Page 128 of Quarterback Sneak

Jace, they’re giving me that shot again. I don’t know if I’ll be able to contact...her voice fades.

Evie!I shove down the bond.

When I hear her voice again, it’s faint.I know you’re coming for me...think...warehouse...And then there’s nothing. My wolf explodes in rage.

What is it?Reid asks through our pack link.

They gave her something that cut off our connection again.

We’ll find her.

We run another two miles or so before my dad cuts us off. We jump in his truck. It takes me a minute to get control back from my wolf, but when I remind him that this will be faster, he relents. “What do you know?” My father asks. He’s in the passenger seat, and his enforcer is driving.

“Jace and Sam took her. They have her in a car. She told me there’s a house with a light on the front porch on this road, and there’s also a run-down gas station.” I run a hand through my hair. “I don’t know what they’re giving her, but it dulls the connection between us.” My dad turns around in his seat and faces me. I can see the worry in his eyes for just a moment before he pushes it away.

“We’ll get her back, Son.”

“She said that Jace is going to bite her, and that my mark will fade.”

The car goes eerily quiet. My dad’s eyes flash to those of his wolf for just a moment. “What?”

“Is that possible?” I demand. “Can a skinwalker do that?”

My father stares at me a moment before answering in a quiet voice. “I don’t know.” I curse and hit the seat next to me, not that it will do any good. “Save your rage for the enemy.” My father’s voice is calm but full of Alpha power.

I try to think logistics, or I’ll lose my mind. “She said a guy was with them. Do you think that could be their master? Would he be stronger?”

“If he’s the alpha I know, then yes he is very strong.” His eyes meet mine. “We’ll take him down.”

“I think they—”

Zane!Evie’s scream pierces my mind, and her fear comes roaring through the bond.He's trying to bite me.And then she screams right into our bond.

“Stop the car!” I hear Reid shout, but he sounds so far away.

“No!” I say through grit teeth, even as I try to control my wolf. “Go! Get there now!” Every word is punched with Alpha command, and the air in the car feels thick. But nobody tells me to tone it down.

“What’s happening?” My dad’s voice is calm in the midst of the chaos.

My spirit feels like it’s breaking. “He’s trying to bite her.”

Agonizing pain hits me, and I can barely breathe. I close my eyes.Evie, I’m here.I send the words to her, but I don’t think she can even hear them.

“We’ve got the power of the pack with us,” my dad says, and I hear his voice from far away, even though he’s only a foot or so from me. “We will destroy them.”We just have to find them.He doesn’t say the words, but we all feel them.

“There’s the gas station,” Reid says.

I try to calculate in my mind how much time there was between when she told me about the gas station and when she said warehouse. I don’t even know if she meant to send that. We drive further, and I don’t feel anything from her. I squeeze my fists, my claws breaking the skin of my palms. But I feel nothing. Only rage fills me now. Jace has no idea what’s coming for him. I stare out the window and almost miss the run-down building. “There. That has to be it.”

Joe immediately turns the lights on the truck off but keeps driving a little further and then pulls off on the side of the road a moment later. I throw my door open.Zane, wait,my father orders through the pack link. I’m ready to ignore his order when his words stop me.If you rush in there, you just might get her killed.

Those are the only words that could stop me. I turn to him as several more trucks park behind us.You’ve got thirty seconds, and then I’m going in to get her.My father nods, not at all surprised. Our packmates gather around us, and I’m notsurprised to see Quint and Slate among them. They come and stand next to Reid and me, a sign of solidarity and support.Plan?my father asks Joe. We’re only communicating through the pack link, so nobody inside can hear us.

Joe doesn’t waste a minute. He calls out names, assigning people to the front, sides, and back. Then he meets my gaze.You and I and your father will go in the front door. But be ready for anything. Will you be able to pull back if we have to?

No, but I nod anyway. The longer we spend out here, the longer before I can get Evie to safety.

Joe leads the way, lifting his fist in the air.Let’s go.