Page 36 of Hunted Ink

With the route marked on a paper map laid out on the passenger seat, I climbed into my truck. With Pater watching my every move, I hadn’t had a chance to grab my phone to text Kedi, but if I hurried, maybe I could still get back in time to make it to the run later.

“Drive safe,” Pater said with a wave that I returned. Something didn’t feel quite right about this whole scenario, but what was I supposed to do about it?

The sun was already sinking toward the horizon, so I hit the highway at full speed. My nerves had me tapping my foot, clenching the steering wheel. My wolf was pacing. Neither of us liked being so far from our mate on the full moon, especially when he was so close to giving birth.

An hour later, I pulled up at a small cabin, and just as instructed, there was a box waiting for me on the porch. There was nothing particularly special about the box, no markings on it at all, taped shut with a strip of duct tape. It was heavy, and when I gave it a shake, it rattled a little. Shrugging, I tossed it onto the floor in the passenger side then got back on the road.

It was fully dark by the time I got back to the compound, and all was quiet. The other vehicles were all gone, which was surprising. Usually only the hunters drove out, but it seemed the elders had as well.

An eerie chill crept across my skin as I jogged up the steps and into the house. “Hello?”

I heard quiet voices in the back, and when I emerged in the kitchen, I found Alastor and Loki washing the dinner dishes. “Hey, where is everybody?” I asked, setting Pater’s package on the counter.

The two boys exchanged a glance. “They had some big hunt planned,” Alastor said warily. “They all left.”

I felt like my veins had turned to rivers of ice, the ground unsteady beneath my feet. “All of them?”

He nodded, biting his lip.

“What is it? Where did they go?” I growled, balling my hands into fists at my sides and feeling my extended claws pierce my palms. My beast surged to the surface, our pulse pounding in our head, gums aching as our canines lengthened. “Tell me!”

The boys flinched back, eyes huge. “Th-They didn’t tell us!” Alastor stuttered, his shoulders hiking up to his ears, and the kitchen reeked like their fear. But then Loki steeled his spine and stepped forward.

He lifted his chin, a defiant glint in his eyes. “We weren’t supposed to be listening, but I heard them say—” Alastor tried to shush him, but he blurted out, “Cedar Lake.” And just like that, my world stopped spinning.

Oh gods, I was going to be sick.

“They went… to Cedar Lake,” I repeated, though my voice was barely audible past the ringing in my ears.

Loki nodded, his chin wobbling. “They had guns.”

I blinked hard, trying to get a hold of my reeling thoughts long enough to come up with a plan. “How long?” I asked, staggering back a step. “How long ago did they leave?”

“An hour,” Loki said.

Without making a conscious decision, I turned, legs numb, and stumbled toward my room. I had to call Kedi, had to tell them to get the hell out of there. Maybe it wasn’t too late.

I threw my mattress aside, searching for my phone in a panicked frenzy. “Where is it… Where is it?!” I tore the blankets apart, then dropped to my knees to see if it had fallen behind the bed somehow. But then a sinking realization fell over me like a suffocating fog. I wasn’t going to find my phone because it wasn’t here…

“No, no, no,” I moaned, running back to the kitchen where I’d left Pater’s package. I tore the tape from the top of the box and pulled back the cardboard flaps, only to find the inside was filled with rocks. Fucking rocks!

This whole time I thought I’d been so clever, pulling the wool over his eyes, undermining him and the Order. Meanwhile, he’d always been on to me. He was just waiting for the right moment to make his move.

And that text from Kedi handed them exactly what he’d been waiting for… a location for where the entire pack would be. So he sent me away on an errand, one he said could only be entrusted to me.

My mate… My unborn child… And no way to warn them.

“Loki?” I shouted, only for the boy to peek around the doorframe, nervous but curious. “You need to gather the boys, all of them, and I need you to get them out of here. Dress warmly and take only what you can carry. You need to be gone before the elders get back.” I didn’t know where to send them, and I felt like I’d failed them. I should’ve planned for this. “There’s a mechanic in the city, his name is Trey…” I began, scribbling down directions to Kedi’s work. “You can trust him, okay?” I had to hope that was true. Kedi had told me how he had a soft spot for orphans and misfits.

He nodded hard enough that his hair flopped. “Good boy,” I said, giving him a quick hug before I ran for the door, urgency and responsibility tugging me in two different directions. I wanted to rescue these boys myself, but there were more lives in my hands than I knew how to handle, and if I didn’t go now, those lives would be lost.

The interior of my truck still held traces of warmth, and the engine roared loudly in the clearing as I spun the wheel hard, gravel kicking out from behind the wheels. I was eternally grateful for the great job Kedi had done fixing up my truck. I barely slowed down as I turned onto the highway, and as soon as the tires hit pavement, I had the pedal pushed all the way to the floor. Fuck speed limits. I’d love to see a cop catch me now.

The drive to Cedar Lake took me half the time it normally would, but it still wasn’t fast enough. Ahead, I saw a line of the Order’s vehicles parked on the gravel shoulder, and I came to a sliding stop behind them. Hopping down from my truck, I hurried forward, checking for anyone who might’ve been left behind, but nothing. I slapped my hand down on the hood of the nearest truck and held my breath.

Still warm, my wolf said, echoing my thoughts.

We’re not too late, I said, willing it to be true as I ripped off my clothes. Now, find our mate, I begged him as I let him take over.