Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Solan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove to the dealership.
He’d gotten word early that morning that the overnight crew—two security team members—had been on patrol at the dealership and had noticed several vehicles in the lot had been tampered with.
The gas tanks of a handful of new vehicles had been filled with sand.
They’d seen no evidence of people in the lot overnight, and the security alarms for the lot and building hadn’t been tripped.
Solan had dropped Kaeli off at the alphas’ house to work on her magic with Cinder. Adam was in the truck with Solan, along with Theron, Mira’s gryphon brother, and Joey, one of the security team members.
“I just don’t get it,” Adam said.
“Which part?” Solan asked. “That they went after the dealership again or that the alarms didn’t go off?”
“Both,” he said, letting out a frustrated grunt. “Why would Foley mess with the dealership again?”
“I think that’s the million-dollar question,” Solan answered.
He was frustrated by what happened, but mainly because he had to leave Kaeli so abruptly. They’d gotten called out of bed before dawn so he could deal with this, so he hadn’t even gotten to sex her up before the day started, which he’d planned to do.
“She’s safe at the house, you know,” Adam said.
“I know, I just don’t like being away from her.” They’d just met two days ago, but he felt like they’d been together much longer, and he suspected it was because they were marked mates.
“No mated males like being away from their mates, but it’s still new for you, so that’s probably why you’re so grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy,” Solan said. “Just annoyed by Foley.”
He thought over the situation. Firstly, how had they moved around the lot without the alarms going off to alert the security members, and secondly, why had they targeted the vehicles again?
The last attack came with slashed tires on every single vehicle in the lot.
It had been a devastating blow to the business, but they’d recovered as quickly as they could.
Did the anti-shifter humans just want to keep messing with them?
He looked in the rearview at the convoy of vehicles behind them, his wolf rumbling in annoyance. What the hell was the point?
And then something prickled in his mind.
What was the point?
“Last time Foley messed with the dealership, everyone showed up,” Solan said.
“Yeah,” Adam said.
“So maybe he messed with the alarm system, and his people worked fast so our guys wouldn’t notice what they did until it was done. And maybe…the point is to bring a lot of us to one place. Out in the open.”
“Oh shit,” Adam said. He lifted a walkie up and clicked the button. “It’s a trap! Return to the pack territory!”
The roar of engines cut off Adam’s command as a line of vehicles headed toward them, swerving into their lane. “Shit!” Solan jerked the wheel, avoiding a head-on collision, the truck lurching onto the shoulder, the back careening wildly.
Solan slammed on the brakes and pulled to a stop. “Out!” Adam barked.
They hit the ground running as the attacking vehicles fanned out on the roadway, doors opening and males flooding out holding weapons and yelling obscenities.
A dozen males, armed with knives and sparking cattle prods, moved toward the wolves as they joined Solan, Adam, and the others. Behind the row of humans, two males climbed onto the top of the vans and pointed large rifles at them.
Solan saw the glint of tranq darts on straps across their chests and snarled a warning to his people.
With a howl, the wolves moved forward. Solan met the first human male head-on, slamming a fist into his stomach and jerking the knife from his grip.
He swung the male away from him and stabbed the male attacking a pack mate, sinking the blade into his side.
The male jerked away and stumbled toward their vehicles, trying to pull the blade from his side.
The next male rushed Solan with a cattle prod, and with two quick punches to his face, Solan broke his nose and disarmed him, the prod flying as he tossed it away.
A male flew over his head, landing on the hood of one of their vehicles, hard enough to dent the metal.
Solan saw the males with the tranq guns lift them to fire, and he lunged at Adam, pulling him out of the way as darts embedded in the dirt where he’d been standing.
“Take cover!” Solan yelled.
A prod embedded in Solan’s shoulder, and pain seared through him. He stumbled, but the male followed, digging the prod deeper into his shoulder and making his muscles lock as pain swamped him.
His blood roared in his ears as he heard the whistle of darts and Theron grunting in pain, but he couldn’t get away from the prod that seemed to be searing him from the inside out.
He dropped to one knee and gasped for air.
And then the ground shook beneath him.
Heat rose from the ground as if it were lit by invisible flames. The air shimmered like hot asphalt on a summer day.
Kaeli.
He could feel her like she was right there beside him, wild and terrified and fucking furious. Her power lashed out, seemingly through him, and a heat wave slammed outward, knocking the nearest attackers off their feet. Cattle prods and knives dropped to the ground.
The male who’d shocked Solan tried to crawl away, but Solan rose to his feet with a roar and grabbed him by the back of the shirt, tossing him toward the vehicles.
The humans raced for their vehicles. The roadway cleared quickly, and only pack members were left behind.
“Shit, Theron’s hit!” Joey shouted.
They found the male passed out, with a dart embedded in his shoulder.
Solan pressed his fingers to his throat and felt his pulse beating steadily. “Let’s get him back to the pack for healing,” he said.
“Half the team goes to the dealership,” Adam ordered. “Get to the bottom of why they were able to get through the security system. The rest of you follow me back to the pack. I want patrols doubled.”
They gathered their passed-out friend and put him in the back of the truck. Solan drove Adam and Theron to the pack territory with several other vehicles following, while the others went to investigate the dealership.
“You know what’s strange?” Adam asked, his voice edged with anger.
“That Kaeli saved me when she wasn’t around?”
“Well, yes. That was fucking cool. But it’s strange that the only darts those males fired were at Theron and me.”
“That is strange,” Solan said. His mind spun.
Tranq darts were new for Foley. But they weren’t new to people who hunted. It was a common weapon for shifter hunters because they could be used from a distance.
“Take you to use as bait?” Solan asked.
“Maybe, or maybe just take me out. But Theron’s a gryphon. What if someone knows there are gryphons in Thorn Hollow? That would mean Foley and Hawthorne are working together again.”
“And Hawthorne brought reinforcements.”
They both went quiet as they thought over the implications.
Victor Hawthorne made a living capturing unique shifters to sell on the black market.
He’d previously joined forces with Foley when albino wolf Sadie had found her mate in Gavin, one of the tigers.
But word had spread that Hawthorne was up in the wilds of Canada and had broken ties with Foley.
“If they’re working together again, it means that no one is safe. Not the gryphons because they’re unique and not the wolves because Foley just wants us all dead,” Solan said.
“Drive faster, man,” Adam said. “I need to see for myself that Cinder is safe.”
Solan nodded and put his foot to the floor, the engine roaring as they hurried toward Thorn Hollow and their precious mates.