Page 26 of Mated By the Pack
Now I’m rushing to get back to my brothers as fast as four paws can carry me, because Calla has escaped her cage, threepeople are dead, and five women are running right toward The Tangle. The vines may like Calla, but she’ll be food for the closest predator if we don’t intervene.
“Listen!” I shout, shifting into human form as I skid to a stop. “I don’t have time to explain, but unless you want to pick pieces of her out of a Gen-Pig’s belly, I suggest you shift and follow me.”
I turn, shift, and launch myself into The Tangle. My brothers are behind me, and Gideon accelerates past me.
“I’m the one who knows where we’re going, brother,”I say through our mental link.
“I’ve got her scent!”he fires back.
Then lead, brother.
We communicate while we move in pack silence, easily catching up to Calla and the other women, but we hang back. None of us wants to take them by force, even if we could, and it’s a long way back to the den if we have to drag them.
“I don’t want to take them back to the fucking den,” Knox mutters, crouching and watching the location where the ones we’re following have stopped to rest.
It’s almost dawn now. If they don’t start moving soon, they may have an angry Gen-Lion on their heels. I didn’t see him at the house where they were being kept. Maybe he’s gotten his silver and moved on. That would be a blessing at this point.
“We’re taking her to the den,” Gideon growls. “I don’t care about the other four.”
A harsh comment, even from Gideon. We don’t get involved in human affairs anymore. But snatching her, and leaving the rest of them? That’s almost cruel.
“What if we lead them there?” I offer, exhaling sharply.
“How?” Jace asks, putting a hand on his side and stretching the still-healing wound.
“Clear a path,” I answer. “They’re not going to be running toward the noise, right? So, we guide them. We scout ahead, clear things toward the den, and leave them a trail they have to follow.”
“Then what?” Knox mutters. “We’ll have five women at the den. Now, back when we were human, that would have been a nice Saturday night, but… we lost that part of ourselves in the fucking flare.”
“Not lost.” I shake my head. “Just different.”
“Fucking a girl used to be like dying and going to heaven,” Knox grumbles. “Now, it’s like eating a pack of rations instead of hunting fresh meat. I’d rather starve.”
“Agreed,” Caleb says, shocking all of us by actually speaking.
“Tell them, Jace,” Gideon says. “Admit that you’re feeling it. That you’ve got her scent. Everyone will understand soon.”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Jace says. “But I think we should clear a path. I’m with Vance.”
“If it makes any of you feel any better, she’s not just different from other humans. I don’t think she’s human at all,” I offer, shrugging slightly and swallowing hard.
My brothers all turn their attention to me. Maybe not the best pinecone grenade to drop right now, but we’re not arguing. That’s a start.
“What do you mean she’s not human?” Gideon asks, stepping closer. “What is she?”
“No idea,” I answer.
I tell them what I saw. I can see the skepticism in Knox’s eyes, especially when I describe the way the vine reacted to the lock. Caleb stares in silence, completely unreadable. Jace and Gideon seem to contemplate it.
“So, that’s why you want her back at the den?” Knox grunts. “This is like that time you discovered those plants near Haven South that spit seeds at you. You just want to study her. Another science experiment.”
“If those plants had gotten a little bigger, they might have been useful,” I mutter. “It’s not like that. You know I have read a lot about wolves, packs, and things like that. I’ve gone over all the research our brothers left behind. What Gideon is describing could very well be our mate. Especially if Jace is sensing it too. And her name is Calla.”
“They’re moving,” Gideon growls, immediately shifting.
“What do we do?” Jace asks.
“Clear a path!”Gideon roars across our mental link and we’re off.
