I turned on him without a second thought, pinning his wolf to the ground on a rumble of sound that came from my heart and soul. His yellow eyes immediately went to the side in a show of submission, his body entirely still beneath mine. Not fighting. Not attacking. Not doing anything at all.
He didn’t whine.
He didn’t growl.
He didn’t make a damn sound, just remained utterly still with my jaws exceptionally close to this throat.
What the fuck is wrong with you?I wondered.What are you doing here? Did you help them take her? Are you the fucking mole?Part of me knew these were unfounded questions based on an emotional reaction to Makayla’s disappearance. But his presence here was suspicious considering his patrol had been on the opposite side of the—
“Alaric.” The deep voice came from the forest.
Dad?I slowly lifted my gaze from Hardt to my father. He stood with his hands out in front of him, buck naked.He must have run here in wolf form.I cocked my head, confused.How did you—
The leaves shuffled as more wolves approached behind him, their auras all prickling through my conscious. More were on their way in animal form—a fact I felt more than knew.
I blinked, startled.
What are they all doing here?I slowly released Hardt, my mind swimming with questions and foreign words.Why can I sense them all?
I swore a few of themreplied.
I heard them in my head, their concerns poking at my psyche and demanding they be heard.
What the hell is going on?I’d experienced emotional connections with my pack before, but nothing on this level. It resembled a web of unspoken thoughts, their auras painting my vision in bright colors and telling me exactly who joined me in this quadrant of the pack land.
I recognized them all. Every name. Every set of eyes. Everystep.
My heart skipped a beat while my wolf took it all in stride, entirely at ease with the development. Like he’d expected it all along.
It seemed to soothe him, too. All my pent-up fury melted away, leaving me eerily calm, like their presence had helped me focus.Makayla’s gone. I need to find her. I can’t do that if I’m panicking.
My fur smoothed, my breathing returned to normal, and I took another step away from the wolf on the ground, releasing Hardt entirely from my violent—and incredibly irrational—reaction. Did I still dislike him? Yes. But he hadn’t deserved to feel my teeth at his throat.
Hardt began to shift back into human form but remained on the ground. He immediately put his hands up like my dad. “I heard your call, Alpha. That’s why I’m here. It’s why we’re all here.”
My call?I shook my head, trying to clear it.What call? Do you mean my howl? And did you just call me “Alpha”?
He couldn’t hear me, of course. Yet I swore a flicker flashed through his eyes, almost as though he’dfeltmy questions.
Impossible.
Bitten wolves didn’t have a hive mind.
“Where’s Makayla?” my father asked, stepping out of the woods, his posture exuding dominance. And yet, I sensed his subtle submission toward me. It was a bizarre acknowledgment that hummed along the fringes of my awareness but wasn’t outwardly displayed.
I shoved the sensation aside and called upon my human form, shifting back to two legs in a handful of seconds. The energy shimmered along my skin, taking me to my full height as I crossed my arms and locked gazes with my father.
“A hybrid and a wolf entered our lands and took her,” I declared, not bothering to explain how I came to know those details.
I hadn’t told anyone about our telepathic link yet, mostly because I didn’t want to grow attached to something that might change. However, right now, I was exceptionally thankful for that connection to Makayla. I could feel her life force thriving with mine, confirming she was alive despite her inability to speak.
“Where’s Enrique?” I demanded, scanning the wolves in attendance.
No one answered.
“He’s supposed to be on patrol out here with Makayla,” I added on a low growl. “Find him.Now.”
Paul and Steve immediately took off at my command, searching for their missing colleague.
