Chapter 24
“At least the shaking seems to have stopped,” Neema said warily.
August didn’t respond, simply looked out one of the library’s windows. Two wolves ran across the lawn in human form, their steps very determined. Something was clearly going on. Because North Carolina wasn’t known for earthquakes.
“I don’t like this,” Eli murmured, the first words he’d spoken in a while.
It was now afternoon and they’d been in here too long. A couple wolves had come to check on them and offer more food. They’d taken it to be polite, but none of them felt like eating.
And August’s patience was at an end. Mainly because he was worried about Vega. And now the earth was rumbling? Nah. He didn’t like this one bit.
The door to the library opened and a tall female with light brown skin and hair shorn close to her head stepped in. He recognized her from the file. Kalisa. Judoc’s second-in-command. He hadn’t seen her when they’d infiltrated the place. He’d thought she was out of town.
“You guys doing okay?” she asked, her hands casually shoved into her pockets.
August stepped forward. “What the hell is going on? Is Carson still captive?”
Her jaw ticked once and all she did was step back toward the door. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“If something is going on or this place is under attack, we can help. You’re the second-in-command. You have the authority to make that decision,” August said.
She raised a dark eyebrow. “You know who I am?”
August nodded. “Yes.”
“Carson’s escaped,” she finally said after a moment.
No. August refused to let that male go free. “We don’t want him dead. Not yet anyway. I swear if you let us take part in hunting him down, none of us will kill him unless absolutely necessary.”
Pausing only a moment, she finally gave a sharp nod. “You don’t smell like you’re lying. No weapons, and you three split up. You’ll each team up with my packmates. Two of them to one of you. You good with that?” She didn’t bother looking around at the others, just focusing on him. Clearly she understood he was the boss.
“We’re good with that.”
“All right. You’re with me, then. Come on. He escaped from one of our cells because the earthquake split it right down the middle.” She shook her head as she stepped back out into the hall.
The three of them quickly followed her. She continued talking as she hurried down the hallway. August kept pace next to her while the other two stayed directly behind them. “We’ve got everyone canvassing the area and we already had a perimeter set up so it will be very hard for him to escape. Hard but not impossible. He’s smart.”
And he was well-trained, August thought. “You know anything about that earthquake?” he asked as they exited through a side door onto the back area of the property.
“Nope. You,” she said to Neema, “with those two. And you, with them.” Kalisa pointed at Eli, then at two males. “Don’t make me regret bringing you into this,” she finally said, focusing solely on August.
“We are not a threat to this pack.”
“Let’s go, then.”
* * *
“I don’t like leaving her.” Vega wasn’t sure how much time had passed when they reached the original cave they’d been in. Now it wasn’t covered in ice, just chilly. And a couple ropes were hanging down, secured in place to the ground so they’d be easy to climb.
She felt fine. Better than fine. Other than wanting a shower and feeling out of sorts because of losing that connection to Gabriel—one she technically shouldn’t have had anyway—physically she felt as if she could run a marathon.
He hadn’t said anything about their connection severing, and she didn’t blame him. Whatever had happened between them had been a fluke. Or if not a fluke, it wasn’t right to rope him into a mating. She…would mourn the loss of that brief connection later. Even now, she was forcing herself to shove back any and all emotions. To keep everything locked up so she didn’t spiral.
“I know,” Gabriel said. “Let’s give her a little time and then head back down there.”
“We need to talk to Carson,” Vega said, though talking to that shady bastard was the last thing she wanted to do. Throat punching him sounded a lot better. Clawing his face off was also a good option.
Judoc had told them that the male had been captured and was imprisoned in his pack’s detainment area. AKA a private prison cell.
“Yeah.” Gabriel didn’t say any more as they reached the ropes.
Judoc and the two wolves weren’t too far behind them, but she was glad for the privacy with Gabriel. She just wanted to get the hell out of here and decompress. Even five minutes alone would be fine with her.
They started climbing, side by side, and she was surprised by how fast she moved. After what had happened, she’d expected to be winded or sore or something. Not feel…normal.
“You good?” Gabriel asked as they reached the top.
Oh, how to answer that. No, she wasn’t good at all. She’d died. And there was so much she wanted to talk about with him, but they had stuff to do. Like interrogate a rogue wolf. And get back to an ancient dragon whose sister might die. And said sister had literally given her life for Vega. No, she was tempted to curl into a ball and ignore the entire outside world. “It’s weird, it still feels like it should be dark out,” she said, looking around the forest. It was maybe midafternoon, if she had to guess.
“That’s not an answer,” he muttered, “But yeah, I agree.”
They both paused and looked at each other at the sound of a female barking out an order to…someone. Seconds later, August and two wolves she didn’t recognize, but assumed were part of Judoc’s pack, stepped into the clearing where the big hole was.
August eyed the two of them, and for the first time since she’d met the male she saw a true surprise as his gaze swept over them. Yeah, she knew what they looked like. She was also surprised that he was outside. Judoc had told them he was in the library, in “containment” for trespassing until he was able to deal with them.
