“I’m not sure if having you smell like one of the mutts is actually better,” he states, acting as my shield as I strip and change into the t-shirt and gym shorts, rolling them at the waist.
“The others leave to give us privacy?” I ask in confusion, looking around and trying to remember the last time I was actually aware of their presence.
His grimace says everything that he doesn’t. “Went to help the others.”
Pausing, I scan his face, cursing myself for getting so lost in the moment feeding that the rest of the world fell away. “How bad is it?”
Balling up my ruined clothes, he walks several paces from the vehicle, using the matchbook he stole from the duffle bag to torch them. “They should be here any minute.”
My stomach flips. “They’re okay, right?” At his silence, I grab his arm, forcing him to look away from the fire and face me again. “Who?”
Before he can answer, the sound of Addie crying draws my attention as they crest the hill. Stryker’s in a pair of sweatpants covered in droplets of blood that don’t belong to anyone here, holding Adelaide’s hand as she swipes at her tear-stained face. The wolves chose to remain in that form, apparently taking the smoke as a sign that it was safe. But it’s Hunter that I focus on, unmoving as Mason carries him down to us, his face a taut mask.
I don’t trust any of my senses right now, unintentionally slamming the sensory block in place to protect myself, choosing denial as the only manageable option. “Is he...?”
“He’s alive,” Bane hurriedly assures.
As they come into view, the sky beginning to lighten, it illuminates not only how torn up Hunter is, but the wrecked look on Mason’s face as he tries to hold it together. Getting to the SUV, the wolves shift back and get dressed, trying to figure out how we’re all going to cram in.
Addie releases Stryker’s hand to run towards me, latching on to my side and burying her face against my hip. Hand trembling, I stroke a hand over her hair, but I’m not even sure if it’s more for her comfort or mine at this point.
“What happened?”
Mason’s voice is gruff. “That goddamn asshole we ran into at the store and the club. It wasn’t Blake that was stalking you, after all.”
Stryker pulls out a cellphone from his stolen sweats, pissed off, and extends it for me to look. As Mason carefully slides into the backseat with Hunter, I swipe through photo after photo, dating back to before I was ever kidnapped in the first place. When I can’t look anymore, Stryker takes it back, ushering Addie and me into the car while the others cram into the back, Aiden firing up the engine.
Beside me, Addie sniffs. “He stopped us and showed us a picture, asked if we’d seen you. Said you were his wife and someone took you, tried to warn us that there were dangerous people around and we shouldn’t be out here alone.” She curls into my side. “But then he started acting funny, like Uncle Zane did before he... before you...”
Wrapping an arm around her, I shut my eyes tightly, wishing that when I open them, all of this will have been a dream. “And Hunter tried to stop him from going after me instead of running.” She nods, crying in earnest again.
“He’s going to be okay,” Mason declares softly, trying to convince himself as much as the rest of us. As we drive, he keeps his attention rapt on Hunter’s face and a balled up shirt pressed against his stomach, like he can use sheer force of will to make sure it happens. “He’s going to wake up tomorrow, good as new.”
Tearing his attention away from him for a brief moment, he meets my eye; determination, hope, and so much hatred warring within their depths. “It might be distant, but he’s still related to you. There’s no way the change won’t take. I bit him in time; I’m sure of it.” His expression begins to fracture as he looks back down at the unconscious boy fighting to draw shallow breaths. “This time tomorrow, we’ll be wanting to chuck him off a cliff, he’ll have so much annoying energy.”
Chapter 27
