Page 48 of Alpha Bond
“He’s about to be a great-granddaddy. His focus has changed. Cut him some slack.”
“Cut him some slack?” I stare at her. “He’s our alpha, for fuck’s sake! He’s supposed to be totally focused on pack safety. But when I went to him to warn him about rogue wolf activity, he told me I was overreacting. That there’s nothing to worry about out here.”
“He what?” Casey’s eyes are glowing with her impending shift, and it’s disconcerting to be looking into the inhuman yellow of them.
“He thinks he’s done such a good job of forging alliances and building our reputation as a stronghold that we’ll never have trouble with other packs again. You’re right about Sierra having more to her story. She wasn’t just picked up by stray rogues. She was abducted from her home and brought to a pack that’s based right here, in Steel Lakes territory. When I found her, she’d escaped and had been hiding from them.”
“Jesus Christ! That poor woman.” Casey’s mouth is hanging open, revealing a hint of sharp fang. “And it’s taken this long for anyone to do anything about it? What the actual fuck, Jagger?”
“I told Titer I was worried about it, but he brushed it off. It was only after Sierra gave me more information and I shared it with him that he allowed me to get a closer look.”
“And that’s why we’re out here just hours after your mating ceremony, and your female is waiting alone?”
“Pretty much.”
“Shit.” She rubs her forehead. “This isn’t good.”
“Tell me about it.”
“And you’re saying that Titer didn’t want to hear about it before?” She lets out a deep breath. “I think you may be onto something. He hasn’t been himself…but do you actually believe that he’d deliberately put us at risk?”
“Not deliberately, no.” I sink onto my haunches. All this talking has my wolf champing at the bit.
Too long. Too fucking long since I stretched my legs.
“Then what?”
“Can’t say. But I’m doing something about it. Just trust me on this.” I swivel my head, my senses honing. The prickle I felt before is stronger now. “Talk about it later.” The words come out as a low growl. It’s the last thing I’ll be able to say until I shift back. Casey knows this, too, not pushing further as she watches me change. Fur, limbs, torso shifting, my skull pulling tight as my face forms a snout. And then I’m on all fours, a howl tearing the air as I throw back my head and let out a call. Casey’s own howl answers it from behind me as I uncoil muscles that feel unused. I bound up over rocks and shrubbery, catching the air and letting it swirl over my tongue.
Someone has been here. I can taste it. The prickle has turned into a burn that makes my skin twitch. I cover the ground back to the warehouses in half the time it would have taken me to walk there or even jog. When I reach the outskirts of the derelict industrial park, the stench hits me like a wave. At least a dozen of them have been here. Males in their prime. And at the head of it all is the stink of their alpha. The one Sierra had smelled of when I found her.
Fuck.
Trotting through the buildings, I keep my snout to the ground, picking up smells that would be undetectable in my human form. Casey’s low growls tell me that she’s scented it, too. I zigzag from one structure to another, following the trail they’ve left. They may as well have set out flaming beacons – and that worries me. They’re not bothering to hide themselves, which means that they’re brazen. Confident. And confidence can come from foolishness…or the fact that they’re strong enough not to be worried.
Right now, I’m going to go with the latter.
As I emerge from the other end of the cluster of warehouses, I trace the trail to a stretch of asphalt that was probably once the road that led to the place. Now it’s pitted and cracked, weeds sprouting through the surface. And here, the scent is strongest. They came in this way, and they left this way, too. From the pheromones tainting the air, I suspect they were back here looking for her. Males in rut are unmistakable. It makes my stomach turn.
You got her out. She’s safe now.
Still, I have to fight back a snarl at the thought of them touching her. If I pick up even the faintest hint of her on any one of them, I’ll be ripping out throats before the end of the day.
Casey has pulled up at my side and we share a glance before setting off at a steady lope. Of all the others on our team, she’s the only one who’s ever been able to keep up with me. I have to keep reminding myself that she’s only recently returned to duty because she shows no sign of flagging. By the time I spot the gray shapes of factories in the distance, even I’m out of breath.
I slow to a halt, lifting my head and tasting the air again.
It’s here. The onslaught of wolf spoor is almost overwhelming. The only time I’ve ever picked up this many shifters has been back home, where there are hundreds of us. From the level of testosterone in the air, there must be a seething mass of them in that place.
How the fuck have we missed this?
Casey stands next to me, her eyes wide and her nostrils flaring as she breathes in the crisp night air. Her body tenses, her tail swishing back and forth in anger.
My rage has me coiled tight as a spring as I stare into the distance. The low rumble beside me tells me that Casey shares my reaction. Everything inside me is screaming to rush in and kill, maim, destroy. Remove the threat. Save my pack.
We can’t.
There are too many of them. I know that without a doubt. I’d be a damn fool to try anything now. Growling in frustration, I give a toss of my head, and Casey responds with a slavering growl. The need to kill is probably riding her as hard as it is me.