Shattered Wolf

4

“I don’t know. Mom gave me a list of errands to run with you today, so I didn’t check anything.” She took out her cell phone and mashed some buttons. “It’s been on media outlets since…yesterday morning.”

Sirens sounded in my head. Our pack’s disappearance couldn’t be a coincidence. Humans were broadcasting about the terror they’d experienced at the hands of supernaturals, and the scent of a lot of humans surrounded the pack neighborhood. That asshole had led them here.

But how would anyone even know about this pack and this location? And if humans had taken PawPaw and his pack, what in the world did they want them for? Every plausible answer I could come up with made my heart stutter.

No. I wouldn’t allow panic to overwhelm me, not when people I loved might be in danger. I’d been trained for this. I had to remain rational and determine the best course of action based on the limited information I had.

My mind was fixed on the only fact I could cling to. If the pack had been taken, the people who’d kidnapped them could come back. If Heather and I were still here when they came, we might be taken, too, and there was no telling when someone else would discover we were missing.

I stood, the hairs on the back of my neck rising. “We’ve got to go.”

“What?” Heather’s mouth dropped. “Why? And…where?”

That was a loaded question, but there was a clear answer: “To my pack.”

“But my parents. My brother. My pack.” She jumped to her feet and clenched her hands. “Your grandparents and your mom! We can’t just leave them.”

“You’re right.” I had no intention of leaving them, but we couldn’t be stupid. “Whoever convinced them to leave or took them managed to get everyone out of here, including the kids, without anyone linking with us. How are the two of us supposed to go up against that?”

She scoffed and crossed her arms. “You’re a silver wolf.”

“Something that no one is supposed to know,” I said. The one condition of me coming to stay here had been for PawPaw to alpha-will the entire pack to keep my heritage secret. “And the moon is waning. Every day, my power will grow weaker. Beyond that, even if I were at full capacity, I’m still one silver wolf.”

Rubbing her temples, Heather closed her eyes. “I…I just don’t want to leave. It’s like I’m abandoning them.”

My heart thawed. I understood how she felt. “We aren’t. We’re getting reinforcements.” If I trusted in anything, it was my pack. They’d come through for me…at least, what was left of them. With all the turmoil that had happened in Shadow City while I was gone, we’d lost so many members. But I did believe Sterlyn and Cyrus wouldn’t stand in the way of helping Mom and the others; they had to be good people for Dad to have given up his life for them. “Otherwise, we’ll just be offering ourselves up to whomever took them.”

She blew out a breath. “You’re right. It’s just…how will your pack react to me coming with you? You silver wolves have always been so secretive. They won’t be happy with me rolling up.”

A hardened laugh escaped me. “Apparently, they aren’t worried about it anymore. They were just on television.”

“What?” Her head turned toward the dark TV. “All I saw was an angel and that sexy-ass man.”

A growl almost escaped me, taking me by surprise. I’d never reacted to anything so strongly, and to feel possessive over a handsome guy who’d told the world about us was even more ridiculous. He’d done so much damage, and if he was the reason my grandparents were missing, I’d find him and deal with him as well.

The anger I’d worked so hard to keep at bay swirled inside me. To calm myself, I began humming Debussy’s “Clair de lune.” Once my breathing had slowed, I said, “Come on. Let’s go.” The longer we stayed here, the more on edge I got.

I placed PawPaw’s phone on the ground and put the cover back over it. Then I turned the TV on and muted the volume. After placing the remote on the end table where it had been before, the two of us rushed out the front door. I paused to shut the door.

“What are you doing?” Heather murmured. “We need to get out of here.”

Turning, I headed toward her truck. “I don’t want anything to look different. If whoever was behind this comes back, they could notice things were moved. We don’t need them to know they missed some of us.”

She rubbed her arms and hurried to the driver’s side. “Yeah, okay. I’ll feel better once we get out of here.”

I reached the passenger door and glanced back at my grandparents’ cabin one last time. I didn’t want to leave, but I’d just explained all the reasons we needed to. Teeth gritted, I forced myself to open the car door. The creak sounded even louder this time, and I quickly jumped into the vehicle. At least that had gotten me moving.

Heather started the engine, the sound deafening. She pressed on the gas and peeled out of the parking spot to head back down the curving gravel road.

“So…where do I go?” Heather asked as she navigated, not bothering to turn on the headlights.

Good question—one for which I, unfortunately, didn’t have the answer. My pack had relocated, and I’d left before learning about the new location. I couldn’t pack link with them because they were too far away. “They’re near Chattanooga, so head in that direction. I’ll text Chad to get an address.” I typed out a message and sent it to him.

“Chad, huh?” She tightened her grip on the wheel. “You talk about him a lot.”

I kept the phone in my hand, knowing it wouldn’t take Chad long to answer me. “He’s like a brother to me. We grew up together in the same home. If there were feelings between us, they would’ve surfaced a long time ago.”

“But you’ve never been apart from each other like you have the past several months.” She lifted a brow.

“Seriously, it’s not like that.” My phone buzzed, and I was thankful for the distraction. “Can we not talk about this right now? We have more pressing matters. And will you turn on the lights? We don’t need to draw any more attention to ourselves.” I hated talking about myself, especially when it came to the men I cared about.

“Sorry. I’m just trying to distract myself from…” She grimaced as she flipped on the headlights before we turned onto the paved road.

As we picked up speed, a black van drove past us, heading in the direction we’d come. As I glanced behind us to see if they’d passed the turnoff to the pack houses, they slammed on their brakes.

A drunk tourist who’d gotten lost?

My phone buzzed again. I read the text quickly, not wanting to worry Chad more than I already had.

It’s about damn time you came home, J. But why in the middle of the night?

I didn’t want to share with him like this, but I didn’t want to lie, so I gave him a brief synopsis of everything that had happened.

He responded immediately. We’re in Shadow Ridge with the local pack. I’ll send you the address. Get here, and we’ll decide the next steps.

After a second, I received the address. I plugged it into my map and started the GPS. “They’re less than three hours away.”

Heather sighed. “Yeah, but it still doesn’t feel right leaving.”

I had to admit that part of me agreed.

Bright lights shone in the rearview mirror. They were coming up fast. I spun around, and reality crashed over me. It was the same van that had passed us…and they had no plans of stopping.