Page 59 of A Deeper Blue
“I had a vision,” said Azure. “What time is it in New York?”
“Do we care?” asked Rafe. “Would you wait even if it was three in the morning?”
“No,” said Azure, seeing his point. She dialed Scarlet. Scarlet didn’t pick up, so Azure immediately dialed again, knowing she would trip Scarlet’s emergency setting on her phone.
“Azure, what the fuck?” asked Scarlet, her voice creaky and confused.
“Anna Allanach,” said Azure. “Does the name mean anything to you?”
“Her hotness?” asked Scarlet. “Why do you want to know about her? Liam.” There was a grunt from Scarlet’s end of the phone, and Azure guessed that Liam had been sleeping. “Liam, why is Azure asking about Anna Allanach?”
“What?”
“Azure is asking about Anna Allanach,” said Scarlet.
“Tell her to call Anna then,” said Liam grumpily.
“Who is Anna Allanach?” demanded Azure, yelling into the phone.
“She’s a shifter,” said Liam, his voice getting louder and clearer as if Scarlet had put her phone on speaker. “She’s a friend of mine from the Virginia pack. Why?”
“She’s not in Virginia,” said Azure. “And she’s in trouble.”
“Where? Scarlet, get dressed. We have to go help Anna.”
“No,” said Azure. “No. It can’t be you.”
“Fuck that,” said Liam crisply. “I’m not going to leave Anna high and dry. Tell me where she is.”
“No,” said Azure, firmly. “You need to stay there. It’s important that you be there. Do not leave town. It’s really important that you stay there—you have to trust me. I have to call Ochre. He’s got the best chance.”
“Best chance for what?” asked Scarlet.
“Saving Anna from the Warlocks.”
“But he’s in Canada,” said Scarlet.
“I know,” said Azure. “He’s going to have totravel. The future of the wolves is at stake.”
“The future of the wolves is depending on Anna?” asked Liam, sounding confused. “But she’s just… a girl.” He finished lamely.
“Girls can change the world,” Scarlet said drily. She did not include the worddumbass, but Azure heard it as a silent modifier on the sentence. In bed, Rafe gave a bark of laughter that said he also heard it.
“That’s not what I meant,” growled Liam. “But I know Anna. She’s sweet and fun, but her pack is pretty wolf-centered. I don’t think they’re doing anything groundbreaking. They get out even less than mine.”
“I believe that to be….” Azure hesitated, trying to parse what the second sight had shown her. “Incorrect. Anna has been doing something. I don’t know what, but it’s about to come to fruition, and without her, things get very bad, very fast.”
“Is Anna going to be all right?” asked Liam, sounding troubled.
“If Ochre can get there in time,” said Azure, “then yes. I hope. I’ll call you later.”
Anna
Anna Allanach sprinted across the frozen ground, the hard crust of late spring snow biting into her paws. Behind her, she could hear the angry growl of the four-wheeler engines. Panting, Anna dashed to the nearest tree and leaned against it, judging the distance. The warlocks behind her wore night-vision goggles and had enough magic to track her even in the dark of a nearly moonless night. She had thought to lose them in Yellowstone, but nothing had shaken them off her trail. It had been three days of dodging, shifting in and out of human form, but nothing had worked. They were getting closer.
Her only hope was the ranger house on the far side of the park, but that was a full three hours hard run ahead of her. She could weave through the tree line or cut across the wide-open prairie in front of her. The trees were safer, but at the moment, she needed speed.
She was halfway across when she heard the four-wheelers break out of the trees behind her. She put on more speed but struggled through a snowdrift. Then she heard the high yip of wolves. To her left, a broad-shouldered Yellowstone Gray Wolf led a pack of wolves, a line of dark bodies against the white snow. Anna pulled up, uncertain. Natural wolves didn’t always like shifters. He yipped, indicating that she should follow him. The pack raced around her, circling and then stringing out. It would be impossible for the warlocks behind her to pick her out of the pack. She followed the leader, relieved to be running with a pack even if it wasn’t hers. Then she realized that he had changed her course—angling off to the right. She yipped and tried to change the direction, but another wolf dove into her shoulder, driving her after the leader.
