“No,” Griffin said absolutely. “You’re staying here. It could be a trap.”
Oh, hell no. “I may be attracted to you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll hand over my decision-making to you. I am going out there. It’s up to you whether you come along for the ride.” A scream pierced the air, urging me back outside.
“Dove!” Griffin yelled as his footsteps pounded behind me. “Stop. We need to wait for backup.”
“They can find us by following the noise.” I spun around to face him. “We’ll do recon first. We need to see what we’re up against.”
Killian stepped out of the house. “More of my guards are on their way.” “So are Shadow City guards,” Griffin said.
“Great, let’s go.” I took off again and heard Griffin grumble something, though I couldn’t make out the words.
Dad had taught me never to go on a mission without at least one other person knowing where I was headed.
I pulled magic from my wolf and picked up my pace with the guys on my heels as the trees flew by. We were headed in the direction of Killian’s fishing spot from that day not too long ago.
When I crossed a path that appeared to have been made recently, the scent of the guards hit my nose, along with at least six others. Judging by how the branches were broken and scattered, someone had been dragged to wherever they went. Had someone gotten the jump on the guards?
It had to be the same assholes who’d attacked my pack.
The surrounding area was creepily quiet now that we’d stumbled across the trail. I slowed and lifted my hand, pivoting toward the two men. I placed a finger to my lips and gestured at the worn path.
Killian nodded as he walked over and touched the grass where it’d been flattened. I squatted next to him and held up four fingers, one for each guard. How the hell did they take the four guys?
“What-” Griffin started to ask quietly, but I covered his mouth with my hand. There was no telling how close anyone was.
This would have been when a pack bond would have come in handy.
“Come on out, Sterlyn,” the voice of the auburn-bearded man called to me. He must have been at least a half-mile away, but I could hear him clear as day. “Or should I say Dove? We know you and those two guys that are always sniffing around you aren’t far away.” Great, these assholes knew my names.
For them to know we were here meant someone was either listening for our progress or watching us. I tapped into my wolf more and scanned the area with precision. That was when I noticed a crow sitting on a tree branch not too far away. I sniffed the air, looking for a human smell mixed in with the vanilla of the animal.
When the bird flapped its wings and cawed, that confirmed all I needed to know. He was gloating, knowing we’d overlooked him.
Dammit. Crow shifters normally flocked in small groups and stayed out of matters unless it benefited them. What in the world were my hunters offering all of these different kinds of shifters to get them to work for them? They must have some incredibly enticing plan to get others to follow across races.
Another piece to the ever-growing puzzle.
There was no point in pretending that we weren’t there. “How do you know my name?”
“What are you doing?” Killian whispered. “And when did you plan on telling me your name?”
“That crow-” I pointed to it “-already spotted us and reported back to Auburn Goatee.” There was no point in pretending that we could do recon now. We were all-in, and I hoped the new guards would follow us soon. “And I was going to but got a little distracted.”
Paws padded in our direction, and I assumed wolves were circling to trap us. The best thing we could do was try to get them talking. We needed to buy time for backup to find us. If we ran, they might take us down before the others could reach us.
“Please, come and join us.” Goatee chuckled, no doubt loving that he had the upper hand. “I’ll come if you let the other two go.” If I could protect Griffin and Killian, I would.
“Like hell.” Griffin took my hand and shook his head. “There’s no way I’ll leave you.”
Killian arched an eyebrow, and his mouth dropped slightly before he schooled his expression into one of indifference. “I’m with him. We aren’t leaving.”
“You need to go. They want me-you can’t help me if they capture all of us.” If I lost them, I wasn’t sure I could stay in my right mind. “You two are alphas, for God’s sake. You have to stay safe for your packs.”
“Stop bickering,” Goatee commanded. “They aren’t going anywhere, and they aren’t shifting. ”
Four wolves stepped through two trees and circled us. The one right behind us growled and nodded his head forward, his milky brown fur blowing in the slight breeze.
Great, they were herding us to Goatee.
We started walking, slowly, Killian and Griffin flanking me as if they could protect me better than
I could protect myself. They should be linking with their packs, pulling more guards toward us. But it could take time before they got here. I didn’t know what skills either had, but I’d guess Killian might have been trained to fight similarly to me, given he was the alpha’s son of the protecting pack. Griffin hadn’t seemed to have formal training, but he was strong.
The river grew louder, and after a few more minutes, the trees grew thinner as we neared the embankment, close to the spot where Killian liked to fish. The four guards and Lucas lay dead on the mulchy ground, bullet holes between their eyes.
The present-day picture merged with the memory of my pack, and my legs grew shaky.