Chapter Seventeen
We arrived at our meeting point right at ten hours. I wasn’t sure how fast Kane drove, but he was dang lucky we didn’t run into any cops. It was mid-morning, the sun was shining brightly, not at all matching my mood. Traveling ten hours in a car with no room to stretch out and shifters who needed space, yeah, no one was in a good mood.
We stepped out of the SUV in the small town we were meeting Clint and everyone else. They had just texted me that they were already here, at the city park across the street. We made our way towards them, Clint being the first one to see us and stand, the others followed suit as we approached. Clint’s eyes were locked on someone behind me, and then I heard a gasp.
“No way,” Cassie breathed, and I looked back at her to find her eyes wide in amazement. By then we’d made it across the street, and I looked back just as Clint breezed past me. I looked behind me, confused, just in time to see Clint wrap his arms around Cassie and kiss her deeply. Shocked, I stood there, speechless. Cade was the first to move.
“What the hell, get away from my sister,” he growled and shoved Clint’s shoulder. Clint absorbed the push and then whipped around, a feline growl rising from his chest as he stood protectively in front of Cassie, who he still had one arm wrapped around.
“Back off, wolf.” Clint ground out.
“Get your hands off my sister.” Cade stated, moving forward again.
“Cade, back off.” Cassie said forcefully, making Cade stumble and look at Cassie confused.
“What’s going on?” I asked, moving closer to the three having a standoff.
“I think Cassie finally got her wish,” Bree said smiling, with her arm wrapped around Hunter. I looked between Hunter and Bree, then Clint and Cassie, and my eyes widened.
“Oh. Oh!” I clapped my hand over my mouth and laughed. “This is epic.” I looked over at Cade to see his reaction.
“Shit no. He can’t be.” Cade argued, shaking his head in denial.
“I most certainly can, and am.” Clint growled, pulling Cassie closer to him.
“I can’t believe I found you. Here of all places.” Cassie said softly looking up at Clint with a warm smile.
“Right back at you, babe.” Clint smiled, it looked like they were going to kiss again, and Cade let out a long sigh.
“We don’t need this right now. You better lock that up tight so Dad and Mom don’t know.”
“Um, too late.” Cassie tapped her head. “They already felt the bond and are on their way.”
“Well, then we better get moving.” Kane commanded, motioning everyone back to the grouping of tables near a park shelter. “Congratulations on your lifemate status, by the way,” he threw to Clint and Cassie as we all gathered around on the picnic tables.
“Thanks,” Cassie smiled. Clint was smiling down at her adoringly. We sat down around the tables and then Clint glanced at me and stated in an off-hand comment, “That would explain my attraction to you for so long.”
“What?” Cade and I both exclaimed. I glanced around the tables, noting that I wasn’t the only one confused and waited for him to explain. Cade was busy glaring at Clint and moving closer to me on the bench.
“When you first moved in, your scent was intoxicating. Then again after your pack had left after the fight. It must have been Cassie’s scent lingering on you.”
“Oh, well, I guess that makes sense.” I nodded, trying to ease the awkward moment. I reached for Cade’s hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze.
“I can’t believe I missed you by a few hours that night. I could have met you long before this.” Clint leaned into Cassie, resting his nose against her hair and taking a deep breath.
“I guess it wasn’t the right time.” Cassie replied.
Cade scoffed. “And now is? We’re about to break Kendra’s brother out of a heavily guarded compound.”
“You have a brother?” Jason piped up. “He’s at the same place as Ian?” He looked equally confused as all the rest of the non-wolf shifters.
“I thought you were an only child?” Amber asked, looking at me expectantly.
“Yeah, about that. I didn’t have a chance to mention this, but Ian and I found out we are related. Brother and sister.” The stunned silence around the tables said it all.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Patrik said slack jawed.
“Nope,” I paused then said, “surprise,” trying to add a little humor.
“How does that work?” Jason asked. “Your parents would have had to been mixed shifters.”
“Exactly,” I nodded.
“Ian never told us his parents were.” Jason still sounded skeptical.
“Probably didn’t see the point,” I shrugged. Ian was a private guy. I was surprised he opened to me as much as he did about his, well, our, family history.
“Which brings us to the point of being here, if we could get back to the issue at hand?” Kane interrupted, with mild amusement.
