Yeah, it was probably better if Leon didn’t leave him alone again, not until they were back at the ranch where Karl would be taken care of. He never should have left in the first place, even just for ten minutes. He crested the small rise where he’d left them and stopped short.
Nothing. The boulder was bare. No Karl, no pup. The world dropped out from under him.
He prowled forward, each step deliberate, every muscle taut, his senses in overdrive. But it wasn’t until he was almost at the boulder where Karl had been sitting that he scented anything—he’d been upwind. And that was all the more chilling, to think someone had waited until he’d gone, and then made their move, knowing Leon wouldn’t scent them.
Not someone butsomeones. Scents of numerous strange wolf shifters mixed with those of Karl and the pup. Karl wouldneverhave left like this, with no sign to tell Leon where he’d gone. Not willingly.
A snarl built in his throat, fierce and fast. His chest felt too tight, like his ribs were shrinking. He was supposed to be watching Karl’s back, guarding him, and instead, he’d walked away. Left him.
Likehe’dbeen left. Like he wasn’t worth the effort.
A constant low growl was rumbling in his chest as he untangled the different scents. He thought of that obstinate, defiant tilt to Karl’s chin, his absolute refusal to show weakness, even when he could barely stand, and he wondered how they’d gotten him to go with them.
He should have been here. He should have stopped it. If they’d hurt Karl—
Leon bared his teeth, then he moved. Downhill, fast but silent, veering wide to stay downwind. The wolves hadn’t bothered tocover their tracks, leaving a scent trail a mile wide. If they knew he was nearby, they didn’t care.
His cat wanted to attack, to tear someone open. But going in without knowing what he was facing might just get them both killed, so he followed at a distance. Listening, scanning the breeze and storing every scent, noting every sound or distant movement. Filing it all away, building the map in his head.
And trying not to think about Karl being gone. Leon had gotten used to him too fast, too easily. He’d gone from wanting to punch his obstinate, bossy,stubbornface to… He didn’t know what, actually. Just that something had shifted, like his center of gravity had changed without him noticing. Until the person, thewolfat the center was gone, and now he couldn’t stopnoticing his absence.
Leon didn’t let people close. He didn’t trust easily, and he didn’tneedanyone. That had always been the point.
But Karl—he’d slipped under Leon’s guard with nothing more than his refusal to back down, competence so damn good it rivaled his own, and a goddamn soft voice for a wayward pup. And now he was gone.
The worst part? Leon had left him. Not for long, and not on purpose. But it had been enough. Guilt burned so hot in him he could taste it.
Leon lowered his head and kept moving. He’d find him. He’d get him back, no matter what it took.
KARL
Karl was stumbling now. He’d been hiding it as long as he could, keeping pace with the strange shifters surrounding him, but it was getting harder with every step. Pain clawed at his leg, radiating upinto his hip and down into his foot, like fire chasing along his nerves. Sweat soaked his t-shirt and stuck it to his spine.
Still, he tried not to let it show. He kept his head up, gaze moving constantly, logging every movement. Counting how many wolves were ahead, how many behind. Clocking tells—posture, gait, the way one of them kept flexing his hands like he couldn’t wait for an excuse.
Karl didn’t know where they were taking him, but he knew he couldn’t beat them when it came to the inevitable fight. He’d do his damn best to make itcostthem, though.
A hard shove from behind knocked him off-balance. The stick Leon had found for him snagged against a tree root, and Karl went down hard on his good knee. The jolt of pain that lit up his ribs nearly blacked him out, and he couldn’t stop the sound that tore from his throat.
“What’s wrong with him?”
The voice came from somewhere behind him. No one answered.
Karl braced his hand against the ground, reaching for the stick again, trying to lever himself upright. Someone crouched at his side. “Let me help.”
It was the woman who the pup had run to. Her grip was firm, with the easy strength of a shifter, as she helped him upright and turned toward the others.
“Let him go at his own pace.”
Her voice had authority and, surprisingly, they listened. The group’s pace eased until it was more manageable.
Karl didn’t thank her. He was too busy focusing on staying upright. His world narrowed to one foot in front of the other and the pain of each step. He didn’t know how long they walked—just that when they stopped, he nearly bumped into the back of theshifter in front of him, so focused on keeping going, he hadn’t noticed the rest of the group coming to a standstill.
The ground beneath his feet was now flat, the trees sparser, and between the trees, log cabins huddled. Cabins that were weathered enough to have been here several years, and he’d hadnoidea they were here, a couple of days’ hard run from the ranch.
He was desperate to get back to Matt and warn him about these shifters, but it was all he could do to keep his eyes open and stay upright. Soon. He’d sit down for a minute, and then everything would be better.
“Cormack,” someone ordered. “Take him. I’ll brief Michael.”
