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“I hear you.” She nodded. “Oscar?”
Finn took the baby. “Be safe Olivia, or Mal will rip my goddamn head off.” He headed back down the hall to Jessa.
She ran from the house. Her skin was aching, the pull and push of bones and muscles making her itch. Whatever was happening, her wolf demanded control. Olivia breathed through it, relaxing her mind and body. It hurt, but not the way she imagined it would. She had to push to find the relief on the other side. When her claws sliced through her knuckles and her skin gave way to fur, the shift was over.
Her wolf was running, pausing to sniff and search. Her ears perked up, shifting through the sounds of the forest for something else—some sign of Brown or Tess. But she was too agitated, her senses all over the place.
She let instinct take over. Through the forest. Over two mountains. Up high, in the snow.
Her wolf found Brown’s scent. Sour. Stressed. Musky. He was running hard.
Tess’s scent joined his now.
Olivia slowed, not wanting to intrude on father and daughter. At the same time, she couldn’t leave without knowing they were okay. Why had he left his post? Why had they run off—now, when Jessa was so vulnerable.
She passed through a ravine, ears alert, and paused.
Brown sat in the snow several feet from Tess. Tess’s wolf sat, uneasy, at his side. Olivia’s wolf moved into the trees, watching.
Her heart ached for Brown. He’d never give up on his daughter. He didn’t care that she was a wolf, or that her human form was utterly broken. The man was loyal and patient. Whatever had brought her out here, he seemed content to wait until she decided it was time to return to the lodge. He loved his daughter.
An image of her father popped up. He’d had the biggest laugh. People loved him; he had a sort of magnetic pull that made them want his approval. She’d always had it. Chase always tried. It was hard to reconcile that man, her father, with what she now knew of him. For all his charm and affluence, she would trade her memories of him for one moment with a father like Brown. To sit in silence, knowing he was there for her—no judgment, just love. Did Tess know how lucky she was? Did she know she had a second chance here, a chance at a good life?
Brown looked at his daughter, speaking to her softly—too soft for Olivia to hear.
Tess’s wolf’s ears dropped, her tail wagged, but she didn’t move.
Brown smiled.
Olivia’s wolf tensed. A new scent. New but familiar. And terrifying. And a ripple in the air so strong, her wolf pressed down under the trees. Memories and fear crowded in on her. Of punching Chase, being stabbed, and getting thrown in the back of a van. This scent belonged to the creature responsible for that. Which was nothing when compared with what he’d done to Mal—tearing his throat out. Skinning him.
Fury choked out fear. Her wolf coiled, aching to pounce—to attack. Byron was here, somewhere.
Tess perked up, her eyes focusing on a distant point. She stood, ears pivoting, then looked directly at Olivia.
She knew? She knew they were coming. And she’d led Brown here.
Two more distinct scents reached her. Scents she didn’t recognize rapidly approached, coming through the ravine at her back. Others.
Something cold and hard was pressed against her head. “Shift or he bleeds out on the snow.”
Olivia’s wolf fought her, wanting to run or howl. She glared up at the man, ignoring the gun he pressed against her skull.
“Now,” he repeated, smiling.
She did, and her wolf fought her the entire time. Her lungs ached, gasping for air when he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to her feet. Her wolf fought to be free, aching to protect her—and go for the jugular.
“Damn shame,” the man said. “Boss claimed you.”
Olivia was still recovering from the shift and couldn’t speak. Cyrus had claimed her?
“Come on,” the other one said, far less interested in her. “The sooner we get this over with, the better. Even if we don’t get the other female, we have her.”
Olivia tripped over her own feet, the man’s hold punishing her scalp and dragging her behind him. Why were they here? What did they want?
“Shit.” Brown stood, his hand going to his waist.
“Nope.” The man holding Olivia pointed the gun at her.
