It worked. Both soldiers flinched and immediately opened fire into the trees, bullets ripping blindly through the brush as they tried to hit whatever creature they believed was stalking them.
When they finally stopped firing, I whimpered sharply and retreated deeper into the woods, dragging my paw over the ground to mimic a wounded stagger. The illusion worked perfectly.
"We hit it!"
"Fucker’s not coming back. It will bleed out soon enough. Come on, let’s get back. Zolkos said not to leave the truck."
I circled back to Cade and Killian, who were right where I left them, with the addition of the stolen classified container. The moment I joined them, Zolkos emerged from inside the base.
"We heard gunfire. What happened? What were you shooting at?" he asked, eyes scanning the area with cold precision.
"Direworg, sir. It was lurking in the woods, but we hit it. Thing ran off," one guard said.
Zolkos scanned the treeline once more, peering into the darkness. His stare was so focused and so unblinking that even though I knew we were out of his sight range, it felt as if he was looking right at us.
"We have a lot more files to bring out. Do not leave the truck," he said coldly before disappearing inside again.
As I shifted back, Cade jerked his head toward the truck,signaling it was time to move. Killian and I followed behind him, trekking in silence until we reached the convoy.
"Their vehicle contained stacks of boxes just like that one," Cade said, motioning to the classified container sitting next to me in the back seat. "I took what I could without them noticing anything was missing. Hopefully, whatever is inside will tell us what they’re doing out there."
Killian signed something sharp.
Cade let out a tight breath. "Yeah. We'll figure out what he wants."
Killian signed again, more forcefully this time.
Cade’s jaw tensed. "Rowan is ours."
Killian huffed in agreement, leaning back.
"Good. Then let's open the damn thing when we get home and see what they think is so important it's worth digging up," I said as I pulled my clothes back on, eager to see what was inside the mysterious box.
Chapter 15: Rowan
The box sat in the center of the dining room table like an omen. A cubed warning that something bad was already on its way. I tried to convince myself that the contents had nothing to do with me, that Zolkos reentering the decommissioned base and dredging up long-buried classified documents was entirely unrelated.
But I knew better.
Deep in my chest, something told me that everything was connected, and the guys clearly thought the same. Their nervous tells were too easy to read. Cade could not stop rubbing his temples. Ryker had not made a single joke since they arrived home with the box. Killian refused to put me down, insisting on holding me. Talon cracked his knuckles so many times I worried he was going to break his hands.
I reached for the lid, needing to rip it off like a bandaid. Before I could touch it, Killian yanked my hand away and Cade barked, "Stop, Rowan."
"What? We’re not going to open it now?" I snapped. "I thought you said whatever was inside could be important!"
"We don't know what's inside," Cade said, leaning closer. "Which is whyIam going to open it."
I threw my hands up. "What exactly is going to happen to me from opening a box? It is not like it's a bomb or something."
Killian growled in warning as if I had personally challenged fate.
I groaned. "Oh my God! I can't even open a box without you all needing to control the situation."
Ryker finally laughed for the first time since they told him what they had seen. "Kitten, you could open a cereal box and it would probably explode on you. That's how bad your luck is. Let Cade handle the scary classified one."
I shot him a glare, which earned the smallest twitch of a smirk from his lips. Good. At least one of them was starting to relax again.
"Terrible luck and the self-preservation of a lemming," Cade muttered as he carefully removed the lid.
