Time slowed as I locked my gaze on Konrad. He was too focused on sweet-talking Sorrel to notice a potential threat.
My fingers curled into a fist. The tips of my nails elongated, sharpened.
I could stop him right now...
Suddenly, a huge white shape lumbered out of the shadows. A massive polar bear stopped, looking surprised when he saw Konrad and Sorrel.
“Rorik, what are you doing here?” Sorrel demanded.
“There you are, pup,” Rorik said with a sigh, sounding relieved. “You were gone, so I went looking for you.”
Sagging with disappointment, Sorrel shot Konrad a pleading look, as if begging the clan alpha to intervene. But Konrad gave the other bear a stiff nod.
“Take him back,” Konrad ordered. Then he patted Sorrel on the shoulder and added, “We’ll talk about this another time.”
Sorrel frowned and his shoulders sagged, but he obediently followed Rorik back to the barracks without argument. Relief flooded me, though it didn’t fully wash away the sick feeling coating my insides.
Sorrel has no idea what a bullet he just dodged...
With his brother safe, I could now focus on rescuing Poppy. My gaze snapped back to Konrad. I expected him to return to the house, but to my surprise, he scowled and turned in the opposite direction. He stripped, tossing his clothes carelessly on the steps, then shifted into a powerful white bear.
I held my breath and kept dead still, hoping not to trigger his heightened sense of smell. Konrad moved like a train as he stormed past the territory line.
He’s frustrated,I realized with another twist to the gut.He wanted to keep talking to Sorrel alone... That fucking creep!
Part of me wanted to track Konrad down and confront him. He was no match for me one-on-one. But this was the perfect opportunity to rescue Poppy, and I couldn’t let it go to waste.
I slunk to the front door and tried the handle. Nothing. It must’ve locked automatically when it shut. Swearing under my breath, I crept along the side of the building as I searched for a different door, or hell, even a window. I finally found a narrow pane of glass without a mechanism to open it.
Fuck this.
I could’ve punched the window into smithereens, but that would draw too much attention. Instead, I unfurled my hand and allowed the shift to flow into my fingertips. My blunt human nails transformed into dagger-sharp claws. I carved around the window’s perimeter, then kicked it in. The pane landed with a dull thud on the rug.
I vaulted inside. Immediately, I was hit by the thick stink of alpha bear. It smothered any possible trace of Poppy’s sweet scent. Wrinkling my nose, I hurried down the hall, looking desperately for him. My heart felt sick with worry.
As I barreled into the main living space, I gasped.
Sitting in the corner with only a blanket between him and the cold floor was Poppy.
His eyes widened to the size of moons when he saw me.
“Violet?” he breathed, as if he couldn’t believe I was real.
Rushing forward, I skidded on my knees in front of him. I grabbed his frail body and pulled him into a trembling embrace.
“Fuck, I’m so glad you’re okay,” I muttered as tears stung my eyes. “You’re okay, right? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Poppy shook his head. “No. He told me to stay still and keep quiet.” He wrapped his hands around my back, clutching onto me like a raft. I noticed then that his wrists weren’t bound, and there was nothing holding him back except Konrad’s word and the locked door.
“And you listened?” I asked through a choked laugh. “Geez, Poppy...”
I allowed myself a couple seconds of selfish hugging to soothe my battered heart. Then I stood and helped Poppy to his feet.
“Come on,” I urged. “We’re getting out of here. You, me, and Sorrel.”
Poppy blinked his big doe eyes at me. They sparkled with hope. “We... we’re leaving? Together? You spoke to him?”
There was no time to explain what I’d just seen. “Well, no, but I’m not leaving him behind. And I’m sure as fuck not lettingyoustay in this dump for a second longer. Konrad left to hunt, so we gotta go.”
