“It doesn’t matter now,” Sorin said. “What matters is that we’re sitting ducks, and we need to move in a hurry.”
Adam held out his arms again. “Let’s see what we can find. These mountains are vast, but if we’ve got Alston’s lackeys on our asses, then we must be close to their stronghold.”
“How do you know which direction we need to go?”
“Easy, Drake.” Adam grinned. “I can feel the corrupt, high fae’s magic.” Then he flashed them again.
This time, when they reappeared, all of them crouched into defensive positions and began scanning for threats. Fane lifted his nose in the air and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he knew they’d be glowing with his wolf. His beast salivated at the chance to sink his teeth into Alston. “That way.” He pointed straight in front of them.
They stayed low and hurried deeper into the trees. Fane felt magic running over his skin, oily and thick. His wolf wanted to shake it off, but Fane forced himself to stay focused. He used his beast’s hearing, listening closely for any movement around them. He heard the rest of his pack sniffing and saw their heads swiveling from side to side, no doubt watching for any oncoming attack.
Suddenly, Fane came to a halt and grabbed on to the back of Wadim’s shirt before the historian could go plunging over the massive ledge that had suddenly appeared in front of them. The forest ended abruptly, and only a few feet ahead, the ground disappeared into a massive chasm.
“Thanks, Alpha.” Wadim breathed out as he sat back on his heels. “Zara would have been ticked off if I’d broken every bone in my body.”
“Anyone else’s mate giving them a dressing down?” Costin rubbed his temple.
“Peri’s much older than your mates,” Lucian said with a smug smile. “She doesn’t give me a dressing down.”
“Nobody likes a bragger, Lulu,” Adam said dryly.
Lucian turned his glowing gaze on the fae. “Don’t ever call me that again.”
Decebel shook his head. “Now you’ve just given him a reason to keep doing it.”
Fane reached for Jacquelyn’s mind. Strangely, she’d been quiet, and that troubled him. He felt her respond with reassurance through their bond, but she didn’t speak to him. That could only mean one thing: she was more than angry. His female was livid. Perhaps he should have said goodbye before he’d left? With more arrows flying overhead, he’d have to worry about that later. He used his wolf’s keen eyesight to look to the other side of the gorge. “There.” He pointed to a large mountain. Even someone who couldn’t recognize the traces of magic could tell the mountain wasn’t natural. It looked as if tons of rocks and dirt and trees had been hastily pushed into an enormous pile.
“Did he honestly think that wouldn’t look suspicious?”
“Drake, not to defend the psychotic high fae, but he was probably in too big of a hurry to disguise it properly,” Adam said. “Regardless, we need to make a decision.”
Fane turned to see a group of elves and fae stride out of the forest.
Adam reached out his hands and made a jerking motion. The bows and arrows the elves had been holding flew from their grasps. Adam flung his hands to the side, and the weapons went flying over the edge of the cliff.
“Have you always been able to do that?” Drake looked impressed.
Adam shrugged. “On smaller numbers, it's nothing. But with larger groups, it takes a lot of power. And sometimes, I like to fight mostly with my hands, like you Neanderthals. Makes me feel more a part of the male-tribe vibe we have going on.”
“That’s another thing you never need to say again,” Lucian grumbled.
“Male-tribe vibe?” Adam grinned. “I’m totally getting us T-shirts.”
Decebel tilted his head from side to side as if to stretch out any kinks in his neck. “I’m feeling particularly violent today. The longer Adam talks, the more I need to maim someone.” He let out a deep growl. “And my wolf doesn’t feel like running.”
Fane stood up and pulled on the power of his pack. His teeth phased to his fangs, and claws grew from his fingertips.
“Are we going for the kill?” Costin’s words were a little garbled around his own wolf’s canines.
“The only good Order member is a dead one.” Sorin growled.
“Keep one alive,” Fane commanded and then ran straight at the elves and fae. They responded by flinging balls of power at him and the others. Fane ducked and dodged their spells, closing the distance in a matter of seconds. He lunged and landed on the first one, grabbing the fae’s head and twisting it hard. The male’s neck snapped, and his body dropped to the ground in a heap. Fane moved on to the next one. He heard the snarls of his pack members but kept his focus on the enemies in front of him. Fane knew his pack mates could handle themselves.
“Bloody hell,” Adam snapped. “Just die already.”
“I don’t think that’s an effective way of killing your enemies,” Costin chided. “Words don’t seem to do the trick, fae boy. You’ve got to actually get your hands dirty.”
“Nobody asked you, bartender,” Adam replied. Fane chanced a glance in their direction and saw the fae run a short sword through the chest of an elf. Adam pulled the blade out and, without looking behind him, flipped the sword in the air, grabbing the hilt so that the blade was facing him. Then he pushed it back on his right side, and it stabbed a fae that had been attempting to attack him from behind.
