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I glance down at my heart stones to see them lit up bright pink. It’s even brighter than the way my heart stone lit up when it led me to Sailor at Otto’s place. My stomach twists uncomfortably. There’s no way that’s good.
I’m not interested, my wolf says bluntly.And neither is our heart stone.
What do you know that I don’t?I ask, sensing that my wolf’s attention is divided. Her mind is somewhere else, but she’s not sharing that with me. She doesn’t even respond.
I try to focus on what’s in front of me. Mind, body, and wolf splitting in what feels like more than a few different directions. I’m struggling to focus, but I force my attention to the threat standing in front of me.
“My heart stones don’t light for you,” I tell Jakob confidently. If my wolf says it’s true, then I know she’s right.
“It’s because of me,” Sailor says. I don’t correct him, but that doesn’t seem right either. There was a distinct feeling that came off my heart stones when I went in search of him, and it’s not the same unsettled feeling I have now.
Jakob doesn’t respond, and I realize he’s no longer looking at me. His gaze is fixed down the tree line. After a moment of silence, I realize he must be mind linking with his pack. Sailor must realize it too because he pulls me back another step, his hand on the front of my hip to keep me pinned to him.
“What’s happening?” I whisper.
“I don’t know.” Sailor clenches me tighter, and my heart pounds in my chest. “But whatever it is, I don’t think it bodes well for us.”
Jakob scowls as if he doesn’t like something he heard. He flicks his eyes in our direction and back to the trees again. He snarls like there’s something there, but I follow his gaze and see nothing.
“I have something to take care of.” Jakob steps toward us, but only by a few paces. Sailor and I hold our ground. “But don’t worry, little girl. I’ll be right back for you, and you won’t be going anywhere but home with me.” His lips curl up in a sickening smile.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Over my dead body.
Jakob looks up at Sailor. “If you’re going to use her before you hand her over, make sure to wash her up after. I don’t want sloppy seconds behind a pack deserter.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Sailor mumbles, but he holds tight to me. There are too many unknowns to risk going for Jakob right this second, and I’m glad Sailor senses that.
The pack deserter comment bothers me a little, but I vow not to even ask until the immediate danger passes. I can tell it rubs a sore spot with Sailor, though. I can only hope that it’s not true. Shifters leave their packs to join new ones or go rogue all the time, butpack deserterinsinuates something much darker than that.
I shake it off. I can’t think about that now.
Sailor and I watch Jakob as he turns and disappears into the trees. I listen to the sound of his footsteps until they morph into the sound of a wolf running. He’s shifted to deal with whatever situation has come up with his pack. The knowledge leaves me feeling uneasy, rocking slightly in Sailor’s arms.
“We should run,” I say, turning in his arms but not immediately stepping away.
He shakes his head. “I think he’s counting on that. If he planned to actually mess with us in neutral territory, he didn’t need to taunt us like that. If we step foot out of the campground, we have to be prepared to fight.”
I can hear the hesitation in Sailor’s voice, and my stomach drops. He doesn’t think we should fight—and if that’s the opinion of the strongest fighter we have?
My wolf helpfully supplies,We’re screwed.
I take a deep breath and run through quick scenarios in my mind. Sailor tries to ask me what I’m doing, but I shush him. After a few quick moments, I can narrow everything down to three immediate goals.
Protect the guys.
Protect myself.
And protect the heart stones.
One of those things leads to a more concrete answer than the others. I hold the stones tighter against me. He’s not going to like it, but I tip my head back to stare into Sailor’s dark eyes as I say, “Okay, we need to split up.”
“Absolutely not.” He frowns at me, and I find myself wishing, not for the first time, that I could see a hint of that smile again. It’s not even close to the right time to be thinking about it, but while there’s something tantalizing about him when he’s broody, he’s even more mesmerizing with a slight quirk of a smile on his lips.
“I won’t leave the path from here to the cabin, I swear, Sailor.” We’re not that far from Willem’s cabin. “I have something I have to do. And I need you to gather Willem and the twins. We all need to be in one place.”
“Fuck, Quinn. Don’t ask me to do that.” His face looks pained, and my own heart pangs in my chest. But I know what I have to do, and I can’t do it with him breathing down my neck.
“You have to, okay? I’ll never forgive myself if something happens because the others don’t know what’s going on. I promised them we would communicate, so we can’t wait for them to find out that Jakob is here again. Please go, and I’ll meet you right back at the cabin.”
