I lift onto my toes, peeking over the bottom edge of the window. The interior is dim, but there’s enough light for me to make out a medium-sized gray wolf in one of the kennels across from the windows. I’ve never seen Macy’s wolf form, but I can’t imagine the wolf could possibly be anyone else.
Now I just need to find a way to get in there…
I continue around the building to the chain link fencing, surprised to find it’s not a single fenced area. Instead, it’s broken up into six parallel sections—dog runs, or rather,wolfruns. Each section of fencing contains a grassy area and a small concrete pad on the side closest to the building with oversized doggie door leading inside.
Jackpot.
I’m not entirely sure which run connects to the kennel Macy is in, but any one of them can get me inside, so I grab hold of thechain link and quickly scale the fence nearest me. Jumping down on the other side, I move to the doggie door and awkwardly scramble through it on my hands and knees. On the other side, I find myself in the kennel next to Macy’s.
“Macy?” No response. I gently rattle the fencing, trying to get a reaction. “Macy?”
The wolf is still, but her chest is slowly rising and falling, so she definitely isn't dead. Which is a relief.
I glance at the door to “my” kennel. There’s nothing but a simple latch holding it closed, so I stick my hand through the fence and flip the latch. Stepping into the walkway, I examine the door to Macy’s enclosure where a thick padlock hangs from the latch.
With neither the keys nor a handy set of bolt cutters, I’m stuck poking at the wolf’s shoulder through the fencing to try to wake her.
“Macy?”
She blinks open her eyes, recognition flaring in their depths as she focuses in on me. Giving her head a brisk shake, she pushes herself onto four legs. Her legs wobble, not quite ready to hold her up, and she flops into the side of the kennel, a low whine escaping from her throat.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “Can you shift?”
She stares at me for a second, then tilts her head to the side and closes her eyes. Her entire body goes tense, every muscle contracting. A shudder passes over her and she whimpers. Nothing happens for a second, then there’s a single crack and she jerks, the shift moving achingly slowly through her limbs as she whines. Macy emerges from the shift, curled into the fetal position and panting with pain.
“Where’s…” She takes a few deep, steadying breaths, then glances up at me. “Luke?”
“Some humans carted him off in a truck.” I shake my head helplessly. “I tried to get to him, but I wasn’t fast enough.”
“Shit,” she mutters.
I huff. “My sentiments exactly.”
She eyeballs the padlock on the kennel door. “Any idea how I can get out of here?”
I point to the doggie door and she gives me a flat look. “I know, I know, but it leads outside, and in human form, you should be able to climb the fence from there. That’s how I got inside.”
“Fine,” she says with a hint of a smile. She points to the corner across the room. “I don’t want to do it naked though. Can you grab my clothes?”
I retrieve the bundle of fabric and toss it to her over the side of the kennel. She pulls the shirt over her head, then uses the fencing to steady herself as she pulls on her pants. Her shoes are missing, but so are mine, so whatever.
Once she’s dressed, we both crawl through our respective doggie doors and meet up outside. Macy leans against the side of the building, still slightly unsteady on her feet.
“You said they took Luke in a truck? Was that on the road we came in on?” she asks.
“No. Somewhere farther out. I’m not sure exactly where because I followed the mating bond to get there.”
“There’s a good chance that’s the old fire road,” she says, eyes brightening. “If we can get a message to Smith and Yang, they might be able to intercept the truck.”
“How are we going to do that?” I ask. “According to one of the pack members I spoke to, the only phone in the compound is in the Alpha’s office.”
“I wonder…” She pats at her pants, breaking out into a wide grin as she pulls the satellite messenger from her pocket.
“I thought Luke had that?”
She shakes her head, still grinning. “He slipped it to me right before we sat down for dinner.”
“You mean, whoever locked you up in here didn’t even bother searching your pockets? That sounds… dumb.”