“And who are you?” Clint asked, watching Kane closely.
“Enforcer Kane,” he replied calmly, and got the exact opposite response.
“Shit, you brought an Enforcer?” Clint hissed, making to stand up and leave. He tugged on Cassie’s hand, but she didn’t budge.
“Calm down,” she replied. “He’s here to help.”
“And how do we know we can trust him?” Patrik asked reasonably, eyeing Kane suspiciously.
“You don’t, but I’ve been training Cade and Brody for months. You can trust them, at least.” I wanted to roll my eyes. That wasn’t exactly the reassurance I’m sure they needed.
“You want us to trust enforcers in training?” Jason asked skeptically, glancing at Cade and Brody.
“Look, you all are not helping,” I slammed my hand down on the table. “I trust everyone here, I hope you all trust me, so if anything goes wrong, blame me. Okay?” Silence reigned for a minute as everyone eyed the other. This was the problem, years and years of hatred and mistrust between shifters. Would it ever end?
“Fine. What’s the plan?” Clint asked no one in particular. I looked around, hoping someone with more experience in these matters would say something. Kane was the first to speak.
“I think Cade, Brody and I should enter the compound under the guise of being on assignment. We can use a transfer as an excuse to get Ian out.”
“What about all the other shifters?” Amber asked. “They don’t deserve to be there either.”
“We don’t know if anyone else is there,” Brody argued.
“Bullshit.” Amber exclaimed. “There was another raid last week on a fight. Non-wolves were arrested and detained. No one has heard from them.”
“No wolves?” Asked Kane, but I knew he already knew the answer.
Clint scoffed. “They never get arrested.” Kane pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
“We can’t just leave them there,” Amber protested.
“I can’t authorize multiple transfers.” Kane reasoned. “One, yes. More than that, people will start asking questions and the whole operation goes up in flames,” Kane replied with a sympathetic look to Amber.
“We’ll get Ian out,” Cade said, squeezing my hand. “The rest we’ll have to play by ear.” Kane frowned at Cade, not liking that plan.
“Let’s eat something then make our way toward the compound. It’s hidden in the woods, so we’ll travel by car most of the way, but then some of us will have to approach on foot to avoid being seen.” Brody reasoned.
“Good to know you still have your appetite,” Cassie teased.
“Always.”Brody grinned.
We headed towards a small restaurant in town and I picked at my food. I was worried about Ian and if we could get him out. If we did, what then? Would he have to go into hiding? Would I ever see him again?
“We’ll get him out, don’t worry.” Cade said softly beside me. I looked up at him and bit my lip worriedly.
“But what happens after that? They’re not just going to let him go, you know?”
“Luke has some friends Ian could stay with.” Jason offered, not giving details as he eyed Kane. “I’m sure he could lay low there.”
“You didn’t tell Luke?” I asked, looking at Jason.
“No. We figured we tell him after we got Ian out.” Jason replied, I nodded. Yeah, I wasn’t sure how Luke would respond to Ian going missing and our half-ass attempt to break him out.
“Ian’s going to be on the run his whole life.” Bree replied softly, saying out loud what I couldn’t bring myself to do.
“Kendra,” Kane looked at me seriously. “Is this really what you want?”
I considered my options, while everyone looked at me expectantly. Ian trapped behind bars and possibly executed, or Ian safe, someplace remote, even though I may never see him again. There really was no question.
“Yes. We have to do this.” I decided.
“Alright, then here’s the plan.” Kane said, shifting forward to lean over the table. He outlined his strategy which basically consisted of Cade, Brody and himself entering the compound by SUV, while the rest of us waited outside on the outskirts of the forest. I, along with everyone else sitting idly by, was not happy with not having a more active role. But Kane assured us this was the most practical way to get Ian out, without drawing suspicion.
“And what if they won’t release him for transfer?” I asked, voicing my fear.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Kane responded. I frowned, not liking that response. I needed a more detailed plan. One that had contingencies for plan b, c, and d. I guess I would have to trust Kane since I didn’t have as much experience with missions as him. Hopefully he knew what he was doing.
We finished eating then filed back into the two vehicles, Clint and Cassie sharing our SUV which forced Brody to join the other car. We traveled north for an hour before Kane stopped and motioned everyone out.
