“Gold, right or left? I scent them both ways, but no bear scent,” I hear Callum speak into my wolf’s mind. My wolf scents them both too, and she stops, not knowing which way to run. Callum’s bear stops near me, pushing his side into mine in comfort.
“I go right. You go left,” I direct, knowing we have to catch them before they get back to a car or out of the pack lands.
“Be safe,” Callum tells me before taking off to the left as I run right. I track the scent through the forest, jumping over fallen trees until my wolf comes across a stream, and my wolf sees her target. We race across the stream quickly, the freezing cold water splashing across my wolf’s legs but we don’t stop. We slip on a few rocks as we start closing in on the smaller wolf sprinting away from us as fast as she can. I know the other wolf is a female based on her scent and how small she is. I look over to where she is running and see the massive hill ahead of us, where there are car lights shining above. I can scent more wolves up there.
"No escape," I tell my wolf, who growls and agrees, running faster and snapping at the brown wolf’s heels as she jumps up the cliff. My wolf jumps too, landing on top of her, and she snaps at my throat as my wolf rolls off her. My wolf leans down, letting out a loud growl as the other wolf looks for a way to escape. I hear the car above us driving away, leaving her behind. She has nowhere to go, so she runs at me, teeth bared. I dart past her side, grabbing the back of her neck with my teeth and digging them into her fur. I push her down as she growls and tries to shake me off, but I am way too strong for her. My wolf tries to hold off on breaking her skin while she fights me because she knows we need her alive for answers. Her wolf is too small to fight me, and she eventually figures it out because she gives up, submitting to me. I release my hold on her neck, placing my paw on her back. I smell a bear getting closer and know even if she runs, she will be caught by someone. I think of my human form and shift back, completely naked on the cliff with my foot on the wolf's back. Bloody hell it is cold.
"Shift back. You will not like what happens if I have to make you shift," I tell the wolf, stepping back and crossing my arms over my chest as the wolf shifts into a woman with brown hair. She wraps her arms around her legs, glaring up at me.
"They will kill me now because of you! I could have been free, and now I will die!" the girl shouts. I stand looking at her for a second, scenting how young she is, even as her small face stares up at me with tears streaming down her cheeks. The girl is covered in cuts, and I would guess she is only about sixteen and smells awful, like she has been living in a sewer or something for years.
"Why did you attack my pack?" I demand, not falling for her innocent act, and I turn to see Cain's bear jump onto the rock. He looks at me for a second before locking onto the girl and growling low at her. She jumps, crawling back to the edge of the rock as she watches Cain with complete fear in her eyes. I walk over to him, placing my hand on his head. "Don't make me repeat my question."
"I was told to," she whispers, her voice cracking.
"By who? What did they want?" I ask her, and she shakes her head.
"They wanted the wolf that escaped, and they wanted us to take a child from the pack," she whispers, looking terrified.
"Who?" I ask, not being able to stop the growl that slips out of my lips.
"The Royals. The queen ordered-" her answer is cut off as an arrow flies straight through her throat. Her wide eyes stare at me in surprise as she falls off the cliff, and I can’t do anything but watch.
* * *
"You okay?" Chase asks the moment he sees me walking into the pack house with one of Cain's shirts thrown over me that falls to my knees. I nod, looking back as Cain carries the body of the young wolf girl into the house. He goes to the massive wooden table in here, placing the body on top of it. Betty comes out the room on the right, seeing the body and giving me a relieved look before going back in the room when she sees the body.
“We should cover her up,” I say. We should always have respect for the dead, even if this one did try to attack our pack. She is also only a teenager, and this is not a fair ending for her.
"I will get a blanket to cover her," Cain says respectfully, understanding.
"Is Callum back?" I ask, suddenly worried because he should be back by now if we are.
"Not yet. Can you feel him?" Chase asks, looking at the dead wolf as he rubs his shaved chin. I feel down the bond, feeling the frustration pouring from him. He’s not far, and I can feel him getting closer with every moment.
"He is fine and nearly here," I tell Chase, and I finally see the blood covering his shirt. I step closer as I place my hand on his shirt, smelling that blood isn’t his and swallowing in relief.
"I thought you were hurt," I say, explaining why I am standing so close to him, and he goes to reply when the door is opened behind us. Callum walks in, completely naked, and striding straight to me, pulling me into a tight hug.
"I was worried," he explains.
"I'm okay. I'm tougher than I look," I say, trying to comfort him. If I am being honest with myself, I was extremely worried about all of them, too.
