When I sniffed the air, I caught a whiff of a masculine scent tinged with hints of charcoal, cedar, and leather.
Turning my widening eyes to him, I said, “Is that?—”
“Red Maw,” Levi growled.
A shockwave of fear slammed into me, and I spun in place, glancing around.
“Calm down,” he muttered, putting a hand on my lower back. “They aren’t close. The breeze is bringing the scent toward us. Come on.”
We walked on, more carefully than before, using every sense we possessed to monitor the forest around us. We moved in silence, more cautious now, and unwilling to give our position away.
“Are you worried about Hidden Grove?” I whispered.
He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s where they’re going.” He pointed to his left. “That direction leads to the pack. From where the scents are coming from, it seems like they’re moving away. Come on, let’s speed things up a bit.”
We shifted. Our wolf bodies allowed for quicker, quieter, and more agile movement. We raced through the forest and up a ridge, making better time than we had before. Here, we had a good view of the forest below, and what we saw sapped the breath from my lungs. Shifting back to our human forms, we both sat on our knees, staring down in shock.
A large group of wolves moved through the forest, not fast, all walking slowly, but deliberately. Was this the entirety of the Red Maw pack mobilized for war? If so, this was what we’d been afraid of.
Even as we watched, many of the men shifted to their human forms, and began to make camp.
Levi leaned in close, putting his lips to my ear. “They’re headed straight for Idlewild.”
Sure enough, they were heading directly toward my hometown. They were still miles out, and moving slow, but they would be there soon. Regardless of what had happened between me and Anders, he had to know about this. The other packalphas in town needed to know. We would be the only warning they got.
Glancing in Levi’s eyes, an unspoken agreement passed between us. Without another word, we shifted, and Levi led me through the forest, circling to the front of the approaching Red Maw men.
Once we’d gotten around them and far enough away, Levi shifted back and turned to me as I did the same.
“That’s not the entirety of their pack,” he said. “It’s likely an expeditionary force.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, glancing back, afraid we might have been followed.
“It means they’re here to set up a base to operate from,” Levi explained. “It’s what I’d do. They found a spot that’s far enough away from Hidden Grove that they won’t be found by accident, and close enough to Idlewild to launch a surprise attack without any warning.” Levi hissed a curse and slapped a tree leaf in agitation. “Those fuckers.”
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked, unsure why he’d suddenly gotten angry.
“This was their plan all along,” Levi said. “That’s why they were probing our defenses at Hidden Grove and leaving tracks we could find so easily. Desdemona knew I’d order everyone to stay close to town. No one will be venturing out, which means they won’t need to worry about being found. That bitch played me.”
It was a twisted but brilliant maneuver. Ensure your enemy is too scared to leave the safety of their base, and once they were hunkered down, use the surrounding area to launch your attack. I hadn’t even met the woman, yet I understood how dangerous she was.
“I’d say we only have a few days, maybe a week at best before she launches an attack. Either on Hidden Grove or Idlewild, Idon’t know, but Anders needs to know about this. We can sort out his bullshit later.”
Shifting again, we sprinted to Idlewild, heedless of noise now, only wanting to get back as soon as possible.
When we burst from the forest, we headed straight to Anders’s house. My worry about the Red Maw faded when I realized how quiet the town was. We were on the outskirts, sure, but it was still the middle of the day. The sun was still up. People should have been out and about. Where was everyone? Had something already happened? I’d only been gone about four hours. Nothing terrible could have happened in that time, could it? Surely the Red Maw hadn’t sent another force out and already attacked? If they had, there would be signs. Loud noises, wolves howling, maybe smoke from fires, who the hell knew what else. Where was everyone?
I wanted to stop and ask Levi if he’d noticed, but he was so fast; if I stopped, he’d be gone before I could speak.
As we rounded the corner and sprinted up Anders’s driveway, a new and even more unexpected sight stopped us in our tracks. Beatrice was in the front yard, screaming, cursing, and throwing rocks at Anders’s house.
With each throw, she belted out another curse.
“Prick…motherfucker…bastard…limp dick!”
Shifting back, Levi and I rushed forward.
“Beatrice?” I called, my voice wavering between confused and worried. I’d never seen her so filled with rage.
