Chapter 38
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. I do hear 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!
I turn to retreat from the path when something large slams into my side, throwing my wolf into the air. My wolf slams into the forest floor. Bruised, but not broken, I begin to rise… until two white wolves close in, circling me.
The one with the missing tip of his right ear shifts. “What do we have here? A trespasser.”
The second wolf shifts into a massive male, larger than the first. “Haven’t smelled a female that good in a long time.” He kicks me lightly in my side. “Shift.”
Slowly, I rise on all four legs, subtly stretching all limbs, preparing to bolt at the first opportunity. But every part of me is sluggish. My wolf’s poured all her energy into running.
The larger male bends down and pushes his hand through my wolf’s fur, at my shoulder. “The wound’s minor. Won’t keep us from having some fun, will it, female? Shift, now. I’m losing my patience.”
I make the mistake of glancing away from him, seeking a path to escape. He backhands me across the face. “Shift!”
With one snap of my jaws, my incisor scrapes his hand. Blood fills my mouth.
The scarred male laughs. “She’s a challenge.”
Anger filling his face, the larger male grabs me by my wounded shoulder. “Shift or suffer.” He squeezes harder and harder. Pain shoots through my shoulder until my growls transform into yelps.
The pressure increases and I’m not sure how long I can hold out. Passing out is the worst thing I can do. Nothing would leave me more vulnerable.
“Keep going,” the scarred male says, his hand going towards his dick. “She’ll break any second and then we’ll have her.”
I’ve been in a similar position before. I may not escape, but I won’t give in either.
I can almost feel Garrett smiling at me, his pride and belief in me giving me the strength to endure the pain, to find a way out no matter the odds. I take a chance, whipping my head to the side and fully sinking my teeth into the hand squeezing my wound.
“Fuck!” His fist flies toward my face, but I don’t release his arm.
A huge set of teeth comes down on that arm before it strikes me. Silver muzzle. One I know.
Ronin.
I release my hold and let Ronin drag the shifter to the ground. The white wolf shifts, even with his forearm in Ronin’s mouth. Behind us, snarls and growls fill the woods. Lars and the scarred white wolf. Has to be.
My wolf pushes just enough energy into calming the pain of my shoulder so I can escape before any of the males return their attention to me.
As I rise to leap into the wood, I see who’s fighting the scarred white wolf… a silver wolf with teal eyes. Garrett!
Sheer fear consumes me when the white wolf’s jaws snap dangerously close to Garrett’s neck. Garrett leaps to avoid, but the landing costs him as the wolf pins him down.
Only one thought enters my mind… sinking my teeth into that asshole.
I lean back on my haunches, ready to spring forward, when a hand grabs me by the scruff of my neck.
“Shift,” the male orders.
Even with the blood surging through my body, I recognize Hayden’s voice as he releases his hold on me. I shift. “He’s going to hurt Garrett!”
“You underestimate your mate.”
I almost say we’re not mates—because we’re not—but that doesn’t matter right now.
“Look,” Hayden says with a definite smirk.
Not only has Garrett escaped the white wolf, he’s clamped his jaws around the wolf’s throat.
“Everyone shift, now,” Hayden orders. “And don’t make me say it twice, Marks and Rusu. You’re in enough shit, given what I saw here.”
Ronin and the white wolf he was fighting both shift, but Garrett remains in wolf form, snarling and flashing his teeth at the three who shifted.
“We caught an intruder,” the massive male says, shoving Ronin towards Hayden.
“You also threatened a female in a way not sanctioned by this pack.”
“You don’t speak for our alpha.”
Hayden grabs him by the throat and slams him against a tree. “I speak for myself.”
“Always so dramatic, Hayden,” a male says as he steps past several trees. The way the two white wolves who trapped me both stand at attention, I’m guessing this latest shifter is their alpha.
The alpha runs his eyes down me. “You do smell delectable, female.”
Garrett’s growl is the only warning anyone gets as his wolf charges at the alpha. Hayden shifts and slams Garrett to the ground, then immediately shifts back. “We discussed this,” he reprimands Garrett, who finally shifts and pushes Hayden off of him.
I race into Garrett’s arms and nearly collapse as everything finally catches up with me. I’m too drained, emotionally and physically, to keep up with whatever is happening here. “Take me home, Garrett,” I whisper as strong arms wrap around me, keeping me safe from the world.
