Page 50 of Mated
We have dead cats to examine and a man to find.
***
I park my truck at the edge of the lot and frown at all the shifters so close to the rec hall. A massive bonfire has been lit in the old pit of the clearing and even more of the kin dance and party around the warm glow.
But there is no one near the trees. No one looking for the man with the rifle loaded with darts of Brightex.
Caine leans against the dash. “They scoured the woods already?”
A familiar dark head sits on one of the picnic tables, a longneck in hand.
My hackles rise and a low growl spills from my lips. “Fucking, Callus.” I climb from the truck and am vaguely aware of Caine’s door slamming behind me as I stalk over the gravel.
The alpha glances up as I near, his face emptying of the smile from seconds before.
I grab him by the fucking shirt and sling him from the tabletop. He rolls in the loose stone and comes up in a crouch.
“The fuck is your deal?” he demands.
I snarl. “Are you gods-damn kidding me? Why isn’t the pack searching the woods?”
His eyes flash and he runs a hand through his hair and smoothes his shirt as he rises easily. “We got the dead rogues from the trees. There is no reason to keep looking.”
Caine’s hot hand closes over my arm as soon as my foot rises to close the distance between myself and the Alpha. “T.”
My teeth grind so hard they should snap. I peer at him. “Let me go.”
His hellfire gaze roils with anger. “Look at the pack.”
It takes everything in me to still the beast inside long enough to turn my head.
Most of those present have moved closer, their eyes glowing softly in the darkness. I catch more than one set of shifted hands and long white teeth.
Near the rear of the group, Ebony and her thetas wait, arms crossed and loose smiles curving their lips. Though both massive men sport glowing irises, of all the shifters within distance, only they remain human in appearance.
Pack alliance.
The minute I touched Callus I drew a fucking line in the sand, and all my careful maneuvering went up in proverbial fucking smoke.
Pack protects pack, and the day I walked away years ago guaranteed the people of Silver Rock are no longer mine.
All except Ebony.
My eyes lock on hers.
She raises a brow, and I can see the waiting. Any order I give, she’ll follow it. Not Callus. But me.
Her dark eyes flick behind me, and I know who is approaching more by scent that even that one small motion.
Nisha’s scent swirls over me like a fucking balm and the cat inside me damn near purrs.
“T?” Her voice is soft, like she isn’t quite sure she is supposed to speak.
I reach one hand back without looking, and her small fingers slowly intertwine with mine. Callus’ eyes spin to the gold of his beast. But with her touch more than Caine’s, something in me loosens. Eases.
I exhale. “There was a human on pack land. One with a rifle loaded with a dangerous drug called Brightex.” My voice is clear, concise. “This drug can harm even the kin.”
Several of the shifters still, their heads turning as they exchange long looks.
