I called on all the acting skills he’d taught me as a child; I could play the innocent part well. “I’m an excellent tracker. Your tires left mud on the highway.”
He stared at me, looking for any telltale signs that I was lying. I didn’t give him anything. Finally, he relaxed his gaze. “You got my money?”
I held up the bag. “Right here.”
“It better all be there. Toss it to me.”
I kept my posture relaxed as I threw the bag to him. While he was distracted with catching it, I rushed forward to tackle him. He slipped from my grasp at the last minute, dropping the bag and swinging at me.
His fist caught my chin, a glancing blow that didn’t slow me down. With five brothers, I’d taken a hit or two and had plenty of experience fighting. I swept my leg out to take him to the ground, and he stumbled backward but stayed upright.
“You’ll regret this,” he snarled, throwing another punch that got past my guard and left my ears ringing. He followed it with a hook and uppercut while I was open, and I staggered to the side. “Think you can take your old man?”
He stepped back and shifted, his wolf large and growling. He lunged at me, and I scrambled out of the way, putting space between us to give me time to shift. His wolf darted toward me just as I shifted, swiping with his paw and trying to latch on to my shoulder with his teeth.
My skin tore as I wrenched away. First point to my father. I needed to get myself together. Nothing was more important than this fight. Katie and Eli were depending on me. I couldn’t lose.
Katie
I heard a truck approach, followed by Luke’s voice. It was too far away to hear what they were saying, no matter how much Istrained my ears. I hoped Luke had things under control, but in the meantime, I would do everything I could to free myself.
I continued trying to loosen the ropes around my wrists. I had a little space to work with, as I’d flexed them when he tied me up, a trick I remembered vaguely from some online video. But I must not have held them far enough apart. All I was doing was scraping my skin.
Still, I wouldn’t give up. If I got loose, it could only help Luke.
Sounds of a scuffle reached me. I hated being blind to what was happening. A low growl followed by snarls filled the air. I renewed my efforts with the rope.
The truck dipped, and I glanced over my shoulder. Eli was climbing into the truck bed. He stayed low and crawled to me. He removed the gag and started working on freeing my hands.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered, my mouth dry from the rag.
“Helping Luke.” He undid the rope around my wrists, and I sucked in air as he brushed against the scraped skin. “Sorry.”
The two of us worked on my feet, freeing them quickly. I crawled to the end of the truck bed. “I’m going out first. Stay on the far side of me and run for the trees.”
“I want to help.” He gave me a determined look.
“You have, but I need you to do this. If you get caught, that’s one more person he can hold over Luke’s head.”
“You’re Luke’s mate. You should hide too.”
I wanted to help Luke. Everything in me cried out to go to him. But Eli was right. I would only be a distraction. I nodded reluctantly. “Okay. But you go first. And if anything goes wrong, you run and don’t look back.”
“I will. I promised Luke.”
“Good.” I lowered myself to the ground, crouching behind the truck. I peered around the edge just as one wolf clamped itsjaws around the other’s back leg. It was too quick to tell them apart, and I’d only seen Luke’s wolf once.
Eli came up behind me. “I’m ready.”
I nodded. “On the count of three.”
I counted, and we both ran for the cover provided by the trees. We hid behind a bush, and I couldn’t resist checking on Luke again. One wolf was limping, while the other circled it slowly. They looked very similar, and I couldn’t tell them apart.
Eli peered over my shoulder. “Luke’s hurt!”
My stomach dropped, and panic clawed at my throat. “Are you sure that’s Luke?”
“Yes, he’s got a white patch on his chest.”
