I stayed close to Eli as we worked our way up the gravel driveway. My gaze drifted to the woods every other step, searching for threats that might lurk there. Remain alert. It was what my wolf wanted me to do.

When Drew’s house came into view, I hunkered down low while I continued walking. My gaze swept over the house as we grew closer. It was falling apart and older than I’d imagined. White paint chipped away from it in places and sections of rotted wood ran along the porch. A bloated gutter filled with debris hung at an odd angle along the roof line and the porch was small. A worn porch swing and a pair of muddy work boots were the only things occupying the space. Was Drew the type who made people take their shoes off before stepping inside?

I had a hard time believing so due to the rundown condition of the place.

Lights were on inside and the sound of a TV blaring filtered through the screen door, but I paid it no mind. Instead I scoped out the surrounding area.

The house was situated on a large piece of wooded property with no neighbors in either direction. This was good and bad. It made the house a perfect place to hide someone you’d kidnapped, but it also made it hard for anyone to hear their cries for help. It was too secluded.

Eli disappeared around the side of the house, and I followed. I wasn’t sure what strategy he wanted to apply to the situation—we probably should have discussed things in depth before shifting—but I was willing to roll with whatever he chose. It was too late to do anything else now.

There was nothing along this stretch of the house besides dark windows, a rake propped against the place, and a dry-rotted garden hose tossed haphazardly in the yard. Weeds of various heights and overgrown bushes made it hard to see if there were any basement windows. There didn’t appear to be a cellar door either.

However, there was a small shed when we rounded the corner to the back of the house.

Eli crept toward it without me having to suggest we check it out. It must be a new addition to the property because it was in a better shape than the rest of the house.

Eli sniffed at the ground, searching for a scent from one of our pack members. I bent my head and did the same, putting all my faith in my wolf’s abilities.

Nothing.

Eli must have found the same because he started back to the house seconds later. The part of me that had hoped we’d be able to find them both without having to step inside the house deflated. I wasn’t sure what I’d been thinking. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

When we rounded to the other side of the house, the screen door at the front squeaked open and then banged shut.

Drew had stepped outside.

I hunkered down lower, hoping to blend in with the shadows as I strained my ears to listen to where he was in relation to me. Had he spotted us? I didn’t see how. Unless he had game cameras set up. Lots of hunters had them set up around their properties.

I wished we’d thought of that before.

My heart pounded as all the horrible ways this moment could play out circled through my head. Were we about to get shot?

“Yeah, well like I said, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all damn day.” Drew’s voice filtered through the humid air, floating straight to my ears. He was on the phone with someone. From the sound of it, he wasn’t happy with whoever he was speaking to. Not only that, but he sounded drunk. His words slurred together the way my father’s did after he’d downed his seventh beer. “Sorry. I know. I’m just pissed. You said you wanted one, and I got it. I can’t keep this thing lying around my house forever. It’s creepy as hell knowing it’s here.”

Thing? Was he talking about Violet? She wasn’t a thing.

My lips curled as a low growl built in my throat. Violet was a member of my pack. She was a sixteen-year-old girl he’d abducted not a thing.

Eli nudge me from the side. His eyes told me I needed to calm myself. I sighed but reined myself in as best I could.

“I can meet you whenever,” Drew slurred. “I hoped we would tonight, but it ain’t happening, is it? Fine. Pick the place and time then.”

I shifted around on my paws as a lightness built in my chest. Violet was still here. She hadn’t been sold yet.

“Tomorrow night works. Yeah. I’ll be there,” Drew muttered. “I’ll remember. I haven’t had that many. I’m fine. I won’t forget.” His words were drawn-out, weighed down by alcohol and irritation.

I held my breath, hoping he would repeat the place and time for whoever he was on the phone with, but he never did.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” Drew muttered before the sound of the screen door swinging open again cut through the night. It slammed shut behind him as he entered the house.

