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“Please,” Camila pleaded, trembling. “You have to help my family.” Fresh tears spilled over her cheeks, and my chest tightened with sympathy.
“We will,” I said quietly. “First, though, can you tell us what happened?”
Camila began to speak, her words tumbling out in a panicked rush. “My mom and dad, my brothers Marcos and Gabe…the hunters chased us.”
Tori placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The simple gesture seemed to calm the girl somewhat, and I felt a renewed admiration for my mate. She knew how to provide reassurance to those who had experienced similar horrors to her own.
“We were coming here,” the girl continued. “My dad said Blackwood Creek was safe, that the mayor is trying to fight the hunters. They took Dad and Marcos, but my mom and Gabe hid.” She broke down in sobs.
I was stunned. Shifters were arriving in town all the time, but I didn’t know this family, and they weren’t part of a pack. Yet somehow, Camila’s father had still known about Blackwood Creek and what I hoped to do here.
Tori reached over and rubbed the girl’s back in a soothing motion until she was ready to continue.
“My mom and Gabe are hurt,” the girl said between sobs. “They’re hurt really badly with silver. It’s made them sick, so Itold my mom I was coming here to get help. I asked the man over there if he could tell me where the mayor lived, and he brought me here.” She gestured to Kyle.
I caught Tori’s eye, and she gave me a determined nod. Together, we would do everything in our power to protect this girl and her family. It was a promise I intended to keep, no matter the cost.
Tori looked the teenager in the eye. “We’re going to help you and your family. You’re not alone anymore.”
In the smallest voice she’d used yet, Camila asked, “Do you know the mayor? Can you ask him to help? My dad says he is going to fight the hunters and make a safe place for people like us to live.”
I crouched down beside Tori in front of Camila. “Sorry, my manners need a bit of work. Maybe I should introduce myself properly.” I extended my hand to her. “Hi Camila, my name is Ridge Blackwood. I’m the mayor of Blackwood Creek, and this beautiful lady here is my fiancée.”
Camila looked up at me and tentatively shook my hand. For the first time since we got here, the girl was no longer crying. Instead, her eyes were wide, and her mouth agape.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get you someplace safe where we can make a plan.”
With a deep breath, Camila nodded, and we walked toward the exit of the town hall, Tori staying close to her, holding her other hand. As we stepped out into the sunlight, I glanced at Kyle and Clawson, silently conveying my gratitude for their assistance. They had been right to call Tori and me. We’d bring Camila’s family to safety.
Tori got into the backseat with Camila. Before I started the engine, I turned and spoke to Camila over my shoulder. “We won’t let anything happen to your family.”
As we drove away from the town hall, Tori gently put her arm around the distraught girl, tucking Camila against her side to comfort her. “It’s okay. I know everything seems really scary right now, but Ridge and I will do whatever it takes to reach your mom. You just have to stay positive, Camila. You’re a strong girl.”
I fell in love with Tori all over again. Her empathy and strength would be invaluable in the fight ahead.
With Camila seated safely in the back beside Tori, I focused on the road while she told us more. The ragged breaths that punctuated her words spoke volumes about how terrified she was.
“We’ve never been part of a pack,” she began, voice shaking. “We lived in Oregon. My dad told me once he thought it would be safer if we just tried to live as humans and stay under the radar. There’s my mom, Hanna, and my dad, Erick, then my big brother Marcos and my little brother Gabriel—Gabe. It made no difference. The hunters found us, anyway.”
I gripped the steering wheel so hard, my fingers hurt. Hunters were relentless, showing no mercy to those they deemed prey. Camila’s family had been targeted and suffered greatly for it.
“We managed to escape at first,” Camila continued. “We never stayed in the same town for long, but the hunters always found us. My dad was looking for work in one of the towns, and some shifters there told him about Blackwood Creek and how the mayor—sorry, you, Mr. Mayor, sir—was trying to build a safe town. He told my mom this would be a good place to live, and that we wouldn’t have to move all the time.” Camila trembled as tears streamed down her cheeks. Tori undid her seatbelt and gathered Camila into her arms, gently murmuring reassuring words to the young teen.
“Camila, can you do me a favor?” I looked in the rearview mirror to make eye contact with her. She was staring at the back of my head, terrified, and I mentally kicked myself. She was probably thinking I’d changed my mind about helping her and her family. I kept my tone light. “Do you think you can call me Ridge? ‘Mr. Mayor’ and ‘sir’ are a lot of titles.”
As I’d hoped, that quip got me the briefest of smiles and calmed her down a little. Her bravery was incredible.
Camila inhaled deeply and started talking again. “The hunters found us again. They snuck into our apartment in the middle of the night. I was in bed and heard Mom shouting, and then a loud bang. My mom was carrying Gabe, and we climbed out to the fire escape and hid. We stayed hidden for hours. Mom took us to a park in town where we had to go if we ever got split up. Dad and Marcos weren’t there, and we waited there for hours. Mom thinks the hunters have taken them. My dad wouldn’t scare her like this.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Tori stroked Camila’s hair. I was seeing a different, more maternal side of Tori that warmed my heart.
“We couldn’t stay there for much longer because people were looking at us, and Mom was frightened they might be hunters. Mom was scratched with a silver knife, and it’s making her sick. Gabe got shot in the leg, and he’s really ill.” Camila choked out a sob, her eyes wide and fearful again. “They can’t go to the human hospital, and I didn’t know what to do.”
As I stole a glance in the mirror, I saw Camila had her forehead pressed against the glass of the window. I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to push her and have her shut down. But from what I’d witnessed so far, I thought she was too strong for that.
“Where are your mom and Gabe now, Camila? How did you get here?” Tori asked. Even without speaking, Tori and I were onthe same page. She knew it was vital for us to find out where they were so we could formulate a plan.
“Mom took us to a hotel,” Camila replied. “When we got there, she gave me money to get food and some bandages and antiseptic stuff for Gabe, but he just kept getting sicker and sicker.” Her eyes darting between Tori and me. I couldn’t get a good look at her, but it appeared she was concerned about our reaction to whatever it was she was struggling to say.
