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IT WAS EASY TO FOLLOW the hunters’ trail. Their scents and the smell of alcohol would have led me to them even if they hadn’t slashed their way through the heavy underbrush to forge a pathway. I could smell Raina’s faint scent everywhere, which meant she’d spent a lot of time in this area. She either lived with the old witch, or had a home nearby.
Sprinting along the trampled trail, I skidded to a stop at the edge of a clearing to take stock. The fear spell was almost strong enough to make me flee. An ancient log cabin sat in the middle of the clearing. It was eerily similar to the one Alex had grown up in. Smoke wafted from the chimney and the two windows on either side of the door were covered with thick curtains.
The six humans were so drunk they were swaying on their feet. “Come out!” one of them shouted, holding his rifle pointed at the sky.
“Come out, or we’ll burn you out!” another one threatened.
One of the hikers hurled a rock at the door and missed it by two feet. They giggled drunkenly, then they all started throwing rocks. Raina’s scent smelled so fresh that she must have been here only minutes ago. I looked around, but couldn’t see her. “She’s in the cabin,” I whispered in fresh fear.
As if that had been a cue, the door opened and the witch stepped out. She closed the door, then put her hands on her hips and glared at the hunters. Still wearing her ugly brown dress, she looked even more hideous today. “Go away!” she shouted shrilly. “Leave me in peace!”
“We’ll let you go if you give the redhead to us,” one of the hunters said with a leer.
My heart lurched when I realized they must have seen Raina heading this way. There was no way they’d leave without acting out their sick fantasies on the shifter.
“You will not touch Raina,” the witch said, tone turning as cold as ice. I somehow wasn’t surprised to hear that was her real name.
“Send her out, or we’ll smoke her out!” another man said.
One of the hikers opened his backpack and pulled a small cannister of gasoline out. He hefted it into the air threateningly and I was on the move before my brain could register my intent. Flashing across the clearing, I barged through the men, deftly snatching the cannister out of the hiker’s hand.
The witch was startled into taking a step back and her back hit the door. I winked at her, then turned to face the drunken mob. “Get the hell out of here before I set you on fire,” I growled and a babble erupted.
“Did you see that?”
“No one can move that fast!”
“What is he?”
“He’s her puppet!”
“Kill him!”
The sixth man didn’t say anything. He instead lifted his rifle and pulled the trigger. My instincts should have made me dodge out of the way, but that would have put the witch in the line of fire. Instead, my muscles locked to keep me in place and the bullet slammed into my head. Dropping the cannister, I fell to my knees as unconsciousness swept towards me.
The witch let out a screech of anguish and caught me as I fell. She was surprisingly strong as she cradled me on her lap. I heard the hunters coming, but I was helpless to resist them as they dragged me away from her. By sheer force of will, I opened my eyes to see the barrel of a rifle pointing directly at my face. Delta made us descend into the earth a moment before he fired.
I lost consciousness during the short journey through the zombie highway. When I finally woke up, the sun was beginning to fade from the sky. Delta had dragged me into the shade and had called on the skeletal deer to help guard me. My mouse was smart enough to see my wound had healed, but I was surprised she hadn’t taken me home. Then again, I’d told her I didn’t want the others involved in this mission. She was just obeying my wishes.
Sitting up, I groggily tried to remember what had happened. Smelling Raina’s scent on me, I looked around in confusion. It was faded, so she hadn’t been here recently. “Did Raina come here?” I asked Delta.
Delta looked up at me and didn’t twitch her whiskers. Too befuddled to make sense of why I could smell Raina’s scent, I climbed to my feet and staggered over to the door. Delta hurried after me and scaled my body to ride on my shoulder. The bucks stood guard outside. I trusted them not to let anything dangerous try to break into the building.
My first task was to guzzle an entire bottle of water and to make some sandwiches. Once my stomach no longer had a gaping hole in it, I shakily climbed up to my bedroom to take a shower.
Delta was waiting for me on my bed when I emerged. My thoughts were becoming clearer and worry was niggling at me. I put my hand to my head where I could feel phantom pain and my memories returned in a rush. “Raina!” I gasped in alarm and chose clothes from my duffle bag at random.
I didn’t bother to pack food or water. I didn’t even bother to take my gun. What use would it be when I couldn’t kill the men who’d taken my mate? I burst outside, trying to ignore my subconscious’ decision that the lone shifter was mine. It wouldn’t help to panic and it would only lead to disaster.
A thought occurred to me when the deer rose out of the ground. I couldn’t hurt the men, but zombies didn’t have my restrictions. “You two, come with us,” I ordered. “Take me back to the cabin, Delta.”
All four of us traveled to the small house in the forest. Smoke clogged the air and ash drifted from the sky. The cabin had been burned to the ground, but at least the fire hadn’t spread beyond the clearing. I looked at the devastation in horror, but my wolf came forward before I could panic. Our mate is alive, he said with utter certainty.
Getting a grip on my emotions, I searched the area and didn’t find any bodies. Raina and the witch had both been taken. “Take me to the parking lot,” I requested. Delta obediently shifted us to the small lot. The scents of the six men and their captives were faded, but were still detectable. “Can you follow Raina’s scent?” I asked Delta.
She was perched on my shoulder again and cocked her head doubtfully.
“Just try,” I pleaded with her. “For me?”
Her whiskers twitched, but she took me back to the base first. Leaping to the ground, she sank out of sight to go in search of the captives.
“Knock on the door with your antlers when Delta comes back,” I said to the bucks. They both nodded, then turned to keep a silent, blind vigil over the base.
Still feeling a bit shaky from almost dying, I made a fresh cup of coffee before climbing up to the coms room. I played back the footage from the cameras, then paused it when the hunters came into view. The old witch was being drawn along with a rope that was tied around both wrists. Their expressions were angry, probably because Raina wasn’t with them.
Relief flooded through me, but my fear for her safety didn’t fade completely. The witch was obviously important to Raina. She would no doubt try to follow them to rescue her relative. I needed to find out where they’d taken the witch before it was too late.
Uncle Mark had given me permission to load Harlan’s programs onto our systems. I could use it on any of our computers in our bases. Opening it now, I added photos of the six hunters to it and set it to search for their identities. Once I knew who they were, I’d be able to search for any properties they owned. I was betting they’d taken the witch somewhere secluded. They wouldn’t want anyone to hear them torturing her for information about where Raina was.
