Page 45 of Hayes
“And I will smell it,” Rylee added.
Surge’s brows shot to his head. “From what distance?”
Hayes stiffened. This information needed to be shared, but it still made him uncomfortable revealing all their cards. “Farther than where you live.”
Thorn blinked, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two women. “You can hear and scent that far away?”
Rylee nodded. “Yes. It’s not interesting enough for me to pay attention to scents for miles around. It gets overwhelming. I have to ignore them, but I can tell if either of you is on the move and headed this way. Your scent grows closer. That change catches my attention.”
Surge glanced toward the door. “That’s why you have the back door open and the windows lifted.”
“Yes.”
Thorn frowned. “You have the same experience with sound?” he asked Molly.
“Yes, but hearing everything all around me is debilitating. I can’t tolerate it. My head would explode. Gavin insulated the house to block out sounds. I have to step outside to focus on things. I’m getting better at controlling the onslaught, but it’s never going to be less annoying, so I’m hindered by the fact that I have to keep the volume to a minimum.”
Surge ran a hand down his face. “Wow. That’s powerful. Guess I better curtail my cussing,” he joked.
Everyone chuckled with not much humor. They needed to keep things light, but the situation was anything but.
Thorn cleared his throat and looked toward Hayes and then the other men. “Will any of you consider letting your mates join the task force?”
Hayes cringed because he hated the idea, but he knew it might be necessary. “We’ll discuss it.”
Rylee wrapped her arm around his neck. She had to know how difficult it was going to be for Hayes to let her roam the fucking forest in search of lions. It was preposterous, and yet…
It went against all of their instincts to entertain the idea of bringing women along for any sort of patrol. For decades, the mates of Alpha Protectors had been coddled and protected from everything. That was the nature of their existence.
But times were changing, and it would be foolish to ignore the signs. A task force that left out these powerful women would be hamstrung.
After a few moments, Surge asked, “Any sign of lions since last night?”
All of them shook their heads.
Hayes had some thoughts to toss around. “If we assume they are more powerful than all of us, it’s possible they can block even their scent. Perhaps they did so when they snuck up on your women last night. They may have been testing us to see if anyone among the wolves could scent them.”
Hayes shuddered before continuing, “I hate to point this out, but they could have gone to every one of our homes last night. Perhaps they even split up and visited dozens of houses in a short amount of time. Rylee would be the only one who could scent a lion if he was blocking. He might have realized that before he fled.”
Felix sighed. “I agree. I’d say that’s pretty likely. When Rylee bolted awake and you turned your lights on, the lion figured out he’d found someone who could detect him. If our house was also being surveilled at the time, it’s possible we fell for the same trap when Khloe woke up gasping, causing me to turn the lights on also. However, what they don’t know is that she can’t smell them. She had a vision.”
“I couldn’t hear any of them,” Molly added, “but if they were all alone and not communicating with each other, there might not have been anything to hear.”
Damon rubbed his chin. “Fuck, this is complicated. I hate it with every fiber of my being.”
Thorn leaned back in his chair. “Agreed.” He stood.
So did Surge. “Let’s reconvene tomorrow. That will give us all time to choose who will join the task force. Shall we meet here? Noon?”
Hayes stood to see them to the door. “Yes. Thank you for coming. We really appreciate your help.”
Rylee gasped as soon as Hayes opened the front door. She ducked under his arm and inhaled deeply.
No one spoke as the bears joined her on the front porch.
“I think your friend Drow is up to something.”
“What’s that, Little one?” Surge asked her.