Nic’s voice cuts through the red haze clouding my vision. I try to shake him off, but his grip is iron-solid. When I turn to face him, his eyes are blazing with Alpha command.
“Let go of me.” The words come out as more growl than speech. “They took her. The Cheslem wolves took Skylar, and every second we stand here is another second they get farther away.”
“I know. I can smell it too, but like I said on the battlefield, every second you spend running blindly into the woods is another second wasted.” Nic doesn’t release my shoulder. “I know you’re scared. I know you want to tear something apart right now. But charging after them alone will get you killed, and it won’t save Skylar.”
“I can track them. Her scent—”
“Will lead you straight into an ambush. You’ve been fighting for hours. You’re injured, exhausted, and running on nothing but adrenaline. If you go after them now, you’ll make mistakes. Mistakes will get Skylar killed.”
Everything inside me wants to rip free of his hold, disappear into the forest, and not stop running until I find her. But some small, rational part of my brain recognizes the truth in his words. I’m in no condition to mount a rescue mission alone. The Cheslem wolves will be expecting pursuit, and they probably have traps set along their escape route. I’ll walk right into every single one of them if I don’t slow down and think.
My wolf howls in protest, but I shove him back down.
“Then what do we do? They have her, Nic. They have my mate, and I don’t even know where they’re taking her or what they’re planning to do when they get there.”
“We’ll figure that out.” Nic finally releases my shoulder to send a text. “I’ll have Thomas gather the security team. Dylan and Connor are already here. We’ll track them, find their base, and get Skylar back. But we do it right, or we don’t do it at all.”
A few minutes later, footsteps approach from behind us, and I turn to see Thomas jogging across the parking lot with Dylan and Connor close behind.
“Perimeter is clear,” Thomas reports as he comes to a stop beside Nic. “Whoever took her is long gone. We found scuff marks in the grass near the back fence. It looks like she put up a fight before they knocked her out.”
Something savage and proud flares in my chest at that. Of course she fought. Skylar isn’t the type to go quietly, and knowing she didn’t make it easy for them gives me satisfaction despite everything.
Dylan moves to stand beside the Alpha. “They came in through the western tree line while everyone was focused on the main attack. Grabbed her from the courtyard and carried her out through the parking lot.”
“A distraction,” I realize. “The whole attack on the eastern boundary… It was just a distraction to draw us away from the medical center.”
“Looks that way,” Thomas agrees. “The trail heads northeast toward the mountains. That’s all we know so far.”
Northeast. Toward a dozen different places where they could be hiding, waiting, and planning whatever sick revenge Rafe has in store for my mate.
My hands are shaking. I look down at them and will them to stop, but they refuse to obey. The tremor runs through my fingers, my wrists, my forearms—a physical sign of the terror I can’t afford to feel right now. I’ve faced down corrupt shifters, rogue wolves, and supernatural threats that would make most people run screaming. None of it ever made my hands shake like this.
“I might be able to help.”
The voice comes from behind Thomas, and I look up to see Caleb making his way to us. It takes me a moment to remember that he’s a former Cheslem wolf who was cleansed during the purification ritual three years ago. He knows how they think, which means right now, he’s invaluable.
“You know where they’d take her?” I ask.
“Not exactly.” Caleb runs a hand through his hair and looks uncomfortable under everyone’s attention. “But I know how Rafe thinks. He’s Matthias’s son, which means he grew up learning his father’s tactics. He’ll want to use her as leverage, and that means he needs to keep her alive and close enough to communicate his demands.”
“That narrows it down to what? A hundred possible locations?”
“More like a dozen. Matthias had safe houses scattered throughout the region. Bolt holes, he called them. Places to retreat when things go bad. Most of them were destroyed after the purification, but a few might still be standing. If Rafe is using Cheslem tactics, he’ll go somewhere familiar. Somewhere defensible.”
Hope sparks in my chest despite my best efforts to smother it. “You can lead us to these places?”
“I can narrow down the list and give you the most likely options based on what I know about Rafe and his resources.” Caleb glances at Nic. “If Luna can use her magic to help pinpoint the right location, we might be able to find Skylar before Rafe does whatever he’s planning.”
“Luna’s on her way,” Nic says. “I sent word as soon as we realized Skylar was missing. She should be here within the hour.”
Skylar has already been gone for at least thirty minutes, and every minute that passes puts more distance between us. Rafe gets more time to prepare his defenses. More time to hurt her in ways I can’t bear to imagine.
I tell myself to breathe. In through my nose, out through my mouth. The way they taught us in Black Ops training, back when I thought I’d never need to use those techniques on anything personal.
Think like an operative. Not like a mate.
“What do we know about Rafe’s numbers?” I ask, steadier now. “How many wolves does he have left after tonight?”
