The campground entrance is easy to miss, hidden in the darkness without any streetlights to mark it. Thankfully, many of the campers parked here have LED lighting strips along their rigs, and I slow before I miss the turn.
"Where?" I demand.
Jasper closes his eyes, concentrating. "Keep going. She'll be on our left. I'll know when we get closer."
I drive deeper into the campground, wheels crunching on gravel. Rolling my window down seems like a mistake at first. The place reeks of humans—their food, their waste, their cheap alcohol. But beneath it all, I catch hints of her scent, growing stronger.
"That interference," Jasper mumbles, seemingly to himself. "It's stronger here. Almost like..."
"Like what?" I snap.
"Like sothing's deliberately masking her." He opens his eyes, pupils dilated. "Sothing old."
Wolf-Eye opens his own window, shoving his head outside to breathe in deep. "There's a shifter… Blue Mountain."
I can sll him, too.
"There." Jasper points to a large RV. The lot next to it isn't empty, but only holds a blue sedan and a tent. "She's there."
I park the car on the opposite side of the road and kill the engine, and Wolf-Eye slides out of the car with languid ease. "I'll deal with the traitor."
I grunt at them both, reaching for Violet's pillow with fingers that itch to crush sothing. One brief caress over the soft fabric. One deep breath of her scent—blueberry muffins, mixed with fabric softener.
My chest loosens as the pillow's scent cuts through the noise in my head.
"Stay here," I tell Jasper without looking at him.
The warlock slumps in relief. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Opening the car door, I step out into the night, vaguely irritated by the humid heat despite the sun having set long ago.
Each breath I take now isn't filtered through the car's ventilation system, and her scent grows stronger. She's close. My muscles coil with anticipation.
Fenris materializes beside , his massive form condensing into sothing more mundane—at first glance he appears to be a large black dog rather than a monstrous wolf. Even his ethereal blue glow has dimd to almost nothing, just the faintest shimr visible only if you know to look for it.
Rember—calm and unthreatening, Fenris says as he pads beside . She's already frightened enough to run.
"I know," I mutter through clenched teeth.
Do you? Your face suggests otherwise.
I force my features to relax, though the effort feels like trying to reshape stone. If I approach her with all the rage burning inside , I'll only drive her further away.
There are things I've done to reassure her she's safe. I didn't kill the Forest Springs Alpha. Or her boyfriend. I wanted to, but I didn't; I even held Fenris back. This should be enough to prove she can return without worries.
Pride in my self-restraint rises, just in ti for the crunch of gravel to draw my attention to the nearby tent.
A young man erges, his scent far too familiar. What was his na?
Evan, Fenris growls, the sound carrying through the quiet night air.
His movents are cautious, deliberate; he's not stupid. He's caught our scent.
He spots Wolf-Eye first, but then his eyes land on . His body goes rigid.
Wolf-Eye, to his credit, keeps his posture relaxed. Evan approaches with his head slightly bowed, then drops into a formal submission posture ten feet away from us.
"Lycan King," he murmurs, voice barely audible.
I lift my upper lip, unable to suppress the snarl building in my throat. His scent is all over the area and around the camper—all over Violet's space. The rage bubbling beneath my skin threatens to spill over. My fingers itch to tear, to rip, to punish.
But then I rember how Violet trembled when she walked into my suite, and I take a deep breath.
Humans are weak. They're too fragile to understand the violence underpinning our society. I must hide it from her.
There will be ti to repay this pup's disloyalty.
"Take him back to Blue Mountain," I tell Wolf-Eye, not wanting to linger. Not with Violet within reach. "We'll deal with his punishnt there."
"Got it, boss."
Evan's eyes dart between and Wolf-Eye, weighing his options. Smart enough to know there aren't many. "Alpha Wilder asked to protect her," he says quietly. "To make sure she reaches Forest Springs safely."
"And yet you're not in Forest Springs."
His anxiety spikes, filling the air with the sour sll of fear. "She... she decided to co with soone else. A stranger. I couldn't leave her unprotected."
I take three asured steps toward the camper, my eyes fixed on its door. Evan's scent is everywhere around it, but it's the camper itself giving pause.
The skin between my shoulder blades prickles with unease. There's sothing here—sothing neither wolf nor human.
"Who is she with?" I demand, still facing the camper door.
"A woman nad Echo. She offered to take Violet to Yellowstone." His voice drops even lower. "Violet wanted to leave the pack life behind. All of it."
Leave it all behind. Leave behind. The thought cuts deeper than it should.
I take the final steps toward the camper door. For a brief, violent mont, I contemplate kicking it down, asserting my dominance the way I would with any challenger. My foot actually lifts from the ground.
Fenris nips sharply at my leg, teeth catching the fabric of my pants.
Don't be ridiculous, he growls. Knock like a normal person.
I scowl down at him. "I am the Lycan King. I don't need to—"
You're also trying to win her trust, not terrify her further. Knock.
He's right, damn him. With jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth, I raise my fist to the door and knock three tis, each one sharp and distinct. The sound echoes in the quiet campground, too loud in the stillness.
After two seconds, the door is still closed, so I knock again.
Fenris sighs. Have a little patience. We can hear them moving in there.
Which is exactly why they should have this door open already, damn it. I lift my hand again.
Reviews
All reviews (0)