“Leave the car here and travel another half hour on foot. Approach slowly and be aware of your surroundings. Enforcers are stationed at the gate, and the walls are monitored by camera. Don’t get in their line of sight.” He turned to Cade and Brody. “You ready?”
“Yes, sir.” The replied in unison.
“Let’s go.” Kane and Brody turned back to the SUV as Cade took a step toward me. I looked up at his worried face and tried to muster a reassuring smile. I failed miserably.
“We’ll get him out. I’ll let Cassie know what’s going on for updates. Okay?” He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.
“Okay.Be careful.”I told him quietly.
“Always.” Cade smiled before kissing me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. I didn’t want to let him go, worry and a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach made it hard to pull back.
“Cade, time to go,” Kane called out from the driver’s seat of his vehicle.
Cade and I pulled apart and he smiled softly at me before turning and jumping in the SUV. I watched them disappear down the road as Clint and Jason moved their car farther off the road and tried to move brush around to camouflage it.
“All good?” Cassie asked, looking at Clint.
“Am now.” Clint smiled, sliding an arm around Cassie. Cassie blushed and leaned into his embrace.
“Come on love birds, we have a hike ahead of us.” Jason half smiled and led the way into the forest. The trip was short, at least for all of us shifters, and we hunkered down at the edge of the clearing, behind some logs and trees where we could still see the gate. Cade and his group were just reaching the gate as we took our position. On one side of me, Clint, Cassie, Jason and Amber lined up watching the gate. Bree and Hunter sat side by side on my other side.
“Do you think they will let them go through?” Bree whispered.
“I hope so or else we are doomed before we begin,” I replied just as softly.
We watched Kane smile and laugh with the men at the gate, saw them nod, then wave them through. There was a collective sigh as they disappeared around the edge of the building. I let my eyes wander away from the gate and to the area in front of me. The fence surrounding the compound was a high, chain link with barbs at the top. Not exactly inviting. We watched for a few more minutes, time ticking by slowly.
“Cassie, anything?”I asked nervously.
“Just walking down hallways. They have to do the usual check-in before they can make their way to the prison cells.” She winced and added, “Cade’s words, not mine.” I nodded my understanding, pulling on my necklace in worry. Was Ian okay? What if he wasn’t even there anymore? They could have moved him to a different location for whatever reason.
Ian, please be there. I thought, pleading with whoever would listen.
Kendra? Ian’s voice startled me so much I had to smother a yelp. A few curious faces looked my way, but I ignored them to respond to Ian.
Holy shit, Ian!? Is that you?!
Where are you? How can I hear you? I’m in human form.
No idea, but we are outside the compound where they have you locked up.
What? No, leave. Just leave me here. It’s not safe for you.
I’m not leaving you. I thought and turned to Cassie. “I can hear Ian, he’s here.”
“What do you mean you can hear him?” Cassie asked slowly.
“I mean like you can talk to Cade, I can talk to Ian.”
“You’ve never been able to do that before.” Bree said sliding closer to us.
“I found out I could talk to Ian when he was in tiger form and I, of course, still in human. We didn’t know how we could at the time, but maybe it has something to do with us being related?”
“Is he in tiger form now?” Bree asked.
“No.”
“Your shifter genes must be getting stronger.” Cassie mumbled, thinking to herself. “Can you hear me?” She looked deep in thought then looked at me expectantly.
“If you said anything, no, not a word.”
“So, just Ian.” Bree confirmed.
“Yep.”
“It has to be because you are related.” Cassie reasoned. “Where are they?”
“Just a sec.” I turned back to the compound and concentrated on reaching out to Ian.
Ian, where are you being held?
Cell block. It’s a real cozy place.
I turned to Cassie and said, “Cell block. Are you telling Cade?”
“Yeah, he’s not happy you didn’t share that tidbit of information with him though.”
“Well tough, it’s not like it was at the top of my priority list,” I scoffed.
Cade’s coming to transfer you.
Cade. You mean your boyfriend?
Yeah.
How’d you convince him of that?
I may have let slip that we are related.
Oh. I guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?
Yeah, everyone else knows too. I bit my lip.
It hasn’t been that long, how’d you find us so fast?
Cade’s working with his training Enforcer. Wait, what do you mean us?
All the shifters that were arrested last week and last night are here.
How many?
Eight.
“Cassie, there are eight shifters there that were arrested at the fights.”
