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My cheeks flushed with absolute mortification. “Shush, Audrey.” I tried to maintain my composure as the others entered the room. “Not a word.”
She winked at me, clearly enjoying my discomfort as the rest of our friends and pack mates filled the room, their laughter chasing away any lingering awkwardness.
Chapter 32
Ridge
I cracked another egg into the skillet, watching as it began to cook. The smell of sizzling bacon made my stomach rumble. Normally, I’d have a smoothie first thing—or “rabbit food,” as Tori liked to call it—before I headed into the office or town hall. But today, I figured it would be nice to sit and eat together, so I was waiting for Tori to get up.
She wasn’t a morning person, but I knew she’d be up soon, especially with the scent of breakfast drifting through the open kitchen door. After the calories we’d expended with yesterday’s run—not to mention, when we’d gotten home—I wanted to make sure she ate a filling breakfast before we started our day.
The phone rang, and I wiped my hands on a nearby dish towel before picking it up.
“Ridge,” Clawson said urgently. “You need to get down to the town hall right away. A new wolf shifter just arrived, and she’s in bad shape. We could really use your help. I think you should bring Tori.”
“I’m on my way.” Something in Clawson’s tone immediately kicked off my protective alpha instincts. I could feel the presence of my wolf, anticipating any potential danger to our pack. I turned off the stove and jogged up the stairs.
When I opened the bedroom door, I expected it to be dark and for Tori to still be snuggled up under the duvet. Instead, I found the curtains wide open, flooding the room with the warm glow of the early morning sun. Tori was sitting on the edge of the bed, hurriedly pulling on her pants. As I entered, she looked up. Her beauty always took my breath away. After our run with the pack last night, she’d looked so happy and relaxed. It saddened me that the strain etched on her features had returned.
Her voice was tense as she spoke. “I heard the phone. What is it? What happened?”
“I’m not sure. Clawson just called and asked us to come down to the town hall,” I said as she stood up to fasten her pants. I moved closer, needing to soothe my mate, but as much as I’d hoped for a leisurely morning together in bed, I settled for a tender kiss. “I’ll meet you downstairs when you’re ready.”
I hurried to the kitchen and, using the bacon I’d already cooked, threw together a couple of breakfast sandwiches we could eat on the go. I was just pouring coffee into insulated travel mugs when she came bounding down the stairs. I handed Tori her coffee. She took a long sip and flashed me a grateful smile. With our sandwiches in hand, we headed out to the car.
It was only when I pulled out onto the road and after she’d fortified herself with a mouthful of sandwich and more coffee that she spoke again. “Did Clawson tell you why he wanted us to come down?”
“All he told me was that a new shifter has arrived in bad shape and needs our help.” I was starting to worry about what we’d find. Clawson was equipped to handle most emergencies, human and shifter, with ease. The situation had to be serious if he felt it necessary for me to be there, but why ask for Tori to be present as well?
Without hesitation, I pressed my foot firmly on the accelerator, urging the vehicle to go faster. As we sped along, thetrees became a mere blur outside the window. With each passing mile, my mind conjured up a series of theories, each more alarming and outlandish than the one before.
I couldn’t imagine a new shifter being a major threat to us. The biggest threat we faced were the hunters and William Summers. One of Summers’s hunters had infiltrated Blackwood Creek by posing as part of the construction crew contractors. When his abduction attempt of Tori failed, the coward had killed himself rather than being taken prisoner. Before that, though, he’d passed a message to Tori: if she handed herself over to Summers, he would leave me and Blackwood Creek alone. Which was bullshit. He would’ve tortured Tori before killing her, but not before destroying me and the town. I had a feeling the sick fucker would have made her watch.
Needless to say, Tori had politely declined.
I’d tightened security in town again after that, but hunters were resourceful. Just thinking about all the possibilities frightened the ever-loving shit out of me. So it stood to reason that whatever Clawson’s reason for asking for our help in dealing with this new shifter, it could involve the hunters breaching the security.
“What if it’s hunters?” Tori asked, obviously thinking along the same line.
“Clawson said the new shifter was ashe, so I don’t think it’s Summers. We can guess as much as we want, Tor, but we won’t know for sure until we get to the town hall.” I was glad to see she’d managed a few more bites of the sandwich, but I hated how quiet she’d become. I’d rather she was sassing me right now than worrying. As the alpha, it was my job to worry and protect my pack, and especially my mate.
I’d do anything for this woman. She had no idea how special she was. Once this latest emergency was dealt with, I’d show her exactly how special she was.
The moment I parked the car at the town hall, we jumped out and ran up the front steps. Inside, I was amazed to see Clawson and Kyle standing near a shaking girl who couldn’t have been more than fourteen. Her wide, tear-filled eyes darted around the room, seemingly expecting danger to leap out at her at any second. She’d obviously been through something traumatic.
Now I understood why Clawson had requested I bring Tori. Three massive men were present—two shifters and one ex-hunter. Tori was the least intimidating out of all of us.
I grabbed Tori’s hand to prevent her from rushing to the girl’s side. From my past encounters with trauma survivors, I knew initial reactions were crucial. It was essential to move slowly, so they didn’t mistake a sudden movement as a threat and lash out in fear. But then I remembered Tori was probably aware of that from her own experiences.
“Ridge, Tori,” Clawson said, his voice somber. “This is Camila Garcia. She just arrived in Blackwood Creek, and she needs our help.”
He stepped closer to us and lowered his tone—I assumed so Camila couldn’t hear what he was about to say. “Kyle was out jogging along the borders. He found her just as she entered town and brought her straight here.” He nodded toward Tori’s brother, who hadn’t moved from his place along the wall, just in Camila’s eyeline. “He’s as sure as he can be that she’s not involved with the hunters. He doesn’t think she’s some kind of trap, or has been exploited by a dark witch to infect the shifters with their fucking cure.” Clawson took a jagged breath. He looked pissed. His piercing gaze flicked from Kyle to me. “Never thought I’d see the day I’d be grateful I trusted a hunter, but I have to admit I didn’t even consider that they’d stoop so low as to use a child as a Trojan horse. That they’d possibly infect a kid in such a way is beyond my comprehension. Thank fuck Kyle’s on our side now.”
Thank fuck indeed.
I hated the fact that we had to even consider checking a frightened young girl to ensure she wasn’t a decoy the hunters were using to infiltrate the town to enact their big “cure.” The hunters called us shifters monsters, but I knew who the real monsters were.
“Hey there,” Tori said softly, approaching Camila with a gentle smile. She crouched down in front of the girl, making herself look less intimidating. “I’m Tori, and this is Ridge.”