“Soon,” he whispers as he pulls in a deep breath scenting me.
I do the same to him—inhale deeply, seeking familiarity and comfort—but nothing comes.
No scent. The fact that I don’t know his scent the way I should makes my throat tighten.
I want to cry, but can’t. Not here, not in front of all these males. Instead, a whimper escapes my lips.
“Get the fuck away from her!” Ronin grabs my arm and physically tries to steal me from Garrett.
“Touch her again, and I’ll rip your limbs off, one by one, starting with that arm.”
“I’m starting to like you more and more, retriever.”
“He’s not a dog,” I snap at the alpha.
“Temper, temper. You sure you want her, retriever? I don’t think she’s your speed. We can use a female with her fire in my pack.”
“Stay the hell away from her. All of you.”
“We’re done here, Drake,” Hayden says.
“What of the mutt?” The alpha points at Ronin, whose throat remains in Hayden’s grip. “Shall I interrogate him for you, brother?”
“Brother?” I whisper.
“Later,” Garrett says, hinting at me not to ask any questions.
“Where are we?” I can’t help but ask. I need to understand some of this, because despite how mad I am at Ronin, I don’t want to see him killed.
“Novak territory, south of our pack.”
Our pack. Garrett sees me as a part of Damien’s pack, like Ronin believes I’m still part of my birth pack.
I search inside myself and my wolf. We don’t have a pack. We have connections. To both. And neither.
I hug Garrett tighter and whisper, “I need a favor.”
His breath warms my neck as he presses his lips to my ear. “Anything for you, my angel.”
Tears form in my eyes. I thought I’d never hear those words again. I hug him tighter, afraid to let go. “Don’t let them kill Ronin.”
Garrett smooths the hair from my face. “You know this shifter?”
I nod. “He and Lars were taking me home.”
“They kidnapped you,” Garrett points out.
“I know.”
“There’s another one here?” the alpha says, his question directed at me.
Again, I nod. “His name is Lars. A guard from my birth pack. Please don’t kill them.”
“You two,” the alpha points at the two who attacked me. “Find the other intruder, before I claw you for letting a female distract you from protecting my pack!”
The two shifters race into the woods to find Lars.
“Your position in your pack,” Hayden demands of Ronin, his hand still on his throat.
“He’s not here to hurt anyone, Hayden,” I speak up.
“He kidnapped you, Angel,” Garrett repeats.
“Precisely.” Hayden’s bright green eyes drill into Ronin. “Why would you kidnap a female from your own pack?”
“I didn’t kidnap her. I was taking her home.”
“You fucking drugged me, Ronin. You knew I didn’t want to go without talking to Garrett first.”
The light in Garrett’s eyes dim. He thinks I’m leaving him. I cup his cheek. “We have to talk. In private.”
“You’re not going anywhere with him,” Ronin shouts at me, until Hayden’s hand tightens on his throat, silencing him.
“What pack are you?” the alpha asks. When Ronin doesn’t answer, the alpha shifts his hand into a claw and positions it over Ronin’s chest.
Hayden touches the three claw marks on his own chest. “I suggest you answer my brother, Ronin. This is Drake, alpha of the Novak pack. Or didn’t you realize whose territory you invaded when chasing your kidnap victim? Let me give you a hint. Novak clan. We Novaks have a reputation, one we uphold.”
“Fucking white wolves think you’re better than anyone else. You’re the reason the WSSO came after my pack and nearly destroyed us all.”
The alpha, Drake, steps back, a brow raised at Hayden. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”
“The WSSO wiped out a pack in south eastern Idaho a year ago. Garrett rescued Angelina …” he motions to me “…from a WSSO facility two months back. We thought she was the only survivor.”
“That’s what I believed. I’d seen….” I take a huge, calming breath, trying to get the words out, but it’s still too fresh in my mind.
Garrett’s hand lands on my back and suddenly I find the strength to finish talking.
“I’d seen all the bodies of… of my pack…
before the humans captured me. I thought everyone had been killed. ”
“That’s what we let the world believe. So the WSSO wouldn’t search for us and find our new location.”
“Why kidnap Angel?” Garrett asks, the growl in his voice barely contained.
Ronin glares not at Garrett, but at me, sending a message that makes my stomach drop. “My alpha promised her to me.” His eyes lock on mine. “Angelina’s my fiancée.”