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“Wait.” I grab his hand as he goes to leave. He looks down at it then back at me, and I swallow hard. “Take a wolf. That way we’ll all know where they are and can avoid them.”
He bristles, clearly hating having a wolf watching his back, but he finally inclines his head.
I let out a whistle, and Dom hurries over. “Go with Lucien. If any hunters sneak up on you, kill them. Warn the others where the traps are through the pack bond so we can avoid them.”
“Are you sure about this, babe?” Dom murmurs, eyeing the hunters.
I see them all stiffen at his endearment, but I tug Dom into a quick hug. “We don’t have a choice. Go.”
Dom kisses my cheek, and I ignore the glares I feel aimed at me, unsure why I’m suddenly uncomfortable with Dom touching me when we have done much worse. “Stay safe, babe.”
I watch him and Lucien hurry into the trees, and then I turn back to Vale and Jai.
“I’ll stay with you two,” I say. “For now, I plan to lead some away. Can I trust you to watch my back while I do?”
“We’re here, aren’t we?” Vale snaps.
“Yes,” Jai answers.
“Good.” I move closer and press a claw to Vale’s neck. He freezes. “If you hurt any of my family, I’ll rip your pretty throat out and eat it.”
He glances down to my lips, and it’s my turn to freeze as his voice comes, low and almost flirty. “Pretty, huh?”
Rolling my eyes, I tug my hand away. “Just stay out of my way and make yourself useful or I’ll kill you myself.” I glance at Jai, who’s grinning in that crazy way he does. “Both of you.”
“Aww, don’t be like that, Quinn.” He winks. “I came back, didn’t I?”
“You weren’t supposed to.” I snort as I step back and grin. “Fools, but it seems we are on the same side for now. Try not to shoot me.”
I grab my dress and rip it over my head before shucking down my panties. I stand before them naked, eyes glowing and claws out. “And try to keep up.” I transform.
They’ve seen me shift before, but when my paws hit the ground, Vale seems shocked as he watches me. I roll my eyes, snap my teeth at him, and head past.
I don’t know how long we will have before the humans arrive, but I’m betting not long if they are as fast as Vale and Lucien. My heart aches for what we could lose tonight, but I cannot afford to think like that, so I try to push it away as I trot towards the other wolves who are preparing to defend our pack, two hunters following along behind me.
What a strange day.
CHAPTER FORTY
Idon’t know how long it will be before the hunters get here. It took us far longer than we wanted to escape their notice so we could warn the pack. They were already prepared and heading to the vehicles when we slipped away. Luckily, Jai knew the way, and we managed to get here before them, but they are tight on our tail.
We’ve chosen a side, and now we have to fight for it.
Regret haunts me for the friends I might have to kill, innocents just trying to do their jobs, but I know I have to. The kids and families I saw gathered tonight in the pack solidified my decision. They are innocent too, and they don’t deserve to die.
That’s how I find myself being followed by a way too happy man—er, wolf. Crouching, I dig the holes as fast as I can, laying the explosive traps and then moving on. He seems to mark each one, though I don’t know how that works. We’ve set them back as far from the pack land as we can get in hopes of slowing the hunters down or deterring them.
All the while, the wolf watches my back. My hand twitches, wanting my gun in case he decides to attack, but I force myself to relax. Quinn marked us as safe, so I have to trust in that for now. Otherwise, what is the point of all of this?
It doesn’t mean I’m not on edge, though, because I’m a hunter and he’s a wolf.
We are enemies, but he doesn’t seem to care as he whistles to himself, watching me work. I need to fill the silence, but for some fucking reason, the first thing that comes to my head slips out, and I want to kick myself.
“So you and Quinn are together?” I ask as I dig my hands into the wet soil before planting the trip mine. I cover it gently and mark it for us before moving onto the next area, but the wolf, Dom, is already there.
Smirking, he slams his claws into the earth and digs it up in a second, whereas it would have taken me minutes. “Every now and again.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, unable to look at him.
