As he sat there, the rage that had been slowly building since he had first seen Eric looming over Amber through a window surged, finally overflowing. His jaw tightened. That fucker needed to answer for what he had done. He needed to be brought to justice.
No matter what, he was going to make that asshole pay.
***
The next day, while he was in the pack house pretending to work, while in reality thinking about all the things he was going to do to Eric when he got hold of the asshole, his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, then snatched up his phone.
“Isaac?” he said without letting his old colleague say anything. “What’s up?”
“One of them has crawled out of the woodwork again,” Isaac answered.
Cillian straightened, his grip on the phone tightening. “Who?” he demanded, already hoping it was Eric. After last night and hearing Amber’s scream, he wanted nothing more than to tear that bastard to shreds. That vendetta he had held for the entire Night Pack was still alive and well, but his hatred for Eric had mutated into something stronger, more potent.
“Chase.”
It took a moment for his mind to focus on the right face. Dark crew cut, tiny eyes, and a scar that ran from his ear along his jaw and down his neck. Chase. Another higher-up who had managed to wriggle out of the noose.
“Where?” Cillian asked.
“Not too far from you, as far as I can tell,” Isaac said. “Midnight Pack.”
“You’re the best,” Cillian said. “Thanks.”
He hung up. Without wasting any time, he pulled up the map on his computer. The pack Isaac had mentioned wasn’t too far away. Maybe an hour or so, traveling as a wolf. Cillian had run further than that on an injured leg back when he was in the military.
He pushed himself from his desk and began to gather his belongings, mentally rattling off everything he would need. Just as he was about to leave his office, he paused. For a moment, he wondered if he should call the others. Camden, Franco, and Jasper would all help the second he called them. But that would take too long. They were all out on patrol or working their own leads. He was on a deadline, and if he lost Chase, then his best chance at getting hold of Eric would be gone, and who knewwhen they would get another opportunity like this. He couldn’t wait.
His mind went back to Amber the night before, how frightened she had been. His fingers curled into fists. The thought that anyone could elicit that terror in someone so strong sent rage rushing through him. He was going to find Eric and make him regret ever meeting Amber. And Chase was the next step to finding out where Eric was and what his plans were.
He shoved himself away from his desk and stalked off.
***
After running at an all-out sprint, it took just over fifty minutes to reach the Midnight Pack. The pack itself was small, and it took a surprisingly short amount of time for him to catch sight of Chase strolling through town. Cillian followed in his human form, keeping enough distance between them to remain unnoticed.
It wasn’t until they had dipped into the woods and moved away from the town that Chase suddenly stopped in the middle of a clearing. Without warning, he spun and lunged toward Cillian, who darted out of the way of the other shifter’s surprise attack.
Chase snarled, glaring at him. “Who the fuck are you?” he growled. “You’ve been following me since town.”
“No one you need to worry about,” Cillian said. “You’re not going to have the time to wonder about it, anyway.”
Chase’s eyes narrowed. “Bold talk,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Do you have anything to back it up with?”
Instead of answering, Cillian lunged. As he ran, he shifted into a large wolf. Chase had just enough time to widen his eyesin surprise, then dart out of the way seconds before Cillian would have landed on his shoulders.
“So, it’s going to be like that, then,” Chase snarled. A second later, Chase was gone, replaced by a great black wolf even larger than Cillian. He snapped at Cillian’s leg when he tried to come close, a warning bite that caused Cillian to step back. Snarling, Chase bared his teeth.
Rage burned through Cillian. Rage at the Night Pack, at Chase, and that lingering anger at Eric. He used that anger, channeling it into his fight to fuel the fire and keep going.
But that rage came at a cost. He was too distracted. He wasn’t focusing. That anger kept distracting him, making him less focused, less precise. If Chase noticed those tiny imprecisions, he would capitalize on them.
When Cillian found his opportunity, he lunged. He shoved Chase to the ground and slammed his paw down on the other wolf’s throat. He pressed down, threatening to crush it at any moment.
The wolf gaped, writhing. A second later, the wolf was gone, replaced by Chase, who grasped at Cillian’s paw as it morphed from claws to a hand still gripping Chase’s neck.
“Tell me where Eric is,” Cillian said. “And I might actually let you live.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Chase spat. Then he shifted back into a wolf and lunged. Cillian darted back, morphing into a wolf at the same time, but it was too late. Chase was on top of him.
