Running up to the hills is difficult with the rain pounding down around us. It turns the once hard packed dirt into slick mud. More than a few times I find myself almost slipping down the encampment, having to catch myself on branches.

Beckett is right in front of me, seeming to know where we are going. But it isn't too difficult. The sounds of fighting are becoming louder the further up the hill we get. The infected and humans must have gotten pretty far up the hill if I can hear them this well.

That has my heart pounding because if they make it over the top, we will have the disadvantage. Matty and Elias are down there, and I will fight like hell to keep them safe.

That thought has me pushing forward even faster, my hand tightening around my knife.

"Rowan," a familiar voice says. Turning, I see that Dad is running over to me, his hair plastered to his face from the rain. "They're coming on strong. We need you and Beckett to join the group that is going to fall behind the infected. Try to cut them off or take out as many as you can from the back so we aren't being hit so hard up here."

"How many are there?" I ask, eyes sweeping across the trees and trying to catch a glimpse of what is going on.

"Nearly four-hundred."

"What?" I ask, words coming out as barely a breath.

Dad's face is tense, and he gives a small nod of his head. "There are too many of them. The archers have taken out a good number of them, but down here is vicious." He fumbles in his pockets for a minute before pulling out a vial. "Here, put this on."

"Infected blood."

"Mhm." He uncorks it, pouring some on his fingers before putting a few dashes on my face. He turns to do the same to Beckett. "To make it impossible for them to scent you. No help against the humans, but there are fewer of them."

Roaring, nothing that sounds human or infected-like comes from behind us. "What the hell was that?" Beckett says, all of us turning to look back at the village.

"Don't know, but we don't have time to worry about it right now." A whistle cuts through the air, and it has Dad perking up. "Come on, your group is about to leave." He pulls me close, giving me a tight squeeze. "I love you, Rowan. Don't get yourself killed."

Returning the hug, I squeeze my eyes tight. "I love you too."

The whistle comes again, and Dad seems to hesitate before pulling away, but eventually, he does. "Go."

It takes a lot of effort- and Beckett's arm on my shoulder- to pull me away. The rain seems to be coming down even harder now if it is possible. It is hard to see any real distance ahead of us, and I hope our knowledge of the terrain gives us the advantage we so obviously need.

There are people gathered by a large oak tree. It isn't until we get closer that I can make out the alphas standing there, next to Jesse. The other people I only know from seeing them around the village.

Erik is the one who sees us first, standing up straight. "Now that you two are here, we need to head out."

Beckett and I both nod, taking the extra weapons that the alphas give us and strapping them on. We are the youngest ones in this group, and it is easy to see that the Alphas aren't happy about that.

Everyone is silent as we make our way around the battle. The noise of the fighting drowns out our footsteps, and the rain beating down makes us practically invisible.

We have been walking for about ten minutes, before Jesse makes a signal with his hand, bringing his two fists up in the air and pushing them together before quickly pulling them apart. No one wastes any time before doing what he says. We all fall into position, splitting up from our group.

Beckett follows behind me as we head to the left. The sounds of battle are loud now, meaning that the humans and infected must be just on the other side of these trees. From now on, we are on our own, and it is up to ourselves to make it out alive. The thought terrifies me, my heart pounding out of my chest. This is what we have been training for, but that doesn't make this any less heart-racing.

Beckett and I exchange glances, and he gives me a stiff nod, hands tightening around the knives he is holding. He has just as much to lose as I do if we don't win this battle. I return the nod, and not a moment too soon.

A series of whistles cut through the air. A short one followed by two long ones. We are to depart in one minute, and we have two hours to make it back. If we don't we are to be presumed dead.

Mentally, I check over all my weapons, before zeroing in on the direction I want to go. And when the minute is finally up, we are quick to dash away. The trees are like a barrier, the humans and infected staying far away from them, preferring the grassy hill where they are gradually ascending.

We are completely behind them, the last few infected stumbling forward. I silently count to three, before finding my target. There are two humans who seem to be in charge of corralling the infected in the right direction, their wooden daggers keeping the infected far enough away from them.

The rain silences my footfalls as I dash behind the humans, both completely unaware of me. With quick movements, I cut behind their knees, making them both lose function in their legs. They immediately fall to the ground. It isn't hard after that to pry their daggers away, stabbing them through their legs so that they can't crawl away.

Their cries grab the attention of the infected they were corralling. They stumble towards us, the humans trying to grab onto me and crying for help as the infected descend on them. The creatures don't pay me any attention, not when there is fresh meat that can't escape their clutches.

Dashing back behind the trees, I try to find my next mark. Every once in a while, I see members of my group dashing out and taking out a few infected at a time, the stragglers the easiest to kill without getting too much attention. The creatures are easy enough to kill if they are alone, but when they start to horde, they are truly deadly.

