Page 6 of Midnight Hunt (Wolves of Midnight #4)

5

VIOLET

To say that Sable was excited would be an understatement.

The blood immediately triggered her hunting instincts, and thoughts of jumping Whiskey’s bones were pushed to the back of her mind.

It’s not Burgundy’s blood , she assured me, eagerly dancing in place. Moose!

When Shadow took off again, she bounded after him with a yip. Judging by the way he closely followed the blood trail, I assumed Desirae’s wolf must have injured the big animal. It would take several regular wolves to bring down a moose, but hybrids were the largest-known werewolves in existence. Even if she hadn’t shifted into her true form, Burgundy should be able to bag the moose all on her own.

A few miles later, Shadow started to slow. Sable could still smell the moose’s blood, but the droplets had grown sparser. Burgundy must have attacked the moose and let it run off to slowly bleed out. Smart strategy. Easier to kill it that way without sustaining injury.

A sudden warning growl cut through the trees up ahead, alerting us to Burgundy’s position. Even though we were her pack now, she was no doubt feeling possessive of her kill, especially since she’d been packless for so long.

Shadow stopped, silently communicating with us to do the same. He could easily take the moose from Desirae’s wolf, but her position in the pack hierarchy had already been decided. Asserting dominance right now wasn’t necessary.

The crack of bone announced Shadow’s transformation into human form, and we followed his example, all four of us rising onto two legs moments later.

“We didn’t come here to take away your kill, Desirae,” Kolton called out, motioning for us to be ready in case she defended her prey by charging us. “But we need to speak with you and make sure you’re okay.”

When another growl rumbled through the trees, Kolton set his jaw and strode forward. The growl turned feral, but he didn’t waver in his steps. I moved to follow him, and Griff ended up in front of me somehow. Realizing what he was doing, I rolled my eyes. Desirae was an omega . Even if she charged, she wouldn’t get the best of me.

Jagger brought up the rear as we picked our way through the trees and entered a small clearing. At the sight of us, Burgundy snarled and snapped her jaws. I peered around Griff to see a massive dead moose on the ground and an equally massive wolf standing guard over it.

The wolf’s coat was a deep red, so deep that it looked black in the absence of light. But a thin ray of sunshine had leaked into the clearing and was highlighting the red in her fur. Her eyes were a bright shade of blue, a sure sign that the celestial being residing inside the big furry body was angelic.

When she trained those glowing eyes on me and bared her bloodied fangs, Griff moved in front of me again. Annoyed, I stepped forward and nudged him aside. He allowed me to stand beside him but lifted an arm to keep me from going any further.

As Burgundy continued to growl at us, Kolton’s voice boomed through the clearing, “Stand down, wolf. Give control back to Desirae.”

His tone rang with alpha authority, and even I felt the need to submit. Burgundy immediately shrank back and lowered her head, allowing the shift to take over. A minute later, a young woman with medium brown skin and a cute pixie-cut slowly rose from where the wolf had been.

“I’m so sorry,” she rasped, her voice slightly rusty from being locked away inside a wolf’s body all night. “Burgundy is still learning to share. She wouldn’t have attacked any of you, I promise.”

“It’s okay, Desirae,” my brother calmly reassured her. “We know you both are still adjusting to pack life. Mrs. Bailey was just concerned when you didn’t return by dawn like you usually do. I’m assuming the moose has something to do with it?”

She bobbed her head, her doe-brown eyes brightening as she surveyed her kill. “Yes. We were heading back when Burgundy scented the moose. It was too great of a prize to pass up.”

Knowing that she’d grown up fending for herself and hadn’t just killed the moose for sport, Kolton nodded his understanding. “We’ll help you carry it back to Mrs. Bailey’s. We should head back, though, before she needlessly worries anyone else.”

“Of course,” she replied, staring longingly at the dead moose for another moment before reluctantly stepping away. As Kolton and Jagger moved toward the moose, she spotted me and raised her hand in a shy wave. Before I could say anything, her gaze went to Griff and noticeably brightened. “Hi, Griffin.”

At the rather adoring look she gave him, I raised both eyebrows.

“Hi, Des,” he said, and my brows rose even higher.

Des? Since when had he given her a nickname?

That’s what happens when you stop having sex with a male. They start looking for someone else to bone, Sable commented rather snidely.

Stop being crude , I chastised her irritably. Griff isn’t like that .

He’s a virile male in his prime. Of course he’s like that .

A sudden image of Griff and Desirae passionately kissing popped into my head. Heat flushed up my neck, and I mentally tore the image to shreds.

Well, I’m dating Reid now , I responded, focusing on Kolton and Jagger as they hoisted up the mostly-intact moose instead of the flirtatious little looks Desirae kept sending to Griff. If Griff wants to have sex with another female, he has every right to .

And he should. Desirae seemed like a nice girl. If he wanted to pursue her as his mate, I’d be happy for him. He deserved to find someone amazing. Someone worthy of him.

If that happens, you’ll lose him for good , Sable bluntly said.

I pursed my lips, feeling the flush return. We’re friends. Family. That will never change. We’ll always be there for each other, no matter what .

Sable barked a laugh. Oh, like how he was there for you the last time you were in heat?

