Chapter 46
Slater
I spend all day Sunday preparing mentally and physically for the game on Monday. I make sure to do enough to wear myself out, so I can sleep well tonight. It’s late, and I’m preparing to climb into bed when Zane reaches out.
Slate, I think we’ve got a problem.
I go still. What’s wrong?
I think Sam might have been here.
My gut tightens, and I’m already getting dressed. Why?
I smell a scent lingering. I think. I need your nose to confirm.
Tessa? I ask.
She’s safe. She’s in bed, asleep. She doesn’t know anything. I was just locking up for the night and checking outside when I caught the slightest whiff of something. Maybe it’s not even that, but I want to make sure.
I agree.
I’m sending Quint to pick you up.
Thanks. I could run in wolf form, but it would cost us precious time.
I need to be there now, and the fastest way is by car.
I pocket my phone and slip out of my room.
By some miracle, Diego actually went to bed before midnight; so, it makes this part easier.
I slip out into the hallway and take the stairs down, as it’s less of a chance of running into anybody.
I slip out a side door and wait for Quint to arrive.
Thankfully, he arrives less than five minutes later.
“Thanks,” I say as I climb in.
“Sure thing.” It’s always a bad sign when Quint is serious.
“Did you scent anything?”
“Not really, but my nose isn’t as good as yours or Zane’s.”
I take that in, wondering if Sam was there hours ago.
Quint’s nose may not be as good as mine or Zane’s, but he still has a wolf’s senses.
He can smell much better than a human. The fact that he’s not picking up on anything means she’s probably long gone, if she was here at all.
The drive back is made in silence. When he parks, I make my way inside quietly.
I just need to set eyes on Tessa for just a moment.
Zane stands just inside the doorway. He doesn’t question what I’m doing; he’d do the same for Evie.
I make my way to her room and quietly open the door.
I let my wolf’s vision come into focus, so I can see her in the dark.
The pain in my chest eases at the sight of her safe in bed.
I take a mental picture to keep with me and close the door quietly behind me.
I make a pledge right then and there to find Sam and finish this.
My girl’s had too many nights she can’t sleep in peace.
If I can end it tonight, then I will. I meet Zane’s hard gaze and together, we head outside.
I step off the porch and close my eyes and let my wolf rise to the surface.
I scent the air deeply. Instantly, I know Zane is right.
It’s faint, but it’s there. I can barely keep my growl in my chest; but I stay quiet. I’m going to shift, I send to Zane.
I need to stay at the house to protect the girls, he sends back.
I know. Thank you. Quint can go with me. I send my thoughts to Quint next. Zane is going to stay here with the girls.
I'll go with you, he says before I even ask.
Thanks.
We both undress and shift. I use the backpack Zane gave me to stuff our pants in.
My wolf will carry it in its mouth, so we keep it light.
As soon as I’m shifted, I give my wolf full control.
He sniffs the ground. I stay out of his mind, so he can do what he needs to.
He picks up her scent here and there. But it’s not until we get to the back of the house that he growls low in his throat.
I take in where we’re at, and fury fills me.
We’re near Tessa’s window. I want to head inside again and make sure she’s safe, but now my wolf has a strong scent.
We have a trail to follow. We start moving away from the house, and Quint’s wolf follows behind us.
My wolf keeps his nose to the ground, and we stay on the scent.
I’m not sure how far we’ve gone when the trail goes cold.
My wolf covers the entire area, but her scent’s just gone.
I pull back control; he’s slow to give it.
But eventually, he gives me the reins. I shift back, and Quint does the same; and we both pull on pants. “It’s gone,” he says before I can.
“Yeah.” I circle the area.
“She must have been picked up here,” he says.
We cover the area, using our phones for lights. We’ve been in a wooded area, but it’s starting to thin out now. I cover the area three times before I finally find something. “Quint.” He moves over to join me, and I shine the flashlight.
“Tire tracks.”
“Looks like a motorbike.”
Quint takes that in. “Okay. So, she either had it here waiting, or she had a ride. Where does she go then?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out.” We stay in human form, so we can use my light to follow the path.
We follow the path for what seems like forever, and then the path ends.
I see the motorbike against a tree and instantly turn off my light.
