“We have a deal then.”
“Only after she’s safe. Where is she?” Hayden asks.
“My males don’t have her… yet. It appears they’re chasing a female on our eastern border.”
I advance on the alpha, then stop short beside Hayden. “They fucking better not touch her.”
“It’s not for you to say what my guards should or shouldn’t do to a trespasser, Black.”
Yes, he definitely knows who I am. But I don’t give a shit. Angel’s my only concern.
“She was taken. From town.”
“Not by my shifters. She trespassed on our land, from the highway. Don’t worry,little Damien…” He pauses, looks me over then locks eyes. “I thinkretrieverfits you better. As I was saying, don’t worry, they’ll catch the female soon enough… if they haven’t already.
My wolf snarls at the insult, but staying here fighting with a dick of an alpha accomplishes nothing.
Angel’s out there.
In trouble.
I don’t wait for permission. I shift and run, pouring everything I have into my legs as I head for their eastern border.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ANGEL
The screeching of cars swerving to miss me throws my wolf into a heightened state of alert as I leap from the highway, over the guardrail, and into the woods. I have no clue where we are, only that we can’t slow down or Ronin and Lars will catch me.
With the thick canopy of trees above, I can’t even see the sun to know which way lies Garrett’s pack.Evade first, then worry about getting home. Those had been his words, in case I ever found myself being pursued.
Again.
I can’t believe I’m in this position.Again.
Ronin won’t kill me, so there is that comfort, but the very thought of being taken from Garrett, of never seeing him again… that is scarier than death.
Every move, every mile I run, makes the road burn from the highway hurt worse. The throbbing pain and raw skin on my cheek and shoulder pull my focus when I need it most. All those weeks of training, and I’m still letting my panic control me.
I should be scenting for Ronin and Lars, staying upwind of them, but my nose is useless. I didn’t scent Ronin in that store, not to mention Lars sneaking up behind me in the alley. What the hell is wrong with me?
Flashes of looking for my missing boot, failing at Garrett’s scenting tests, fuck… I never scented Alex’s excitement as he walked onto the ice…. I could have prevented that near-disaster had I been able to scent properly!
A howl nearby—Ronin’s!—rips me from my revelation and returns me to the cold-harsh reality that I’m in the middle of woods I don’t recognize, with shifters chasing me. And they’re coordinating their hunt.
Another howl echoes around me, this one much closer.
Higher ground. I need a vantage point to plot my path.
No, I need to cover my tracks. How? Streams, rocks, downed trees… I see nothing nearby that can help me.
Vary your direction.It’s a valid tactic, Angel. Don’t discount the obvious.
Garrett’s words hit strong. I can keep changing direction. But which way? I don’t smell water nearby. Idohear the rushing water of a stream or river.
I break right and pour my energy into longer strides, hoping to put more distance between me and that last howl. There’s a path here, something I did not expect.
Paths are deadly! Get off the path!
