He closed his eyes, the muscles in his whole body rippling with suppressed violence. "Did you kill any of them?"
The question was a little too close to his promise but not crossing the line far enough for her not to answer. Her throat had other ideas as it tightened so much she could only nod.
"Who's still alive? I need to know." There was a desperation in his voice.
"The alpha for sure. Some of his betas and a few of his omegas too." Josiah Bradden was the alpha of the Riverstone Pack and meaner than a starved grizzly crossing a cactus patch. No one dared challenge him. His betas and omegas made sure everyone bent to his will. Anyone who refused was tortured, long and slow, until their hearts gave out. He'd made sure she saw the bones of what he did to others up close and personal.
He was the architect of her kidnapping and got off telling her nothing about why she was brought into the pack and turned into a wolf shifter. Just thinking about that smirking son of a bitch launched her rage into the stratosphere. Her only regret was that he hadn't fallen into her trap. If he had, the Riverstone Pack would no longer exist, and she wouldn't have had to run.
"What about the female?" Kellen's tone hadn't changed. "Did she escape?"
Samara had to shake the memory away from the poor souls who had fallen out of favor with Josiah to focus on the brief glimpse she had of the survivors. Odd that Kellen knew that Josiah only had one female in the pack. "I'm not sure. Josiah had no use for females except for the one he kept as a housekeeper."
"Not sure," Kellen repeated in a whisper. He just sat there, not looking at her or saying anything.
His naked pain made it clear that this pack meant something to him. That worried Samara. If Kellen had a connection with the Riverstone Pack, could she trust him? She shouldn't have allowed him to talk her into returning to the restaurant. Yet, why would he make such an emotional display when learning only a small piece of what she'd done. If he had any intention of harming her, he wouldn't tip her off this way.
Would he?
Still, if Kellen hadn't seen the news reports this morning, he might not know that two of the survivors were killed overnight. For a moment, she thought about not telling him. This wolf shifter hurt. No one in the Riverstone Pack ever expressed sympathy, remorse, fear, or guilt. If they did Josiah would torture them to death while the others watched and laughed. The housekeeper who refused to help her escape told her this. It was only one of the excuses she had used to not help Samara escape.
If Kellen had a connection to the Riverstone Pack, why wasn’t he the same way? How would he react if he thought even more members of the Riverstone Pack had died, especially if the information came from her. On the other hand, he would find out about it from watching the news himself. It would be best to hear it from another person instead of a reporter.
"I think two more might have died overnight," she said.
When he spoke, he almost wheezed and could barely squeeze out the words. "Why do you say that?"
"It was on the news this morning. Two wolves were found dead in a box car in Culbertson, Montana. It was filled with ammonium nitrate. No one knows why the box car blew up, but there's no reason for two regular wolves to have been inside. They had to be part of the Riverstone Pack."
Kellen took a deep breath filled with heavy emotion, Samara could almost feel the weight on her own shoulders. "They found your scent in that box car."
"Yes." What else could she say?
Kellen remained quiet for a moment, his fingers drumming on the tabletop. After another few minutes passed, the calm and controlled Kellen who had chased after her less than an hour ago returned.
"We need a plan," he said, his voice stronger. "There's no doubt that the Riverstone Pack will find you. The alpha is as tenacious as he is mean. You hurt him and he will grind cement to dust under his boot heel to make sure you pay for that."
Samara licked her lips. Sometimes the best offense was a defense. "If I leave now, my scent will disappear before they track me to this area. If you don’t mind buying me some supplies, I could be gone before lunch. I’ll pay you back if I can, but I don’t want to promise you that. I just don’t want you to think I’m deliberately putting the people of Winterbourne in danger. I’d rather keep running than have anyone get hurt because of me.”
“It’s not just your scent they're following.” Kellen sat upright in his chair. “The pack is looking at security footage at bus stations, train stations, anywhere you might have gone to get away from them. They're also talking to people you might have encountered, like a cashier. Just because the eldest of the pack are older by two centuries doesn't make them Luddites. They have computers and a network of human connections in law enforcement and the like. You can't rely on your scent fading alone."
Why she had never thought that wolf shifters would act the same as humans was a question she'd answer later. Like Kellen said, running away would get her killed. If she stayed to fight, they would need a plan, but that was still a big if.
"So, what do I do now? If I stay, people here will get hurt. If I leave, the Riverstone Pack still might hurt people—hurt you—just to find out where I’ve gone. I’m sorry, this is not what I intended when I hitchhiked all the way out here."
Kellen pushed back his chair. "You shadow Carlie for the day. I need to call a few friends."
"Your pack?"
His eyes hardened at her question. "We are not a pack, and we never will be."
Then he turned and headed out the door leaving her with more questions than before.
Chapter
Four
We are not a pack, and we never will be.
