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"We've got a lead on the alpha's location," he replied, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror. "But we need to move fast. Once he's done with this woman he's seeing, he's heading for pack territory and once he gets there, we'll have a whole lot more company."
"A woman?" I let out a hard, bitter laugh. "He left the safety of pack territory for a woman after trying to hurtourwoman? That will go well for him."
Shaw clearly noticed that I'd saidour woman,but he answered, "He can't bring her back with him."
"Why's that?"
"Human." One word with so much weight behind it.
Forbidden love leading to bloodshed...that wasn't exactly a new story to us. "Well. Good for us. Bad for him."
"Very bad," he said. "Though I do feel... guilty."
"Why's that?"
"Because I already got close to the human. Roxy. Close enough to get her house key off her and send Wicker to get a copy." He held up the key in his hand. "The rest of the team is set up surveilling the house. They'll let us know if he leaves, but it's probably easiest if we take him there instead of on the road."
Still, there was a regretful look on his face. He didn't want to terrorize the human.
"It's what needs to be done," I reminded him. "To protect Amelia from Nathan."
And our pack from the Longroad and Weston packs.
He nodded. "I know."
We drove on in companionable silence, until we finally stopped at the house. The sun was rising and the soft pinkish light was just beginning to spread across the sky. It would still be dark inside, but that wouldn't matter for us. We could see. It was only the human who would be helpless and trapped in the middle of our battle.
The house was quiet, save for the occasional creak of an old floorboard. Very slowly, I twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open with a gentle nudge. Inside, I could make out two figures twined together in bed--one of whom I recognized as Clark Weston, leader of the Weston pack, I signaled for Shaw to stay behind, and I silently crept closer to the bed. Clark was sound asleep, with a woman curled up next to him. She looked peaceful, her chest rising and falling steadily as she slept. It was almost a shame to have to drag her into our world of violence and bloodshed. But I knew that it was necessary to protect our pack and our way of life.
I flipped my handgun around to slam the butt into his head and knock him out. But before I could, he stirred, his eyes flickering open. In an instant, he was on his feet, his fangs bared as he growled at me. The woman jolted awake, fear etched onto her face as she scrambled back against the headboard.
I raised my hands in a gesture of peace, but Weston was having none of it. He lunged at me, his wicked claws bursting out, and I barely had time to dodge out of the way.
As I dodged, I took a quick glance at the woman, hoping she would stay put and not become a casualty in this fight. She was already out of the bed, backing away from us with terror in her eyes. She was clearly disoriented.
I didn’t have time to worry about her. Weston leapt toward me.
I let my instincts take over, my body moving on its own as I sidestepped his attack and delivered a swift kick to his stomach. He staggered back. Keeping people alive and taking them prisoners was a lot more of a pain in the ass than just killing them.
He staggered back to Shaw, who slammed the butt of his gun into the back of his head. The alpha crumpled to the floor.
The woman was shaking in fear, her eyes darting between me and the unconscious alpha at my feet. "Please don't hurt me," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.
I knelt down in front of her, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. "We're not going to hurt you. We are going to take him, and you should get out of here--run. In case his family blames you for his disappearance."
I didn't know what they knew.
She nodded shakily,and I helped her to her feet. Shaw appeared from the shadows, his eyes scanning the room for any signs of danger. "We need to move," he said urgently. "The sun will be up soon, and they’ll be expecting him back."
I nodded, and we quickly made our way out of the house to dump his unconscious form into the trunk of the waiting Porsche. The big alpha barely fit, and we had to pause for a second to fold his legs before I slammed the trunk shut.
As we drove away, the woman's terrified sobs echoed in my ears. Our world of shifters and packs was violent and dangerous, and it wasn't a place for humans. They were always the innocent victims caught in the crossfire. They didn’t even understand what we were or why these things happened.
But this was the life we had been born into. It was a life of violence and bloodshed, of loyalty and family, of pack and pride. Of mates and marks.
And when I pictured Amelia’s face, I knew I wouldn't trade it for anything.
CHAPTER40
