The next night, I stood looking down at the MacLaren compound from a distance. The pelt in my hands was still slightly damp and I shivered in disgust and apprehension.

The idea had come to me when I’d seen the elk carcass, but we’d waited until morning when we could see better to fish this poor bastard out. A dead MacLaren shifter. He had been well-preserved there, under the icy water but his fur was dripping wet and matted. The image was ugly in my head – even if he was my enemy, intent on capturing me yet again. Enough people had suffered and I wanted it to end right here and right now.

Joel had been the one to skin him, with what tools we found at the cabin. He moved quickly, deftly, like he’d done this before – Marcus implied that he had, but I didn’t want to hear about it. All we knew was that the only way we were getting into the MacLaren compound was by using our guile instead of our strength and, pushed for time and resources, this was about the best thing that we could come up with.

“So, one of us wears that down to the compound,” Anton had muttered as Joel as skinned, going over the plan again, “and what happens then?”

“We blend in until we find a way to let others in,” Marcus had explained quickly. The two of them seemed to be getting on better now, or maybe it was just that they’d both seen the need for cooperation the night before. Whatever the case, it was a relief to have them not butting heads.

“I saw a gate around the East wall last night before we were spotted,” Luke cut in. “It was small and I didn’t see any guards. Probably for supplies or something? I think we could get in there without much fanfare if there was someone to unlock it from the inside.”

“Perfect,” Anton had said with a nod.

And that was how I found myself outside MacLaren compound in wolf form with another shifter’s carcass wrapped around me like a second skin, praying that my scent was obscured enough by this foul thing to fool the night guard.

The males fought me tooth and nail. Especially Luke, Ethan and Anton. In fact, I was pretty sure that if I hadn’t threatened to walk down there and turn myself in if they didn’t let me do it, we’d still be arguing. But I knew I was the only sane choice. Not only was I the only one who knew where the prisoners were kept, I had the least to lose. if caught, any and all of the others would be killed on sight at best and dragged in to be experimented on at worst. Only I, as Malcolm Kellum’s daughter, was worth more alive and in one piece than I was dead, at least as far as the MacLarens knew, at any rate.

And if I failed?

Well, at least I still had all of them out here to figure a way to rescue me.

I glanced over my shoulder; the guys were hiding out, deeper in the woods in human form to mitigate the intensity of their combined scents. Before I’d left them, they’d looked as drawn and nervous as I felt on the inside. Who would’ve thought that I’d ever go back into the belly of this beast? And willingly, no less?

But I had to do it for Rafe. Now that we were here, this close, I could have sworn that I could almost smell him on the wind. That alone was enough to strengthen my resolve.

I made my way towards the compound on silent paws. From a safe distance, we had watched it for a few hours, making sure there were as few guards as possible at the main gate when I made my approach. Now, the new scout that ran the perimeter had moved to the other side of the compound and there were only two on gate duty.

I moved slowly, making sure the pelt stayed as tight against me possible. If either of them came down from their post twenty feet off the ground, I knew I’d be busted.

My heart was pounding as I came to a halt outside the gate. I closed my eyes and focused myself on acting normal. The last thing I needed was to give myself away because of nerves.

On my approach, only one of them peered down from his post and I realized the other was sound asleep in his seat. For a second, I was sure the other one was going to climb down and question me, but then he grunted and waved his hand in front of his nose.

“Christ, man, you smell like a musty rat,” he said with a wince.

I let out a noncommittal chuff in response, pulse pounding.

“Get in there and have a quick wash before you go see the alpha and report,” he muttered, pulling the gate up with a yawn. “Rickland has been wondering where you’d gone off to and you smell like you haven’t bathed in a week.”

I hurried in the gate before he had a chance to take a better look at me.

I was in.

I was in.

After the dizzying rush of adrenalin that came with being inside the place once more, I almost forgot what it was I needed to do – but then I recalled the East gate, where they would be waiting for me to let them into this foul place.

The place was silent, but I wasn’t going to let that lull me into a false sense of security. I moved slowly and with great care, making my way towards the supplies gate that Luke had spotted on their first go-around of this place. Anton, Marcus, and Killian were all waiting for me there, while the rest waited in the woods for a call for help if need be. The less cooks in this kitchen, the better.

I made my way to the gate and eyed it for a moment. The prolonged scent of the pelt was almost choking me now, and it was taking everything I had not to stop and puke my guts up on the ground right then and there. But I stuck to my guns and kept going, and spotted a lock that seemed to be a simple matter of push up and push open. I nudged it with my muzzle and it clicked apart, the door swinging open on its hinges. I felt a wave of relief when I saw them waiting for me beyond it, and moved back so they could get inside.

Thank God for them. I hadn’t realized how scared I’d been to be in this place alone until I saw them, and I felt this twist of guilt and worry when I thought about how Rafe and Cora must have felt – stuck here, not knowing if they’d ever get out.

After checking that there was no one else around, we shifted back to human form and pulled on the clothes that we’d brought with us.

“Show us to the prison block. That’s where your guy will be,” Marcus whispered.

