“We’re close. Park over there.”
Sofia pulls over at a truck rest stop, and the warriors in the car behind us follow suit. “Stay in human form for now, Ryan. At least until we know what we’re dealing with,” Sofia suggests before turning to the others and giving them their orders. The reason she’s saying that is obvious; I lost my shit the last time we were in a similar situation. I couldn’t shift back and went for Jackson.
My wolf snarls inside me as if it’s a slight against him, but she’s right. I can’t trust him. I need to stay in control as much as possible. Maya needs me to keep my shit together.
We move into the wooded area as one. The forest floor is soft underfoot, a carpet of decaying leaves and pine needles muffling our approach. Clouds block out the moon, shrouding us in darkness. Most of the warriors with us tonight were part of the last rescue mission; they remember the importance of going in unseen and getting out as quickly as possible.
My wolf doesn’t want that, though. He’s bloodthirsty. He wants revenge on those who have hurt our mate. Still, he defers to me—for now—allowing me to take the lead. I push forward, forcing myself to move intentionally. Each breath is measured and each movement is deliberate as I advance, following the tentative bond that tethers me to my mate.
A building comes into view through the trees up ahead, and I’m ready to shift right here until Sofia moves in front of me. “Wait,” she orders, using her alpha command. The warriors freeze behind us, anchored by the authority aimed at me. It doesn’t work on me other than to give me pause, but I can’t stop the growl that rumbles in my chest.
“Let’s make a plan first,” she says. “Just wait one second. I need to open up the mindlink again and tell Luca to fuck off so I can concentrate.” She winces, and as cool and collected as she’s been acting, I’m sure she’s had a constant barrage of messages from Luca that she’s had to field. He must be losing his shit with not knowing what’s going on.
“Okay, I’m back,” Sofia says as the clouds roll away from her eyes. “Mike, Cadence, I want you to take the rear and keep in touch via mindlink. Ryan, Simon, be ready to move. Jason, I want youto hang back. If it looks like things are going south, I need you to mindlink Luca and give him our exact coordinates. He’s already on his way here. Everyone clear?”
Sofia looks around to a chorus of “yes, Alpha,” while I watch on in awe. I’m barely hanging onto my wolf, but Sofia has it together enough for both of us.
“Perfect,” she says with a grin and a flip of her hair. “I’m going to go play bait.”
“Wait, what the fuck, Sofia?” I snarl. “You’re not doing that.”
“Yes, I am. This isn’t like the last time. We don’t have any reconnaissance done. We have no idea what we’re dealing with. But there’s only one car, and it’s a small building. Chances are, there’s not too many in there, and they’re more likely to open the door to a lost female. I’ll get in, mindlink you with what I see, and we'll go from there.”
“I don’t fucking like this. I can’t lose you too.”
“You’re not losing anyone,” she says, her voice fierce and firm as she grips my shoulders and hits me with a look of determination.
Luca is going to want to fucking gut me for letting her do this. I can’t think straight enough to come up with a better plan, but this can’t be it. I can’t put my little sister in danger.
“We can—” My words are cut off and my breath hitches when fresh pain cuts through me.
“Fuck this,” Sofia mutters, and then she’s moving toward the building.
“Shit, let’s go,” Cadence says, pulling Mike with her to move toward the back.
Sofia walks right up to the building, like she’s visiting a friend or going into a shop. But underneath her calm exterior, she’s sending a steady stream of her observations through the mindlink.“Two male voices, they’re arguing. I smell Maya. She’s been here. The scent is old, at least twenty-four hours. And wolves. Three recent scents, at least one alpha. Something chemical.”
She moves closer to the building, and the door opens to reveal Brett Lo. When I see my sister this close to the son of the man who tried to use an alpha command on her to fucking rape her, the thread of restraint I’ve been clinging to snaps.
Fuck the plan.
I let go. Muscles bunch and fur bristles, bones crack and lengthen, and my wolf races across the small clearing. I crash into Brett before he has a chance to react. With my teeth bared, any remnant of control I once had evaporates. One snap and a twist of my wolf’s head rips out his throat. The copper taste of blood floods my mouth, viscous and choking. I scan the area in time to see the second voice Sofia heard in the form of a black wolf barreling toward me.
Claws extended, he slams into me, slicing into my flesh and knocking me off my first kill of the night. But there’s no room for hesitation, no time for pain to register beyond its feral activation of my need to destroy. I can't pause for anything, not to breathe or feel. The primal instinct to get to my mate is fierce and unyielding. I lunge again, fury and adrenaline propelling me forward.
Sofia’s voice is a muffled noise behind me. Her alpha command bounces off me, completely ineffective. I can’t hear what she’ssaying. I don’t care about her pleas. All that matters is eliminating the threats to my mate and my family.
We come together in a clash of claws and teeth, wild and frantic. My wolf is ferocious and aggressive. My teeth pierce his flank, and I jerk my head, slamming his body across the room. The wolf crumples in a heap, whimpers, and then there’s only silence. I whip around to see Sofia pulling a door open, the other warriors spilling into the building.
Sofia turns to bark orders I can’t discern, but I race past her, tumbling down the stairs in my haste to follow the connection to my mate. A female scream breaks through the red mist of rage.
Maya.
A beta wolf shifter is looming over her supine form, her legs scrambling for purchase as he holds her down. The edges of my vision fade away. My focus pinpoints to the male hurting my female. One solitary thought on my mind: destroy.
Chapter Forty-Four
Maya
