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I brush past the guys, calling out to Sailor as I leave the cabin with them trailing behind me.Where the hell are you? We do things together; that’s how we work.
My wolf can feel Sailor, certain he’s listening. I keep moving even though I’m not even sure I’m heading in the right direction. There’s a long silence before he answers.
We’re going to take care of the Jakob problem. Tell Mason and Ian if I’m not back in an hour that we’ve gone up the hiking path. Have Willem stay with you at the cabin.
It’s a little late for that, but I don’t get the chance to say so. I feel the connection between our wolves sever before I can say anything else. I’m not sure if he’s done it on purpose or if he’s simply moved out of range. Either way, I don’t like any of this.
Did he say we?My wolf prods, and I come to a full stop.Didhe say we? I shake the thought away, not able to focus on it when the thought of him confronting Jakob without us makes me want to vomit. I wrack my brain as I try to think through a solution.
I vaguely remember a sign pointing toward a hiking trail, and I can only assume since I’ve only seen the one sign that it’s the only one there is. I turn in that direction, already knowing there’s no way I’ll sit idle in the cabin letting Sailor fight my battles for me.
“Do you know where he is?” Mason asks, his voice matching the urgency I feel.
“Yes.” The only thing I don’t know is… Who the hell iswe?
TWENTY-FIVE
KRISTOFFER
“I swear, if this a fucking trap…” Sailor trails off, but the implied threat is there. He’s already given me a more explicit version that includes dismembering me.
I spare him a hard glare as we both step over a fallen limb. “If I was here for my brother, why would I have let Quinn run?”
“Don’t say her name,” he snaps. And people think I’m an asshole.
I don’t say anything else. I’ve already tried to explain that there’s no love lost between my brother and me. As far as he’s concerned, Quinn and I are the only two things standing between him and our father’s throne.
A throne built from darkness. A throne I never intended to take.
The Red Ash Pack is a haven to monsters in every form. From run-of-the-mill slumlords to sex traffickers. The pack has seen it all under my father. It’s no legacy I aspire to.
If only it were so easy to walk away from the twisted game my parents have created. The throne might be no prize, but what they’ve threatened to take away is enough to keep me playing. For now.
“Move faster,” Sailor grunts at me.
Just beat this guy over the head with a stick already,my wolf grumbles. As much as I’d like to, I need Sailor. The one thing Jakob has going for him is numbers. Now that he knows I’m here—and he made it clear he does by taunting me across our mind link connection—I can use an ally. Even if that only amounts to two of us against my brother and the stolen shifters.
I wasn’t stronger than my older brother growing up, but I was a hell of a lot smarter. At the bottom of the trail, I made sure my scent was spread in three different directions. Jakob will have split up his men to follow all three paths.
Even though the men Jakob has with him are shifters from our shared pack, I’m not under any delusions that any of them would choose my side over his. I’ve given them no reason to be any more loyal to me than to my brother.
I need to get Jakob alone to be able to take him on. With Sailor here, I’ll settle for getting him down to two or three extra shifters. I still think we at least stand a chance that way. Jakob’s ego is too big for him to be of any use in a real fight.
“Fuck.” Sailor freezes on the trail, turning to stare behind us.
I follow suit and scan in that direction, but I don’t pick up on anything immediately. A moment later, a twig snaps. I can make out the faint hint of movement between the trees. A flash of pink makes me feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Again, since that’s how Sailor greeted me.
“I thought you told her not to come,” I mutter angrily to the man beside me. That was the deal we struck, one we both were set on. Quinn needed to stay out of harm’s way.
“I did.” Sailor stomps to greet not just Quinn, but several other men as they appear on our section of the path.
I trail behind him warily, confusion filling me at the sight of the men. She’d said there were other mates, ones who wouldn’t treat her like an object… Butfourmore?
Quinn’s eyes dart around from Sailor to me, accusation clear in the way her eyes narrow and flash in the muted light of the tree cover. “What are you doing with him?” she asks. I almost answer until I realize the question is directed at Sailor, not me.
Of course. It’s not like running away from us as fast as she could really indicated she would want to talk,my wolf says, digging the knife in deeper.
“We’re taking care of the Jakob problem. You need to go back and wait at the cabin where it’s safe.” Sailor’s voice is sharp and commanding, but I can tell it’s the wrong tactic the second Quinn’s back straightens.
