Zeke lifted his head, veins protruding from his neck, his face red with exertion as he battled against Murphy’s waves of dominance. “Let us up, Alpha. We … can help,” he pleaded through clenched teeth.
With a heavy exhale, Murphy relinquished his power over them. Each male relaxed immediately, their shoulders slumping and their limbs trembling as they quickly pushed to their feet.
Marcus was the first to ask, “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”
“Nessa,” Murphy grated out, his voice barely more than a fury-filled rumble. “She’s been kidnapped. Someone was after her. They found her, and I wasn’t there to protect her,” he choked out.
Uttering the words out loud caused a sharp sting in his chest, his lungs painfully tight as he attempted to keep his breathing slow and steady.
Focus. Find her. Save her.
He couldn’t lose control now. He was too far away from Nessa. Over an hour of terrain separated him from her last known location, and if he shifted before he made it to Jasper, it would take too long to reach him.
Murphy might never catch her scent then.
He might lose her forever.
No!
The denial was instantaneous, cutting through the haze of Nessa’s name, still being chanted repeatedly in his head.
“I can find her,” Dante stated, his eager voice piercing through the haze of emotion clouding Murphy’s mind.
The Alpha turned toward the male still locked in his cell, and he growled in warning.
“Do you think I’d trust you with locating my mate?” Murphy snapped, his hands shaking. He closed them into tight fists, willing them to cease trembling.
“You should.” Dante grabbed the cell bars, his knuckles turning white. “I know her scent, and I’ve been in that town long enough to differentiate between the locals and unfamiliar, new people. I’m an asset, Murphy. Please,” he said softly, pressing his body against the bars. “Let me do this. Let me help you keep her safe, like I should have done before.”
Dante was the best tracker in their clan, surpassing even Marcus. As much as it pained Murphy to admit, the male was right. He was an asset, especially now.
Murphy refused to turn down someone who could help him, no matter what the other male had done in the past.
The Alpha snarled a warning. “If you betray me again—”
Dante shook his head resolutely. “I won’t.”
Zeke snatched a set of long skeleton keys from a nail protruding from the wall by the prison entrance before rushing back to Dante’s cell. He cast a glance at Murphy, who nodded toward the cell door in permission.
Thrusting the key into the keyhole, Zeke turned it. A soft click followed, and then the male pulled the door open, the metal hinges protesting against the movement.
Marcus clapped Dante on the shoulder once the door had fully opened, helping his brother from the cell. “You good?”
“Good as I can be.” Dante looked at Murphy, his eyes reflecting purpose and determination. Murphy had seen that look many times over the years when the tracker was hunting his prey, and each time, Dante had found his target.
The Alpha’s tumultuous emotions immediately eased, giving him a moment to collect himself. “Let’s go find my mate.”
“Do we pick up Tank on the way?” Zeke asked from behind him.
Murphy shook his head, turning and rushing toward the exit. He took the stairs quickly, all but running up them as he threw over his shoulder, “No. I’ll tell him what’s happening, but he isn’t coming with us. He’s needed here. To protect our clan.”
Hunny needed her mate, and if anything went wrong, if Murphy didn’t make it out of this unscathed, he trusted no one more than Tank to keep his bear clan safe in his absence.
The males reached the top of the landing, pushing out into the open forest. They’d barely taken a few steps toward his cabin when he heard the distinct rumble of a vehicle’s engine as it sped toward them.
Just as soon as he heard it, Murphy saw Colter’s SUV swerve through the tree line, banking left and then right along the thin trail the clan used to hike and explore. This far out in the woods, there weren’t any roads, but clearly the enforcer had no problem forging his own path to Murphy.
Nearing the males, Colter jerked the wheel, and the SUV slid to the side, tires kicking up dirt and debris. He hit the brakes, and the vehicle came to a hard stop beside them.