“I’ll relay to Cade.”
“Is Damien there?” Clint asked, not taking his eyes off the compound.
Ian, is Damien with you?
Yeah, next cell over. He’s not faring too well.
What happened to him?
The Enforcers here aren’t that welcoming.
I don’t think we can get him out. They can only fake transferring one out.
I’m not leaving without the others.
Ian, there’s no way we’ll be able to swing that.
Someone’s coming.
I turned back to Clint, worried. “Ian said he’s not leaving without the others.”
“Shit, knew he’d be all stubborn and make life difficult.” Clint swore. He turned to Cassie, “will your brother be able to take all of them?”
“Doubtful,” Cassie bit her lip. “Kane was pretty adamant that they could only get Ian out without suspicion.”
“Time to move to plan B then,” he nodded to Jason and Patrik who smiled grimly and faded back into the trees.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?” I whispered yelled. “We are supposed to stay right here.”
“And not get the rest of our shifters out?” Clint’s eyes were fading to a feline shine. “Not a chance.” He turned to Cassie and kissed her quick. “Be safe, stay low. We’ll cause a distraction and you tell Cade to get the rest out.”
“Okay, be careful,” Cassie added, holding on to Clint’s hand as long as she could before he stepped back into the forest.
“What the hell is happening,” I muttered, nerves about fried from the unknown.
“I’ll take care of the Enforcers at the gate,” Hunter said quietly, giving Bree a quick peck before disappearing into the brush too. Bree watched him go then turned back to us. That left Amber, Cassie, Bree and me waiting on the sidelines. The thought kind of pissed me off.
“Is this going to work?” Bree asked.
“I don’t have any idea,” I shook my head, eyes trained back on the compound.
“Cade’s not happy but they are ready to improvise.” Cassie informed us. A few minutes passed with us listening to our surrounding and not hearing anything. Where did they go? What was plan B?
“What kind of distraction do you think they are setting up?” Bree asked, just as an explosion rocked the landscape a couple hundred yards from us. All three of us ducked and covered our heads, thinking debris was going to rain down on us. We cautiously sat up to watch Enforcers pour out of the compound, away from the front gates to investigate the explosion. A flash caught my eye and I watched in amazement as Hunter, with a ski mask on, swiftly took out the two Enforcers at the gate. I looked over at Bree questioningly.
“He’s been training with his dad,” she shrugged and smiled. Clearly proud of her lifemate kicking ass.
“Dang, I knew he was a grumpy bear, don’t tell him I said that, but didn’t know he was a bad ass.” Cassie replied.
“Well, take a look at your man,” Bree smiled, watching the scene in the other direction. “He’s holding his own too.” Our eyes traveled the length of the compound to see Clint, Jason, and Patrik engaging with five Enforcers. Movement near the building pulled my eyes back.
“They’re coming out!” I pointed excitedly. Ian was leading a group of shifters, holding up a big man and shuffling toward the gate. Hunter ran toward the group and pulled the last straggler’s arm across his shoulder to speed him along.
“We should go help,” I said, and started to get up but Amber pushed me back down.
“No, you’ll be recognized. Stay here, I’ll help,” and she ran toward the group limping toward the gate. She grabbed another shifter’s arm and slung it across her shoulder to help distribute the weight. They were making good progress across the space between the buildings and the front gate. I glanced back at Clint and the others to see them exchanging blows with some of the Enforcers while a few other Enforcers were trying to put out the remaining flames.
Just as Ian’s group crossed through the gate and into the adjacent woods, about seven more Enforcers exited the building and split up. Some went after Ian’s group, and the others reinforced the group battling Clint and the flames. I saw Cade in with the group now taking on Clint’s. I watched as he moved just right to make it look like he was trying to take on Clint, but really positioning the other Enforcers to be knocked out by the cat shifters.
“Come on, we have to help your brother,” Bree whispered to me, moving back into the forest and toward the other group. “I can heal them if I can get close enough.” We followed the sound of fighting and found Kane and the other Enforcers facing off with the prisoners and Hunter. Kane was employing some of the same techniques as Cade, but he was also taking a few punches from the non-wolf shifters. They were either confused which side Kane was on, or just assumed he was one of the Enforcers. Some of the prisoners were weak, and not holding their own. Hunter was doing his best to hold off the Enforcers from reaching those that were weak.
