Heart in her throat, Hannah grasped Noah’s wrist before he could climb out of the van. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Noah rubbed his palm over her knuckles. “I know. It’s a trap.”
As soon as they’d arrived, the heavy aroma of bear had lingered around the Kagan Industries’ building. After one whiff, Owen had flipped out, saying he recognized the males.
She glanced over her shoulder at Owen, who sat next to her in the humans’ SUV, tense and vibrating with anger, then faced Noah. She widened her eyes, letting him see the question hovering in them. “Are you sure about…”
Noah flicked his gaze to Owen. “They want us to know they’re here, don’t they?”
Owen gave a sharp nod. “Yeah. This is going to blow up in our faces.” He leaned forward and asked the human agent. “Where are the other agents? You said they’d meet us.”
“Not sure.” The human shrugged. “But they’re coming.”
“Well, we’re not waiting for them. You’re getting Hannah and Owen out of here,” Noah ordered the male.
The idea of being separated from Noah churned her stomach. “But—”
Noah shook his head. “No buts. You’re going back to Kagan territory, and I’m going after Sean and Quinn. I can’t let them face the bears alone.” He pulled her in for a quick kiss. “I love you, Hannah. You’re the reason I breathe.”
With that, Noah left. She followed his retreating back until darkness swallowed him, then faced the human agent. “Well, you heard him. Get us out of here.”
The guy grinned. “My pleasure.”
The vehicle started and turned onto the two-lane highway leading out of town. Hannah surveyed the rapidly disappearing landscape as they sped away for any sign of Noah or trouble, but nothing moved. Finally, she turned around and glanced at Owen. Lips parted, he stared blankly into space. She watched in shock as his pupils expanded and overtook the rest of his eyes, changing them into black fathomless pools.
With jerking, unnatural motions, he reached over her and unlocked the door. Mouth at her ear, he whispered in a voice that sounded nothing like his, “Do you remember how you survived falling from Noah’s bedroom window?”
She nodded.
“Do it again.”
He opened the door and shoved her out. Her scream got lost in the wind, but instinct took over. She tucked her head into her chest a second before she slammed into the pavement. The impact stole her breath and her vision. Pain radiated up her spine, and then darkness wiped it all away.
Ethan slammed on the brakes of his car. It spun, coming to a stop on the neatly trimmed front yard of the Kagan’s office building. He hopped out of his vehicle without bothering to kill the ignition. The unmistakable musk of bear filled his lungs with his first inhale. The strong, heady smell saturated the area, but it didn’t cover up Noah’s scent. His lingered, telling Ethan two things—Nic had been right in his guess of where Hannah and Noah had gone, and Ethan had arrived too late to warn them of the danger they faced.
His frustration mixed with anxiety. A quick scan didn’t reveal his lovers, or anyone, for that matter. He ran toward the rear of the property. The sound of squealing tires stilled his steps. He glanced over his shoulder. Nic and Alex jumped from another car.
Nic surveyed the property the same way Ethan had, but the Kagan alpha did a double take, then pointed to a spot along the tree line. Ethan followed the direction of his gaze. A flash of green, wolf eyes caught his attention. Noah was bolting toward them in his animal form.
The sight of him tore a growl from Ethan’s chest. He pivoted on his heel and intercepted him, ramming into Noah’s wolf with his torso. Noah shifted in a blink of an eye, and Ethan grabbed his shoulders. He slammed Noah into the hard earth, and bared full fangs at him. Lover or not, Noah had endangered their mate.
“Where’s Hannah?”
Noah tucked his legs and used the strength in his thighs to shove Ethan back. Noah motioned toward the road. “That way. She’s hurt.”
Ethan knew she was hurt. He felt her pain as if it were his own.
“You abandoned her.” Ethan curled his hands, and his sharpened nails dug into Noah’s skin. Warm blood trickled down his forearms. “Left her unprotected.”
“I didn’t. I left her with Owen.”
“You left her with my feral brother! That’s who you entrusted Hannah with, an unstable male who tossed my precious mate from a moving car.” Ethan was done with their conversation. Explanations wouldn’t save Hannah. He ran forward.
