This is working!
Speeding up, I keep moving as something close to giddiness breaks over me and—
Ow. Shit.
I blink my eyes open to glare at the tree I crashed into. Mental note: following the pull of a mating bond does not help you avoid obstacles. Lesson learned, I keep my eyes open as I continue forward. That sense of Julien grows closer and closer until I reach the top of a hill and catch sight of a house in the distance.
A veryfamiliarhouse.
I’m back where I fucking started.
And the mating bond led me here.
Which means… Zachariah might have done something to Julien.
Sixty-One
Keir
ThethoughtofJulien—my mate—in Zachariah’s clutches is enough to drown out my instinctual fear of the monster from my adolescence and propel me forward. I don’t have even the beginnings of a plan, but I’m not letting Julien get hurt if I can help it.
I crouch down, practically crawling down the hill on my belly. It’s dark enough out here that I probably won’t be seen from the windows, but I’m not taking any risks. Well, not any more than the ones I’ve already committed myself to in order to make sure my mate is safe.
In a few minutes, I make it to the back door of the house, but I’m not sure where to go from here. There’s a difference between winging it and being stupid. Blindly walking into whatever’s happening on the other side of the door probably falls into the latter category, no matter how much my wolf is urging me forward.
Nope. Not this time.
For once in my life, I’m going to take some time to investigate the situation before jumping into action. I creep along the edge of the house, my fur brushing along the siding as I move toward the front of the house. Once I reach the front, I glance at the driveway from around the corner, taking a quick count of the vehicles parked on the gravel. Including the one I arrived in, there’s a single sedan and five SUVs in various shades of ‘dark’ parked in front of the house.
That’s at least three more vehicles than I was expecting. I don’t remember hearing more than one pull up, but it’s definitely possible some of them arrived after I made a run for it. Does that mean Zachariah has some sort of backup? Or that someone else is helping him?Like someone local.
I stick my nose to the ground and take a few deep sniffs. My ability to differentiate between the scents of different shifters isn’t something I’ve practiced much, but I recognize some of the smells. I definitely recognize Julien’s scent and I’m pretty sure the two scents layered with his belong to Dante and Brody. There are a couple more vaguely familiar scents grouped with them as well.
Then, one that’s really familiar, though I can’t quite put my paw on it… I sniff again. Is thatLuke?
What is he doing here?
Another inhale brings in Zachariah’s sour scent and my lips curl away from my teeth in an instinctual response as a low growl vibrates in my chest and the fur along my back rises. There’s a semi-familiar scent is near Zachariah’s, but I can’t place it except that I know it belongs to no one good.
So, that’s at least one additional hostile on top of Zachariah and the four shifters who brought me here, maybe as many as three additional hostiles depending on what my cousin is doing here and who the other two scents belong to. But Julien didn’t come here alone, which is a positive. It means he probably wasn’t drugged and kidnapped like I was.
At worst, this is a four against nine fight. Not the best odds considering I don’t really know how to fight, but better than the alternative, which would be me and Julien against everyone else. I allow a tiny bit of relief to seep in. Now that I have a better idea of what I’m up against, I just need to get inside.
Which is easier said than done.
In my wolf form, I lack the opposable thumbs needed to open a door, but I left the only clothes I have behind in the kitchen and barging in the door butt naked doesn’t seem like a good idea. Shifters might not have the same hang-ups about nudity as humans do, but it would still be hella awkward and I’d rather be in fur than nothing but skin.
I pad over to the front door, scratch at it with my paw, then let out a sharp yip to get someone’s attention. A few seconds later, the door swings open, and I find myself looking up at William. That explains one of the other scents near Julien’s. Whether his presence is good or bad is yet to be determined, though.
William might be a member of Julien’s pack, but he hasn’t been particularly helpful so far, and there’s no telling whose side the guy is on right now. The elder’s lips twist into a tight smile and he gestures me inside. I narrow my eyes, letting my lips pull back from my teeth to flash some fang at him. He’s not my Alpha and I don’t have to listen to him.
“Alpha Matisse is inside,” he says. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
I huff, then stick my nose up in the air and trot inside, fighting the urge to bite the asshole as I pass. Making my way into the living room, I take a quick glance around before my attention lands on Julien.
After that, he’s the only thing I see.
I dart across the room, leaping onto the couch and half into Julien’s lap. I butt his chin with my head, letting out a soft whining noise, then curl into his side as close to him as I can get.