“Holy fuck,” the female with a buzz cut said. “Y’all look like shit. Where’s Judoc? We can’t get a hold of him.”
“Coming. There was an incident below, had to close a Hell Gate.” Gabriel’s words were so casual, as if that was an everyday occurrence. Though she sensed the tension rolling off him. “But he’s right behind us.”
“Carson’s escaped,” August said, interrupting, apparently not even fazed by the mention of a Hell Gate. All right, then. “We’re hunting him now.”
Vega looked at Gabriel. The shower and anything else could wait. The male was not escaping. “We’ll help,” she said, turning back to them.
The female paused, looked them up and down, and shrugged. “All right. We got a tip that he’s headed northeast, probably hoping to use the river to cover his tracks.”
Before they could respond, Judoc and the others emerged from the hole.
Vega looked at Gabriel as the female approached her Alpha. She mouthed, Let’s go—because she wasn’t waiting around another second.
He nodded once and the two of them eased back into the trees. The last thing she saw before they turned and ran was August winking at her.
Once they were a good distance away, she said, “You want to shift and run?”
“No.”
Okay, then. He hadn’t been chatty since all that crazy shit had happened in the cave, but…she needed something from him. Then she felt insane for wanting anything right now. But man, she was all sorts of mixed up and—
Her wolf went on high alert and if she’d been in animal form, her ears would be standing at attention. Carson was nearby.
Gabriel paused for only a moment, pointed at her, then upward. Nodding, she climbed the nearest tree, using her claws for expediency. Climbing was usually a feline thing, but they stunk something fierce right now. The sulfur clinging to them, combined with all the blood, would be impossible to hide. Taking to higher ground should help if the wind remained in their favor.
She watched as Gabriel climbed a nearby tree, but then he seemed to disappear. She scanned the forest below, looking for any signs of life that didn’t belong. As she looked, she listened carefully.
Rustle, rustle. The wind suddenly died and she heard that rustling of leaves again. Nearby…to the west of her. Staying as still as possible, she scanned the ground and trees to the west.
There.
She saw something black peeking out at the foot of an oak tree. And the color black wasn’t often found in living nature. Not in plants anyway. Going on instinct, she moved to the edge of the branch she was on and jumped to the nearest tree. Quietly, she clung to a branch and eyed the area she’d seen the black spot. It was still there and kind of looked like a shoe.
Balancing on the branch, she looked around for Gabriel again but didn’t see him. Instead of jumping to the next, farther tree—because she was not a feline—she quickly shimmied down the trunk and used the setting sun to her advantage.
Sunset wouldn’t be for another hour or so, but the shadows were longer this time of day, stretching out and casting odd shapes and outlines over the forest.
Perfect for her.
Closer, closer Vega crept toward the tree where she’d seen that bastard. She scented Carson so it had to be him.
With her supernatural speed, she used the trees and other foliage as cover. By the time she’d looped back around to the other side of that tree, she realized her mistake.
It was just a shoe. Not Carson.
Inwardly cursing, she started to look for a nearby tree to climb when she scented the treacherous wolf. Close.
Her wolf took over, instantly undergoing the change even as she turned toward the threat. A blur of fur and claws tackled her to the hard earth.
But she’d already died once today. She certainly wasn’t going to die again. And not by this jackass.
Instead of fighting the tackle, she rolled into it and, surprising the other wolf, used her hind legs to kick him in the gut. He reared back and she kicked him in the face before she rolled back onto all fours.
She spun to face Carson even as Gabriel dropped down from a nearby tree next to her, still in human form. Sneaky shifter. Should have known he’d be right with her. No matter what, he always had her back.
Carson looked between the two of them, paused for only a moment, then turned as if to run.
Um, yeah, forget that.
Vega didn’t wait for Gabriel as she sprinted after Carson. It took three giant leaps and then she was on him, her jaws wrapping around his throat as she slung him to the ground as roughly as possible without damaging him permanently.
He howled in pain even as she felt a claw dig into her side. Nothing more than a scratch.
“Stay down or I’ll stand back while she finishes you,” Gabriel snarled. His claws were extended as were his canines as he looked down at the ground to the pathetic wolf.
Carson bared his teeth at them, but when she took a step toward him, her own teeth bared, ready to rip his face off, he backed down, dropping his head in submission.
She wasn’t sure if she bought the act, but he clearly wasn’t going anywhere. The fool couldn’t outrun them. Standing her ground, she remained poised and ready to attack should he make a move.
Luckily she could hear Judoc and August in the distance. The cavalry had arrived. Good.
Because she still wanted a shower and they could deal with this wolf.
“After this, you and I are taking a long, hot shower,” Gabriel said as if he’d read her mind. He sounded as exhausted as she felt.
Before she’d climbed out of the cave she’d felt invincible, hopped up on adrenaline, but the events were all crashing in on her now.
August had once told her that if she wasn’t tired, she wasn’t doing her job. Well, she was certainly doing her damn job right now. Because Vega was pretty certain she could sleep for a week.