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Fox instincts can sometimes kick in at the most inopportune of moments. Like now, when the SUV screeched to a halt and a shifter I’d never before set eyes on stepped forward to pull the hatchback aloft. He and his comrades pressed inward, their scent of fur and electricity invading the vehicle quite thoroughly despite their two-legged stature. And all I could do was struggle against the imperative to shift into fox form, wriggle through the merest sliver of elbow room, and make my escape.
Because I was trapped. Stuck in an unyielding metal box while surrounded by werewolves. I knew it was a bad idea to don my fur and show how different I was from the others, but somehow that knowledge felt distant and vague....
Then Gunner’s arm settled across my shoulders, his mere presence thawing the chill in my blood and settling my mind. “Edward,” he greeted the closest werewolf.
Gunner’s tone was cordial but his muscles were rope-like with tension as he angled me behind him. And even though the posturing of a dominant werewolf goes a long way, I wasn’t so certain even Gunner could overcome all fifty of these werewolves while cornered in the back of the blood-stained vehicle....
Tank must have jumped to the same conclusion I had. Because I heard the creak of his door opening behind my left shoulder, then I smelled the lawyer’s aroma drifting closer as he padded around to stand at the other werewolves’ backs.
So we were three against fifty rather than two against fifty. Somehow that knowledge wasn’t enough to soothe my racing heartbeat. Still, I held onto my human skin with an effort, not wanting to make matters worse by giving in to fox terror and skin.
For thirty long seconds, we stayed there, lost in some silent werewolf battle of willpower. Then, finally, Edward answered Gunner’s greeting. “Alpha,” the former started, dropped to one knee outside the vehicle, his gaze falling so rapidly that his chin thunked against his chest. “Pack leader. We’ve come to help you carry your kill.”
Oh. My breath wheezed out far too loudly, but no one paid me any attention. Instead, the wave of kneeling swept out on both sides from its epicenter around Edward, until the sensation of pack surged up to surround us in a solid wave.
We had backup. I hadn’t realized how little I relished the notion of Gunner standing alone against his brother until what seemed like two-thirds of the Atwood clan transferred their loyalties without even being asked to do so.
But Gunner didn’t accept the offer as easily as I would have done. Instead, he hopped down out of the vehicle, resting his hand upon Edward’s shoulder. And he waited for nearly a minute until the older male lost his fascination with the pavement and finally glanced back up.
“It’s dangerous to take sides at this moment,” the alpha warned his supporter. “If Ransom wins, you lose quite severely.”
“It’s more dangerous to be governed by the wrong pack leader,” Edward answered just as carefully. And I could read between the lines that he had much more to say.
But there was no time to discuss repercussions and loyalties. Because the sun was dipping below the tree line. Time was running out even as a dozen hands pressed me sideways so they could reach the bear carcass in the back of the vehicle.
Being werewolves, they had no respect for my personal space. Nonetheless, I only had eyes for one werewolf: Gunner.
The younger brother looked so much like an alpha at that moment that it was hard to believe he’d allowed Ransom a shot at being pack leader. And if he was finally going to meet his destiny, I couldn’t let my kitsune nature hold him back.
So: “Go. I’ll follow,” I told him, an unspoken understanding flowing between us.
Then, with a nod at two werewolf strangers who were clearly expected to stay two-legged alongside me, Gunner and his pack mates were running with the bear body between them away into the descending night.
***
THEIR PATH WAS EASY to follow, the mass of wolves and two-leggers having broken branches and matted down tangles as they arrowed directly toward the meeting hill. But I couldn’t shift in front of strangers. So, two-legged, our journey turned into a slow and frustrating slog.
Night had nearly fallen by this point, which was maddening since each flashing lightning bug not only reminded me that Gunner and Ransom would already be meeting...it also made me shiver at the memory of my dream. Blood on the hilltop, me facing the Master directly. If that was to be the culmination of this evening, I wished we could fast forward ahead directly to the end.
But my human feet could only walk so swiftly. And as I opened my mouth to see whether the werewolves beside me might consider shifting and going ahead without me...someone stepped toward us out of the trees.
I didn’t realize who it was for ten long seconds, my star ball gathering invisibly between my clenched fingers as I peered into the shadows beneath the pine trees. Was it worth revealing my kitsune nature to fight off this newcomer? I couldn’t be sure, but I was ready to do whatever was necessary to ensure I made it to Gunner’s side intact.
Only, before more than the hilt of my sword had materialized, Liam stepped out into the open. His eyes were wild as he ran both hands through already ruffled hair, and he barely gasped out “Kira needs you” before stopping to catch his breath.
“How did...?” I started then shook my head at the irrelevancy of asking how Liam had managed to track me down in the vast expanse of forest. He’d likely used the pack bond just like his sister had. And if Kira needed me...then I’d just have to send these two strangers to help Gunner in my place.
“Go,” I told them, wishing I could remember the names they’d offered when they’d introduced themselves. But Gunner’s furry tail had been receding into the treeline, and their names had gone in one ear and out the other as I stared at their alpha’s back.
Now, the pair stood with furrowed brows and cocked heads, unwilling to either obey or gainsay me. We were losing time to their uncertainty, so I reached out and gestured at Liam. Surely the alpha’s cousin was a more than acceptable bodyguard....
And, after one glance shared among themselves, the taller shifter shrugged, the shorter one nodded. Then they were dropping into wolf form, sprinting into the darkness, leaving me and Liam entirely alone.
Well, alone save my imaginings of what might have sent Liam running to find me when a succession battle was also taking place in the forest. “Where is she? What happened?” I demanded.
“This way,” Liam answered, leading me beneath the glowering bulk of the pine tree from which he’d emerged and away from our fellow shifters who were likely already out of earshot as well as sight. It was pitch dark beneath the needled behemoths, hard for even shifter eyes to capture enough light to walk through. So I wasn’t surprised when the male beside me stumbled, his toe seeming to catch on an upraised root.
I grabbed Liam’s arm to keep him upright, felt his weight cave in on me as he barely managed not to fall. Yesterday, I would have been daunted by the sensation of a werewolf impinging upon my personal space. But, today, I understood what it meant to be part of a pack. So I gave Liam my strength willingly, accepting his hand as it searched blindly for my own in the dark.
“Ah, there we go,” Liam murmured. And he no longer sounded breathless and weakened. Instead, the words were strangely smug even as pain shot through my index finger.
I tried to look down to see what had pierced my skin, but the forest was fading away around me. For an endless second, I floated in darkness...then I was seeing through someone else’s eyes on an all-too-familiar hilltop that was already saturated with blood.