Page 19 of Midnight Hunt

That should do it. Ineveradmitted that I was scared.

“Oh, Vi,” he groaned.

“Griff!” Kolton snapped.

With a sigh, Griff shifted his hold on me to place a hand on my forehead and murmur a quick spell under his breath.

Just like that, darkness pulled me under, and my pain blissfully melted away.

6

GRIFF

She looked peaceful sleeping in my arms.

The spell had done what it was supposed to do, forcing Vi to remain unconscious while we pried the trap off her leg and set her broken bone. As I’d carried her back to Mrs. Bailey’s, she hadn’t woken up once.

The silver that coated the trap had leaked into her bloodstream, slowing down her healing ability and leaving her pale and weak. Even if she’d woken, her leg wouldn’t be able to carry her yet, so I’d gladly volunteered to do it for her.

Kolton had yanked the trap out of the ground and attached it to the moose carcass, bent on studying it when we returned home. Questions were swirling through all of our brains, but we knew one thing for certain.

This trap hadn’t been made to capture a bear. It had been made to capture a werewolf. Probably Desirae.

When we’d made it back to Mrs. Bailey’s, Kolton had immediately ordered her and Desirae to stay out of the woods until further notice. Desirae had looked crestfallen, but one look at Vi’s still form in my arms had kept her from commenting.

Someone was hunting wolves, and Vi had been hurt because of it.Twice.

Not wanting to further scare either of the females, I’d kept a calm outward appearance. But inside, I was seething. Without even saying goodbye, I’d made for the truck and carefully climbed into the back with Vi. A minute later, Kolton handed me a blanket, and I gently tucked it around Vi’s naked body.

“She still hasn’t woken?” he asked, fully dressed once more as he jumped into the driver’s seat. With the silver trap securely tied down in the truck bed, Jagger opened the front passenger door and hopped in.

“No,” I replied, watching Vi breathe for a moment before adding, “The exposure to silver, combined with blood loss and exhaustion, is keeping her under. Rest will help her heal faster, though.”

The truck roared to life and lurched into motion, causing Vi’s head to loll sideways. I gently caught it and rested her cheek against my chest once more.

“This can’t be a coincidence,” Kolton said. “We’ll have to alert the rest of the pack about the danger. They’ll need to be on the lookout for anything or anyone suspicious.”

I looked up to ask, “Do you think the males who attacked Vi in Boston planted this trap?”

“I don’t—”

“Yes,” a female voice weakly confirmed.

My heart thudded at the sound, and I looked down just as Vi slowly opened her eyes. When they focused on mine, bone-deep relief shuddered through me.

“There you are,” I said, my voice gruffer than moments before. Swallowing roughly, I brushed a stray lock of hair off her face. “How do you feel?”

“Tired.” Her eyelids drooped closed again. “Do I still have my foot?”

Jagger snorted.

“Yes, Vi, you still have your foot. You’ll be good as new in no time,” I promised.

She hummed in reply, her breaths slowing once more. Right before she fell back asleep, she whispered, “I smelled them. Both of them. They’re here.”

Alarmed, I met Kolton’s gaze in the rearview mirror. As anger flashed in his eyes, my own reared up.

Och, those scrotes are deid the minute I find ‘em, Whiskey growled in a Scottish accent.

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