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“So, I’m heading towards pack territory,” I said, catching their attention over the burnt-out fire. “But the new moon is close now and we should really be going to the meeting place.”
Spencer quirked a brow at me. “And you don’t know where it is?”
I shook my head. “No. And I’m worried that we’ll pass it by without realising. Do you know?”
Briar looked regretful as I turned to her. “I don’t know, I’m sorry.”
I sighed. “Then I don’t know what to do.”
They fell into a discussion, throwing out ideas, but none of us knew the forest well enough to really know where to go. I dropped my head into my hands as I tried to rub the tension from my temples, a sudden tug in my gut making me snap back to attention with a gasp.
The conversation was getting heated around me, the others not even noticing my reaction, but I leapt to my feet as one of my bonds pulsed strongly and I felt the connection burst back into life. My heart thumped in my chest as I turned away from the firepit, my ears straining as my eyes frantically searched the trees.
He was close, I could feel him, and as my travel companions bickered behind me I finally spotted the blur of movement racing towards us.
I couldn’t breathe as I watched him shift back into human form mid-step, almost stumbling the last few paces as he swept me up into his arms and crushed me into his chest. His legs gave out, dragging us to our knees as he buried his face in the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply, holding me so tightly that I could hardly move.
Not that I wanted to.
I dug my fingers into his back as I held onto him, pulling him even closer as our bond thrummed between us. My pulse crashed loudly in my ears as a sob ripped from my chest, and he gently pulled back to take my face in his hands, swiping the tears from my cheeks as he looked down on me in wonder.
“Hi sweetheart,” he grinned, emotion shining in his eyes. “Miss me?”
Chapter Seven
Liam
I'dneverregrettedtakingthe Alpha position, but right now I was damn close.
I wouldn’t let my pack down. I was their leader, their strength, and their compass. But the urge to just say fuck it and run to find Cordelia was almost overwhelming.
We'd been travelling steadily toward the meeting point when the yank on our bond nearly took me to my knees. I had no idea how she'd found her way home after the months we’d spent trying to figure out a way through any of the damn witch portals, but my whole body was buzzing with the desire to run to her.
I couldn't though. I wouldn't leave my pack when they needed me. Especially as I was pretty sure we were strolling right into a trap.
“Liam,” Rock gravelled, falling into step with me as he gave me a respectful nod.
“Hey man,” I replied, returning the nod. “Everything ok?”
A voice suddenly called out from further back in the group, calling for yet another rest stop. I sighed as I recognised Vella’s nasal voice, raising a thumb to agree without bothering to glance back.
I now understood why Mina had insisted on leaving so early for this meeting. What should have been a simple two-day trip had become double that because she claimed the group needed to take it slow and easy. I had no clue why we were even travelling in human form, knowing our wolves could run it easily enough, but she had insisted. And lately, it wasn’t worth fighting her on the smaller things. Especially when so many of the pack would immediately leap to her defence.
I dropped my small bag of supplies to the floor, rolling my shoulders as Rock stepped a little closer.
“Do you think everything is ok?”
I raised a brow at him. “What do you mean?”
He cocked his head. “I think you understand me well enough. To me, things do not seem normal in this pack.”
I glanced back to check that we couldn’t be overheard before answering. “I hear you.”
He gave me a measured look before nodding. “Look to your mother. My friends and I have not committed to this pack, we are still on the outside, and we have been watching. Whatever is happening, it is of her doing.”
I looked back to where a small group was sitting together, sharing out water and chatting quietly. Mina sat on a fallen log with Vella beside her, clasping hands like long lost friends. Zeke and Dillon stood close to them, almost guard-like, chatting to Raul and Sully. Closer to us, and noticeably distant from the main group, stood Leaf and Berry, the siblings whispering together as they darted anxious looks at us. Dad was out of sight in the forest, and I realised that this was the chance I’d been waiting for.
“Thank you, my friend,” I murmured to Rock, clapping my hand to his shoulder before heading into the trees.
