shook her head and placed a hand to her stomach. “I couldn’t eat or drink a single thing right now, I feel too nauseous.”

“So do I,” mumbled Lydia.

“It’s the nerves,” Greta told them. “Where’s Selma?”

“In her room,” replied Hope. “She’s refusing to come out and she won’t let me in. She says I’ve betrayed her because I’ve chosen to give my loyalty to Trey and Taryn. To be honest, I always thought Selma would do that too after a little while. I’ve never seen her so worked up before.”

“Maybe you should go see her,” suggested Brock with an understanding smile. “Selma acts tough, but she must be worried. No one should be alone right now.” Hope nodded and left the room.

“How long do you think it will go on for?” Grace asked Taryn.

It was Brock who answered. “Could be twenty minutes, could be forty-five minutes. It depends whether or not Darryl’s winning. If he’s not, some of his allies might leave. It’s unnerving to think that some of them might have already gotten past our own wolves and are on their way to the caves.”

Lydia made a low whining sound. “Don’t say things like that.”

“We have to be prepared for it happening. There are only forty of us out there. Darryl will have brought at least a hundred, if not more.”

Of course Taryn knew there were more than just forty on their side, and she might have said as much – after all, if the informant was sitting in this very room with her, there wasn’t anything they could tell Darryl that he didn’t already know at this point – but then her vision blurred a little, startling her.

“Taryn, you okay?”

Triple-blinking to clear away the haze, she looked to Grace. “Yeah, fine. Just feel kind of woozy. You don’t think it’s Trey, do you? You don’t think he’s hurt and -”

“Calm down, use your link.”

Taking a deep breath, she felt for Trey and found him immediately. His ass had gone totally feral. Despite a few twinges of pain, he wasn’t seriously hurt. She exhaled a sigh of relief. “He’s fine.”

“The pregnancy will have you feeling a little off-balance at first. Don’t worry.”

Brock gestured to the half empty glass. “Grace is right, you should drink some more of that…whatever it is. You need the nutrients.”

Taryn shook her head, grimacing. “No, I don’t feel good.”

Lydia flinched and moaned. “Some ass**le just chomped on Cam’s hind leg. He’s okay though, thank God. Ryan helped get the other wolf off of him.”

Grace gave her a sympathetic smile. “Rhett’s received some pretty decent scratches and bites, but he’s not tiring or in any real pain. God, I hate this shit.”

“I need to walk around. Not outside,” Lydia quickly assured them, shifting from foot to foot in restless, nervous movements. “Just through the tunnels. Standing still is killing me.”

“I’ll go with you. Coming, Taryn?”

“Thanks, Grace, but I feel too woozy, I need to sit.”

“I can stay with you if you want.”

“She’s fine, she’s got me and Brock,” said Greta, waving Grace and Lydia out of the room. She turned back to Taryn, frowning. “Don’t worry so much about him.” It was chastising rather than comforting. “God knows he’s been through enough battles and he’s always come back, alive and well.”

“That’s not going to stop me from worrying.” Nothing would stop her from worrying short of Trey standing before her.

“Darryl’s nothing but a little fart anyway. That’s why he’s brought so many with him – he knows he’d never win a one-to-one challenge with Trey.”