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Closing my eyes, I ignore the pink pastel wallpaper and old TV and settle in to get some rest.
We are going to need it for this hunt.
We go back tomorrow.
And the next night.
And the next.
On the fourth night, we are starting to lose hope and arguing about moving the traps as we get out of the truck, but the distinct sound of a whining trapped animal reaches us, and we stop.
“Is that . . . ?” I reach for my stun gun. Its voltage is enough to kill a human, but it knocks monsters out.
“Three of the cameras are down, so it could be,” Jai murmurs. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
I yank him back and behind me as we fall into formation, fanning out. Vale watches our backs, and Jai guards our sides as I head to the tree line. The whining increases, and from here, I hear heavy panting. Leaves crunch under my boot as I still at the line, peering into the darkness beyond. It must be one of the deeper traps.
When they tap my shoulder, I advance forward, stopping under the half-broken branches of a tree. Our cameras, shattered like broken toys, are scattered around the clearing, and pieces of them crunch under our feet as we spread out.
In the middle of the destruction, trapped in the metal cage, is a wolf with bright, intelligent eyes. It’s small, either a kid or a small female, with all brown fur except for some white markings on its face.
It’s not a feral or a wild wolf.
No, this is a werewolf, and a pack one at that.
“Well, boys, looks like we trapped a live one,” Jai comments, laughing as he kicks the cage. The wolf swipes out at him, but he dances back with a grin. It hunches down, keeping all of us in its line of sight.
I prowl the perimeter, but I only see one set of prints within the trees. Why would they let a female or a child come out here alone? It’s not a trap. I don’t sense anyone else around. No, the wolf is alone . . .
Why?
When I come back, Vale is crouched at a safe distance away, his head cocked. “We’re not killing it,” he commands as Jai pulls his massive machete.
“What? Why?” he whines.
“It’s a female, and females are protected. It’s a pack wolf, so that means someone will come looking, and we’ll be waiting.”
“You want to use her as bait,” I comment, leaning back into the tree.
“Exactly, big brother.” He grins. “We’ll take this pack down right here. Just you wait.”
The wolf snarls in warning, and it raises the hair on the nape of my neck.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Quinn!” Toby calls as he jogs over to me where I’m filling my plate with wraps. The urgency and worry in his tone instantly put me on edge. Something is wrong.
“What’s wrong?” I pass my plate to the nearest wolf and grab Toby’s arm. Tears well in his eyes as he looks at me. Toby is skinny, especially for his age. He is only two years younger than me, and he should be a powerhouse, but he’s an omega and was born with hardly any power. It makes him weak and vulnerable, but luckily, the rest of the pack takes care of him.
“It’s Sarah. She was supposed to meet me last night.” He ducks his head, his cheeks flaming. That’s news to me. Sarah is a lawyer in town, middle pack. They would make a cute couple though. She’s hard, and he’s funny and outgoing, so they are just what each other needs. “But she didn’t show. I got worried and asked around last night. Turns out she went out into the woods for a run, saying she needed to burn off energy. She was dealing with a nasty divorce case in town, and it was wearing her down,” he rambles.
“Toby,” I snap, infusing some of my power into my tone. His wolf whines as he practically flattens himself against the floor.
“She hasn’t come back.” He lifts his eyes for a second. “She always comes back. She even missed work. Something happened, I feel it.”
“Go tell Jang, okay? Gather the other enforcers and send them out into the woods.” I turn and scan the crowd, but the only one I see is Tetrim. Snarling, I head his way. “Assemble the others. I want every acre of the woods searched inch by inch. Report back to Jang, who will stay here. We are looking for Sarah. She’s missing.”
“Oh, now you want my help,” he sneers.
