“Isaac?” His voice came out broken, barely a whisper.
Behind him, Brad made a strangled sound. Danny didn’t turn around. Couldn’t stop staring at his best friend who’d just turned into a red panda.
* * * *
Ash’s phone buzzed against the kitchen counter. He grabbed it, reading Danny’s text once, then twice. His jaw locked tight.
At moms house. Somethin feels hinky
Aiden looked up from where he was sprawled on the couch, thumbing through his own phone. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re leaving.” Ash was already moving toward the door, grabbing his keys off the hook. “Now.”
His brother didn’t ask questions. Just stood and followed, pulling on his boots as they headed outside. They climbed into Ash’s truck, and he reversed out of the driveway faster than he probably should have.
“Where are we going?” Aiden buckled his seatbelt.
“Danny’s mom’s place.” Ash’s hands gripped the steering wheel hard enough to make his knuckles ache. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones, that animal instinct that had kept him alive through too many bad situations to count.
The drive took twelve minutes. Each one felt like an hour.
When they pulled onto the street, Ash’s bear stirred restlessly. Danny’s mom’s house sat in a quiet subdivision on the east side of town. Ash pulled up to the curb two houses down, cutting the engine.
“Something’s wrong,” Ash said, opening his door.
“Yeah.” Aiden climbed out, scanning the area with the same wariness Ash felt.
They approached the house on foot. Every sense Ash had was on high alert, his bear pacing beneath his skin. The front door stood closed, curtains drawn. Laura's beat-up Honda sat in the driveway, but something about the scene felt staged. Too still. Like a photograph instead of a living space.
Ash moved around the side of the house, Aiden following close behind. Parked in the back where it couldn’t be seen from the street, sat a black pickup truck.
His vision tunneled. His bear roared inside him, demanding blood. That was the truck. The same one that had run them off the road, that had nearly killed Danny. He knew it by the dent in the front bumper, the scratched paint along the driver’s side door.
Someone had tried to kill his mate. Had terrorized Danny, sent them flying off the road, left Ash unconscious and bleeding. And now that same was someone here, in Danny’s mom’s house.
His hands curled into fists. Every muscle in his body tensed, rage building so hot and fast it took everything he had to keep control. He wanted to tear the truck apart with his bare hands. Wanted to find whoever owned it and make them pay for what they’d done.
Aiden touched his shoulder, pulling him back to the moment. Ash took a breath, then another, forcing the fury down into something cold and controlled. Danny was inside. He couldn’t go charging in blind and risk his mate getting hurt or worse.
He pointed to the side door. Aiden nodded.
They moved silently across the yard.
Ash tested the doorknob. Unlocked. He eased it open, wincing when the hinges creaked softly. He paused, listening.
Nothing.
He stepped inside, Aiden right behind him. The entryway was dim, curtains drawn against the afternoon sun. The kitchen was empty. Clean counters, no food cooking, no signs of life. Scents layered over each other in a way that made Ash’s bear growl. Fear. Sweat. Something chemical and artificial, like plastic or rubber. Ash’s nose twitched, sorting through the scents flooding his senses.
And underneath it all, a metallic tang that made his stomach clench.
Blood.
Not a lot. Not enough to suggest a massacre. But enough to know someone had been hurt. His bear snarled. Please, not Danny’s. His mate had already been through too much, and was finally coming out of his shell. He was talking more, laughing a lot, and lit up Ash’s life. Trusted Ash to keep him safe.
And I might fail him.
Ash caught Aiden’s eye and held up two fingers, then pointed to his nose. Aiden’s expression went grim. He’d caught it too.
