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I scooted away from Flint and tried to keep my thoughts reined in.
Soon, the landscape around us started to look familiar, and I knew we must be close to the clearing where we’d met Ingridbefore. Heath pulled the vehicle alongside some rocks and turned off the engine.
Silence surrounded us on all sides. The four of us regarded each other for a minute.
Then Heath said, “No reward without risk, right? This could be a big payday for us.”
Gage grunted, then motioned to Flint and Heath on the left side of the vehicle. “You two go scout. See what you see, but don’t engage, even if you see Ingrid. Come back and report first.”
As soon as Flint and Heath were gone, I turned to Gage and said, “Something doesn’t seem right.”
“Agreed.”
He kept watch, his head swiveling on all sides, gun in hand.
I started to ask, “Should I—”
But both our heads whipped to the side when we sensed movement, and my inner wolf started growling. Ten wolves were prowling toward us, emerging from behind nearby rock outcroppings, along with one in human form. Gage cursed when she came close enough to see, stopping ten feet the front of the van on the driver’s side.
“Fucking Frost Fang,” Gage growled.
She wasn’t Nira — I’d seen her on Ironwood packlands the night Luka and I became fake fated mates — but I had a feeling Gage recognized whoever she was.
“You’re surrounded on all sides,” the older woman called.
Gage growled, his face contorting into an animalistic snarl, his eyes instantly golden. I’d never seen him lose control like that. Whoever this woman was, I had a feeling she and Gage must have serious history.
Her short hair had grayed long ago, but her athletic body told me she couldn’t be that old. Wolf shifters aged more slowly than humans, making our ages difficult to guess.
“Gonna make us come in there to get you?” she asked, her voice clear enough through the glass.
Without waiting for an answer, she took aim at the front driver’s side tire and fired her gun. The vehicle jolted as the tire rapidly deflated. In rapid succession, she shot out the other two she could see.
“I should have had you hide,” Gage growled, turning his golden glare on me.
As pack alpha, it was in Gage’s blood to protect. But for the first time, I would be able to stand with my pack, and I didn’t want to hide or be left behind.
“We’ll face them together,” I said, holding his gaze. “Come what may.”
Gage frowned, then gave a sharp nod. “Letting them break in here after us will only get us injured in the process, which will make it harder to escape later. From the bond, it seems Heath and Flint remain free, but we’re about to be captured. We have to let them think that they’ve won. Be ready when you see me shift, though. Got it?”
I nodded, and with that, Gage opened the door and raised his hands, letting his gun drop to the ground. I left the one he’d given me in the backseat and raised my hands.
“Karina,” Gage growled.
She grinned. “The prodigal son returns. Can’t say I’ve missed you, son.”
That’s when I realized that she must be one of his father’s mates. One of the women who helped Nira orchestrate his brother’s death. One of the reasons why he’d hated me so much when we first met.
“And you must be Freya.”
Gage growled when Karina said my name, stepping in front of me as I slowly got out of the vehicle.
“Nira’s going to be thrilled to see you both,” Karina crowed as the wolves around her raised their muzzles and let out a unified howl.
The hairs stood on the back of my neck, and I hoped Flint and Heath would stay safe. They had to have heard that, and they had to know we were in trouble. We just had to hope they didn’t come rushing in and getting themselves caught, too.
The wolves remained shapeshifted while Karina patted down Gage and removed a few other weapons, tossing them carelessly on the forest floor. She searched me next and discarded my blade the same way.
