A pink light ignites over the water.
Jasper pulls back, retracting his fangs. He hasn't broken the skin on Eleanor's neck. He hasn't marked her.
I breathe a sigh of relief. We all stare across the water where the distracting light is rocketing into the sky.
Is it a firework?.
No, it must be a flare. But who shot it?
The flare reaches its peak and explodes, sending shivering trails of pink sparks fizzing amongst the stars.
It's the distraction Jasper needs.
He swiftly elbows Scarface in the head and spins, landing a punch against his jaw with a solid thwack.
Then he turns and knocks the gun from Eleanor's hand, sending it sliding across the deck.
The weapon comes to a stop about a foot away from me.
Scarface is still recovering but his rogue compadres, Tattoo and Peanut––I have to learn these guy's names––are already lurching toward Jasper.
Eleanor is knocked to the ground as the rogues land on Jasper. He fights them off as best as he can but there are three of them and one of him.
He punches and blocks but they quickly overpower him, forcing him to his knees with their barrage of blows.
Eleanor's eyes catch mine as she searches for her discarded weapon.
I stretch my feet as far as I can, trying to get hold of the gun, while she clambers toward me.
The gun is just out of reach and no amount of stretching is going to bring it closer. Eleanor arrives and wraps her hand around the barrel, but just as she does, a wolf comes flying over the side of the boat!
Eleanor is knocked off her feet and once again the gun is flung from her grasp. Her head hits the decking hard and she drops–knocked out cold.
The wolf huffs and spins to face me.
Is that…? I've never seen this wolf before but there's something familiar about her posture and the way her feet are turned out.
"Aisha?"
She lifts her head before spinning and leaping into the air––as graceful in her wolf form as she is in her human––and lands on Peanut's back.
With her fangs bared, she tears into his shoulder. He rears back, crying out in pain.
Just then another wolf flies over the side of the boat. This one is big, with ginger-colored fur.
Right behind is another wolf, sleeker and darker.
Todd and Simon!
Another follows, this time a female, with a familiar scent. Olivia!
Finally, a fifth wolf appears beside me at the top of the stairs. This one is petite and blonde.
"Katie?!"
As Simon, Todd, and Olivia join Aisha battling with the rogues, Katie rushes to me and slices through my restraints.
Finally free, I rub my wrists where the cable tie has torn into the skin.
"Thanks," I say, and Katie nods. I know it's not the right time but it's kind of funny seeing Katie's wolf. It's been a while since I've seen her shift. I'm sure as hell glad to see her now.
We don't have time for a big reunion because across the deck our friends are doing their best to bring down the rogues. They're not giving the men enough time to shift between dodging attacks, but even in human form, these guys are strong.
Plus, they have knives.
Jasper is slumped in a heap in the middle of the fight and to his right Jericho is lying motionless. Blood is seeping out of him at an alarming rate.
"We need to get them out of here," I say, to which Katie nods. "How did you all get here?"
She lifts her head, gesturing to the back of the boat.
I peer over the back of the seat. A set of steps leads down to a smaller deck just above the lapping water. Tied to the back of the yacht are a speedboat, a tender and a couple of jet skis.
Those are the jet skis from Jasper's garage!
But I can't fit Jasper and Jericho on one jet ski.
Then I spot something crucial. The keys to the speedboat are still in the ignition.
"I can get them back to shore in that," I say to Katie. She barks in agreement.
Without needing to confer we both leap into action.
I rush to Jasper while Katie heads for Jericho.
"Jasper!" I shout, rolling him over and shaking him lightly. "Can you walk?"
The fight continues around me. The rogues have seen me but my friends are keeping them from getting too close.
"Jasper!"
"Ungh–yes, I can walk," he says with a grunt, wincing as he sits up.
Katie is tugging at the corner of Alpha Jericho's shirt but he's so large she can't move him.
"Come on," I say, draping Jasper's arm over my shoulder and helping him to his feet. We stagger to Jericho and it takes all three of us to move the freaking giant.
Jericho is conscious enough and, I guess, strong enough to be able to get down the stairs and into the speed boat. He collapses in the back the second he's on board.
Jasper jumps in after him and as he does a pained howl comes from the top deck.
"Aisha!" Jasper says.
Katie barks and nudges me toward the boat. She's telling us to go.
She spins around and leaps up the stairs to help the others take on the rogues.
"I need to help her," Jasper says, taking one step forward and nearly collapsing. I catch him by the shoulders before he falls overboard.
"No, you're too beat up. It's five against three up there and we need to get your dad to a hospital!"
We both turn to look at Jericho whose eyes are scrunched shut, he's clutching his side. Dark blood stains drench his clothes.
"Okay," Jasper says.
I jump in and turn the key in the ignition, as Jasper takes a seat next to his father in the back. The boat roars to life. I grab the rope connecting us to the yacht, unlooping it and throwing it into the bottom of the boat.
We're free.
The second I'm back at the wheel, I realize...I have no idea how to drive a speedboat.
"It's that one," Jasper says weakly, pointing to a lever.
"Great." I wrap my fingers around the metal bar and push.
