“My guess is the cougars were using the vehicle as a distraction.” Bracken’s gaze was scanning his surroundings through the windows. “They had to know that Nick would summon his Beta and enforcers to the main lodge to tell them what’s going on.”
Shaya nodded. “The cougars were able to cross the border without being noticed, and it left the other members of our pack who were scattered around our territory vulnerable to them.”
“They were mimicking Willow’s cry,” Ally told them. “In the vision, I mean.”
Bracken briefly glanced at her. “Smart. It’s a trick cougar shifters sometimes use. No shifter—submissive or dominant—would ignore the cry of an infant. They’d rush right in to help.”
That was exactly what Ally had done. “In my vision, I didn’t even think to call for help. All I could think about was getting to Willow.”
Bracken didn’t appear surprised. “When they use this particular lure, that’s what they count on. If their intention was to mimic Willow’s cries, they were probably hoping to draw any of the pack members that weren’t in the main lodge to them.”
“Getting rid of the pack, little by little.” Cougar shifters really were tricky fuckers. “Kent and Caleb were dying in my vision. I would have been next.”
A muscle in Bracken’s jaw ticked. “When you have a small pack, the loss of three members makes a big difference in a battle.”
“And it’s an emotional blow that can make you act out in rage,” Shaya pointed out.
“How many cougars are out there?” Bracken asked Ally as she came to stand next to him, watching for any threats.
Ally shrugged. “I only saw one in my vision.” But she highly doubted one cougar was working alone, given that Caleb and Kent had been so brutally attacked. They could have held their own against one cougar.
Bracken shot her an odd look before asking quietly, “So, want to tell me why this place smells of you, Derren, and sex?” At her scowl, his expression turned innocent. “It was just a question.”
When his Alpha male halted a safe distance away from the clearing, the black wolf did the same. It had been easy for the pack to track the cougars. They had simply followed the fake cries. His Alpha looked at the black wolf and jerked his head to the left before then going in the opposite direction. The black wolf understood the order. He led half of the wolves one way, while his Alpha led the others another. Stealthily and silently, the pack moved to loosely circle the clearing. Surrounding and trapping their prey was a tactic they had used before.
The black wolf sensed the presence of five cougar shifters. The felines were not on the ground. Each one was positioned on a tree branch.
As his Alpha shifted before him, and the gray-white wolf—Eli—flanked him, the black wolf sensed that Derren wanted dominance. He drew back and gave his human half control.
“One of us needs to lure them out of the trees,” Nick whispered to Derren and Eli when they shifted. “If we don’t, they’ll just climb as high as they can and hop from tree to fucking tree.”
Derren agreed. Keeping his voice low, he said, “Me and Eli will drop back and then noisily bolt into the clearing, as if in a panic.”
Eli nodded. “I counted five of them. There are eight of us. The odds are in our favor.”
Cougar shifters had the advantage in a one-to-one fight, as they were much stronger than wolves. But a pack of eight against a pride of five could potentially win, but not without serious injuries.
“Everyone but me will pair up,” said Nick. “Two wolves versus one cougar should come out on top.” Not prepared to waste any time, Derren shifted. Eli followed his lead.
The black wolf and the gray-white wolf ran a distance away before loudly rushing through the forest. They burst into the clearing, instantly going back-to-back as they scanned the trees. Ambushes were typical of cougar shifters.
The fake cries stopped instantly. Five cougars leaped out of the trees, hissing and snarling. All were males, and all were dominant. The black wolf curled back his lips, exposing fangs and gums, as he growled in warning at the trespassers that wanted to hurt his pack. The cougar before him, bulkier than the others, took a single step forward. The wolf’s hackles raised, and his ears flattened as he again bared his teeth with a growl. Each of the cougars snarled in response.
A howl split the air, making the cougars freeze. The rest of the pack hiding in the trees rushed into the clearing. They attacked without hesitation. Four of the cougars twisted to defend themselves. But the fifth was focused on the black wolf.