A new wolf stepped up beside Karl and took his arm, not gently, but not rough either. He led Karl to a nearby cabin. Inside was dim and utilitarian, with a bed, a couple of chairs, and a table—a mix of homemade furniture and camping gear. The windows were shuttered tight.
“Sit,” Cormack said, lighting a lantern and closing the door behind them.
Karl obeyed, not because he was told but because he didn’t think his leg would take another minute of standing. He eased into the chair, muscles trembling with fatigue.
“You need water?” Cormack asked.
Karl shook his head and instantly regretted it. Black spots swam in his vision, and his stomach lurched. He knew he should eat and drink to fuel his healing, but if he swallowed anything now, he didn’t think it would stay down.
Instead, he leaned back slightly, trying to focus. He needed to plan.
“Any particular reason you’ve decided to abduct a shifter who was minding his own business?” he asked, voice rough.
Cormack returned his stare. “Any particular reason you were poking around near our camp?”
“Trying to return a lost pup,” Karl said flatly. “Yours, I assume.”
That got a flicker of something from Cormack—surprise, maybe. Or regret.
“Michael will sort it out.”
Presumably their alpha. Karl filed that name away, before leaning forward slightly, keeping his tone easy. “Look, I didn’t come here to cause trouble. I found the pup. If he’s yours, great. You’ve got him back. That’s all I came to do.”
Cormack’s eyes stayed steady. “You shouldn’t have come alone.”
Karl didn’t reply. He wasn’t going to admit that he hadn’t been, that Leon was out there, and if Karl was lucky, still free and tracking him.
HetrustedLeon to do that. That realization hit harder than expected. Not just trust in his skills—he’d never doubted those—but in the fact that Leon wouldn’t quit until he found him.
LEON
Leon paused near the crest of a ridge, breath low and steady, ears straining for any sounds. He’d taken a couple of wide detours to stay downwind, and it had cost him time, but he’d rather be cautious than dead.
Below him, the forest opened into a shallow basin, with figures moving among the trees at the bottom. He could see their movement, but something was impeding the detail. The canopy was thicker than it should be at this time of year. And then he saw it—netting strung between trunks, sprinkled with leaves and twigs. Camouflage.
Well, shit. Whoever these wolves were, they were deadly serious about hiding from outsiders. And Karl, hurt and outnumbered, was in the middle of it. Guilt stabbed through him, so strong he almost gasped. He’d done this. He’d left Karl alone, knowing he couldn’t fight, and not even thinking he could be in danger.
He shoved the guilt down, where it wouldn’t get in the way, and ghosted through the undergrowth, staying downwind of the buildings at the bottom of the valley and planning every footfall in advance. He was only halfway down the hillside when something changed around him. The birds had grown silent, and the air felt charged. A predator was nearby. And for once, Leon wasn’t that predator.
He froze, one paw lifted mid-step, then eased lower into the ferns, eyes narrowing.
There—the faint murmur of voices. He slipped forward, circling wide around a thick stand of evergreens until he spotted movement ahead. Two wolves in human form were walking the perimeter of the valley like they were on patrol. Leon flattened to the earth again, only his ears moving.
“…found Charlie, but get this—he was with a strange shifter. He said he was trying to return him to his pack,” a woman’s voice said, low and a little breathless.
Leon’s jaw clenched at the way she said it, as if she didn’t believe Karl.
“Hell. Where’d he come from? Does he know about us?” The male voice sounded scared, as well as surprised. Young, too, Leon thought.
“No idea, but Michael’s seeing him now. Come and find me later, let me know what’s going on?”
“Yeah, okay, Laura. Have a good patrol.”
Leon stayed down as they parted, footsteps moving in different directions. Every hair on his body felt like it was standing on end.They had patrols this far out, quiet enough thathehadn’t picked them up until now. They were good, which made them dangerous.
And Karl was inside their perimeter.
Leon eased backward, one step at a time, then melted into deeper shadow. He needed a better vantage point. Somewhere he could watch without being watched.
