Hunted Wolf: Moonbound Series, Book Eight by Krystal Shannan, Camryn Rhys

the Rangers’ packs.
    Poor kids. Hope they like teriyaki.
    “What are we going to do with all of them?” Gonzales said from over Viper’s shoulder.
    “Not sure.” He signaled to Rain, who had laid out the dead bodies under cover, up the beach from where everyone had congregated. Closer to the landing strip.
    “I counted one hundred and twenty-two total.” Banner’s deep voice was full of frustration. No one wanted to think about what that meant. One hundred and twenty-two children, young women, and soldiers, who’d been held prisoner by Rossi or brainwashed by Rossi. They’d all need new homes, maybe new packs.
    “How many of those are kids?” Viper asked.
    “Eighty-seven.”
    “And how many did we lose?”
    Banner shrugged. “Given how many were in the one barracks, I’d say we lost about thirty.”
    “And then the guards who were killed.”
    “And the guards,” Banner repeated.
    Gonzales whistled.
    Rain jogged up to them and signaled for Warrick and Young, who bounded across the beach. Everyone had unloaded their weapons and packs, and they moved much faster without the weight. It felt strange, still, to be done with the mission and defenseless. Ready for debrief.
    “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.” The commander crossed his arms. “I’m waiting to hear from the alpha council what they want us to do with all the children.”
    The cool morning air turned sour in Viper’s mouth as the enormity of it all settled into his mind. They’d just rescued a family, bigger than most of the packs he knew, from years of isolation. “Shit,” he whispered. “I mean, who’s even their alpha?”
    “I don’t know,” Rain said. “It wasn’t Rossi, though. You would’ve been able to sense it if he was an alpha, and he wasn’t.”
    “We’re gonna have to get some answers from somebody.”
    Gonzales thumbed behind them, toward Choaca. “That Damon kid was answering our questions in the boat, at least. But Alex took him to the hospital with Vadik and Andrea. He wanted to stay with his sister.”
    “Damon?” Viper asked.
    “One of the guards.”
    Rain pointed along the beach, where the sand ended and the landing strip was visible through the trees. “I asked Colt to set up some tents up there. I think our only option is going to be to start debriefing everyone. I need you guys to get some sleep. Four hour shifts. Whoever’s awake will be helping me with information gathering and debriefing. And I’ll call in to Julianna, and see if we can get some real food out here for everyone.”
    “I’ll help Colt with the tents,” Warrick said, clomping off through the sand.
    “Good,” Rain called after him. “Then you and Colt and Young take the first shift sleeping.”
    “What about us, boss?” Hannah’s voice was soft behind Viper, and sent chills through him. She was so calm, and so quiet, she was like a wave of peace washing over them, keeping them all sane.
    Or maybe it was just him she was keeping sane.
    Viper moved aside to make room for her in the circle. When she stepped in beside him, his first instinct was to pull her into his body, but he couldn’t do that with all of his buddies around.
    They couldn’t know yet. Until the debrief was done and they were on a plane home, nothing was really safe.
    “Have you had a chance to look at the wounds yet?”
    Hannah nodded. In the growing sunlight, she glowed. Her features were so delicate, so arresting. He would’ve been hard-pressed not to stare at her openly when they first met if he could have seen her like this.
    He might’ve been able to ignore the magick in the dark, on the island, but it was irresistible now. There was no arguing; she was obviously the most beautiful woman ever created.
    And that he wanted her.
    She was already his.
    God. His .
    That’d take some getting used to. And the way the light played on her cheeks, the way her eyes lit like fiery coals in the morning sun… dammit. It was a good thing they hadn’t met in