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“What about the shifters?” Drew interjected.
“Not a bad idea.” Felix replied, squeezing his jaw. “They seem attached to her.”
The only idea that felt worse than Calgary was the shifters. The thought of the mangy mutts touching her…putting their scent on her. It was enough to drive me mad.
But I had to take her somewhere. Quickly. Get her away from the humans who had hurt her. And they had hurt her - whatever was wrong had to be their doing. And if there was one thing the alpha of the Ravenwings had convinced me of, it was his loyalty for the Thief in my arms.
“Fine.”
Snapping jaws and growls lofted through the air as I stepped out of the shadows into the clearing next to the home we had been at the night before. Pups of all ages spread out around me, the dark hued muzzles dripping saliva from lolling tongues and heavy breathing. Excited yips and howls followed my appearance as the youngsters bounded back and forth, their shock evident in the way they moved. They were too young to be of any threat, this very likely being one of their first shifts. But that didn’t stop one from lunging at my feet. I didn’t bother wasting any of my wrath, kicking him away with the flick of my heel. The pup scampered back, but not before growling low in his throat, the small spot of silver on his neck vibrating with the sound.
This young one was brave. He had better hope it didn’t one day get him killed.
A long crooning howl pierced the sky scattering the pups around me. It was a remarkably soulful sound, almost lyrical despite coming from the throat of a humanoid rather than the mongrels around us. I shouldn’t be surprised the alpha could howl in human form, his command over his pack clear no matter what form he was in. Every mutt scattered to the winds, disappearing into the trees surrounding the meadow, with its scattering of yellow wildflowers glowing beneath the full moon overhead.
Zane wasted no time reaching us, a young woman and another man - most likely the beta I had met yesterday - coming with him.
“What the hell happened?” Zane snarled, trying to take my Thief away from me. I clutched her closer, turning my body away so that he would be forced to try to go through me to get to her. Felix attempted to move between us, but I waved him off, pushing forward past the shifters toward the home behind them.
I threw open the wooden door of the cabin and entered what would have been a cozy living room had it not been covered in pizza boxes and half-drunk bottles of Coca Cola. The television at the far end of the room was blaring some sort of cartoon, and a young boy sat curled in an armchair pulled close enough to it that it was no wonder he didn’t burn out his retinas.
The boy jumped, spinning in the yellow and black checkered armchair, and I could see immediately why he was so close. His large brown eyes were unfocused and slightly crossed, features his thick wire-rimmed glasses emphasized. He couldn’t be much older than eight or nine, and despite his obvious disability he had no difficulty focusing on me, his nostrils flaring to take in our scents. I was sure he had already taken my measure, and from the way his lip curled it was evident he didn’t like me much.
“What’s wrong with Ryn?” the boy asked, his voice surprisingly assured.
“Go to your room Kele,” the female said as she entered closely behind us. The boy stood his ground, hesitating to move from his spot. But a subtle growl from his alpha had the boy slowly extricating himself from the room, his unfocused eyes remaining trained on me as he backed into the rear hallway.
As soon as he was gone, I strode quickly to the long green couch at the back of the room, pushing the oblong coffee table out of the way with a swift kick. Despite the audible gasp behind me, it crashed against the wall, but I paid it no heed.
“What’s wrong with the boy?” I heard Felix whisper to the female behind us.
“Nothing’s wrong with him.” She spat, and my respect for her grew.
I knelt beside my thief, my hand running over her forehead dripping with perspiration. She was warm - too warm, the room's humidity doing nothing to alleviate the burn. Her eyes shifted back and forth in zig zagging patterns behind her closed eyelids while soft whimpers left her throat.
“Do you have a healer?” I asked the mongrels behind me.
“You’re looking at her.” The alpha’s strong voice hung heavy in the clammy air. Had these people never heard of air conditioning? Clearly not if they were still relying on those reeking diesel generators I could hear humming behind the cabin.
“You’re telling me that you are relying on a caster to act as your healer in a pack this size?” I said, unable to keep the incredulity from my voice.
“And you’re telling me that at your rank you don’t have one at your beck and call?”
Touché, mongrel.
“I looked her over and couldn’t find anything physically wrong with her.”
Felix. I snarled in warning. I could feel his flinch over the bond as the metal around his finger burned with my displeasure.
If they’re going to help us they need to know what we’re dealing with here, Marik. His mental voice was pained but steady. I relented, releasing my ire as Felix relaxed.
“Sure, nothing’s wrong. Meanwhile her arm is literally dangling out of its socket.” the female stamped her bare clad foot.
“I can fix that.” Felix replied with a shrug.
“Then why don’t you do it?” the female replied in the same sarcastic tone she had used earlier. Felix merely rolled his eyes, coming over to do what he could to ease my Thief’s discomfort.
“So why is she unconscious then?” Zane asked, ignoring the banter between my second and the female with him.
