Couldn’t anything be easy these days?
I continued through the kitchen and out the door before making my way around the side of the house. I edged up to a lit window and peeked inside, making sure to expose as little of myself as possible to the occupants of the room.
My heart nearly stopped at the sight of a person standing in front of the window. I froze, not daring to withdraw for fear the movement would draw their attention. My heart settled down when I realized the person had their back to me.
Not very smart to station the guards with their backs to the window.
Heart in throat, I took a chance and peered around the man. Liam and Brax knelt in the middle of the room, their faces blank masks showing no emotion. A woman stood in front of them, her head thrown back as she gave a throaty laugh. It was Elinor. I recognized that laugh and that hair.
I ducked under the window and crawled to the next one. This one gave me a better view of the room. There were three other people there, including Sondra. Bodies littered the floor. One of Brax’s wolves looked like he’d had his heart torn out. Sondra’s bloody hand made me think she’d been the one to do the deed.
Peter lay next to the dead wolf, blood on his shirt and pants. I couldn’t tell if he was dead from this angle, but figured he wouldn’t be much help given his motionlessness.
I fought an urge to curse. This was not good. The cavalry was dead or in the enemy’s control. This was probably one of the worse scenarios I could think of.
One of the prone figures caught my eye. She had blond hair and was wearing a pair of comfortable looking flannel pajamas.
Caroline.
Her motionless body just lay there. Unmoving.
I sighed in relief as her chest rose.
I holstered my gun before I pulled out my phone and held it to the window, snapping several photos before crawling along the side of the house. I couldn’t chance a call this close to Elinor, but I could still text. I pulled up Thomas’s number and sent him the photos and the address.
Metal pressed against my cheek.
“What do we have here?” a voice I recognized said. “A little mouse scurrying about and poking her nose in places it doesn’t belong.”
The person holding the knife to my face stepped around me, his short figure coming into sight.
Tom.
I snarled, letting my fury come out in a sound that terrified even me. The knife drew blood. A cut opening on my cheek.
“None of that now.” Happiness gleamed in his eyes when I flinched. He enjoyed causing me pain. “There’s someone who wants to renew your acquaintance.”
He nodded at someone behind me and I was hauled up.
“Tom, you’re being controlled. You need to snap out of it,” I said in as calm a voice as I could manage.
His laugh echoed in the night, a low rumble of sound.
“You think I’m like all these other poor slobs? Controlled? A shadow of myself?”
I had, but now I was having doubts.
He shoved me forward, his knife cutting through my shirt. I stumbled forward, hissing at the sting of pain from his blade.
“I leapt at the chance to be a part of this. The mistress has big plans. When she’s done, we won’t be hiding in the shadows anymore.”
“Is that what you think this is about?” I infused as much surprise in my voice as I could. “I thought you were smarter than that. She’s using you so she can win this selection thing. It’s all so she can get a leg up on the competition.”
“And what do you think she’s going to do with all that power?” Tom snapped. “She’ll use it to bring us out of the shadows.”
“What do you think all of the other territory masters will do about that? I’m sure they’ll have their own opinions. Even if she succeeds, I doubt she’ll keep you around once your use has vanished. She doesn’t seem like the type to reward her allies once they’ve fallen out of favor.”
He shoved me and I tripped, falling up the stairs. “That’s enough from you. Another word and you’re dead.”
