He gave me a smoldering stare that raked the entire length of my body and sucked all the thoughts right out of my head. “My eyes are wide open.”
The need to consummate our bond rushed up in a fierce swirl of emotion, taking me by surprise. All my brain synapses fired at once. “That’s … that’s good to hear,” I stammered. Heat flushed my face. I knew bonding with him would cement us together in a new way and I was ready—my wolf was more than ready. She howled again. I wasn’t sure if the sudden reaction I was having to him was from all the adrenaline still racing through my veins or not.
But I didn’t care.
I wanted him.
Before I could put my need into words, Rourke nodded toward my passenger window, pulling the car over slowly. “Looks like our chat about stopping at the Safe House was a little premature after all.”
I turned and followed his gaze.
Outside, standing on the street corner in front of us, were my brother and Danny.
Wearing only their underwear.
5
Rourke eased the Porsche to the curb, and Tyler and Danny strode up to the window.
“Tyler, I can’t get out of the car,” I told him through the glass. “It’s keeping me cloaked. The sorcerers tracked us back to the Coven … But more importantly, why are the two of you standing on a street corner in your underwear?” I stifled a giggle. It was just so unexpected.
“Someone spelled the outside of the Safe House,” he answered, hearing me perfectly. “The moment we set foot into the parking lot, we were covered in a slimy gel. We had to strip down to fight off the spell. Everything but our boxers came in contact with the toxic mess, and when we changed back to human, our clothes had disintegrated.”
I bit my lip. “Well, I’m happy you’re both still in one piece.”
“Don’t worry, my important bits weren’t affected, in case you were wondering. If they had been, it would’ve been quite a different story.” Danny grinned. “Where are you off to, then?” He bobbed his head toward our new ride. “It’s not safe to linger here any longer. We’ll meet up with you soon, but you should get out of town immediately.” Danny was in charge of Pack security for a reason. He was always on alert and he was good at his job.
“We found out Marcy is safe for now. Rourke thinks we should head to the Ozarks,” I answered. “He’s got supplies there and knows the mountains. The sorcerers need a network, and they won’t have one outside the city limits. You two can meet us there in a few weeks, once things cool down.” I directed my next question at Tyler and tried not to sound too hopeful. “Did you get ahold of Dad?”
“Yes, but it was disjointed,” he replied. I sat up straighter. That was good news. “He was too far away to get a clear signal—I think he said they were still somewhere in the Everglades. They’re tracking the fracture group, and Redman and the rest of the Southern wolves are with him.” Redman Martin was the Alpha of the U.S. Southern Territories, and my father was not a fan. It was unprecedented that he had gone down there to try and work as a team to eradicate the fracture pack. “He was glad to hear we were all safe and was a little frustrated he couldn’t get through to you on his own.”
I shook my head. I internally blocked my father’s natural communication as Alpha, but I had no idea how I was doing it. Or how to fix it. “Did he say anything about James?” My father thought his second had gone rogue. “Did you tell him we figured out he went after Marcy?”
Tyler cleared his throat. “I did, but it didn’t make him happy. I told him we’d fill him in when we knew more.”
Going rogue meant a wolf willfully defied his Alpha’s command. It wasn’t a small thing. No matter James’s reasons, my father could choose not to forgive him, which meant James would be exiled from Pack. And if James didn’t assimilate into a new Pack quickly, he’d have a bounty on his head.
Rourke put his hand on mine and I turned to him. He and James had fought together long ago, and I knew they had a grudging respect for each other. “If James went after your secretary, and left his Pack willingly in a time of war, that can mean only one thing,” he said, his voice firm. “Irish found his mate.”