Nick quieted somewhat, and his eyes went to the ground.
“Their scents mingle here, then disappear,” Fane said.
“Well, Alston certainly wouldn’t be traveling by foot,” Elle scanned the ground around them. “He flashed them all somewhere, I’m sure.”
“I wish we had a way of tracking them.” Fane looked around and saw nothing but blank faces staring back at him. “Let’s think about this logically. You’ve just kidnapped a healer. You’ve returned to find your compound completely and utterly destroyed. What is the first thing you would do?”
“Find a new hideout?” Decebel tilted his head.
“Exactly,” Fane confirmed. “But where?”
“After seeing this”—Adam gestured to the ruined compound—“as far away as I could possibly get.”
Everyone in the group nodded. “That doesn’t exactly narrow it down,” Decebel said.
“She could be anywhere.” Nick fell to his knees and picked up a handful of dirt, putting it to his nose and inhaling the smell. He needed his mate’s scent in his nostrils. The smell was more precious than the air that came in with it. But it was tainted. With his Kara’s scent came the smell of others, those who’d stolen her. They’d touched her. They’d put their filthy hands on her. He would make them pay for that. He would get his mate back and destroy those who’d taken her. But where was she? Where? Where? Where?
Where indeed. Now, two weeks into the hunt, they were still no closer to finding his Kara. Nick whispered the word to himself over and over.Where?
“If you’re going to sleep outside, you could at least do it in your fur.” Drayden sat beside Nick, pulling him from his compulsive thoughts.
“I like the way the cold air feels on my skin.” Nick didn’t wear a jacket, only a short sleeve T-shirt, pants, and his boots. He didn’t want to feel any comfort, not until he had his Kara back. Nick had no idea what sort of conditions his mate was living in. He couldn’t bear the thought of being comfortable when she might be being mistreated or even—he shuddered to think about it—tortured.
“She’s a healer, Nick,” his alpha said, seeming to understand Nick’s self-punishment. “She’s valuable to them.”
“That didn’t stop them from hurting Sally,” he bit out through clenched teeth. Fane had shared with him the things that had happened to the Romanian pack healer. At one particular point in the story, Nick had rushed outside to vomit. He couldn’t fathom how Costin endured what his mate went through.
Drayden sighed and leaned back against a tree, his legs stretched out in front of him. “I wish Fane had waited to tell you Costin and Sally’s story until after we found Kara.”
“It wouldn’t matter when or if he told me. The Order is not known for their mercy. They will use any means necessary to get Kara to cooperate with them.”
“And that’s what scares you, isn’t it? She will never cooperate with them.”
Nick finally let his eyes close, and her face immediately filled his mind. His strong, stubborn mate who’d seen too much in her short life. “I don’t think she will. And I fear they will kill her when she doesn’t. But I also fear she might cooperate, perhaps only to buy time until I can reach her. And that choice will break her.”
“You should give her more credit than that,” Drayden said, his voice admonishing. “She may be young, but she’s a fighter.”
“Fighters don’t always survive.” Nick’s wolf snapped inside his mind at the harsh thought. His beast refused to even entertain the idea that they wouldn’t get their mate back. But Nick understood what the wolf didn’t. They weren’t bonded. If it came down to it, and Kara was faced with the tough decision of sacrificing herself instead of hurting someone else, he knew what she would do. Perhaps it was better that they weren’t yet bonded. If she died, he would live on. If Kara had his life to think about as well, then it might make her hesitate. And innocent people could die as a result.
They were quiet for a time, Nick thinking about everything he could and should have done differently to prevent his Kara from being taken. He knew it didn’t do any good to think about the past. His wolf continually reminded him of that. But that didn’t make it any easier to block out all the “could have” and “should have” thoughts assaulting his mind. He growled at himself. He was having a major-ass pity party, and it served no purpose.
Nick pushed himself up until he was sitting, his legs bent and his arms wrapped around his knees. “We’ve searched every lead,” he said. They’d come across dozens of vampires that all knew nothing. For some reason, the bloodsuckers were out of control and seemed to be wandering around leaderless. After questioning them and finding out nothing concerning Kara’s whereabouts, the wolves dispatched the vamps and burned the bodies. Nick wished he could resurrect them and kill them all over again, just to have an outlet for his frustration.
They’d returned to the Colorado pack to regroup. Since then, they’d taken to watching the news to see what the humans were making of the string of murders that were occurring along the western portion of the United States. Speculation of multiple serial killers, alien invasions, and, yes, even vampires had become the prevailing theories. Every eyewitness seemed to have seen something different, each more unbelievable than the last. The human law enforcement authorities were at a loss and stretched thin. Dillon mentioned that if things continued to deteriorate, the military might get involved. Nick had a feeling things could get messy fast if that happened. Backing a desperate animal into a corner never ends well. And both sides, the Order and the humans, appeared to be very desperate.
“It’s frustrating, I know,” Drayden said, “but we will find something. Someone, somewhere, knows something. We just have to find them.” He reached over and patted Nick’s shoulder. “We’re hunters, Nick. It’s what we do, and we do it well.”
“Damn straight we do.” Adam stepped out of the darkness.
“You’re not a wolf,” Sorin said dryly, stepping up beside him.
One by one, wolves padded out of the woods surrounding Nick. Fane, Decebel, Dillon, Ciro, Gustavo, and Crina, all in their fur.
“We’re pack.”Fane’s voice filled his mind, the power of being the alpha of alphas.“We fight as one, we rejoice as one, and we struggle as one. You’re not alone.”
The wolves surrounded him, and each laid down so that some part of them was pressed up against him.Thiswas what pack did. Nick had separated himself from them and hadn’t even realized how badly he needed them.
“Those of us who aren’t wolfy,” Adam said, “aren’t into cuddle piles.”
