Ryder met his gaze. “You want to gather more information. Work from the inside.”
Shane nodded once. He would do what he could with the time he had left. If the public knew exactly what went on inside these walls…hell, he couldn’t even think of the ramifications.
“Come to us,” Ryder said finally. “Come to us when you need to. My wolf trusts you, though I don’t know why.”
Shane let out a breath and continued to move. He knew shifters weren’t the bringers of death the others thought, but he didn’t know if he could give up everything to live with them like that. He also didn’t know if he could truly trust them, knowing what he’d been part of in the past.
All he knew was that he had to get Ryder to safety and hurry back before it was too late. As soon as he got to the edge of the perimeter, he froze. Someone else was out there. He could feel it. He might only be human, but he was far more trained than most.
Ryder let out a slight growl. “My people are close. They must have followed my scent.” There was something else left unsaid, Shane could tell, but he didn’t have time to figure out this wolf’s secrets.
“Ryder!” A light-brown-haired woman came toward them, her palms out and water sliding over them.
A witch, then. The same one from the feed that had shown Ryder change from man to wolf.
“I’m here. Shane got me out.”
Others slid from the trees, but he knew there were more than just those who had shown themselves. Wolves were pack hunters, after all.
Shane stood back and waited for the witch to hold Ryder close. Two males came forward and helped Ryder move, their feet not making a sound. Shane watched all of this with a careful eye, but it was the dark-haired beauty that captured most of his attention.
He didn’t know who she was, nor why he couldn’t stop staring, but she looked right back at him. Her eyes narrowed and she turned away. A dark-skinned man glared at him and then followed her.
“I need to go back before they notice I’m gone,” Shane finally said.
Ryder looked over his shoulder. “You can come with us,” he said honestly.
Shane shook his head. “If we all go, how we will know who the monsters are?” With one last look at the woman, he trotted back toward the compound.
He made his way into the building without making a sound, his thoughts going in a thousand different directions. It was probably for that reason that he didn’t hear the sound of the gun going off until it was too late, or feel the burn at his side until his head hit the floor.
He’d been found.
It was too late.
And yet, all he could think of was the woman with the honey-colored eyes and the man who had been behind her.
A stark image to have as one’s last impression, even in the throes of death.
Chapter Fourteen
Leah tried to keep from crying as she and Charlotte bandaged up Ryder’s wounds. There was no use, though, because she was just so damned grateful for the human who had saved his life. Her mate had almost died, and she’d almost been too late to stop it.
The SUV hit another rut, and she banged her head on the ceiling. Holding back a curse, she glared up at Brandon.
“Sorry. I’m trying to go as fast as we can so we can get to Walker and behind the wards. We’re off-roading as it is.”
She let out a sigh and went back to cleaning up her mate. Only the fact that Ryder needed help held Leah back from snarling at Charlotte for daring to touch her mate’s skin. She might not be a wolf, but, apparently, she had mating territorial issues.
As soon as they’d caught Ryder’s scent back at the Coven meeting place, they’d all jumped into one SUV and did their best to follow it. Between that and the low pulse of the mating bond she’d finally been able to find, they’d found where the humans were keeping Ryder.
It had only been by chance that they’d gotten there when Shane showed with Ryder leaning heavily on him. She didn’t know anything about the human, other than the fact that he’d saved her mate’s life. She would be forever grateful for the man’s actions, even if she didn’t fully understand them.
They worked on Ryder’s wounds in silence, though he kept his hand on her thigh. Some cuts were too deep for what little first aid they could do on the move, but the others would heal on their own as soon as he shifted and got some protein in his system. Walker would have to work on the rest. But at least they could stop most of the bleeding.
She knew she’d almost lost him because of the amount of cuts on his body. How her brave mate could sit there and not growl or whimper was beyond her.
“I’m getting blood all over my seats,” Ryder said softly.
She kissed his cheek where they’d already cleaned up the blood. “It can be cleaned. If not, then, whatever. You’re here to bleed on them, and that’s all that matters.”
“That’s my mate, always looking on the bright side,” Ryder said sleepily.
“Don’t go to sleep yet, darling,” she put in. “Not until you have Walker check you out.”