I glanced over at Bree to see her immersing her hands in the ground, eyes closed. I assumed she was channeling her healing ability to those that were too weak to fight. A loud growl followed by a roar caught my attention and I looked back to see Ian had shifted to his tiger form and was facing off with another wolf that had shifted. That shift must have triggered the other Enforcers as they all burst into their wolf forms and faced off with the other shifters. Some of the others had shifted as well. A few bears and cougars peppered the small group to face off with the wolves. Hunter stayed as a human, but he was at a severe disadvantage.
“Why isn’t Hunter shifting?” I asked no one in particular.
“His markings are distinct. He shifts, they will be able to identify him later,” Cassie explained. “If his scent doesn’t give him away first,” she mumbled.
“He’s not going to be able to hold them off for long,” I observed, already Hunter was backing into the other shifters behind him that were too weak to defend themselves. I noticed another man that was still in human form shuffle forward to stand beside Hunter, squaring off with the Enforcers. There was something familiar about that man, and it took me a moment to realize it was the same one I saw back in Ashland around campus. He was in the store that one morning it was so busy, another time I ran into him on the sidewalk. He was also in the crowd at Seth’s party. What was he doing here?
A growl pulled my attention away from the familiar man to see Ian’s tiger facing off with another wolf. The wolf lunged for him and Ian leapt to the side then pounced on the wolf. I could tell Ian wasn’t at the top of his game, they must have done something to him in the short time he was held prisoner. He swiped at the wolf, just grazing the wolf’s flank and the wolf snarled in response. Rivulets of blood trailed through the wolf’s fur. Another Enforcer snuck up behind Ian. There’s no way Ian would know the wolf was there with his attention focused entirely on the wolf in front of him.
Ian!Behind you!
Ian whirled but the first wolf used that opportunity to leap on top of Ian and bite down hard on his shoulder. Ian let out a pained feline yowl and tried to shake him off. The other wolf lunged and managed to help the first one wrestle Ian to the ground by latching onto Ian’s back leg and pulling it out from behind him. The first wolf stood over Ian, with blood coating his mouth. The sight stopped my heart. I just knew, he was going to go for the kill.
I looked at Cassie, but her attention was drawn back in the other direction where we could still hear fighting. She wasn’t even watching the fight in front of us. Amber was too engrossed holding her own against the wolves to notice Ian in trouble. I glanced down at Bree who was focused on channeling her energy to heal those around us. There was no one else to help Ian. I turned back to Ian to see the wolf moving closer to him with every passing second.
I couldn’t lose him. Not after I’d just found out he was my brother. I made a split-second decision, knowing that I had moments to respond. With each beat of my heart, the wolf was inching closer and closer to Ian’s throat. I had to act now.
My body shuddered, heat poured through my veins as I took off running, desperate to get to Ian in time. I covered the distance in seconds, pain exploded throughout my body. I heard Cassie shout my name and a gasp from Bree, but I didn’t look back as I pushed myself to reach the wolf poised over Ian, ready to rip out his throat. The wolf that was hanging off Ian’s leg had his back to me, so I barreled into him, causing him to yelp as he rolled away. My momentum was stalled from running into the other wolf, but the commotion was enough to bring his attention around to me away from Ian. I growled at him to step away from Ian. The wolf looked at me in shock and slowly backed away. I lowered my head and walked stiffly to stand over Ian, who was laboring to breathe with the amount of blood he had lost.
As I stood over Ian, sure in my ability to protect him, I looked around at the remaining shifters and Enforcers. The two groups stood apart, both staring at me in confusion, some in awe. I glanced down at Ian again, and reached my hand forward to run along his neck in comfort and was surprised when I found a paw instead of a hand. Startled, I lifted my paw and turned it side to side, flexing my new joint. I set my paw back down and looked over my shoulder to confirm what I already knew. I had finally shifted. Shifted into a pure white wolf.
I felt my wolf at the surface, observing her surroundings and taking note where enemy and ally were. It was a weird, but exhilarating feeling. She and I were finally one and the same. She leaned down and rubbed our head against Ian’s massive one, nudging him to get a response. Ian was coming back around, but still not totally aware of his surroundings. I could feel the excitement from my wolf, but I knew in the back of my mind, this was just the start of everything to come.
