Lucio’s voice came from inside, equally angry. “Well, this is what you get! Stop being a fucking pain in my ass. You want the Luna, go get her yourself!”
A door slammed inside the cabin, rattling the windows.
Interesting. They didn’t get along. The alliance between Mary, Mira, and Lucio was more fragile than I’d thought. Mira was probably the only thing holding them together.
That could be useful.
Mary stalked toward the SUV, her heels sinking into the soft earth with every furious step. She yanked open the back door and glared at me with eyes that burned with hatred.
“This is your fault,” she hissed. “Everything is your fault.”
I didn’t respond. There was nothing to say that wouldn’t make this worse.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with clear liquid. “Don’t try anything,” she warned. “Or I’ll drug you so thoroughly you won’t wake up for a week.”
Then she leaned in and uncuffed me from the bar.
I considered attacking her. Considered grabbing that syringe and jabbing it into her own neck. But I didn’t know what was in it, didn’t know if it would actually knock her out or just piss her off. And if I failed, if she managed to inject me, I would be helpless. Unable to protect Blake. Unable to escape.
So I let her push me out of the SUV. Let her march me across the yard toward an attached building, smaller than the main cabin but just as well constructed.
A garage, from the looks of it. Converted into some kind of storage space or workshop.
Mary shoved me through the door and slammed it behind me. I heard the click of a lock engaging.
I stood in the darkness for a long moment, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light that filtered through cracks in the walls. The space smelled of motor oil and sawdust and an earthy and thick scent I couldn’t quite place. Tools hung on the walls, their shapes becoming clearer as my vision adapted. A workbench sat in one corner, cluttered with various supplies. No windows. One door, now locked from the outside.
I was trapped.
I took a step forward, scanning the room for anything useful, when a voice came from the shadows.
“Knox?”
I straightened, every muscle going tense, my wolf surging to attention. That voice. I knew that voice.
“Hunt?!” I spun toward the sound, searching the darkness. “Where are you? How the hell-”
I found him huddled in the far corner, barely visible in the dim light. And then I understood why I hadn’t smelled him the moment I walked in, why my wolf hadn’t detected his scent.
He was caked head to toe in mud. Thick, brown, sticky mud that covered every inch of his skin and clothes. It was matted in his hair, smeared across his face, coating his arms and legs in a heavy layer. The earthy smell I’d noticed when I first entered wasn’t just the garage. It was Hunt, buried under pounds of clay and dirt that completely masked his natural scent.
“What the hell happened to you?” I crouched down beside him, assessing his condition. He was injured, that much was clear. There was dried blood visible beneath some of the mud, and he was holding himself carefully, like every movement hurt. But he was alive. He was conscious. He was coherent.
“Mira,” Hunt said, his voice rough with exhaustion. “After she took me down, they brought me here and covered me in this shit. Said they didn’t want anyone tracking my scent.” He shifted, wincing at the movement. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Lucio,” I said. “He took Blake. I convinced him to take me instead of Lina.”
Hunt’s eyes widened through the mud. “Blake? The baby?”
“She’s in the cabin. Thomas is here too. I heard him crying.”
“I know. I’ve heard him too.” Hunt grimaced. “What’s the plan?”
“We wait for reinforcements. Noah, Ryder, the pack. They’ll be mobilizing by now. Lina will tell them what happened. They’ll find us.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then we will find our own way out.” I looked around the garage, at the tools on the walls, the workbench, the various supplies scattered around. “But first, we need to figure out how to get to those babies. They’re the priority. Whatever happens to us, we get them out.”
