“Yup and I swear when I find them I’m definitely putting a tracker on both of them,” Logan said. “Enough of this shit.”
Angus walked over to the group. “The leader isn’t here,” he announced. “One of mah men said he saw him bolt into the woods after yer brother nearly ripped out his guts.”
“Fuck! Which way did he go?” asked Logan.
Angus pointed to the place where Michael and his men had emerged from the woods. “I’m sure thare wull be a blood trail. Dae you want me and a couple o’ mah men to track him down?”
“No, stay here and protect Ian,” Logan said, “we’ll go and take care of the fucker once and for all. Who’s coming with me and Kieran?”
~/~/~/~/~
Zane’s wolf picked his way through the forest, following the blood trail Michael left but it wasn’t the only scent he picked up. Another wolf had followed their target andZane figured it was one of Michael’s men, making him wonder if there’d be two wolves to fight instead of just a badly injured one. He paused often, listening to make sure no one was following before resuming his hunt.
As he proceeded, the sun peeked over the horizon causing the deep shadows in the forest to lighten. He moved carefully, avoiding low hanging branches, keeping David safe on his back as he padded forward. Glancing down, he saw larger drops of blood which told him Michael hadn’t shifted which meant his injuries were too severe.
Following the fresh scent, it became apparent to Zane that Michael was disorientated; sometimes he’d veer off in different directions before finding the way back to his original path. At those times, Zane picked up the scent of the other wolf who was walking a parallel path to Michael’s. After checking out the other wolf’s path, he moved back to the one which would lead to his mate’s enemy.
Sniffing the air, David knew they were very near to his nemesis; he pulled the neck fur on his mate’s wolf to warn him. Leaning down, he whispered, “Stop. Michael is just beyond those bushes ahead.”
Lifting his snout in the air, Zane’s nose twitched as he confirmed what David told him. Slowly backing up about 20 yards, Zane then soundlessly circled around Michael’s location, checking to see if anyone was with him, but all he found was the trail of the strange wolf moving away from them. Now, sure that Michael was alone, Zane swung back to the start of his circle and lowered himself, allowing his mate to dismount.
David watched as Zane crept warily forward, finally disappearing into the bushes behind which Michael would be. He waited, shivering, as worry filled his heart. Zane might be confident that he could destroy David’s tormentor, but his mate didn’t know what he was up against. Buthedid—and he could feel another panic attack coming on. Suddenly, the cracking sounds of someone shifting startled him.
“It’s all right, babe,” Zane called to him. “Come see this.”
~/~/~/~/~
Logan picked up Zane’s scent as soon as he got to the spot where Michael had entered the woods. “Fuckingbedammed! Zane went after him by himself!”
“Macushla,David went with Zane,” Kieran said.
Dakota sniffed. “Yup, I agree with Kieran. They’re together.”
“Well as least we found them,” Slate said.
“Let’s hope that’s true,” sighed Logan, before taking command. “Okay, spread out. Keep about ten yards away from each other but always in sight of someone. I have no idea what this dude will try if he thinks he’s cornered.” Turning to Kieran, he said, “I think Slate and I should be on the outside of Dakota and you. Is that all right?”
Kieran looked at Dakota and, after getting a small nod, he said, “Perfecto,macushla.”
Entering the forest, Logan found it easy to follow his brother’s scent allowing him to speed up. His anger at Zane’s reckless act grew and only the fact that all the marauding wolves had been captured mitigated it somewhat. But he was going to make sure his brotherunderstood it was the last time he’d get away with a stunt like this and he knew Jackson would back him up.
Now scenting Zane very close by, Logan also heard sounds of crying. Raising his hand to signal stop, he parted the bushes and walked forward, trying to make sense of what he saw. His brother sat on a stump, holding his crying mate. The body of a man with his throat ripped out lay at their feet. “What the fuck happened? Are you and David okay?” he asked Zane.
Kieran rushed to Logan, followed by Dakota and Slate, all gazing at the dead body on the ground. Then stepping around it, Kieran approached Zane and, laying his hand on David’s back, asked, “Is he okay?”
“Yeah…well, no…not really,” Zane replied. “I’m not sure what happened but when David saw Michael had already been killed by someone, he broke down.”
“May I?” Kieran asked.
Zane nodded. Anything Ki could do to help David, he was all for.
“David? It’s me, Kieran. Are you upset because Michael is dead?”
David shook his head. “No, I’m glad he is dead, I think.”
“Is this the man who attacked you at Brian’s cottage?”
David nodded, his hands wiping away his tears. “He wanted to kill Zane and I didn’t know what to do, so we disappeared.”