The Enforcers were still backing away, fading into the trees from the direction of the compound. I didn’t understand why they were retreating. They’d had the upper hand and seemed like they were going to win even when I’d shifted and joined their little party. My sole focus had been to save Ian’s life, I didn’t think my presence added that much to the fight. I’d just wanted to get to Ian in time. Ian shifted his weight under me, drawing my attention back to him.
Ian? Can you hear me?
Yeah, came his tired reply.
Can you stand?
Don’t want to. He mumbled back to me. I tilted my head to the side, watching the forest for movement but also focusing my attention on him.
You have to. You need to get out of here. I looked around, seeing some of the other non-wolf shifters had gained their feet and approached slowly. Kane had retreated with the other Enforcers, probably to remain undercover as one of them. Hunter had disappeared when the Enforcers retreated, but now he emerged from the forest without his mask carrying Bree closer. She looked pale and tired.
Hunter set her down beside Ian and she reached out and laid a hand on Ian’s shoulder. He shuddered, but otherwise stayed where he was. It seemed to take a while, but Ian was slowly healing. His wounds were closing, and he wasn’t laboring so hard to breathe. Jason and Patrik crashed through the brush in their shifter forms, and Clint, in human form trailed behind them carrying Cade in wolf form.
My heart stopped at the sight of him carrying Cade, thinking the worst, but I could hear a faint heartbeat coming from him. Clint set Cade down beside Bree who withdrew her hand from Ian to put it on Cade.
“Don’t use too much, you’ll kill yourself.” Hunter growled, while putting a steadying hand on her shoulder. Bree had started to weave back and forth, her energy low.
“I need to stabilize him, at least.” Bree replied tiredly before focusing her energy on healing Cade. I stepped around Ian and nuzzled Cade. The moment my nose touched his face, I knew. Something snapped into place inside me, forming an unbreakable bond.
Cade and I were lifemates.
Tears formed in my eyes as I realized all that it meant, knowing that we would forever have each other. All this time we could have spent together if I had just been born a normal wolf and not a latent. An entire year of unknowns and frustration at what the future would hold could have been avoided. But Cade and I never did anything the easy way. We finally had our answer and all it took was for me to shift. I was drawn away from my happily ever after thoughts when Bree sagged beside Cade, totally drained.
“I can’t, I can’t do anymore,” she took a shuddering breath, eyes closed.
“Is he going to live?” Cassie asked. My heart stopped. That wasn’t an option, of course he was going to live. I looked sharply over at Bree.
“Yes, but I can’t do anything more for him right now. I need to rest.”
“And we need to get these shifters out of here.” Clint motioned to the motley crew in various forms and degrees of health. The familiar man had shuffled forward, watching me intently. I caught his eye and he grinned. That look triggered a memory. A boy grinning at me when I was at a school from my last foster family. He was my only friend for those few short years. Chad had been involved with a gang and the last I saw of him was after I snapped and beat up three gang members who happened upon us and tried to harass me. He had looked at me with awe and fear after I laid out all three. Fearing retribution from other gang members, I turned and ran the other direction until law enforcement caught up with me and shipped me off to a new set of foster parents, Steve and Nicole. I never saw Chad again, until recently that is. It had to be him. I wanted to ask, but I was still in wolf form and, well, I didn’t think changing back was going to be as easy as shifting the first time. As recognition dawned on my face, he grinned and nodded at me before helping some of the non-wolf shifters move off into the trees.
I look around at the remaining group, then back at Cassie. My brain was starting to catch up with everything that had happened, realizing what a shitstorm my wolf surfacing was going to bring down on shifter society. Cassie was looking down at her brother, worry stamped across her face. I knew what I had to do, but it wasn’t going to be easy. I had to leave my pack again.
Cassie, I’m sorry.
“Who said that? What?” She looked around expectantly before her eyes landed on me. “Was that you?” I bobbed my head up and down. “I can hear you. How?” Before I could answer, Patrik spoke up. He must have found some clothes somewhere because he had shifted back to human had pants on now.
“Come on,” Patrik motioned the group to keep moving. “Back to the car. We’ll have to cram everyone inside until we can get another vehicle.” Patrik, Amber, and Jason started to move off following the other shifters. Ian waited, still in his tiger form, eyes watching me. Clint stood by Cassie. Indecision written across his face.
