Page 7

HUNTER

A week. An endless, agonizing week had passed in our search for Emme.

“How can there be no trace of her?” Kellan snarled, his phone pressed to his ear as I floored the Range Rover, on another endless chase which would probably lead nowhere. Once again.

We’d followed leads. We’d killed and destroyed and broken our council down to pieces, but in the end, no matter how much blood we’d spilled, no one in Golden Claw knew where she was, including my former best friend, Sorenson.

He was involved in this somehow, and had disappeared the same night as Emme.

“We’re in Silver City.” Kellan rested his head on his hand, exhaustion and pain dragging his features.

“It’s the only lead we’ve got at the moment.

Find us something else. Now. You’re the best tracker in the business.

You’re the fucking one who found her in Florida in the first place. How could you have lost her scent?”

I pressed my foot harder to the gas, swinging around a corner to follow the navigation system directions.

We’d received a tip that the Rogers pack were holed up deep in the industrial area of Silver City.

We’d staked out their compound earlier today but there’d been no sign of life, so this was our last hope.

It might have been quicker if we had Slade’s help, but his dragon had taken control, sending him hunting after Emme in his beast form. Finley was the same.

Leaving Kellan and I in a struggle to remain semi-coherent.

We were barely fucking holding on, but the pain of our strained bond and missing mate was enough to keep our beasts subdued. I hoped our more animalistic brothers were having better luck at tracking our mate.

My growls filled the car as my wolf mourned and cried out for her, the clawed end of my hands digging into the steering wheel. Kellan hung up a second later with a huff. “Fucking useless,” he muttered as he leaned forward and peered out the windshield, taking in the large lots of land.

The secret Rogers Pack property was surrounded by warehouses, all of them behind large chain-link fences. It was late afternoon, the sun already setting, and while it would be safer to wait for the cover of night, I knew we wouldn’t.

Our mate was out there, in the hands of whoever took her, doing whatever they wanted with her, and it was only the tendrils of our bond that even told me she was still alive.

When she’d first been taken, I’d felt nothing but a cool calmness from her, and then there’d been this sharp slash of pain, and then…

nothing. They’d taken her too far for me to feel her as I should.

Our bonds were too new, and we were all suffering.

“Fuck,” Kellan groaned, palming his chest and rubbing briskly.

“My wolf is getting worse. We’re restless and broken without her.

I don’t know how much longer I can do this.

It’s only the sense through the bond that she’s still alive that’s keeping me functioning at all.

That, and the need to fucking gut whoever took her.

” His breaths heaved in and out in a rasp, and the car filled with the scent of his beast. “We missed her damn birthday. The first one she could have had with us, being actually celebrated…” His voice rose dramatically.

“…and she’s out there having goddess knows what done to her. ”

Without taking my eyes from the road, I grasped his shoulder and used my alpha influence to soothe his wolf.

It offered a few seconds’ reprieve at best, as the ache of our missing mate wouldn’t ease until she was back in our arms. “We will find her,” I muttered, the statement bitter on my tongue.

“We won’t stop until she’s back with us, and there will be a hundred birthdays to celebrate.

” And those responsible for touching her would be dead at her feet.

Tearing them apart with my own hands was the bare minimum I’d require to let the matter rest.

When we reached the eastern border of their property, I slowed the vehicle, searching for a place off the main road to stash the car. Which ended up being a pocket of forest.

“We go on foot from here,” I said, retrieving my gun from the center console and sliding it into my jacket pocket.

We weren’t outfitted as thoroughly as last time, but we’d managed to bring ShiftLar protective gear, guns, and Taser S.

The weapons were our backup. We might be fueled by fury and adrenaline, but we’d also had no sleep and were working with very limited intel.

They could have an army inside. Not that I gave a single fuck.

Army or not, we were going to hurt these bastards.

We should have taken them out weeks ago, but we’d waited for the council to do their jobs, which had gotten my mate stolen from me again. This time I’d show no mercy.

I stashed the keys under the tire, in case I had to shift, and then headed through the forest toward the fence. Kellan followed silently, and I kept my senses on high alert for alarms or security. There was no scent of magic in the air, which hopefully meant we wouldn’t be dealing with witches too.

“Jewels said she’d take out the witch who helped kidnap Slade and Emme,” I said softly. “Hopefully that’s why there’s no magic tainting the air.”

Kellan snorted. “That witch does nothing for free. If she had taken them out, we’d have heard from her in the form of an invoice.”

He wasn’t wrong. “I’ve already paid her a hundred mil to do it right and leave no loose ends. We don’t exchange favors with her any longer. Not with any fucking witch.”

“Good,” he muttered, before shutting up as the chain-link fence came into view.

It was at least nine feet high, with barbed wire circling the top, and I scaled it quickly, throwing myself over the cutting barbs.

My jacket sleeve caught briefly, but then I passed, landing lightly on the other side.

Kellan was right behind me, both of us melting into the shadows of trees and shrubbery.

Our target was a large silver warehouse a hundred yards away, and I jabbed my fingers to the right, telling Kellan to circle around from the other side.

He shot me a quick nod, his expression grim as he took off silently.

Through our pack bond, we all felt untethered.

Hanging on by the fucking edge of our sanity.

As I headed for the side of the building, I picked up a dozen voices inside, making us vastly outnumbered. Which was the only reason I didn’t bust in through the front door in my wolf form, ready to tear them apart.

I had to stay alive for Emme, and the rest of my pack, which meant taking them by surprise.

Scaling a tree near the back quadrant, I climbed until I was level with a slightly ajar window on the second floor. I’d have to jump six or more feet, but I’d make it easily enough.

Hoping Kellan was in place on the opposite side, I leapt for the window, and while the ledge was narrow, I landed cleanly, gripping the edge of the frame to keep myself steady. The glass lifted soundlessly, as shadows washed over me from the sun descending behind me.

When I peered inside, I found a platform storage level, which was a lucky break.

Sliding inside, I carefully dropped to the wooden floor, my boots leaving marks in the dust, on what appeared to be a rarely used area.

The platform extended out over the main level, and I used the stacked boxes to keep my cover.

The scent of drugs and ammunition was strong enough to mask my scent, and I wasn’t surprised by the contents of the boxes.

This pack was clearly rich. They had a portfolio of properties, and Slade hadn’t been able to find any legitimate business activities outside of their roles on the Alpha Council, which didn’t pay enough for their lifestyle.

Silently skirting around the boxes, I peered over the edge to take in the scene below, only to find there were more than just shifters present. They had humans.

Five human women were bound to chairs in the middle of the giant warehouse.

Fuck . Whipping out my phone, I shot off a quick message to Kellan.

Hunter: They have humans with them. We need to be careful.

Kellan’s reply came back almost immediately.

Kellan: If we can save them, we will, but this is about Emme. I don’t give a fuck about humans.

I didn’t give a fuck about humans either, but I also knew that their deaths would bring the councils down on us.

Hunter: Worst case scenario, we blame it all on the Rogers pack. The councils can hunt them down.

Kellan: Agreed. Now, let’s take these fuckers out.

I switched out my phone for my gun and screwed on the silencer, preparing to take a few out before we were noticed. Hit the strong ones, and the weak would scatter.

The Rogers pack would be last though, as we needed at least one of them breathing. One of them had to know where Emme was. Our little omega might be alive, but she felt weak through our bond, and I truly feared that by the time we found her, it might be too late.

And if it was too late to save her, it was too late to save all of us.