My eyes catch on my next mark, and it makes my blood boil. There are children with their hands tied behind their backs blindfolded. They have cuts all along their bodies and once a cut stops bleeding, the adult watching them makes sure to make a new one. The infected are getting more excited with each new cut, and my heart stops as the adult watching the children pushes one of the children free from the small cluster of them. The little girl cries, stumbling in the mud as she tries to catch her footing. Eventually, she manages to stand up, running as quick as she can. The infected stumbled after her, in the direction of our own fighters.

So this is how they are getting the infected so crazed. They use innocent children who are unable to fight, so they use them in other ways.

My hands tighten around the dagger in my hand. The infected are strong around their, all wanting the next child that the woman releases. But I can't just leave them.

Taking one last deep breath, I run as quickly as I can towards their group. The infected farthest away from the children notice me first. Before they can even think about trying to bite me, I take them out. The first one falls easily once I stab it through the eye. The other tries to descend on me while pulling out my dagger, but I elbow it in the face, making it stumble. It gives me enough time to stab it through the soft spot in its skull, dropping it to the ground.

By now, the human notices me. They look crazed, dull red hair matted, sitting like a heavy blanket against her head. She practically growls at me, swiping at me with her nails. It is easy to dodge her, grabbing her hand and wrenching her to the ground before slicing the knife across her throat.

She garbles, blood spilling out of her mouth as she scrambles to try and stop the blood flow. The infected are frenzied as they descend down on her and I easily step away. They can't smell me, due to the infected flood smeared on my face acting as camouflage.

Turning, I see four children clustered together, ranging in age from about two to seven. All too young to fight, so they are used as bait instead. As quickly as I can, I gently pull off their blindfolds. They blink at me, confused but also terrified.

"Come with me, I'll protect you."

The oldest, a boy with curly hair and skin the color of the chestnut table we used to have in the pack house. He seems wary of me, but he only hesitates for a second before grabbing the hand of a little girl who looks a lot like him.

"Okay," he says, nodding his head.

Bending down, I grab the youngest, a little girl with bright red locks. She doesn't hesitate to wrap her arms around my neck burying her face in my neck. The other little girl, grabs my hand, her dark eyes wide as she watches me.

"This way," I say, leading them around the infected who are still feeding on their captor. Jogging across the open field makes us vulnerable, and many infected try to come at us, but Erik and Ethan seemed to have noticed what I was doing. They are taking down all the infected and humans that are trying to come after me.

"Take them back to the village!" Erik yells. "And send more fighters down here. They're trying to retreat and we have to stop them."

"Will do, alpha," I yell back.

"What about Angie?" the oldest boy asks. "She has to come too."

Before I can open my mouth, despite not having a response, Beckett comes barreling over towards us, the little girl from before in his arms. She is still sobbing, shaking from the strength. "Got her."

He transfers her over to my other arm. "I'll cover your back till you make it back to our line."

"Thanks," I murmur. The two girls are lighter than they should be at their age, practically skin and bones. They obviously have been severely neglected. How could any parent allow this to happen to their children blows my mind.

We make it back to the top of the hill with little interference. Beckett only has to take out two infected who had stumbled upon us by accident. Dad meets us at the front of the line, letting us through the barricade before ordering for it to be closed off again.

Beckett leaves only minutes later, taking seventeen other fighters with him. Most of the humans seem to be retreating. It is only the infected who continue to attack us. The archers are easily picking them off, leaving the ground fighters to go after the humans.

"Take them straight to Taylor, he'll know what to do with them."

Nodding, I carefully lead the kids down the steep path towards the village. It is shocking how oddly quiet it is down here, no one running around.

It makes it easy to get to Taylor's tent, and when I do, I stop dead in my tracts. Because there is a fully shifted wolf laying on the ground, unconscious. I don't know how, but I can immediately tell that it's my brother.

The flap that leads to the back of the tent peeks open, and Matty and Taylor step out. "Rowan thank god you're here."

"And with children." Taylor's eyes sweep over them. "Bring them back here." He ducks back behind the tent flap and I follow behind.

There is a fire going in the woodstove, and something bubbling in a pot on top of it. He takes the two girls from me, sitting them down on the hand-woven rugs that sit in front of the fireplace.

"Can you guys change out of those clothes?" Taylor asks, his voice gentle. "Then you guys can eat and get some rest.

The oldest boy nods. "I'll take care of them."

Taylor seems to trust them, piling the fresh clothes and blankets on the ground before pulling me back out to the main room.

"We need to start to the ritual before it's too late."

"What ritual?"

Taylor moves over to where I can now see that Rosalie is laying, eyes closed as she trembles. Matty is wiping away her hair, shushing her whimpers.

He looks up at me again, eyes hard. "The one to sever your mateship."

*****

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay in updates. I just finished my finals, so hopefully, the next few updates will be sooner. Also, this story does not have too many chapters left. And for those asking about Beckett and Noah's story, there is not going to be one. I decided to just incorporate their relationship in this book since this one is the last of the series.

Thanks so much for the patience and understanding.