I let my wolf come to the surface to help me see better.
I finally make out a small cabin some twenty yards or so away.
Are we going in? Quint asks.
Yes. There’s not an ounce of hesitation in my voice. I face him. I don’t know what’s in there.
If this is where you try to talk me out of coming in, don’t bother. I’m with you all the way, Brother.
I nod. Thanks.
We approach the house on silent feet. There’s no light coming from this side of the cabin and no sound.
I wonder if it’s abandoned, but then her scent grows stronger.
My wolf strains against my barriers, but I don’t shift.
Not yet. Not until I know what we’re dealing with here.
There's a shift in the air, and my wolf warns me. I spin around, ducking low as two dark creatures charge at us from the darkness. Quint! I barely get out the warning before they’re on top of us.
I shift instantly, and Quint does the same.
I rush one of them, but it’s fast. It spins away.
Quint goes for the other one; and we get separated.
My wolf faces the dark creature, looking for signs of weakness.
It snarls and leaps towards us; we meet it in the air.
My wolf goes for the throat, and the unsuspecting creature doesn’t stand a chance.
My wolf tears its throat out, and it drops to the ground.
We whirl around, looking for the other threat.
The other creature has Quint pinned. My wolf slams into it, shoves it away from Quint and tries to go for its back leg, but the creature gets away.
Quint goes in for an attack, and the black creature meets it in the air.
They tangle in a mass of limbs, and Quint’s wolf is knocked to the ground.
My wolf advances on the creature and gets a chunk out of its side.
He spits it out, the taste vile. Quint’s wolf darts in and bites its back leg, causing the creature to make an ear-piercing screech.
The sound makes my wolf’s sensitive ears ring, and he jerks back, disoriented for a moment.
That's all the creature needs; it attacks again, and we barely manage to avoid getting our throat ripped out. Quint’s wolf makes a pained sound, and my wolf launches forward.
We need to end this thing before one or both of us get hurt or worse.
We go for the neck and connect, but before my wolf can kill it, Quint’s voice stops us.
“Don’t kill it!” I’m aware that Quint has shifted. “We need information.”
Part of my brain realizes he’s right, that this might indeed be Sam.
But my wolf is ready to kill, and it’s hard to pull him back.
I finally convince him that we need to do this for our mate.
“Shift,” Quint demands, but nothing happens.
I have no idea how we’re going to make this creature shift.
“Shift,” Quint demands again. “Or I’ll let the wolf, the wolf with its jaws currently around your jugular, kill you.
” Anybody would be a fool not to listen to the threat in his voice.
When the creature makes no move to shift, my wolf loses patience and growls, closing its mouth tighter.
Suddenly, the creature beneath us moves.
I get a weird sensation, and I figure it’s coming from the dark magic they use to be able to shift.
My wolf releases the creature but only because I keep reminding him it’s for the safety of our mate.
The creature turns back into a human, and I shift back as well.
Another reason it’s not a real shift—they shift back fully clothed.
I stare down at Sam, Evie’s roommate and Tessa’s suitemate at one point. “Get up,” I demand in a gruff voice.
She laughs and doesn’t move. “You really think I’m going to listen?”
I reach down and grab her arm, yanking her to her feet. Anger burns through me, and I have to force myself not to kill her. I can see her clearly using my wolf’s vision. I see her smug smile, and it burns me. “Why?” I demand.
“Oh, I can not even tell you how much more specific you’re going to need to be.”
I growl fiercely, but she gives me a scornful look.
“You can growl; good for you.” There are so many questions whirling around in my brain; I don’t even know which ones to ask first, not that she’ll answer a single one.
But before I can ask a single question, she looks up at me in defiance. “You guys will never win.”
I scoff. “Pretty sure we won at the warehouse.”
She snorts. “You consider that a win? You what? Got your precious little alpha boy’s mate back? That’s not a win.”
“Pretty sure she’s with us now and happily mated,” Quint says from right beside me. “So, yeah, I’d consider it a win. Oh, and our man Slate is now happily mated as well.”
I catch the flash of anger in her eyes before she plays it off. “I’m impressed. How’d you get the bracelet off?”
“You think we’re going to tell you?” I growl at her.