“We’re friends and want to help you. Can you trust us?”
Her eyebrows angled in the center. “I don’t trust anyone.”
He stopped the connection of charming but still held her attention. “We have to leave, but we also can’t leave you alone. It’s too dangerous. Do you know what Breed you are?”
She shrugged.
When he took her hand, she wrenched it free and hid behind Krys again.
“I’m not going to harm you, child.”
Krys gave a mirthless chuckle. “Looks like she knows a fanghole when she sees one.”
The girl frowned. “I’ll just take my chances alone.”
When she began to stalk off, Krys snatched her collar. “No you don’t, kid. You’re stayin’ with us.”
“I don’t want to be your prisoner.”
“Where do you think you’ll go, huh? What kind of asshole would I be if I left a little girl alone in the middle of the woods? If the humans get ahold of you, they’ll throw you into the fostersystem. We’ll figure this shit out when we get home.” He wiped his goatee and locked eyes with Atticus. “Whatever beef we had between us—we’re good now. You saved my ass back there. Respect.”
Atticus inclined his head. “I’ll get the truck.”
While Atticus ran to the road, he heard Krys’s phone chime. Once out of the light’s reach, he shadow walked up the dark road.
“Atticus!” Krys yelled from a distance much too far for Atticus to respond and be heard. “Haul ass! Joy’s having the baby!”
Chapter 31
“What are you doing up this late?” Bear stood outside his bedroom door with a pillow tucked under his arm. He had on a long-sleeved shirt with sweatpants. I now knew that he once hid his body hair beneath clothing, but tonight it was chilly and everyone was bundled up in warm clothing.
“It’s hard to sit still,” I told him. “I’m too anxious. What about you?”
“I needed another pillow,” he replied in that lovely Southern accent.
“You fellows don’t have to lie on the hard floor or sofa. It’s perfectly fine to sleep in your own beds.”
He stared down at me with a tight smile. “A pack sticks together. Can I get you something?”
“No. The fruit tray you brought earlier was more than enough. I’m not even sure I should be eating.”
“What’s your craving?”
“Why?”
Bear chuckled softly. “Because when you shift right after, you’re gonna come back craving that food with a vengeance. I want to make sure we have it in the house.”
“It’s walnuts and salami. Do we have them?”
“You bet.”
We turned our heads toward the back door. Though we didn’t have a flight path along our property, smaller aircraft occasionally went by. Not at night, and this certainly didn’t sound like an airplane.
I clutched my arms when Bear opened the door and a gust of cold air blew in. Once on the deck, I watched a helicopter land in the pasture.
Tak bustled past us in nothing but his underwear. The security lights popped on as soon as he crossed the yard, and not a split second later, Lucian walked onto the deck. Luna whinnied from the stable, her cries barely heard over the spinning blades and engine.
Instead of chasing after Tak, Catcher pressed himself against me.