A light flicked on close to where Eli and I were, illuminating the window above us. It was cracked a few inches, which allowed us the pleasure of hearing Drew fart while peeing. Eli started forward again and I followed, wondering what he planned to do now. Impatience burned through my veins. I wanted to get Violet now. She was here. We needed to grab her and go.

The tiny porch came into view as we rounded the front of the house. Eli made his way up the rickety steps and headed for the door. I froze. What was he thinking? He couldn’t open that door. Not in wolf form.

I watched him nuzzle the door with his snout. Somehow, he was able to wedge it open enough to slip inside. I let out a yelp of astonishment and crept up the porch steps to follow after him.

There was no way I could let him go in alone.

I slipped past Eli and stepped into Drew’s living room. The strong scent of beer and stale cigarettes permeated the air, souring my stomach. The farther into the house I stepped, the more potent the stench became. It coated the back of my throat, making me want to gag. The door closed behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder. We were both inside, which meant we were one step closer to rescuing Violet—and hopefully Glenn—and then getting the hell out of here.

A toilet flushed somewhere in the back of the house. We needed to get out of sight, but it was hard to do with the layout of the place.

It was what Gran called a shotgun house. Rectangular in shape and built in a way that from the front door you could see through the house straight out the back door. Gran said it was so a person could fire their gun from the front door, and it would travel to the back door without hitting a wall.

This made hiding from Drew more difficult.

If he was anything like my father, the chances were steep he’d head to the fridge and grab another beer before moving to the living room. Even from the kitchen, he would be able to see us with the layout of the house. We needed to get out of sight. I slipped out of the living room and into the first room I spotted. Eli followed without hesitation.

The room was small, possibly meant to be a bedroom, but Drew didn’t use it as one. Shelves of ammunition lined one wall. A card table sat in the center, a broken-down gun taking up the bulk of it. Along the far wall, there was a gun cabinet large enough to provide weapons for an army.

Drew was a gun collector.

Great.

Eli peeked his head out the door and gazed into the living room. Keeping tabs on where Drew was inside the house was important. When the sound of a fridge opening made its way to my ears, amusement trickled through me. I’d been right in guessing where he would go after leaving the bathroom.

I peeked around Eli, unable to help myself. Curiosity was getting the best of me, and I wanted to see if he was reaching for another beer. Drew’s back faced me. I couldn’t see what he was reaching for, but I could guess. Eli didn’t wait around to find out. Instead he took advantage of the moment and darted from the gun room. He headed through the living room and cut down the hall. I followed close behind without him having to ask.

The fridge shut with a bang and the sound of a can opening echoed through the kitchen the instant we were both hidden in the hall. Loud footfalls passed where we were. They vibrated the floorboards beneath my paws and had my breath hitching in my throat. I prayed Drew wouldn’t detour to the hall, but instead would continue to the living room. The last thing we needed was for him to spot us. There was no doubt in my mind he had a gun strapped to his hip. Not with his obvious love of guns.

Hearing stations switching on the TV a few hurried heartbeats later had me relaxing. Eli nudged my side, and I glanced at him. He seemed to be ready to move now that we’d skated past the danger zone.

My gaze left him to travel down the length of the hall. Four doors lined it. Two of them were closed, and two were open. Eli started for the nearest one. It happened to be one that was open. The sharp scent of urine drifted from the room as we neared it. Apparently, Drew had no aim. At least not when he was hammered anyway. My snout wrinkled with disgust as we crept past the filthy bathroom.

The next door was closed. Eli tried to nudge it with his snout like he had the screen door, but he didn’t have any luck. There was no way he’d be able to get it open in this form. Knowing this, he dipped his head and sniffed along the floor trying to pick up either missing pack member’s scent. When he shook his head, I knew he hadn’t picked up anything. We moved to the next door. It was open, but Eli didn’t step inside. Instead, he paused at the threshold and sniffed the air.

Nothing.

We headed to the next door. It was closed. No, it wasn’t closed—it was padlocked shut. I didn’t have to sniff around to know this was where Violet was being held. The lock said it all.

The problem was: In this form, there was no way we’d be able to get inside that room.

We were screwed.