Daryl was fast too.
Faster than some of the other betas, his lean build giving him the edge over those carrying more
bulk.
Easily keeping pace, he let them run, curious to know where they were heading because they didn’t appear to be running aimlessly. There was a purpose to the direction they took through the trees. They had a destination in mind, and as Daryl caught the faint scent of familiar wolves, he wanted to roll his eyes at the predictability of it all.
They were young and still angry, he reminded himself. Carrying that into their shift was bound to affect their wolves.
Maybe getting it out of their systems now would be the turning point and they could start trying to bring the pack together like Cam wanted.
Things had been quiet during the recent tasks, but Daryl sensed the resentment lingering there, and they couldn’t move forward until it was purged for good.
He just hoped Nathan was prepared for it.
They continued to weave in and out of the trees.
Daryl caught the scent of alpha every now and again, but no one seemed to be tracking them. He didn’t doubt for a second that they weren’t aware of everything going on, but the council seemed content to leave them be for now.
He picked up Jason’s scent, getting stronger with each stride and drawing him in. Without conscious thought on his part, Daryl’s pace picked up, his focus narrowing to that scent alone as he tracked it through the forest, excitement coursing along his veins.
It took him far too long to realise what was happening, and it was harder than he was comfortable with to stop himself from tracking Jason.
He wanted to chase him. Wanted to race in and out of the trees until he had him in his sights and then—
Snarls sounded up ahead, and Daryl cursed again.
They’d found them.
They were in the clearing from the task on day one. Nathan’s wolf squaring off against Rob’s light brown one. Luke and Kev hung back for now, but both looked poised to jump in at any second.
Daryl glanced around for Jason, spotting him a few feet away, gaze trained on the others.
He couldn’t see the alphas, or hear them, but sensed they were close by.
Growls rang out in the clearing, teeth snapped, and Daryl tensed, wondering who would strike first, poised to leap between them if necessary.
Nathan’s sudden shift back to human form took him by surprise. Rob too, judging by the way the growls immediately stopped.
Daryl’s heart rate ramped up, claws dug into the dirt. Ready.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Nathan yelled, arms spread wide. The hairs on the back of Daryl’s neck stood on end. He sure as fuck hoped Nathan had a plan, because in that form, Rob could tear his throat out before either Jason or Daryl could get between them.
And no amount of shifter healing would fix that.
“You know what Newell did. You know it’s the truth.” He gestured to Jason. “Even members of your old pack were subjected to his power-crazed madness. He tried to have Jason killed. He kidnapped Mark’s cousin and Will’s sister. Your own fucking beta.” Throwing his hands up in the air, he added in a softer voice, “Knowing all that, how can you still believe that Cam did anything other than what he had to do to keep his pack safe? What any good alpha in his position would’ve done.”
Silence filled the clearing, like a heavy blanket settling over all of them.
Daryl wanted to glance over at Jason, wanted to catch his eye to see what he was thinking, but he
didn’t dare look away for a moment.
Finally, Rob’s wolf shook itself and then shifted back into human form to face Nathan.
Daryl breathed a small sigh of relief but didn’t relax his stance.
Rob jabbed a finger at Nathan. “None of that would’ve happened if you hadn’t broken the fucking law and bitten a human.” He took a step towards him. “Everything that happened after that was because ofyou.” His expression was a mixture of murderous and gutted.
