Page 63 of Faerie Hunted

Glee overrode every emotion as I scratched my hand through the fur at the scruff of his neck toward his jaw. He came back for me. And he brought…something.

My fingertips brushed against a hard piece of metal clenched between his teeth. I reared back, staring at him hard until Noren dropped the item at my feet and let out a low-pitchedwoof.

His eyes bore into mine as I bent to pick up the thing. I turned the device over in my hands, trailing my fingers over two metal studs on one side.

Two studs?—

They matched the shapes at the back of my neck collar.

I stood straight up, my gaze traveling between the device to Noren and back again. He bobbed his head slightly in a way-too-human gesture. A loud snore cut through the hush and I almost jumped out of my skin. He’d brought me a wayout.

If we were going to do this, then I needed to hurry before someone woke up and saw a big fucking direwolf in the middle of the dorm tent.

Here goes nothing.

My hands refused to obey my unspoken demand to hurry as I placed the device against the collar, struggling to get the right angle so the pieces clicked together. The metal prods did not want to go in the slots. Frustration mounting, I shoved it into a better position, gritting my teeth. My wrist began to cramp.

Hurry!

The two pieces finally clicked together. The collar opened and fell off. I fumbled for it, grabbing it before it hit the floor, and faced Noren.

“You genius boy,” I whispered.

Not only had he come for me but he’d come through with a miracle. Whatever connection we had…this situation demolished the piece of guilt I’d carried around about manipulating him mentally. It might have started out that way but he was mine.

My partner and friend.

I glanced around to see if anyone had woken, shoving the device into the pocket of my sleep pants. We ducked out of the tent and I took in the star-lit night with my breath gusting in a white puff.

Several nearby fires had been banked for the evening with the embers glowing orange, crackling as they died.

I had no idea where Dorian had decided to stash Onyx.

I had no idea if he’d even gotten around totellingOnyx about the deal or not. To the left I spotted a tent of similar size to the female dorm but through the trees. That must be where he kept the males.

Would Onyx be there with them?

I crouched down in front of Noren. “Are you able to track Onyx?”

The direwolf stared for a moment before he pushed off to the left, his nose against the ground and his hair lifted along his spine. I refused to leave without Onyx. We’d gotten into this situation together and if he had to stay here much longer…they wouldn’t know how to help him. His injuries would be exacerbated if he said no to Dorian and they put him to work.

Or worse…what if he said yes?

I clenched my jaw as we kept our footsteps light, trailing around lazy fires and tents filled with sleeping families.

A twig cracked under my foot and I tensed, catching my breath. My awareness sharpened and I realized I felt the magic of the wall this close. Without the collar, its presence was oppressive, not something to ignore.

Why hadn’t I noticed it the first time I’d stepped into the camp?

I should have spent more time with Onyx instead of letting Dorian Jade distract me with his idealism. His plans for the future. They’d all felt too good to be true, and they were.

No, he had Onyx stashed somewhere and even Noren seemed to be losing the scent. He turned in a circle around one tent and went in the direction we’d already come from. He stopped in front of one of the tents and a quick peek through the flap showed a sleeping couple with their arms wrapped around each other and their forms surrounded by comfortable blankets. A small pet, a cross between a rabbit and a cat, perked its ears up at my arrival but made no sound.

I quickly headed back outside with my heart thrumming an irregular beat in my chest. Every breath seemed to tighten my ribs closer and closer to the core of me.

Sneaking around had never been my forte.

I lacked the stealth most wolf shifters had, and even though I tried not to make a sound, I felt like a herd of stampeding elephants. As though every inhalation I took might be my last, I swallowed convulsively.

---