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I mashed my lips together and blinked rapidly to keep from crying. I couldn’t begin to imagine what must’ve been going through his mind at that time.
Lincoln cleared his throat. “Dad was never the same after that. I think he blamed me. He thought I should’ve done more. I’m not sure what else I could have done. Maybe if I’d been faster, or paying better attention, then maybe…”
I stopped in my tracks and turned so I was facing him. I shook my head and put my palm on his cheek. “No. Don’t you think like that. None of that was your fault. You were a kid. You did everything you could, given the situation.”
He curled his fingers around my wrist and held my gaze for a long moment. “Maybe so. It didn’t stop my dad from blaming me and the world for what happened. I get why he does the things he does. He doesn’t want to lose anyone else that he cares about. He just doesn’t understand that he’s pushed us all away during his quest for revenge.”
I sighed, and my foot wobbled as I stepped on a stone that wasn’t planted all the way in the dirt. Lincoln grabbed me tighter, and he wrapped his other hand around my waist.
We walked side by side, and I rested my head on his shoulder. “Do you think there’s any coming back for him?”
Lincoln sucked in a deep breath and held it before letting it out slowly. “No, he’s too far gone. Even if he did see the light, I don’t think he could ever come back from everything he’s done. And he has no intention of stopping. He intends to share what we are with everyone. He thinks that we can take over the world.” He laughed bitterly. “His anger has made him lose his mind.”
I swallowed and kept my eyes on the ground. A small chipmunk darted in front of us, making me misstep. I bumped into Lincoln, and he grasped me tighter, pulling me closer.
I put my hand in my hoodie pocket. “He’s going to tell everyone that shifters exist? How does he think that’s going to work out?”
Telling the world about us was insane. We had rules and shifter laws for a reason—to protect our community.
Lincoln shrugged. “I think he really thinks that we can take over the world, overthrow the government, and become the top dogs, I guess you could say.”
“But people aren’t going to just allow that. We don’t use guns, but what he wants sounds like suicide.” I pinched my brows together as I frowned.
If Alpha Dane was successful, he could be dooming all shifters to death.
Lincoln stroked his palm up and down my side. “I know. That’s why he has to be stopped.”
He pulled away from me as we came to a ridge. There was about a thirty-foot drop below. There were tree roots and a few teeny-tiny ledges that we might be able to squeeze our feet on if we really tried.
Lincoln slid his foot to the edge and then turned. “I’ll go down first. When I get about halfway, you start, and I’ll help you.”
I looked at the trek before me and tried to map out the way I wanted to go in my head. One misstep and I’d probably fall and injure myself further. At the bottom were large rocks. Large enough that falling on them would probably break something or could even cause internal damage.
I might be a wolf, and I enjoyed the outdoors as much as the next person, but I didn’t do stuff like this often. My ankle still ached a little when I shifted on my feet.
“Is there another way around?”
Lincoln looked up and down the tree line. I followed his gaze and had my answer. There was no better way to get down to the water. This steep drop-off seemed to go for as far as we could see, and I definitely didn’t want to backtrack. The sooner we got into the water, the better. We were both bleeding, and any blood left on the trail would be easy for a wolf to smell.
Lincoln shared a look with me. He leaned in and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips. “I’ll go down first and then help you. It’s going to be fine, I promise.”
He gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
I stared at the tree roots and tiny ledges. The ground was wet, which would make it slippery and even more dangerous. I licked my lips and closed my eyes, drawing in a deep breath.
Howls erupted in the distance.
The enforcers were out in full force, and we were out of time.
Fifteen
Sloane
My heart pounded, and my pulse roared in my ears. Those howls sounded close. Too close. There was maybe a mile separating us. We needed to move fast.
Lincoln cursed and started moving down the ledge like he’d done it a thousand times before. He moved with grace and agility that made me appreciate the way his muscles rippled with his movements. Even underneath all that dirt, grime, and cuts, he was one of the two hottest men I knew.
Whoa, girl, focus. We got to get out of here.
