Page 24 of Watch Me

Not sparing a moment to be sad I didn’t get to hold onto him during a rescue mission, I strapped on my helmet and hopped on my bike. “Lead the way.”

Fin peeled out of the dirt driveway and I was right behind him. We ripped through town, getting honked at my tourists driving through. The locals knew us and mostly ignored our bikes, some even waving as we sped past them.

Driving around the top of the lake, past the Casino, and towards Lakeland at sunset, we followed King’s instructions and veered west instead. The road was almost hidden, a giant, speckled boulder spray-painted with a crude bear the only signage. A windy dirt path slowed us down a bit, but we pulled up short when we reached the others parked in a turn out.

“How far?” Fin asked when we removed our helmets.

“Two minutes on four legs,” Rel answered, looking haggard. I felt bad Fin and I got a solid nine hours while theyhunted Channing down. “We’re as close as is safe in case the wind changes.”

Kono lifted his head and tilted it. “Janessa said there were four of them? I scent only one shifter and three humans.”

Wolves had a better sense of smell, as far as I knew, but we all nodded, smelling the same. I couldn’t hear talking or a TV, only a distant generator, so that didn’t help.

“When we shift again, we’ll have a better idea,” King said, and he started to strip off, tucking clothes into his saddle bags. “Kill anyone who gets in the way of saving Channing. Let’s move.”

All of us got undressed as well, removing our human trappings and shifting to our animal forms. We were laser focused, skipping the road to follow King into the brush for a straight path instead of the exposed and circuitous road.

In the old-fashioned way of shifters, it was wild to see a coyote by our sides. Even weirder was having three alphas, one beta, and an omega going to fight together. Most alphas bristled at other alphas around, and wouldn’t haveallowed an omega to join. I was proud to be part of a more progressive pack.

Still, I made sure the smaller Rel and Kono were flanked by me and Fin as we got closer. They could hold their own, I had now seen both of them fight while shifted, but it was instinct to protect them. Looking across to Fin, I realized I’d been deferring to him to protect me.

King stopped, his hackles raised at the edge of the trees when a building came into view. It could generously be called a farmhouse, though it was rundown enough to classify as a shack. The siding was more exposed wood than paint and the roof was caving in. There were no power lines leading to it, and an outdoor well was between us and the building. Off-grid. No wonder Janessa had holed up here to avoid her family. It made the perfect place to hide Channing.

“Do you smell something?” A man asked from inside, and I didn’t recognize the voice as Zac MacTaryn or the man who got the gun at their pack house.

“Yeah, your stinky ass,” Zac said, and I growled low to know he was in there with our omega at her most vulnerable.

“Are you oafs going to feed me?” Channing’s voice cut through the air and made us all still. She likely heard my growl or smelled us so close. She was distracting them and letting us know she was safe.

“Shut up or I’ll let the guys have a go at you after I’ve used you up,” Zac snarled and I watched as King broke off and ran for the house.

We were done waiting.

Chapter sixteen

Fin

Thefiveofusfollowed the Alpha toward the rickety porch, where we found one guy kicked back in a rocking chair with a shotgun resting on his lap, snoozing in the setting sunlight. Fowler turned and let out a low growl toward Kono and Rel, lifting his big, wolfy head in the direction of the back of the house.

Understanding the command, the two smallest among us moved back and disappeared from view. They would be good at ambushing anyone who tried to run out the back door.

The three of us at the front didn’t need to discuss strategy. I trained both of them when they were teens. Alpha said kill them, and I planned to get to the bastards before they could shift.

Fowler lunged for the man with the gun, ripping into his throat before he could let out a scream to warn the others. Blood gushed from the wound as Fowler spit the flesh from his jaw and moved toward the door.

We weren’t quiet enough for shifter ears though, and I heard them questioning what was going on as we burst through the front door with force.

A light-haired younger man I didn’t recognize was there, holding a glass pipe, and he was slow to yell for help. “Alpha, the wolves,” was all he got out before I had him pinned to the ground by my jaw. I ripped at his tattooed jugular, hearing his heart beat slow and stop within seconds as his body was surrounded by his blood.

Almost choking on his taste, I understood why Fowler was so quick to spit the flesh out. These men tasted toxic and I didn’t want his drugs in my veins.

Ricky came up beside me, rubbing into my side before following Fowler to the next room as if he needed to assure himself I was safe. This is why you shouldn’t sleep with members of your pack. It was a distraction.

My wolf bristled at what he called my stupid human thoughts as I followed the others into a filthy kitchen where Fowler and Ricky had stopped short. Zac was there holding a knife to Channing’s throat.

“Stop or she dies,” Zac threatened, and I wondered why he didn’t shift.

Then I noticed the drug paraphernalia all over the counter and table beside Channing. I growled and stepped forward thinking they might have drugged her. She looked whole, still dressed in her black jeans, riding boots, and leather club jacket from when she was taken, though I could see the dirt on her face and knees. Alive, but exceptionally angry to be tied up, by the look on her face.