22. Lynx
LYNX
“You’re not going.” I put my hand on Cal’s chest when he tries to get up. Again. “No.” I consider ordering him to stay put. I don’t want to, but the fucker won’t stay down. “You almost died , Cal. It takes more than twelve hours to come back from that, even for us.”
He grimaces at the reminder, but it’s like I’m talking to a brick wall. “You need me. I’m the only one he’ll talk to.”
And fuck’s sake, he has a point.
Lives depend on Cal’s contact remaining a secret. More than just Morgan’s, but he’s all I can think about right now. “Will he meet with me if you vouch for me?”
“Maybe if you came with me to start with, but he’s not about to meet up with a stranger. Would you?”
“No.” I stand and pace at the side of Cal’s bed. “ Fuck .”
“Look. We know he’s not with the FBs. We’ve had eyes on them ever since Morgan and the others went missing.
” Without me watching him like a hawk, Cal manages to push himself into a sitting position.
He can’t hide the pain though. “If you want to get him back,” he says softly. “You need to let me do this.”
Of course I want him back. I fucking need him back. But I won’t risk my brother, my beta to do it.
“It’s dangerous.”
“I know the risks.”
I give up pacing and sit on the side of his bed again. “What if this time they follow him, or they find out somehow and it’s a trap?”
Cal shrugs, immediately wincing when it pulls on the healing wound in his chest.
I want to slap him but keep my hands to myself. Instead, I give him a pointed look.
“I didn’t say it wouldn’t hurt.” He rubs gently over where the knife went in. “But this is the only lead we have. It might not give us anything, but what the fuck else do we do?”
I run a hand through my hair, frustrated and angry, because he’s right about that too. We lost track of them in the forest. The van already gone by the time I sent my pack after them. I don’t regret saving Cal, not for a fucking second, but knowing I let them take Morgan... it burns .
“We have more than enough reason to think Fox is involved with the fight rings. And that Birch is working for Fox in some capacity.” He grabs my hand and waits for me to look at him.
“Morgan is a liability for Birch and Fox. If you were Fox and you had a newly turned shifter to get rid of, wouldn’t you try and make money off him first?
We know from Nico how popular they are.”
I can’t stop the growl that erupts from me, don’t even try. The very fucking idea of Morgan fighting another shifter while those motherfuckers bet on the outcome... it makes me want to break everything in sight.
“Let me do this,” he urges, squeezing my hand until the rage subsides. “It’s all we have.”
The wait for Cal to return are some of the longest hours of my fucking life.
I’m on my own at the small clearing because no one can bear to be around me right now. I don’t blame them. As I lean against the old tree, listening for the telltale rumble of Cal’s bike, rage ripples through my body in steady waves.
I’ve shifted twice.
Didn’t fucking help.
Probably made things worse if anything.
I’ve got my eyes closed when I hear someone approaching. They’re not bothering to be quiet about it, so I don’t bother opening my eyes. Seconds later I catch their scent. “Should you be up and about?”
Mal shrugs. “Corey gave me the all-clear.”
I glance over at him. “You pick the short fucking straw?”
“Hardly.” He shakes his head and settles on the ground beside me.
“I’m in a fucked-up place right now.”
“I know that.”
“I’m so full of rage and...” I let out a roar that scatters whatever wildlife remained.
Apart from a slight twitch, Mal doesn’t react. “Understandable.”
“Everyone’s avoiding me like the fucking plague.” I glance down, surprised to see claws. I hold my hands out as evidence. “For good reason.”
Mal sighs. “Doesn’t matter if you get a little ragey. Or violent. We’ll all heal.” He gives me a gentle nudge with his shoulder. “You’re our president and alpha. If we can’t be there for you when everything goes to shit, what fucking use are we?”
I’m speechless.
Not for the reasons he probably thinks. I shove my thigh against his, needing more contact.
“There has never been a time when I’ve doubted it.
Or any of you, but—” I grit my teeth as I think about Cal out there injured and alone.
About Morgan, newly shifted in the hands of fucking Birch.
My body ripples as the need to shift tugs at me again, that pull to give in to the wolf inside me and let out all the anger, the rage, the frustration.
.. I fight it with everything I have, because I’m fucking terrified if I let go this time, I won’t make it back.
“It’s okay.” Mal’s hand slides into mine and holds on tight, not letting go even when my claws sink deep into his skin. “We’ve got you.”
I don’t understand at first until I’m hit with a barrage of familiar scents.
Flint, Beth, Jet.
