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“Okay, then we need a cart,” I said, grabbing one and starting to push. We went through and got all the toppings for nachos and more bags of chips than we likely needed. Finally we grabbed a jumbo bag of gummy worms and several boxes of the Push-Ups. If he loved them, then the others would get a kick out of them too. Thankfully they had huge value packs so we cleared them out then got a worker who said they had two more in the back.
Leven grabbed two coolers from their display on top of the freezer aisles and we started for the door. They didn’t have a self-checkout but I hoped the minimal interaction would be enough to keep the middle-aged man safe. I felt like a ticking time bomb, everyone who looks at me or talks to me could be at risk of this psycho’s murderous hands.
When we got outside, I could feel them. Maybe I was just more connected to them after the full moon run, but I felt Nyx, Callum, and the others watching us as we laughed and talked while we loaded up the bed of his truck.
“Do you smell that?” I asked quietly. He heard me and froze, lifting his face and taking a deep breath. It was there one second, gone the next, carried off in the steady breeze and I growled in frustration. “I swear I scented that asshole.”
“I don’t,” Leven admitted. “He must have come around just to mark the truck and was gone too quickly for it to stick. Why don’t you get in, I’ll finish this.” The thought of walking even that far from him bothered me, then of course I hated myself for that thought. I was an independent wolf and now I was acting like I couldn’t even exist without strong wolves around me.
Before I could climb in, I froze, eyes on the handle. Something caught the light and I leaned down, gasping at the blade now embedded in the truck, just under the metal handle. If not for the bright afternoon light, I’d have missed it completely.
“Lev?” I called out. He was there in a flash, leaning down and taking in what I was.
“Shit, glad I didn’t grab mine. What the fuck is this guy?” he growled. He walked back and reached into the truck bed, picking out a crowbar. Ignoring his gorgeous paint job, he slammed it into the top, the blade popping out of the bottom. I could immediately see the coating on the tip of the blade.
“Silver,” I told him. His jaw clenched as he opened the door with his jacket as a barrier to protect his hand. He even went as far as checking the seat and the visor before even allowing me to climb in. There was a clink on his side as he slammed the blade out of position then climbed in.
“It seems our friend is stalking us,” he said. “What would have been gained from doing that?”
“Just another way to get in our heads. That or it fuels his magic,” I suggested. “We know next to nothing about the type he uses or what makes it work.”
“True,” he sighed, hitting the steering wheel hard enough it creaked under the pressure. “I feel so out of my depths here. I’m a protector, how do I protect you from a ghost?”
“We’ll get him,” I promised, scooting closer so I could rest my head on his shoulder and hug his arm to me. He leaned his head on mine and sighed.
“You know I’m all in now, right?” he asked gently, and I knew we weren’t talking about the stalker anymore. “I’m so sorry I was too stubborn to see it before. You didn’t deserve all I threw at you.”
“You’re right, I didn’t,” I said. “But you’ve more than proven we’re past that. I forgive you, Leven.”
“I’m glad.” He sagged against me a little and I hated that he was beating himself up so badly over this. “I’m even working on being okay with the other guys.”
“Good, because honestly I don’t think I could give them up either,” I admitted quietly. “I know it seems crazy, but you all just… fit with me.”
“We do,” he agreed, “which is why I’m trying.”
“Thanks, Leven,” I sighed. “We should probably move; the ice cream will melt.”
“Good point,” he said as he shifted the car into gear, waiting to move until I was back in my seat and buckled in.
The drive back was far too quiet for my liking. It felt like the other shoe was just waiting to drop and knowing this wolf, he had a lot more pain planned for us.
“What the fuck is that?” I asked, pointing in the road ahead. He was already slowing to a stop and we both got out. Lying in the road was a woman. She was frail and had clearly endured something. Her bones stuck out and her cheeks were hollow. Dirt and blood covered her body, and she wore nothing more than a thin white dress. No shoes or socks, no jacket, just that. I stared at her chest, holding my own breath as I waited for movement. It was almost undetectable but it was there. “Nyx! Help!” My screams echoed in the night, and I was almost positive I heard a howl from somewhere in the distance even though our pack was already approaching.
Nyx shifted the moment he arrived, leaning down and inspecting her before gesturing to Leven.
“Can you pick her up and carry her in? I’m naked, I don’t want to freak her out,” he explained, blushing a bit.
“Yeah,” Leven said. Turning to me he narrowed his eyes and tossed the keys. “Don’t hurt it.”
“I drive a truck,” I laughed. “It’ll be fine. No more damage than blades.” His eyes darkened again and he nodded.
The wolves followed a naked Nyx and Leven carrying the girl back while I climbed in the truck. I thought they’d left me unguarded for a moment before I saw a wolf sitting in the front seat. The moment I got closer, I knew it was Callum.
“Leven is going to kill you,” I warned him as I climbed in, adjusting his seat and steering wheel so I could reach everything. I wasn’t super short, but Leven was a damn giant. The big truck made more sense now that I was seeing the difference in our reach.
I drove through the still-open gate and parked right past the security office and turned it off, pocketing the keys as I climbed out before rushing inside. I didn’t want the poor girl to wake up with a bunch of men surrounding her.
The bulk of the pack was now human and dressed, so I pushed past them into the room where Leven and Nyx were working side by side. Callum joined a moment later, back to human and with sweatpants on again.
