Amos peeled his attention from his phone long enough to give an order. “Leave them,” he shouted to his hunter. “We do this to guard humans. They’ll be grateful, eventually.”
At least his hate-filled logic means the humans will all be safe.
Even so, my frantically beating heart kicked up again.
Because if Amos knew they were humans, it meant he’d been watching the Pack members, habits, and families. He’d been planning for this kind of thing for a long time.
Stop it. I need to be calm. Getting frantic isn’t going to help anyone.
I forced myself to take a deep breath, then released the branch slowly—so no one would notice the movement—and prowled deeper into the forest as I tried to figure out what to do—or who to call.
First, I should try to meet up with Amelia and Teresa—maybe they can tell me what happened.
I picked my way around the meadow, heading in the general direction they’d disappeared in.
They were easy to find—I just had to follow the sound of Teresa’s crying, and the blatant trail they’d left—and they weren’t alone.
They were huddled at the base of an enormous tree, whispering with Young Jack and Original Jack.
“Teresa.” I spoke before I emerged from the trees, hoping I wouldn’t startle them too badly.
“Pip!” Teresa—her face red and smeared with tears—latched on to me, ringing her arms around my waist. “Pip!” she repeated, her voice turning into a wail.
Amelia was shaking, her hand grasping the hem of Young Jack’s grass-stained T-shirt, while Young Jack was practically vibrating with anger.
Original Jack was attempting to make a call on his cellphone, his face creased with worry. When he turned to me, some of the strain eased around his eyes and he lowered his phone. “Pip.”
I rubbed Teresa’s back, trying to soothe her. “What happened?”
Young Jack shook his head. “The hunters called Hector out—Amos said they were leaving. Remy and Forrest came out with Hector, and the hunters started purposely insulting them and trying to rile them up.”
“They held out admirably—I believe they learned from watching you, Pip.” Original Jack glanced down at his phone. “But the rest of the Pack came out, and the hunters sprang a trap.”
“On the front lawn,” Young Jack spat. “How could we not have seen them set it?”
“Hunter traps are portable,” I said. “I’m sure they made it somewhere else and then transported it in. What happened to Hector?”
“He was starting to rally everyone.” Amelia wiped tears from her eyes, smudging her eyeliner, and glanced at Teresa. “And, um…”
“They shot him!” Teresa sobbed. “They shot Dad!”
My hands tightened convulsively around Teresa’s shoulders, and the hot fire of anger burst to life in my chest, eating away at some of my fear. “How bad is it?”
“They used silver bullets,” Original Jack said. “They didn’t hit him in the heart or skull. Given enough time he’ll heal up. But…” He glanced at Teresa and didn’t finish.
It’s unlikely Amos will give him enough time to heal. There’s no way they’re rounding up all the wolves for something innocent.
“They’re searching the lodge,” Young Jack said. “I don’t know for what. When Jack and I resisted, they threw us out.”
“Teresa and I didn’t fight, so they left us alone—until we decided to run for it,” Amelia said. “They ripped apart Greyson’s office, but didn’t seem to find what they were looking for, so they moved on to all parts of the lodge when we left.”
“Wait, you said they? How many hunters were inside, searching?” I asked.
Amelia nervously chewed on the nail of her thumb. “Maybe ten of them?”
“What?” I shook my head. “This is impossible—the Fletching Hunter family can’t be that big to afford sending nineteen hunters.”
“I don’t think all the hunters are Fletchings,” Teresa said into my shoulder. “Some of them had different colored clothes and little symbols.”
He got help?! How? Why? Hunters aren’t besties with wolves, yeah, but they don’t hate them!
“Why on earth would they stake everything—their reputation, the honor of the family, the family itself—on the dim hope that the Northern Lakes Pack might have some special ace in the hole?” I was mostly pondering the idea out loud and didn’t expect a response, but I did get one.
“Yeah, I don’t get it either,” Amelia said. “The Regional Committee of Magic will come down hard on them for all of this!”
“It might not be as unexpected as you think.” Original Jack scratched the back of his head. “Pack survival is pretty dark right now. Because Greyson is so strong, we haven’t had any problems, but when Hudson was Alpha, trouble was brewing with the nearby Packs. No one likes how great the Northern Lakes Pack is doing.”
“Stupid,” I muttered. “This whole thing is stupid.”
“What do we do?” Young Jack asked.
Silence stretched between us, and it took me a few moments to realize he was asking me.
“Uh…” I glanced at Original Jack—the adult of the group.
“Rio sent a text when all of this started,” Original Jack said. “He said he saw a second group of hunters—twenty-three of them.”
Twenty-three hunters on top of the nineteen in the meadow and lodge…forty-two hunters total? Just how on earth was Crackpot Amos able to find so many allies?
“I imagine they were sent after the rest of the Pack,” Original Jack continued. “I don’t know if they caught them, but given that they haven’t showed up, I’m afraid to hope.” He closed his eyes and squeezed his phone. When he opened his eyes, he turned to me. “So, what do we do, Pip?”
Oh…no.
I tried not to visibly gulp as Amelia, Young Jack, and Original Jack stared at me—fear and hope battling in their expressions.
I wasn’t a leader. I was a loner—and not even by choice. I couldn’t lead!
But I’m the only one trained in fighting, and as a hunter I’m better suited for this than they are. So I better get it together. What do we do?
“We need to free some of the werewolves, or we won’t stand a chance.” I licked my dried lips. “I’d prefer not to go directly against Amos, but there are only nineteen hunters by the lodge, and twenty-three if Rio’s text is accurate. We’d be better off facing the smaller group.”
Teresa finally stepped back from me and wiped her face off on her arm. “They probably needed more hunters to fight Greyson.”
I traced the sheaths of my daggers on my thigh holster. “Greyson is insanely strong. It will take a lot to get him down. I think we’d be better off taking on this group.”
“Then we fight?” Young Jack asked.
I glanced at Teresa. “Not all of us. Teresa, I need you to run to Timber Ridge.”
Chapter 21
Greyson
I growled at a hunter, peeling my lips back from my teeth as I slunk up to him, crouched so I could jump if necessary.
The hunter stumbled over his feet, but didn’t shoot at me—which was what I was trying to avoid.
They have mostly ranged guns, not pistols. If I stay close to them, their guns are too cumbersome to quickly reposition.
That was the only reason why I wasn’t slumped over with Ember and the others, artificially unconscious.