“Our mate. She’s ours.”
Alex shoved them apart. “Fight later. We need to act.”
Ethan held Noah’s gaze. “Yes, getting Hannah back is all that matters.”
“No. Everybody gets saved.” Nic focused on Noah. “Where’re Quinn and Sean?”
“Following the bear shifter. He’s got Maria. We couldn’t stop him.” Noah waved toward the clearing several hundred feet away. “It happened exactly as Owen described.”
Ethan opened his mouth to ask what Noah meant. He raised his hand. “Tell you on the way.”
Yes, they’d wasted enough time. Nic and Alex ran in the direction Noah had come. Ethan slid behind the steering wheel of his car, while Noah got in the passenger side. He pressed the accelerator to the floor and peeled out. The landscape rushed by. Ethan scanned the road looking for any sign of Hannah.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“Stop.” Ethan cut him off. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Don’t care. Hate me if you will, but listen to me. I was trying to save Owen while keeping Hannah and her pack mates safe. He’s not feral, but he is altered. Stronger. Something else must’ve happened.”
Ethan cut a quick glance at Noah. “I saw him push Hannah out of a moving car. He looked enraged.”
Noah cursed, then ran a hand through his hair. “You didn’t talk to Owen. I did. The first chance he got, he was going to run. I had to stop him, and using Hannah was the only way I could think of doing it. He would stay to protect her. I made a choice. So did he. I won’t automatically assume it was the wrong one.”
“How can throwing Hannah from…”
His headlights illuminated a cheap, plastic flip-flop lying on the road. Ethan slammed on his brakes, coming to a stop inches from it. He was out of the car a second later, Noah on his heels.
“It’s Hannah’s.” Noah snatched it, then rushed forward. “Look.”
Ethan didn’t need Noah to point out Hannah’s blood. The familiar tang of it had saturated his lungs on the last full moon—the night he’d chased after her through the woods, another occasion Noah had put her life in danger. Ethan shut down the thought before his rage took over. Saving Hannah took precedence over his anger with Noah.
Ethan swiped his finger through the rapidly cooling pool on the pavement. He held his fingertip near his nose and dragged in a breath, letting the smell settle over him and hoping it would trigger some instinct. Maybe a vision. He was alpha and connected to the spirit wolf.
No insight came to him, and touching the mystical cord that tied him to her only intensified his need to seek her out. Helplessness gripped him, along with regret. It became devastatingly clear what Noah had experienced after Mindy had died. The guilt of failing her. Ethan choked on the same. It didn’t matter if they’d die together. He didn’t want that for her. He wanted her happy. Safe.
He should’ve planned better. Anticipated what could go wrong. He…
Ethan inwardly cursed. Second-guessing his actions would destroy him. Things had played out the way they had for a reason. He had to trust in that and in his lovers. They were his perfect complement—his gift from the spirit wolf and the gods.
Ethan dragged his gaze to Noah. Ethan still wanted to pummel him, punishing him for endangering Hannah. The need hadn’t gone away, nor would it. They’d fight, but later, after their mate was safe.
Noah stepped in front of him. “I’m connected to her too. I’ll hunt down the cowards who took her. You go after Owen. You might be able to reach him. Get through to him somehow. We can’t lose him. He’s been blessed by the gods.”
Choices and obligations pulled at Ethan’s psyche. Both Hannah and Owen were important to him, but if he had to choose, he’d go after Hannah. She was hurt and vulnerable. Owen wasn’t. But…but Ethan didn’t have to choose one life over the other. He wasn’t alone. Noah was with him. He was his partner, his lover, his mate. It was only right they shared the role of alpha and faced their threats together.
Ethan held Noah’s gaze and nodded. “Bring our mate home. We’re nothing without her.”
Noah’s small smile empowered Ethan. He let it strengthen him and ran back to his car. He’d made the best choice for the three of them. The certainty of it radiated within him. He just didn’t know if it’d be the one that saved them.