“Remee will,” Galen said, his eyes filling with tears. “He’s always finds us.”
“And so will Smokey,” Norm assured the two young boys. “C’mon, wait until you see the hiding place…it’s like a secret fort.”
“A fort?” Galen asked.
“Yup, it’ll be our secret fort.”
Excited by the sound of that, Eamon tugged on Norm’s hand. “C’mon, I wanna see my fort.”
Giving Theo a brief smile, Norm led the way to the path, sending a short prayer to the gods for Smokey’s safety.
~/~/~/~/~
Running through the underbrush, Smokey shifted mid-step, avoiding anything that would delay him getting to Willow. He didn’t know what trouble she was in, but two gunshots led his mind back to the humans who’d hunted Kevin’s parents. Growling, his bear sniffed the air, but other than the smells of the forest, there was no trace of her. Frustrated, he changed direction, trying desperately to pick up her scent.
Sniffing as he ran, Smokey’s mind went back to the humans and wished he had Hawk’s eyes in the sky, but unfortunately, his aerial scout was miles away in LA. Finding a path, he took it, hoping it’d lead him to Willow and whoever else might be with her. All he knew for sure was that there were two gunshots and two screams—and the screams were not from the same person.
Smokey slid to a quick stop when the path abruptly ended at the edge of a cliff. Shifting back, he held his breath as he peered over the edge, exhaling in relief when he saw nothing at the bottom other than boulders. Standing, he turned to the forest he’d just emerged from, searching for anything that might give him a clue as to where Willow might be. But again…nothing. No scent…not even a broken branch that would indicate someone might have recently been there. Cursing under his breath, Smokey realized he was at a disadvantage. Without maps and other information normally given to him in a mission briefing, all he had was his senses and luck. And so far, neither had done him much good. But he was determined not to give up—wouldn’tgive up. Willowneeded him and he wasn’t going to let her down—or his friend Glenn, her son.
~/~/~/~/~
Norm found it slow going on the overgrown path, covered with rocks and fallen trees, but despite the rough conditions, he forged ahead. He began to have second thoughts about his choice of a hiding place when he realized how difficult it was becoming to get there. Exhaustion was beginning to wear on everyone and he had to help Galen and Eamon climb over obstacles and catch them before they stumbled over the exposed roots crisscrossing the path.
Finally though, he managed to get the kids safely to the hidden cave without further problems—except for Daniel who struggled to get down halfway through the trip. Eventually, he gave in, letting him jump to the ground, where Daniel’s wolf promptly padded to the head of the group. Turning to Theo, he grinned. “If there was any question about Danny being the puppy pack Alpha, I think that’s just been resolved.”
“I think he regards all of us as his pack,” Theo murmured. “Look how concerned he was about Smokey.”
His mate was right. From the moment Daniel assumed leadership, everything seemed to become easier; his wolf was everywhere—finding the easiest route forward, licking Eamon’s tears after a stumble, and allowing Galen to steady himself by grabbing his fur. Like every good Alpha, Danny kept his eyes on everyone, instinctively knowing who needed his help the most.
Setting Jake down next to Theo, Norm asked Danny, “Can I count on you to keep everyone safe while I check out the cave?”
Baring his teeth, Danny growled before heading over to Theo. Sitting down next to him, he lifted his nose in the air, sniffing for signs of danger.
Chuckling quietly at Danny’s behavior, Norm ducked into the cave and was soon surrounded by darkness. Using his bear’s sight, he quickly surveyed the inside, and was happy to find it uninhabited by any animal. The only problem would be with Galen and Eamon. Being non-shifters, they wouldn’t be able to see in the dark. The obvious solution would be to build a small fire, but the smoke would broadcast their location to anyone near them.
Deciding to do that as only a last resort, Norm pushed aside the vines hanging over the cave entrance. Stepping out, he said, “All good.”
Nodding, Theo put Jessica next to her brother and said, “Danny, you go first…Jake and Jessica will follow you.”
“What about me and Eamon?” asked Galen nervously.
Bending down, Theo said, “You guys get to go with me and Norm.”
“Why can’t we go with Danny?” asked Galen.
Kneeling down in front of the boys, Norm said, “Because it’s too dark in there for you to see where you’re going.”
“Gally, I don’t want to be in the dark,” Eamon cried, sniffling as tears filled his eyes.
“We can’t go in there,” Galen insisted. “We never go where’iz dark anymore.”
“Why not?” asked Norm.
“Because bad men will come to hurt us,” Galen said, his voice wavering.
Confused, Norm glanced at Theo, his eyebrows raised. “Do you know what they’re talking about?”
Shaking his head, Theo replied, “I think it has something to do with what happened before Remy came for them.”
