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I love youhovered on the tip of her tongue. Before she could say it, he kissed her forehead. “I wish there was more time, but my wolf is restless. Our enemies are on the move.”
She didn’t ask how he could know such a thing for sure but trusted he did. As a lone wolf, he had abilities far beyond what she could comprehend. And he was right. This was no time for emotional drama. It was time to be smart, to take decisive action.
She cleared her throat. “Guess we should call the white wolf.”
…
Kade hated that he’d hurt Luna’s feelings and made her relive painful memories from her past, but he’d had to know in order to lay any final doubts to rest. Whatever was going on with them, she wasn’t willingly helping his enemies. She was caught up in a mess not of her making.
How far back did it go? She’d been dreaming about the gray wolf since childhood. The one person who might have answers was Devlin. “I’ll put the call on speaker.” She deserved to hear everything.
“I appreciate that.”
“Let’s sit in the living room.” She needed to eat, but he knew better than to suggest it until this was done. Once they were settled on the sofa, he placed the call.
“What the hell is going on? I expected to hear from you by now.” No greeting, no pleasantries, Devlin got straight down to business.
“You’re on speaker. Luna’s with me.”
“Are you safe?” He understood Devlin was asking as much about Luna as he was about their enemies.
“For now.” Kade wasn’t sure how long that would last. Like an itch he couldn’t scratch, his restlessness was growing. His internal clock was ticking. There wasn’t time to fuck around. He needed information, and he needed it now. “Luna had a run-in with Solange.”
Swearing blasted over the line. “You’re sure Luna isn’t with them?”
“Yes.” He was staking his life on it, as well as the lives of the other lone wolves. If Solange got one of them and could steal their immortality, she wouldn’t rest until she captured the others.
Beside him, Luna was pale but calm. She reached over and slipped her hand into his. The simplicity, the solidarity of the gesture steadied him.
“Solange is crazy but brilliant. Both she and Charles are. They’re focused and committed, and they won’t stop until either we or they are dead.”
Kade had assumed as much. There was no reasoning with fanatics. “It’s best we don’t meet in person. It’s safer for everyone if we’re not in close proximity to one another.” Last thing they needed to do was make it easier for their enemies to capture them. If Devlin and his woman were currently flying under the radar, they were better off staying where they were. “What can you tell me?” Any information that gave them insight into their opponents was valuable.
“Long story short, they tried to steal the immortality of the last lone wolf. Shit went sideways. In an attempt to salvage things, Solange managed to split the energy and sent it in three different directions.”
“And we all came into existence that same night, vessels for the split energy.” Devlin had mentioned in their last conversation that their enemies were responsible but not how they’d done it. Had he and the others been chosen or had they been the only three making their first shift? All that was available to the spirit of the lone wolf? That was something to think about but not now. “That was eighty-five years ago. Why wait so long to try again? Why not come at us right out of our transition when we were young and struggling?”
“Solange needed time to figure out what went wrong the first time around. There’s some kind of timing for her spells. It’s complicated, but it’s all tied into our blood.”
His phone buzzed, signaling another call. That in itself was unusual. He rarely received a call. Normally, he was the one making them. He went to dismiss it but recognized the number. There was only one reason this person would contact him—trouble.
“Gotta go. I’ll call back when I can.” He hung up on Devlin and answered. “What’s wrong?”
“You’ve been compromised. Get out now.” The broker was calm, but there was an edge of anger to his voice that didn’t bode well for whoever had betrayed him.
“How long?” He grabbed the phone and jumped to his feet. Luna was already on her way to the bedroom with him right behind her.
“Unknown. Likely minutes. Sending backup.”
“Negative.” The last thing he needed was humans involved. He turned off the phone and stuffed it in his back pocket. “We have to go.”
Face pale, she had her purse looped over her head and arm, wearing it across her body. She gave him a determined nod. “I’m ready.”
He grabbed his knapsack and ushered her toward the elevator, detouring long enough to retrieve the laptop and stuff it inside. He didn’t bother with his duffel bag. He could always buy new clothes and had a change in his knapsack for emergencies. Forgoing the elevator, they hurried down the back stairs. Less than sixty seconds after the call, he eased open the door and listened to the muted sounds of the city. It was difficult to hear much of anything over the pounding of Luna’s heart. She was scared but hadn’t asked questions, had acted swiftly, and was now trusting his lead.
It was humbling as hell and fired his determination to keep her safe. “We move fast but don’t run. That will attract attention. Stay close.” He spoke low, barely above a whisper. If he was alone, he’d go hunting. Having Luna with him changed everything. For the first time, he was in protection mode.
Keeping silent, he led her to the corner of the building before looking both ways. It was an industrial area, and the businesses had closed for the evening, making traffic light. He needed to get her somewhere crowded. Wolves had few hard-and-fast rules, but not involving humans topped the list.
