Drew and Parker have stayed together since stepping into the trees. I have followed from a small distance, but I'm not the only one. They are the focus of more than one group of wolves who have decided to make this a team assignment. A pair of she-wolves are following from the right, and Billings's trio is somewhere to the left.
I am torn. Protecting Drew and Parker isn't something my human emotions are interested in, but my wolf is seething in her possession. If one of the female wolves gets close enough to give Drew so much as a thorough sniff, she will attack and there are no rules regarding predators attacking predators. I don't know if that was an intentional oversight, but it is a fact that will be utilized tonight if it becomes necessary. She is also deeply offended that a member of the pack that was supposed to be rightfully hers is being hunted. I have reminded her multiple times that we are not Luna of Pack Cross, but she doesn't care. She's possessive and territorial and intensely protective, everything she's meant to be as Luna; and she refuses to listen to facts or reason. As far as she's concerned, both Drew and Parker are hers to protect tonight and my feelings about that don't seem to matter.
Don't pretend you want something bad to happen to either of them,she says with endless patience.
That doesn't mean I want to spend the night babysitting them, I counter.
A branch pops on the right and I watch Drew and Parker exchange a look and position themselves back to back between two trees up ahead. For some reason I thought the pair on the left would make the first move. All movement dies as we all wait.
I need to be closer.
Another snap sounds from the left and I have a second to read the scene before I rip through the brush to barrel into the pair on the right who are suddenly much closer than I realized. We roll in a tangle of fur and snarling teeth, each of them clawing and snapping to force me to back off.
That's not happening.
Chapter Twenty
Cross
The fight is vicious. I can't tell exactly where it's coming from. A steady chorus of chilling growls bounces from tree to tree and echoes all around us. A high-pitched yelp rips through the air, followed by another menacing snarl. There are more than two wolves fighting. It sounds like at least half a dozen.
A branch snaps from somewhere in the opposite direction and Parker and I turn to exchange a look. We're surrounded. I don't care about being caught. That's the point of this exercise. I don'twant to lose and I definitely don't want to be the first ones captured, but if that fight tells me anything, it's that we shouldn't be wearing these collars.
“Stay behind me,” Parker says.
“No,” I scoff. “We stand together.”
“It's my job to protect you,” he insists.
“We're not supposed to be in real danger,” I remind him.
“That,” he says, jutting his chin toward the fighting, “sounds dangerous enough. Let's go back, call it a night.”
The fight intensifies and then goes abruptly and eerily silent. Another sound comes from further in the forest, followed by a low howl.
“I don't think that's an option,” I tell him. “We need to get these things off.” My wolf, who has been completely silent since we got to Recovery, is pacing inside me, growing angrier by the second, snapping his teeth and muttering the wordsdefenselessandidiotover and over.
Something moves in the forest, coming closer, not hiding their approach. Parker angles his body in front of mine and I let him because now isn't the time to argue over who protects who. Seconds pass while we wait for someone to appear from the brush nearest or from the trees further out.
The distinct sound of shifting comes from the brush and then Eugenia steps out into the opening, furious and breathing hard. She doesn't even look at me. She marches straight to Parker and holds out her hand.
“What?” he asks.
“Give me your shirt,” she barks. “Now.”
“Why? Nobody cares about your tits.”
She glares at him. “We don't have time for you to be a dick right now, Parker. There is a group of three males closing in on you. We need to go back. Give me your fucking shirt.”
“Here,” I say, reaching for my hem. “Take mine.” I actually do care about her tits. I am wholly unprepared to see her naked body, much less walk through this forest with her.
Her eyes land on me long enough to travel down my body in pure disgust before she goes back to ignoring me. “Parker.” She holds her hand out again, waving her fingers expectantly.
He sighs but takes off his shirt and hands it to her. “What are you even doing? You have a better chance of fending them off in wolf form.”
“You and Drew are capturing me. We're going back. We need to go.” She pauses to shove the shirt over her head. “Right now. Blow your whistle or whatever they told you to do.”
Parker looks at me, confusion raising his brows. “Whistle?” he asks.
