"She’s been doing really amazing things with fresh bread lately," Kyran announces. "Though I guess you would need the time to pull that together, wouldn’t you?"
Tara ignores her mate’s remark and continues to stare at me.
The room falls into an uncomfortable silence, which is disturbed by Declan’s phone ringing. He answers the call and brings the phone to his ear. The way his eyebrows draw together tells me this is not a good call.
Something in my gut perks up seeing that. I’m not happy about it, by any means. But the strange feeling in my chest is somehow quelled seeing his reaction. Like I know this feeling is somehow related.
"I’ll head out, see if I can track them," he finally says, before ending the call.
"Track who?" Cole asks before I can.
"Apparently, a lone wolf has been scented in our territory. I have a general location." Frowning, he adds, "I guess dinner will have to wait, anyway."
"We can help you," Kyran offers, and Declan nods his head in agreement.
Cole stays with Nora while the rest of us head out, shifting so we can pick up the scent more easily.
As soon as I’m back in wolf form, the pull gets much stronger than before. Usually, I remain in full control when I shift, but for some reason, it feels like my wolf is in charge right now while I’m simply in the passenger seat.
I start running ahead in front of everyone, which is usually a position reserved for Declan, our pack’s Alpha.
I might be on the receiving end of his wrath after this, but that’s a problem for later. I run forward with an urgency I’ve never felt before. Not even during battles with other packs or rival Alphas who wanted to try to take over our territory.
This is wholly different. Somehow, it feels like the most important thing in the world.
The scent grows stronger the farther we head into the forest. My wolf is on edge, and my mind is in disarray as I try to understand what is happening. I keep pushing forward, following the sweetest scent ever to exist, only to realize that the pull and the scent are coming from the same direction. My heart races, blood rushing through my veins, and I feel hotter than normal. After a while, we come to a small clearing.
And then I see her.
I stop dead in my tracks, bringing the rest of my family to a stop behind me. My world shifts as I recognize what my wolf already knew.
She is pale, naked, and curled up at the base of a towering pine. Even from a distance, I can see she is covered in bruises and what looks like welts around her wrists and ankles. She’s asleep—or unconscious; it’s tough to tell from a distance. Either way, she needs help. She needs… me, her mate.
We all shift back into human form.
Tara moves forward, but I hold out my hand, motioning for her to stop. "Leave her. Leave us," I tell her, my voice coming out rougher than I intend.
"What? Why?" she asks.
Keeping my eyes on my mate, I repeat, "Leave us. Go home."
“I don’t understand,” Tara pushes on.
My body heaves with a sigh. "She’s my mate."
There’s a moment of stunned silence from everyone around me. Declan steps forward and looks between us, giving me a curt nod before walking back to the group. “Let’s give them some time.”
I barely register the sound of their footsteps fading away. All I can focus on is her.
What the hell happened to her?
Her skin is stark white, as if she’s been kept far from the sun her entire life. It’s far too easy to spot the raised welts around her wrists and bumps all over her arms with small needle pricks in them.
She was drugged, I realize. Even without the pricks on her arms, I can smell something in her system. It’s sickly sweet, subduing her.
Seeing her like this enrages me. My blood boils, and I’m struck with a sudden urge to leave her here and hunt down whoever did this to her. Whoever would dare hurt my mate deserves to be ripped to shreds and left for the vultures to pick apart.
I can almost feel her pain: tired muscles, bruised skin, and a deep hunger.
