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“So moral of the story, if a creepy child asks for stew, you give it to him,” I summarized. Garren nodded solemnly as his eyes danced with amusement.
“Exactly. The world has enough darkness and I like to think we were the first travelers to show that forest spirit some compassion. He was lonely and just wanted one meal with a pack as close as ours and we gave that to him,” he agreed. “And on that note, this old man is ready for bed.”
“I’ll walk you back,” Leven said as he shifted me from his lap to Nyx’s. It was still early so we didn’t follow just yet. The crickets chirped and the fire crackled, and as the magic of the story fell away, conversation picked back up. It was a blissful night of too much food, snuggles by the fire, and a family that set the standards far above any pack I’d ever witnessed before. I’d found my way home, and, in the process, I’d found myself.
ChapterEight
Vanya
The sounds of a deep, guttural scream tore through the night. I bolted upright out of bed and looked over to see Nyx already on his feet. He glanced back at me before looking out the window. The scream echoed again and that was all it took for us to tear through the house, meeting the other two guys at the stairs. We burst through the door and the guys shifted. I stayed human as I ran through the streets after them, barefoot but clothed at least.
Pack members and security flooded the street. A man’s scream tore through the too silent dawn, this one full of true agony. Worry clawed at my chest as I took off at a sprint, the wolves doing the same. The wolves were faster, hopping on the security roof the moment we were within reach before tearing out into the darkness outside the fence.
I tried not to let the panic get away from me as I ran inside security and dropped into the seat next to Antonio, who was blinking away his grogginess and scouring the feeds.
“Here, keep an eye on live feeds. It’s one of our own,” he said without missing a beat. He shoved the tablet at me, the screen mirroring the windows on his main screens. I scanned them each meticulously, watching the guys pace the forest for the missing wolf. Between the early morning darkness and fog it was likely hard to find him. Not to mention, I doubt the tracker left him anywhere easy to find.
“It has to be Lance.” He was a day guard, a man in his thirties who was a bit quiet but dedicated. That had my heart clenching, but the moment they carried a lifeless body from the cover of trees, it shattered completely. “It is.” Antonio’s voice broke at that and he shoved out of his chair and rushed for the gate. I did the opposite and ran for the infirmary in the back room. The light was still out so I flipped it on and started grabbing out gauze and linens, unsure what we were about to face but I wanted to be completely ready for Nyx’s instructions.
“Keep pressure on!” Nyx’s voice was urgent as he led the others back. Leven, Carlo, and Callum had the wolf’s body between them, Callum pushing his hand onto a gaping wound.
“I’m here if you need me,” I told them as I stepped out of the way. They didn’t answer and I didn’t expect them to. Lance was our priority. The blood was gushing around the wound, and I feared Callum’s pressure wasn’t doing what they hoped it would.
Nyx worked efficiently, grabbing what looked like thick gauze and pushing Callum out of the way to take over himself. The gush of blood stopped for a moment but I had no clue how Lance could bounce back from that. Our wolf sides couldn’t knit skin back together on its own that was that far apart.
Nyx worked for over an hour, occasionally calling out orders to us. We handed over anything he asked for as the tension rose to new heights. When my poor, exhausted boyfriend turned around he nearly collapsed into my arms, Callum and Leven moved to help him just in time, to stop him from face planting, and led him to a chair. I followed them over and took the chair next to him, pushing his red hair out of his eyes. They were haunted now and from the thin set of his lips and pale face I knew this wasn’t going to be good news.
“I honestly don’t know if Lance will make it. Someone go get his sister, she’s all he has,” he whispered. “The tracker needs to die. The things he does to people is deplorable.”
“He will,” Callum promised. “What caused the damage?”
“It’s strange. Whatever magic he used was almost like a poison-laced explosion. The main blast ripped his skin apart then let the poison eat away at what was left. It just reached his heart before I cleared it out, but the damage is there and it’s immense. He likely won’t wake up for days so I gave him a sedative just in case. He’d pass right back out from pain otherwise and you know how our bodies handle pain killers. I tried to numb it but…” He trailed off at that like he couldn’t find the words to explain, but we all understood that he did everything he could.
“Lance!” I hadn’t even noticed someone slipping out to get her but Lance’s sister appeared moments later. We were never personally introduced but I’d seen her around. But that cry of pain she let out with his name was one I felt deep in my bones.
“Let’s give her a moment,” I urged my men so Nyx could give her an update in peace. We all cleared out but her sobs and pleading cries could be heard from outside the door as well.
“This was easily a reminder,” Callum said. “A narcissist letting us know that he needs to be at the front of our minds. We had a fun pack dinner last night and woke up to this.”
“Do you think he has cameras watching us?” I asked. The idea had a shiver of unease running down my spine. It was already hard enough to pretend he wasn’t lurking around every damn corner and now here I was imagining the creeper was stalking me via video feed as well. “Ugh gross. I’m sure he is, otherwise, how fun would it be for him to play these games?” They didn’t even react to me answering myself, but I let out a full body shiver that had Callum putting a hand on my shoulder to calm me.
“Antonio,” he called out. The man in question peeked his head inside, looking a bit green.
“Is he okay?”
“We won’t know for a bit,” Nyx answered his question with a deep sigh as he rejoined us. “I need some air.” He got up and walked out. I stood to follow him but Leven held a hand up and shook his head for me to stay put. They were friends for a lot longer than I’ve been around so I listened and sat back down. The fact Leven looked a bit smug at that had me wanting to punch him but somehow, I found the self-control to hold back.
“I need you to find something that will jam any technology within our walls,” Callum said. Antonio’s eyes widened and I could visibly see his panic rising.
“No, no, no,” he rasped. “My feeds will be gone. We can’t track things, have internet or phones, you’d cut us off completely.”
“Okay, then what do you suggest?” Callum asked. He launched into an explanation of our worries and Antonio started to pace as he absorbed it.
“There’s honestly not much we could do unless we searched them out and happened to find them. He masks scents somehow so you can’t just sniff it out and they could be pretty much anywhere. The man doesn’t strike me as someone who takes things lightly and does half-ass jobs,” he countered.
“No, you are right about that,” I said. Then I had a quick flash of the cabin he’d brought me to in California. “When I was in his place there were wires and electronics on his table. He also had a bunch of burner phones. He’s at least somewhat tech savvy.”
The door swung open then and Lance’s sister joined us. Her eyes were red and puffy but she was keeping it together a bit better now. Not that she had to. I spent days not eating, talking, or showering after what happened to my sister. I’d be the last person to judge her.