Beyond uncomfortable, I swiveled on my heel and started back the way we’d come. The others followed, and I heard Desirae strike up a conversation with Griff.

“Thank you again for watching my back during the initiation.”

“No problem. I was glad to help,” Griff replied in that congenial way of his. “Hopefully the unmated males didn’t freak you out too much. They get pretty excited when a new female enters the pack.”

“It was intense being surrounded by so many, but you kept them from getting too close. I really appreciate that.”

Oh, God , I inwardly groaned. She’s hero-worshipping him .

Can you blame her? Sable continued to torture me. He’s always been very helpful and attentive. You know how addictive that kind of attention is .

I did, all too well. Griff’s attention was like being swaddled in a warm blanket. He was called the pack healer for a reason. If he couldn’t fix what ailed you, his attention alone was enough to make you feel better.

Recalling how often he’d made me feel better, I picked up the pace until I was almost jogging. As the others continued at a more sedate pace and their voices faded to a low hum, some of the tension left my body.

Deciding to cut a straighter path toward Mrs. Bailey’s, I veered off the trail we’d made and descended into a shallow gulley full of dead pine needles and leaves. Reaching the bottom, I prepared to quickly scale the other side. As I brought my foot down and sprang forward, a sudden snap cleaved the air, followed by an explosion of dirt and pine needles.

The pain was instant, streaking up my leg like a bolt of lightning.

Shocked, I crashed to my hands and knees. A bloodcurdling scream blasted my eardrums, the sound pure terror and raw agony. As it went on and on, I realized that it was mine.

I’d never felt pain like this before. A pain so wretchedly consuming that I was frozen in place, unable to do anything but scream.

Sable pushed to the surface, her need to protect me causing her to take over. The second my bones began to shift, the pain grew ten times worse.

“STOP!” I wailed, my consciousness flickering. When she obeyed my command, I promptly turned my head and threw up.

A frantic shout suddenly reached my ears, calling my name over and over.

Griff.

I tried to respond but only managed a small whimper.

As I heard him scramble into the gulley, the slight vibrations sent fresh agony tearing through me. I tried to lift my head, but something attached to my leg caught my attention. It was metal and shiny. Too shiny. The jagged teeth were viciously clamped around my ankle, digging in so deeply that I glimpsed bone through all the blood and ripped skin.

My bone.

Broken? Probably.

I shoved down the need to vomit again and managed to croak, “B-bear trap.”

Griff crouched beside the trap, his face pale and horrified, so unlike his usual expression that I couldn’t help but wheeze out a laugh.

He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “You’re laughing right now?”

“Your face,” I gasped, the sound more sob than laugh. “It’s priceless.”

His horror only intensified, making me want to laugh all the harder.

“Kol!” he roared, so loudly that I coughed out another laugh.

I was suddenly surrounded on all sides, the tears filling my eyes making it impossible to see their faces.

Another figure crouched beside the bear trap, one that I recognized as my brother. He reached down to touch the trap and immediately pulled his hand back with a hiss. “Silver.”

“A s-silver trap?” I sputtered, then burst into a fit of giggles. “No wonder it hurts so bad.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Griff asked, clearly panicked.

“She’s in shock,” Jagger said from somewhere above me. “Probably a good thing. The pain must be unimaginable.”

“We need to take it off,” a feminine voice exclaimed, one I couldn’t place at the moment. Things were getting fuzzy, the world going in and out of focus every few seconds. Even the pain didn’t feel as bad anymore.

Just as I had the thought, the trap shifted on my leg, and I was suddenly screaming again.

“You’re hurting her!” Griff bellowed over my screams. “Don’t touch it!”

“It has to come off!” Kolton bellowed back.

“N-no, please don’t!” I sobbed, lashing out to knock aside any hands too close. The action shifted the trap again, and I belted out another bloodcurdling scream.

“Restrain her, Jagger,” Kolton ordered, making me scream even louder.

“DON’T,” Griff barked, with such authority that I forgot to scream for a second. “I’ll do it.”

Hands touched me, and I tried to jerk away. They snaked around me, and I was suddenly locked in a pair of strong arms.

“I’ve got you, Vi,” Griff said in my ear, holding me so tightly that I could no longer move my upper body. “I’m here.”

I struggled to break free, but his grip was ironclad. “Please don’t do it,” I whimpered, resorting to begging instead. Maybe if I sounded pathetic enough, they’d take pity on me and leave me alone. “It hurts. It hurts so much.”

Griff made a pained sound but didn’t release me.

“The silver is poisoning you, Vi,” Kolton tried to reason with me. “It’ll get harder and harder for your body to heal the longer you’re exposed to it.”

“But I can’t ,” I cried, tears rolling down my cheeks as my body shook with fear. “I can’t bear the pain. Don’t touch it. Please .”

The moment that trap shifted again, I would lose it. The pain was too much. Too much .

“Griff, put her under,” Kolton quietly ordered.

Terror gripped me. Desperate, I began to struggle again. “P-please, Griff. Don’t do it. I’m scared .”

That should do it. I never admitted that I was scared.

“Oh, Vi,” he groaned.

“Griff!” Kolton snapped.

With a sigh, Griff shifted his hold on me to place a hand on my forehead and murmur a quick spell under his breath.

Just like that, darkness pulled me under, and my pain blissfully melted away.