Page 5 of Wanted by the Wolves (The Last Shifters #2)

Chapter 4

Dex

T he pit is empty, but it reeks of her terror and rage. Old food rots along the wall. In the corner next to the mounted shackles is a singular blanket.

My wolf tries to take my skin, and I force myself to retract my claws.

Briggs bends down and inspects the chains, sniffing. “Blood.” He looks at me, his eyes reflecting the outrage I feel. “From wolfsbane.”

Fuck.

Wolfsbane is used to magically suppress a wolf. It hurts like a bitch. It’s inhumane torture, the way it muzzles a shifter’s beast. If given long enough or in high doses, it severs the soul bond to our wolf.

We’re hired fangs, and we don’t even use wolfsbane to subdue ferals.We take out ferals because someone has to keep us safe, and the lost wolves deserve dignity in their deaths. There is no dignity or honor in using wolfsbane.

Typically, we keep our noses down and don’t interfere much with pack politics. Most of our time is spent far away from the wolves we’ve sworn to protect. But caging an omega? With wolfsbane? Forcing her to bond? I can’t ignore this. I give my brother a look, and he nods.

He turns to Maverick and assesses him. The boy looks nervous, backing away. How someone could smell this and be okay with whatever happened here is beyond me. They tortured her.

“I didn’t see you guys. I’m going back to my post.” Maverick’s words are shaky, his movements tense as he scurries out of the hallway and sprints to the door.

I growl, half tempted to chase him and ensure he doesn’t squeal.

Briggs pats my shoulder. “Leave it. He’s too scared of you to talk.”He hands me the ratty blanket. “I’ll find us an out. You track her scent, get her outta there, and we haul ass. We can worry about the rest later.”

My nostrils flare as I let my wolf scent fully. Behind the acrid fear and the stink of filth is tart apples and spicy cinnamon. I follow the trace out of the pit and through the back entrance of the compound.

Briggs takes the lead, making small talk with those who stop us as we move through the halls. The place is busy in anticipation of the king’s planned celebration. No one bothers to address me. Briggs is the mouth of our operation, and we use this to our advantage.

I split off and follow the trace until I’m in the wing of personal rooms downstairs.

A young wolf darts off a trio of guardsmen, holding out an arm. “This area is off limits.”

My words sound gruff after so long without much use, but I force them out anyway. “That’s why they sent me.”

The dark-haired wolf looks down the hallway and over his shoulder. A crash makes him wince. The other two guards shift nervously on their feet.

These guards are a joke. It looks as if the king plucked the pups right out of the tents and plopped them here.

“You’re the feral hunter? The king thinks you can tame her?” the braver of the three asks, already selling the lie for me.

I nod.

One of the other guards cocks his head. “Did you just get back?”

I nod again.

“You don’t talk much,” the first one points out.

I growl in warning, already done with these pups and their questions. Forcing myself to keep my alpha leashed and speak instead of using my fists, I grumble, “Can I get to it?”

The first guard nervously steps aside, and the others nod me through.

“Good luck. She’s sent another half dozen to the healer today,” the kid warns.

His words piss me off, but he isn’t the root of the problem. I brush past him and down the hall. Her scent is getting stronger. I know I've found her when I stop before a set of double doors that smell like the coming of fall.

The room is wrecked. Curtains lay in tatters on the floor. The furniture is overturned. Among the macabre streaks of blood and shredded bedding, pillows spit their feathers.

The sound of running water draws me to the bathroom, where two guardsmen have their backs to me. Their weapons are raised, pointed at a hissing woman backed into a corner by an overflowing tub.

She’s a fierce thing, dirty and small but full of fight.

And she’s an omega.

I take out the first guard with an arm around his neck, the pressure point sending him to his knees. The second guard I piledrive to the floor after he takes a shot at me and misses. For that, I shoot them both with darts for good measure.

The omega warns me with her crouch that if I come closer, she’ll attack. She snarls, and her scent spikes with fear.

My voice doesn’t want to work, but somehow, I force out the words. “I’m here to help you escape. I won’t hurt you.”

What the fuck were we thinking when we decided to send me for this? I’m the absolute wrong man for trying to calm a scared omega. My ugly mug and bulky size are going to send her over the edge. I crouch with her, making myself as small as possible and keeping my eyes downcast.

We stay that way for tense minutes. I feel the air shift and know she’s come closer, but I don’t dare move a muscle.

She sniffs the air and takes another crouching step.Up close, she smells like burnt apple pie. The warm, homey scent mixed with the sharp tang of distress makes my wolf want to howl. It’s all wrong. She should only ever smell happy. Safe.

She doubles over, holding her stomach.The small omega cries out in pain, and the air fills with her tart apple.

I force myself to stay still even though every part of my body wants me to go to her, to pull her into my arms and run out of this nightmare. I won’t do that. She needs to come to me so she can feel in control.

My purr rattles from deep in my chest, the sound so surprising I almost stumble in shock. It hiccups, then starts again. I’ve never made the sound and only heard it a few times as a pup. The magic of it works to soothe the air, and I feel her tension dissipate.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Let me take you somewhere safe. I promise I’m not here to hurt you,” I say, keeping my voice steady, trying to be calm for her.

She crawls closer, and I hold out my hand. Her small fingers clasp mine. I look into wide silver eyes full of fear. “Alpha.”

“That’s right, omega. I’ve got you,” I promise.

A rumbled growl sounds from behind me, and the small omega hisses before sinking her teeth into my leg. Before I can strike the intruder, the little omega falls to the floor. The motherfucker hit her with a tranquilizer dart.

“Dude, she bit you!” the young guard shouts.

“No shit,” I say as I land the first blow. It takes another two hits for the guard to join his friends on the wet bathroom floor.

“Damn. That fucker was fast,” my brother calls from the outer room.

I glare over my shoulder at Briggs as he stumbles into the bathroom. He at least has the sense to look sheepish.

He raises his hands in surrender. “Sorry, they were headed to check on you. I got his friends, but he made an escape.” Briggs tries to go to the omega, but the menacing growl rising from my chest stops him in his tracks. He looks at me, his voice softening. “I’m not gonna hurt her, big guy. Take it easy. But if we plan to get out of here without alerting the king, we gotta move our asses.”

I scoop up the sleeping omega and cradle her against my chest. She doesn’t wake—the dart should keep her asleep for hours— but she curls a finger into my shirt. The contact makes it feel as if my heart is about to leap from my chest.The way my heart thunders to life as it rips its way out of long buried layers of war and death is startling.

Everything becomes crystal clear with her in focus. She’s the mission now. Nothing matters but keeping her safe.

“Rest now, sweetheart. I’ve got you,” I promise her.

Briggs shucks off his flannel and wraps it around her. He searches the passed-out guards for weapons and clears the room before coming back for me. “Let’s move.”

“You got a plan?”

“Yeah, but it involves a window.” He shrugs.

Of course it does.