The engine whirs louder and we begin to move. There are lights in the distance, which I assume are strung up at the dock near Jasper's house.
I spin the wheel.
We pull away from the yacht, speeding up but as we do I feel a weight land behind me.
What was that?
I freeze but continue speeding out into the open ocean, away from the yacht, cutting through the waves like a samurai sword. Slowly, I risk a glance behind.
"Turn the boat around, Max," Eleanor says, struggling to find her balance, but gripping the gun tightly.
Man, she's determined!
Eleanor is standing in the middle of the boat, separating me from Jasper and Jericho. She must have leaped on board just as we were leaving.
"We have to get the alpha to shore," I say.
Despite the gun and the wild angry look on Eleanor's face, I push the accelerator forward.
She stumbles slightly but keeps her footing.
"Turn this boat around now!" she screams, bringing the gun to eye level and pulling the trigger.
The gunshot sounds like a pirate's cannon. The bullet whooshes past my ear missing me by less than a foot.
I can't help Jericho if my head's been blown off, so I stop the boat.
The engine goes silent and we drift softly in the water. Waves lap calmly at our sides.
"Good boy," she says. "Now take us back to the yacht."
"Why are you doing this, Eleanor?" I ask. "The alpha is dying! I get that you want a mate but why go to all this trouble?"
"You think I care if the alpha dies?" she asks, waving the gun about.
"He's not exactly a great guy. Do you know why my dad works for him?
Because his father did and his father before him. Because that's what he was born to do. Not because he chose to."
From this distance, I can't hear the fighting on the yacht anymore.
The night is calm, only Eleanor is raging into the wind.
"We're wolves which means we're born into a hierarchy. Some people," she spins and points the gun at Jasper, "are born into privilege!"
Jasper leans forward glaring in her direction.
"While some of us are born into nothing. Told that our only purpose is to serve, like we don't even matter. Unless…" She smiles maniacally.
"Unless we find a mate. Someone who can elevate us from our station. That was my job, that's what my father expected me to do for him and our family."
"Look, I get it. Your dad was putting a lot of pressure on you but––" "Do you know what my dad told me?" Eleanor asks, although I'm pretty sure she's going to tell me anyway. "He told me not to come home from the festival without a mate, someone with status, who could lift us out of our pathetic lives. When that didn't happen the only way I could get him to calm the eff down was by coming up with this insane plan."
"Look, Eleanor," I say. "The whole mates thing is messed up, I understand but you can't––" "How could you possibly understand?" she snaps. "You lucked out."
"Is that what you think?" I ask. "You think me being mated to another guy, let alone the son of the alpha, is easy?"
I glance at Jasper, who is watching the gun like a hawk.
"It's better than having no mate at all," Eleanor says. "My dad will disown me if I don't come home with Jasper's teeth imprinted on my neck."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry your dad is like that. But the truth is we're all under pressure. I haven't even told my family that Jasper and I are mates. You saw the way Jericho reacted. You don't think that's hard?"
"It's not the same!"
I shoot another glance at Jasper. I need to calm Eleanor down. I need to keep her distracted.
"I'm not saying our families are going to disown us," I continue, trying to speak as calmly as possible, which considering the situation is not very. "But if there's one thing I learned at the Blue Moon festival, it's that fate is tricky."
Finally, Jasper begins to move slowly.
"We're always praying for the Moon Gods to light the path between souls but what no one tells us is that the road between souls is freaking dangerous. It's like trekking through a damn jungle. It's hard and it hurts…" I catch Jasper watching me. "...sometimes you want to turn and run in the other direction. But the thing is you can't fight it. Because if you do you'll never know how amazing and electric it can be."
Jasper smiles, his brow furrowed apologetically.
"And maybe your path isn't the one you expected," I say, turning my attention back to Eleanor. "But it's your path and it's valid."
Eleanor lets the gun drop to her side.
"I used to think I was different from everybody else but the truth is we're all the same. We're all just trying to figure things out and do our best despite the pressure we're under."
"I need this," Eleanor says through clenched teeth.
"Sure," I say. "I get that. We all do. But there's one other thing I learned at the festival."
"What?" she asks.
"It doesn't matter who you're in the canoe with. If a spider crawls on my leg we're both going overboard."
"Huh?"
Jasper catches my signal and lunges at Eleanor, knocking the gun from her hand. He tackles her sideways and the gun flies into the air, plopping into the ocean with a splash. It disappears under the surface.
Jasper has Eleanor pinned in the bottom of the boat, despite her kicking and screaming.
I grab a rope and, with Jasper's help, we tie her arms behind her back.
"Let me go!" she yells. "You don't understand. This isn't fair!"
"Got anything we can use to muzzle her?" Jasper asks.
In the back, Jericho moans and Jasper rushes to his side. The alpha is ghostly pale, his forehead is slick with sweat.
"He doesn't look so good," Jasper says with fear in his eyes. "Dad?
Dad, can you hear me? Stay with me."
The alpha isn't responding.
"Let's get back to shore," I say and return to the wheel."Max," Jasper cries. "Hurry!"