"That's true. Your wolf is nearly as big as a bear and pure gold. I get your name now, and I know you are one hell of a fighter who hand handle herself. I still just needed to see you," Callum says, going rigid as he finally seems to notice the dead wolf in the room.
“We caught up with one,” I explain. “But we didn’t kill her, an arrow through the neck did while we were talking,” I say.
"What happened?" Callum asks.
"Why don't you put some clothes on while we fill everyone in?" Cain suggests as he comes down the stairs with a blanket and a pile of clothes. He hands Callum the clothes as the door opens again, and I turn to see my rogue rush in frantically. He is covered in blood, with a dangerous look in his eyes, and his smart clothes are ripped everywhere. I panic for a second until I smell the blood is not his, it overwhelmingly smells like cat. He flashes me a relieved look, but then he sees the wolf, and his eyes widen.
"No..." he whispers, going over to the body. Cain covers the body up, but Rogue stops him from covering her face. I step to his side as he closes the girl's eyes and pulls the blanket up over her face with a shaky hand.
"You know her?" Cain asks, and I link my fingers with my Rogue in comfort when he doesn't say a word, just stares at the body.
"The girl told me she was instructed to come here to get Rogue back and to take a child. They clearly didn't get Rogue but..." I drift off as Betty comes into the room and shuts the door behind her.
"A fourteen year old male bear was taken. His parents are in there and devastated. The bears they killed tried to save him and didn't succeed. They snuck into our pack, took one of our children, and we need to get him back. Who took him?" she asks, very much the old alpha female of the pack as she makes it clear she wants the revenge we all do.
"The Royals," I whisper, but everyone hears me, turning sharply to stare at me in shock.
"They wouldn't," Betty gasps, shaking her head.
"This girl told me just before they shot an arrow into her neck and killed her," I tell them. "She was scared, so scared, and she knew telling me meant death. The person who shot her was long gone when we looked around. I believe she was telling me the truth."
"If the Royals did this, we will need proof," Chase points out.
"They will use the child against you. They must want something you have," Rogue finally speaks. "And it isn’t me. They sent three lion shifters after me, and I can tell you now they were trying to kill me, not take me." I see Cain, Chase, Callum, and Betty all look between each other like they know exactly what they royals might want, but I know it isn’t the time to ask.
"You killed them all?" I ask, and he nods, still keeping his eyes on the body. “I was getting ready for the party when they came into my room and attacked me.”
“I am glad you killed them,” Callum says what I’m sure we are all thinking.
"I saw this girl once in the place they kept me. She was so young to die like this. Dying without living is the worst thing I could imagine," Rogue says, and I squeeze his hand in comfort.
"We will give her a respectful burial. She is just a child who was caged for god knows how long and then ordered to do something terrible. She made a choice to do good when she told me who sent her. A choice that could save our pack. That choice should be remembered," I state, and my bears all nod.
"We need a plan," Cain points out. "A plan we can tell the parents and the rest of the pack to keep them from losing their minds. And to stop me going to the castle and killing the royal family."
"Erik is best friends with the prince. I need to talk to my brother as he is likely at the castle with the prince anyway. If we send him a top, or something with the boy's scent on it, he could search the castle without being detected," I explain my idea, and they all seem to think on it before nodding in agreement.
"We follow Gold's plan, and we set up guards around every part of the pack lands. I will arrange everything with our betas," Chase says, nodding once at me before walking out the room.
"I need to go with Mum to tell the parents everything we know. It is best coming from us," Callum says, coming over and kissing me gently. "You have a good plan, mate."
"I will go collect the bodies of the bears that died today," Cain says.
"I can help, if you want," Rogue offers. Cain looks between us both and shakes his head.
"I want someone with you at all times until we secure the pack. They want you dead for a reason, and I doubt they are going to give up on that," Cain says, and Ii give him a sharp nod.
"They spent years testing on me, injecting me with things that made me stronger or weaker sometimes. I am not so easy to kill, especially not when I have something to fight for," Rogue responds, glancing at me.
"You have a pack to fight for too," Cain tells him and walks out of the room, leaving it with only us in it.
"You must have injuries and be exhausted from the fight, why don’t we go and clean you up back home?" I gently suggest to Rogue, who still hasn't looked away from the body. “We will bury her tomorrow. There is nothing we can do for her anymore. Her soul is free.”
“I know you are right. This just reminds me of how many people are still suffering at the hands of the royals,” he whispers.
“Not for much longer. They have picked the wrong pack to mess with,” I state firmly and tug on Rogue’s hand, leading him out of the house.