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Sawyer pushed off the wall and closed the distance between us, his feet thudding across the hardwood.
He stopped in front of us and crouched down. “You are both in grave danger. I’m doing everything I can to keep the both of you safe.”
Sawyer looked over his shoulder and frowned. He shot up to his feet. “I have to go. We’re home.”
He disappeared just as fast as he’d come. Before I could say anything else, Lincoln began to fidget beside me. The room around me began to fade and then took shape as the barn.
My pulse roared in my ears, and I couldn’t breathe as I realized that we weren’t alone anymore, or rather Lincoln wasn’t.
Mikey was here too, and judging by the wicked gleam on his face, he was back to punish Lincoln.
Five
Sawyer
I pumped my fists at my side. The leaves and twigs crackled beneath my feet as my father and I marched toward the barn. My stomach ached and my mind wouldn’t shut off as I worried about what I might find and what I would have to do.
Dad was always testing me.
It wasn’t just my apprehension I had to contend with. I could feel my mates’ emotions. It made my heart pound violently against my ribs and the hairs on my arms stand on end.
My nostrils flared as their fear hit me like a semitruck. Sloane. God, was she still connected to Lincoln?
I didn’t want her to see this. Mikey was brutal, and my father would only encourage his actions. It was like he didn’t care how far Mikey went, even though we both knew that he was out of his mind.
We were close enough to the barn now that I could hear Mikey screaming at Lincoln. He wanted answers. Ones that my brother would never give to him.
Lincoln wasn’t a fighter like I was, but he was one of the strongest people I knew, even though he wore his emotions on his sleeves. I envied my brother in that way sometimes. His connection to Sloane was already so much deeper because of it. He knew how to touch her and when.
I knew that Lincoln understood me. We’d been mates in a way since the womb. It was Sloane I worried about. I didn’t ever want her to think that I was cold and callous like the rest of my family.
My father rubbed his hands together as we approached. I could almost feel the excitement coming off him.
“If anyone can break Lincoln, it will be Mikey.” He sounded proud, like we were talking about winning some grand prize and not beating one of his sons into submission.
I gritted my teeth and fisted my hands so tightly I almost triggered a shift.
Control yourself!
I cleared the tickle out of my throat. “Lincoln is of no use to us if we can’t even talk to him.”
My dad grumbled under his breath. “True, but there are ways of getting him to talk without completely injuring him.”
He was talking about the wolfsbane. We all took it in very small doses. Just enough so we could build up a tolerance so we could affect other packs and keep them from shifting without harming ourselves. The doses he was giving to Lincoln were ridiculously high.
It could kill him.
I closed my eyes and bit the inside of my cheek when I heard Lincoln cry out in pain. I blinked my eyes open and stood taller and straighter. I lifted my chin up and stared straight ahead. If I showed any weakness towards Lincoln now, we would all be done for.
“What are our next steps? I’ve never known you to retreat before.”
My dad‘s entire body trembled as a low growl erupted from his throat. “They had more wolves than I expected. It’s a mistake I won’t be making again.”
I pulled the neck of my sweater away from my throat. “You didn’t use the wolfsbane today.”
It was a statement, not a question. I knew better than to question my dad’s actions. He always had a reason for everything, even when it was certifiably insane.
Red tinged his cheeks. “Our supply is low. I didn’t think it would be needed. The pack is small, less than a hundred. They have a lot of extra help there now. At least a hundred enforcers were in the woods. Once we replenish our wolfsbane, they will pay for the men we lost today, and Sloane and Willa won’t get the same treatment they did during their last stay.”