“You can shift if you need to,” Beth says, taking my other hand. “We’ll keep you grounded.”
Surrounded by the people I trust most in this world, I finally give in and let my wolf take over.
True to their word, they shift with me, not letting me out of their sight.
And when I tip my head back and howl out every fucking feeling barrelling through my body, it’s met with three answering howls and a feline roar.
We’re a pile of fur and claws when I finally hear the noise I’ve been waiting for.
I just hope he brings good news.
“Thought they were leaving town?” Jet growls.
It’s the same car that Grey and Beck used the last time they were here. I wonder who’s in it this time.
The five of us watch the black SUV crawl through the gates and make its way towards us.
“Whatever they want, they’ll have to deal with Callum because I’m not waiting around.
” We don’t have time to piss about with whatever hunter nonsense this is.
Cal’s informant gave us information about a special fight ring happening tonight.
I’m praying to the fucking Goddess that they’ve taken Morgan there, because otherwise we’ve got nothing.
The car comes to a stop about fifteen feet away, and Tanner Grey gets out of the driver’s side.
“Fuck’s sake.” Jet turns his back on him, fiddling with something on his bike. Pretty sure he’s fiddling with nothing because Beth gave all our bikes a thorough once-over about an hour ago.
“Harper,” Grey calls, leaning on his door. “I know where you’re going.”
I really fucking doubt that. “Oh?” I cross my arms, waiting to hear where he thinks that is. I also keep an eye on the passenger door. The windows are tinted enough that even with my eyesight I can’t see inside. Can’t imagine Grey came all the way out here on his own though.
“You’re gonna try and find the fight ring.”
Well, fuck me.
I have zero chance of hiding my shock, so I don’t even bother. “How the fuck did you know that?”
His grim smile makes me think he knows a lot more than just our destination.
“I’ve been doing a little digging into Fox.”
“Okay.” He’s going to need to give me more than that.
“We know about the fight rings,” he says. “But?—”
“Then why don’t you fucking stop them?” Jet snaps, giving up on his bike. “Shifters are dying .”
“I know,” Grey’s voice softens. “They always seem to be a step ahead of us.” His gaze swings from Jet to me. “Any information you have would help us catch whoever’s responsible.”
Yeah, there’s no way I’m giving up our contact. “Fox is involved.”
“You have proof?”
None that I can share. I can’t tell him about Nico without explaining how he came to be here. The fight rings might be illegal, but we’ve killed humans to rescue shifters from them. I have no illusions about what the hunters will think of that. “No.”
He doesn’t look all that surprised about any of it. When I say as much, he shrugs.
“I have my reasons to suspect him.” He raises an eyebrow, and I know he’s not going to give me anything more while I’m unwilling to share.
And I don’t have time for this shit.
“As fun as this is, we have to go.” I gesture behind me towards the house. “Callum’s inside if you want to continue this conversation. But we’re off.”
“Let me come with you.” There’s determination in his voice, but it’s the hint of desperation that makes me tilt my head and study him closer. His fingers curl around the edge of the door and it registers that he’s come here alone.
“They don’t know you’re here, do they?” I could be asking about Fox or the rest of the Silver Blades—he doesn’t ask for clarification.
“No.”
“Why?”
He bites his lip, indecision colouring his scent. I wonder if this is his line in the sand.
I raise my eyebrows and tap my wrist. Tick-tock .
“They don’t believe me,” he says quickly. “But I know that fucker’s involved. Me and Beck went to their house for a meeting, and I overheard Fox talking to someone on the phone when he thought we’d left.”
“What did he say?”
“Something about a new addition to the programme. Something extra special that’ll get the crowd going.” He grimaces. “Beck thinks I’ve got it wrong, but I know what I heard.”
It has to be Morgan.
“Is it one of your people?” His gaze flicks between the five of us, cataloguing who might be missing. “Where’s Morgan?”
The question catches me off guard. I’m too slow to school my reaction and he fucking sees it for the admission it is.
Grey frowns. “Humans don’t fight in the rings.”
“Not as far as I’m aware, no.”
I can almost see the wheels working in his head.
Before he can get any ideas about turning me in to the council, I do something I never thought I’d do.
Despite all the shit they’ve done, I’ve never once considered ratting them out to the council.
But biting Morgan erased any shifter loyalty I felt towards the FBs.
I don’t give a shit anymore. “Birch bit him. Then fucked off with him in a van.”
That shocks him.
Grey stares, opens his mouth, then closes it again. “Let me come,” he says finally. “I can help you.”