“We’ve lost enough shifters to the humans. Which is why I know better than to let someone in your state of mind go on an op. Face it, Gare, you’d be a danger to yourself and everyone else I send.”
“I’ll go alone.”
“And that confirms it,” Hayden adds. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“I’m better at infiltrating than anyone else we have.”
“What happens if you screw it up? Or even if you do everything right but still find yourself trapped, without backup no less.You’re risking more than yourself. Those captured shifters need our help.”
“You’re counting her, too, aren’t you?”
“The bait,” Hayden explains to Damien. “She called herself Angelina, but we don’t have a last name. Pryce said there’s no Angelina on the list of missing shifters. No females at all.”
“That means nothing,” I argue.
“We would have heard about a pack missing a female.”
“Not if she were a lone wolf. Damien, you can’t assume she’s bait. She didn’t try to lure me. Quite the opposite.”
“Because she knew you weren’t alone. She was downwind of us, Garrett. She knew we were coming. If having four males nearby scared her, she had plenty of time to flee, but she didn’t.”
Everything he’s saying makes sense, except this gnawing feeling inside that I’m right about her. But if I’m not, anything I do could risk my packmates. My instincts could be way off. Damien and Hayden are right. I shouldn’t go on any op where I’d endanger anyone, including the female I can’t stop thinking about.
Just as I sink back to the sofa, a cool breeze drifts over me. Frank steps through the door, followed by Pryce, Blade, and Callen. I’m family, but they’re his top shifters, the ones he trusts the most.
“Damien, I’m still your best retrieval specialist,” I remind him.
No one says a word. I don’t need to look up to see the looks passing through them. They’ve lost faith in me.
A hand rests on my back. “No one’s questioning your skills, Garrett, but you need rest, time to heal emotionally. Why don’t you stay with Tess and me for a bit? We have plenty of room upstairs. You can hang out, help with the Christmas decorations in camp, or maybe help Sadie Lynn.”
“Sadie Lynn?” He knows I had a thing for her a while back after I’d asked Marla to blood-bond me and got shot down.
“She’s taking over training the teens while Tanner finishes healing.”
“Tanner’s wolf has been slow in healing him,” Pryce speaks up. “So I ordered him to rest. No activity at all. Nothing more than walking to and from the cookhouse for meals.”
“See, Gare, you’re not the only one who gets sidelined. It’s temporary. We need you at your strongest.”
Glaring at Frank gets me nowhere. Never has. So I rise and walk up to the massive guard who could probably crush me with one hand. “You and everyone here condemned your mate before you knew the truth behind why she was in prison.” His playful smile quickly dissolves. He’s very protective of his mate, as a shifter should be.
“Careful, Garrett,” Blade warns, as if I can’t read Frank’s darkening expression.
“I’m not condemning Delilah, I’m just making a point. You of all people should understand there may be more going on here. That female we saw today—Angelina—held fear in her eyes, but not because of us. Something else. Not once did she try to lure me in, even before you guys showed up. She was warning us off, and the entire fucking time my wolf was nipping at me, telling me something was wrong about the situation. I ignored him, because I don’t fucking trust myself anymore, not after Marla. But I’m sure about this, Frank. Angelina would have left with us if she could have.”
“You think the WSSO’s forcing her,” Callen says. “I didn’t see a collar or chain on her or scent anyone nearby.”
That’s the part I can’t figure out either. “I don’t know. But every instinct I have tells me she wasn’t there because she wanted to be. If they’re using her to bait shifters, it’s against her will, which means she’s a victim like all the others. We have to go after her.”
“Agreed,” Damien says. “But you’re staying here. You’re too invested and not… in peak form. I can’t ignore it any longer.”
I don’t agree or argue with him. It wouldn’t do any good. Damien’s the alpha. He decides our course. And he’s agreed to send in a team to rescue Angelina. I can’t contradict him.
“I’m heading home.” With a simple nod I make my way out before Damien becomes suspicious. He thinks I’m satisfied because he agreed to rescue Angelina, but I know him as well as he knows me. If Blade can pick up Angelina’s trail, Damien will send a team in to follow, surround, assess. All that takes time. Time she may not have. Angelina’s as exposed and vulnerable as Marla was. And I can’t let history repeat itself.
“Hi, Garrett?” Sadie Lynn waves from where she and three teens are sorting through the Christmas ornaments at the base of the tree. The branches shake, and several higher branches teeter to the right. My eyes scan to see how many teens are climbing, then lower to focus on Sadie Lynn. Her smile widens.
“Did you lose a teen? Or four?” I point to the upper branches where red, white, blue, and orange peak through.