I nodded, and felt this rush of excitement when I thought about how close we were to seeing Rafe again; I glanced in Anton’s direction and I could see that he felt it, too, could see the thrill written all over his face. But we couldn’t get cocky. I wouldn’t be satisfied until Rafe and Cora were out of here once and for all.

And Rissa.

My chest hurt when I thought about her, when I thought about everything she’d been through. I would get her out of here and give her the life she deserved, far from this place and all they’d done to her.

I led them to the prison block where I had been kept and found a window that led into one of the corridors – it was narrow, but just big enough that me and Killian could fit through it. Anton and Marcus stayed on guard while we wriggled through and dropped with a small thud into the long corridor that housed all the cells on this block.

The place smelled of damp, just the same as it had when I’d been trapped there, and I held my breath and tiptoed up the corridor. As my eyes adjusted to the low light in the place, I could see most of the cells were empty, but eventually I saw a few people curled up on their floors, either asleep or dead.

None of them was Rafe.

I’d gotten almost to the end of the line when, suddenly, my heart stopped. I came to a halt outside one of the cells and tears stung my eyes. The person inside, a woman, lay on her side with her back to me, but I knew who it was at once. Her hair and her face was bathed in a thin strip of moonlight pouring through from the window in the distance.

“Cora,” I hissed, as loudly as I dared. I needed her to hear me but I didn’t want to let anyone else know we were here. I moved closer. “Cora!”

Finally, she stirred, turning over and opening her eyes – and her jaw dropped when she saw me standing there looking back at her.

“Ari.” She scrambled to her feet, reaching her hand out of the cell to touch me. “Is it you?”

“It’s me.” I took her hand and squeezed it, scanning her face for any sign that they’d laid a finger on her. She looked pale and drawn, but unharmed. She stared at me for a moment, as though she couldn’t believe this was happening. She jumped when she saw Killian, who had been pacing behind me, but I shook my head.

“It’s okay, he’s with us. In case any guards come and need dealing with,” I explained. “We’ve come to get you out of here. “Keys,” I asked her urgently. “Do you know where they keep them?”

“Next to the door, some cubbyhole.” She pointed. “Go quick. Please. I can’t be in here a minute longer.”

“I will,” I promised, and turned to Killian. “Stay here and make sure no one comes in, alright?”

He nodded and I scurried back down the corridor and squinted into the dark to find the cubbyhole. I groped around with my hands and finally stumbled across what I was looking for. The keys jingled in my hand and I pulled them loose, trying to figure out which one was hers. I headed back down the corridor, stomach churning. There were at least a dozen keys on the ring and we didn’t have a lot of time.

I pressed my lips together and started to try them, one by one, in the lock to her cell door. The first was a bust, the second, too, but the third was a charm. The cell door swung open and Cora leapt out, throwing herself into my arms.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she mumbled into my shoulder, and for a moment I squeezed her back – my best friend, safe in my arms once more. But I knew we couldn’t wait. Every second we were stayed was a second we could get caught.

“Come on.” I pulled away and tugged her down the corridor, towards the window we’d come in through.

Killian lifted her up and she wriggled out, falling with a thump to the other side. We followed behind and Anton looked at me hopefully as I landed once more.

“Rafe?” he asked softly, but I shook my head, trying not to let my fear balloon into panic.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Cora urged. She didn’t know that we hadn’t come for her alone.

“Marcus will take you to the others in the woods. I can’t go yet.” I touched her arm gently, soothing her. “My friend Rafe is still here. We need to find him.”

“We looked around and found another cell block,” Marcus explained swiftly. “Looks much harder to get into. I’ll bet that’s where they’re keeping him.”

“Shit,” I muttered to myself. “What do we do?”

“You’re going with Cora. Marcus and I will go get Rafe.” I opened my mouth but he held up a staying hand. “Don’t argue with me. We have to move fast,” Anton commanded, his tone brooking no argument. “We don’t know how long-”

“Hey!” A shout cut him off, and my heart dropped.

“What the fuck are you doing?” The guard who had let me in, presumably finishing off his shift, was standing in the middle of the courtyard staring at the five of us. Cora let out this long whine of terror, and I knew, with a flash of horror, that we could have to leave Rafe behind…again.

“Go.” Marcus turned to us. “Now. And don’t argue or I knock your ass out and drag you.”

I stood, frozen in place. Staying, even if I could manage to evade Marcus and his threat somehow, was a suicide mission now. But how could I leave again, knowing Rafe was still inside?

“You can’t help him if you’re dead, woman,” Marcus snarled.

“He’s right. We’ve got to go,” Anton said, his face a mask of pain.

With one last glance at the courtyard, I turned my attention toward my friend, who we could still save if we left right now.

“Let’s go,” I muttered.

We raced away as the guard raised the alarm, practically carrying Cora along with us. She was so weak, stumbling to keep up, but she managed. The last thing I saw before we were chased out of the compound was a battalion of guards emerging from behind the prison block and making chase – but Anton slammed the gate shut behind us, cutting the image off, and I turned back to the snowy blackness of the woods and focused on getting out of there alive.