“Cassie,” Clint said softly, kneeling next to her. “I can’t stay. I’ll be recognized and arrested for breaking them out. I have to go.”
“What no, our pack can keep you safe,” Cassie protested, putting her arms around Clint, not willing to part with him.
“Cassie, no one can keep us safe from the High Council. Even if I wasn’t recognized for tonight’s breakout, they won’t agree to our pairing.” Clint pointed out gently, holding her close to him.
“Then I’m going with you,” she said decisively. She glanced around at our small group and sniffed. Wiping the tears from her eyes she stood up and looked at Bree to ask, “You’ll take care of him, yes?”
“Always.” Bree promised with a comforting hand on Cade and leaning on Hunter.
“Good,” Cassie sniffed again, then froze suddenly, picking up a sound in the distance. I heard it too, and recognized more wolves coming. I glanced around nervously. “Dad and Mom are almost here.” She looked up at Clint worriedly.
“Whatever happens, I’m yours forever.” Clint reassured her. She smiled tenderly up at him as Liam and Mica, followed by a few other wolves from the pack jogged into sight. Liam and Mica weren’t in wolf form. They must have flown the plane here and then drove to find us so fast. I wondered what happened to Seth and Jake?
“What the hell have you kids been up to?” Liam demanded, coming to a stop in front of what was left of our small group.
“Oh, Cade,” Mica breathed, kneeling by Cade’s unconscious form. She looked over at Bree still sitting beside Cade’s form and asked, “Is he okay?”
Bree nodded. “Just unconscious, but healing.”
Liam looked around the group and as his eyes landed on me, they widened. “Kendra.”
Yes.
“I can hear you,” Liam said in amazement. He glanced at Cassie, who was curled around Clint, and smiled. “I’m guessing you’re Clint. Welcome to the family.” He shook Clint’s hand and Clint looked a little shell shocked by Liam’s openness. While all I wanted to do was stay with my family and ensure Cade healed, I knew that wasn’t an option.
Liam, I have to go.
He looked at me sharply, then glanced around the group. You think that’s best? We could protect you.
I can’t ask that of the pack. It won’t be safe. For anyone. I need to leave.
I understand. He looked down at Cade and added, but he won’t.
I looked down at Cade’s unconscious form then over at Ian in his tiger form. He was standing, if not a little unsteadily, and watched me with sadness in his eyes. Did he know Cade and I were lifemates? I looked back at Liam.
Tell Cade I love him. And he was right.
Right about- oh. Liam looked at me sadly then down at his son. He’ll know when he wakes up. I bobbed my head and gave everyone there one last look before turning to leave with Ian.
You know he’ll come looking for you. Mica’s voice sounded in my head. I glanced back at her to see her watching me. Clint and Cassie were also leaving with us. She must have also said her goodbyes while I was busy talking with Liam.
I’m counting on it. I replied.
There’s another SUV on the road near yours. Take it. Keys are inside. Liam commanded.
What about you?
Don’t worry about us. We’ll figure something out.
Thank you.Both of you.For everything.
We are a pack, Kendra. You will always have a family with us. Mica reassured. I turned away, eyes burning with emotions. I left with Ian, Clint and Cassie to race to the cars before anyone else showed up.
I was leaving part of my pack behind. Leaving my lifemate behind. I could feel my heart shattering into a million pieces with each step I took away from them. This was for their safety. This was better for everyone. My wolf gave a painful whine, obviously not in agreement. Ian looked back at me questioningly, but I ignored the look. I’d disappear with Ian, and the High Council would never find us. Before I traveled too far out of range, I called back to all of them.
Thank you for helping us. I won’t forget you.
A chorus of howls broke the silence of the forest and I stumbled in my stride. Ian was right beside me to steady me and lend his support as we reached the vehicles. The others had piled into the remaining car, some spilling over into our borrowed one. Clothes were haphazardly thrown on as both vehicles must have been equipped with spare clothes. I didn’t bother with shifting, knowing it could waste precious time. I jumped into the hatchback and laid down. Ian, in human form once again, smiled gently as he shut the door. I sighed as he rounded the vehicle to get in, and someone started the engine. We turned down the road and sped into the night. Racing to a future that was so uncertain, my heart filled with gaping holes of those I left behind.