Page 11 of The Wolf’s Appetite (The Lycans #8)

LENNOX

T he forest swallowed us as soon as we left the estate’s outer wall, the darkness thick, the cold sharp enough to bite through leather and steel.

We split up thirty of the Guard and took different points of the estate border with my brothers leading the way. The only constant sound came from our boots grinding leaves on the hard ground and the occasional growl from a Guard wanting to shift.

We didn’t bring ATVs out here, didn’t saddle up horses for this trip. We needed to be as silent as possible.

Every breath I drew in tasted wrong. Like the flavor of something terrible about to happen. And beneath the weight of duty, beneath the burn of my need to face whatever enemy dared come this close to my family’s home, was the worry that coiled tighter and tighter with every step we took.

Aisling.

I knew her little cottage sat beyond the main estate wall, tucked against the forest’s edge and on the property her family owned. I inhaled deeply, and although my senses were dulled with my wolf silent, I could still scent a storm coming, the promise of rain lingering in the air.

My mind kept flashing to her, of what she’d look like waking up next to me—blonde hair a mess from sleep, blue eyes soft with exhaustion.

“Lennox.” Tavish’s voice cut through the storm of my thoughts, and I stopped, looking over my shoulder to see Tavish and Caelan watching me. “Ye’re moving like ye’re fooking chasing something. We’ll get there, brother. We have tae go slow and think rationally, though.”

I closed my eyes, realizing how frantically I’d been moving through the forest. But my panic and fear had been increasing the more I thought about Aisling.

My jaw ached from how tightly I’d clenched it.

“We donna have time tae wait. They’re near, and if they’ve been watching, it won’t be long before they strike. ”

I didn’t say what I feared most .

Cian came up on my other side, his expression grim. “We’ll get them, Lennox.”

I growled low, the sound spilling from my throat before I could stop it. “We sure as fook will because I need tae make sure she’s safe.” I hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud, but the truth was out in the open.

I could see the confusion then the realization in my brothers’ faces. They knew this was about so much more than getting our enemies, but they didn’t press.

They nodded once before Caelan said, “We’ll make sure she’s safe, tae.”

We got to the ridge where the sentries had found the tracks. I crouched, my fingers brushing over the churned earth, gouges that marred the soil with claw-like marks that ran through the ground.

I took a long, measured breath through my nose scenting decay and something strange… something off filling my nose. And under that, a fainter but undeniable smell had my entire body tightening.

A Lycan female.

My heart hammered, my vision sharpening, and every instinct in me roaring.

“Aisling’s scent,” I said low and under my breath, not realizing I’d spoken out loud. I glanced at my brothers, who watched me intently. The other Guards who’d come with us stood in the background still and silent, waiting for orders. “She must’ve passed this way on her walk home.”

“What do ye want tae do?” Tavish asked.

I straightened, my fists clenched at my sides, my blood pounding so loud I could barely hear.

“We split the Guard with us,” I ordered, my voice hard as steel. “Half sweep the woods. Me and another will go tae her cottage. Anyone who doesn’t bleed for this clan is tae be taken out.”

Cian gave a sharp nod, already signaling to the warriors.

My father had trusted me to lead this part of the sweep. I wouldn’t fail him. And I wouldn’t let anything happen to her .

We moved like shadows through the trees, weapons drawn, senses honed. My heart was steady even if I felt like I was unraveling. And every step took me closer to what mattered to me the most.

We found signs along the way—scrapes along the trees at chest height, patches of earth where the grass had been torn and burned away by some corrosive substance.

By the time we made it to the patch of land owned by Aisling and her family, the storm was breaking over us. I looked out over the land, the dark shapes of the forest blurring from the weather.

Whatever this enemy was—Therabus, Katara, or something we hadn’t seen yet—I’d rip them apart with my bare hands, wolf or no wolf helping me.

Because for the first time since I lost my wolf, I wasn’t fighting for myself.

I was fighting for her .