In Keon’s mind, the book was bloody useless. Filled with prophesies and foreshadowing for events likely to happen in someone else’s timeline. Which made the ‘warning’ perfectly stupid.
Milo sagged, accepting his reasoning. Tilting his head into Keon’s neck, he took strength and faith from his reminder.Don’t drink it. It’s not safe.
Understood.He refused to argue. No one would be safe drinking water tainted by old blood.You shared your thoughts earlier. Can you do it again? You need to remind them you’re protecting them,he reasoned, because the discomfort of the telepathy made the team cautious of Milo, and that couldn’t be ignored.
Milo let Keon step aside and lay by the team, a gesture of calm to counter the aggressive stance he’d taken to stop them from drinking. Without hesitation, Isaac lay beside Milo and nudged his head.
I can help.
Keon could feel Milo opening their bond to Isaac, who added the strength of his gift. Milo’s voice rang loud and clear through his head. From Gale’s wince and Jude burying his nose against his neck, they’d been linked.
The water is contaminated. I believe an animal died, and its body remains, rotting and infecting the water, Milo explained, calm and patient, despite their obvious aggression toward his gift.
Thank you for protecting us.Gale bowed his head in respect.But please don’t do this again.He licked at Jude’s ear, cocked to search for the source of the sounds in his head.
Milo eyed the m’weko and rose.I’ll agree, if you stop projecting what you plan to do to Jude,he bargained, the twinkle in his eye delighting Keon. If he could tease Gale, especially in this situation, he truly felt part of the pack.
Keon caught Milo’s innocent embarrassment, familiar through their bond, curious what Gale had been planning.
Janet flicked her tail into Gale’s face on her way out the copse.They call that bestiality, you know.
Gale growled low.Stay outta my head!
Keon caught a flash of an image, of Gale’s human curled around Jude’s m’weko and trying to control his erection. Likely the reality of his sleeping hormones at work. Ignoring the image, he urged Isaac to join his sister, as they planned to continue their search. On the way, he bumped Gale’s shoulder.Whether a dream, a memory, or a fantasy doesn’t matter. It’s perfectly normal for proximity to your mate to inspire unexpected reactions,he promised, reassuring him he’d done nothing wrong.
They didn’t mix the two forms, but Gale’s response to Janet proved he had no intention of trying. Fantasy and intention were completely different beasts, a good lesson for Isaac to learn as he sensed his mate bond.
You’d better get used to it,he added, as Milo fell into step beside him. He nipped at his neck, warmth spreading through his veins when Milo responded with a loving nip.Once you’re mated and accepted your bond?He flashed a warning look at the m’weko who remained silent about the bond. ?it will get worse.
*
ISAAC SPENT TWENTYminutes searching for Haley’s scent beyond the copse. It veered around Katarina’s pack, intriguing Keon but proving his point. Whoever had Haley wanted to avoid drawing Katarina’s attention. Yet, they were stupid enough to light a fire by noon.
The smell of smoke, the flicker of a fire through the trees, and the scent of cooked meat assaulted them as they entered the forest surrounding Katarina’s pack, barely two hours later. Keon followed the trail as Isaac led them into the thick of the trees and paused at a distance to remain beyond range. If a wind blew, the smoke would cover their scents.
Ahead, the first distinguishable figure stood, adding another batch of twigs to the fire. In the firelight, he was unmistakable. Keon would recognise Vega anywhere. The two other figures were unknown. A woman, who glared at a spot in the darkness, and a man shoving at cooked meat on a spit. Three culprits, just as Milo’s vision said.
Milo broke into his thoughts.Haley is here.
Unable to trust his eyes in this confusing light—with daylight above the tree canopy, the trees casting shadows on the forest floor, and the firelight adding smoke—Keon relied on his other senses. Taking a deep sniff, he pushed aside the cooked meat, the sweat, the hint of blood, and sought a sweet and tangy scent, like cinnamon over chocolate. When he found the scent, he resisted the urge to growl.
Milo was right. Haley was here, but hurt, afraid, and bleeding. Not badly, but the scent implied a lasting wound not properly treated or healed. Which meant she was human, not m’weko.
There was something dimming her scent.
“Hey,” Vega shouted, approaching the darkest trees. “Stand.” When he pulled a shape from a cluster of bushes or another animal warren, Haley stumbled into view. Cowering when Vega pulled her against him, sniffing at her hair, the proximity putting her directly in the firelight.
She shook with fear, no doubt Vega’s intention, gagged, with her hair in a bun once tight but dislodged and messy. Her clothes were the same as she’d left the house in for the book club, but tattered and ripped. She’d either been physically attacked or the damage had happened while traipsing through the forest.
Keon wanted to intervene, but the situation was uncertain. Jude and Gale flanked the campsite to get a better view, while Keon held still, despite his best judgement. Janet stepped in front of Milo to stop him from reacting and nudged Isaac aside, both wanting to react to Vega’s disgusting behaviour.
As vile as Vega was, his purpose was clear when he tossed Haley to the ground and returned to the fire. He’d marked her with his scent, successfully burying hers beneath his. If it hadn’t been for the blood at the house, Keon may have believed Haley had run away. If suspicions had been raised?from Milo and Weston?Vega must have counted on Keon being sick of the brat and refusing a search. Or, conducting a minimal search to placate his new mate. When her scent weakened on the path toward Thatcher’s pack, he’d expect Keon to end the search.
The Alpha would declare Haley returned to her birth pack. The end.
Vega had thought this through. Except he’d never known Keon in the ways that mattered, ways that would have told him Keon would never act the way Vega expected. The way Vega would act.
He hadn’t counted on Isaac’s bond and superior senses, on Keon’s compassion for Milo’s family ties, on Keon’s growing affection for Haley, who was nothing but a difficult teenager adapting to a huge upheaval to her life. He wished he’d shown her he understood before she left, but Vega’s behaviour proved she hadn’t gone willingly.
