SPENCER
One of them is badly injured.The words pulsed in my mind, and I couldn’t wait to get close enough to link to Finn.
I ran as fast as I could. I kept close to the houses to stay on the right track. The lights from the windows flashed between the trees as I passed them one after another.
There were fewer and fewer houses now, and I knew I was almost there when I heard Finn in my head.
Liam, get him out of here.
Another one down. This thought was Alister’s.
My stomach clenched. What did he mean down? Did he kill someone?
One thing was clear now. James was the injured one, and he needed help. There was no need to let them know I was close. It would only worry Finn. Distract him.
I reached the place that was marked on the map, but it seemed that they lured the pack even further, and I continued running until I heard the roars, and they all came into my view.
First, I found Finn. There were blood spots on his gray fur glowing under the moonlight. Chased by two wolves, he was running right at a tall tree ahead of him. The second he reached it, he dashed up its trunk and flipped backward, landing behind the wolves. The moment his paws touched the ground, he snarled and leaped at them.
Alister was fighting three shifters at once. I’ve never seen his wolf. He had dark fur, and he was huge, bigger than any other wolf around him. His jaw was locked on the neck of the whimpering wolf who he pressed to the ground with his paw when two others jumped at him from behind. Alister stretched up his body, shook it, like a dog shakes off the water, and managed to get rid of one. Then he dropped on all fours, spun his head, and sunk his canines into the second wolf’s side.
I tracked Liam fighting in front of James who, staggering, was trying to get to his feet and failing.
Liam was fighting against two, and to help him protect James, I darted toward him and pounced on one of the wolves.
Spencer? What the hell are you doing here?
I. . . But before I could reply to him, I saw another familiar wolf. Followed by two others, he was racing toward Finn, who didn’t see them coming.
Eric.
I ran, vaulted over one of the wolves cringing from pain on the ground, and landed in front of Eric, cutting his way to Finn.
Hissing, Eric came to a halt. As he looked at me, he took a step back.
SPENCER?I heard a shocked Finn in my head.The next second, he was by my side.
Keeping my eyes on Eric, I linked to Finn, Alister, and Liam.
You all stay where you are. I’ll deal with him.
Snarling, I moved to Eric. When there were only a few feet between us, I stopped.
No one was fighting but stood watching the two of us. Unfortunately, I couldn’t speak to Eric in wolf form.
Spencer, stay away from him.Finn said. He didn’t expect to see you here, and he’s shocked. But it doesn’t mean— Oh, he isn’t shocked enough. Let me do better.
Spencer, don’t! Predicting my next move, Finn almost yelled in my head.
But I said, Boys, look away, and shifted.
With his black fur glowing under the moonlight, Eric took a step forward. Growling, Finn did the same.
Finn, stop.
You know he’s going to do the same, right? Finn said, sounding pissed off.
Don’t be jealous, love.
“Are those your friends?” I glared into Eric’s glowing blue eyes. “Call them off.”
Finn was right. In a flash, naked Eric stood in front of me, much closer than I expected. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of staring at his body but kept my eyes fixed on his. His gaze, however, slowly moved down my chest.
With my senses, I didn’t need to look down to know that he could barely suppress his lust.
I sneered. “Control yourself. I only turned so I can speak to you.”
Looking smug, he raised his eyes and met my gaze. “They intruded in our pack’s lands.”
“You have done it too. Twice. Showed up on our lands without permission. We didn’t tear you apart, did we?”
“I didn’t start a fight. And look what they’ve done.” His eyes darted from one injured wolf in his pack to another. “Why should I let them go?”
“They were looking for me. I decided to take a run, and they came to make sure I was safe. There was no need to set your dogs on them.”
“So you went for a run? And ended up here?”
“I know.” I scoffed. “My curiosity will get me in real trouble one day.”
Eric’s jaw tightened. “Next time, just let me know. I’ll give you a tour myself.” His expression changed, and he gave me a sly leer. “I could do it right now.”
“Thanks, but it’s late. I better take my men home.”
“Your men? Spencer, I know they’re keeping you against your will,” he muttered angrily. “I can’t let you go. Under my protection, no one will dare to touch you.” He grabbed my arm. “You belong with me.”
Finn, Alister, and Liam snarled all at once.
I glanced sideways at the approaching Finn. Calm down you all. I can handle him.
“No one can keep me against my will. Remember that.” I jerked my arm out of Eric’s grip. “But I might take you up on your offer if you behave like a man with honor.”
I knew this would get his attention.
His eyes glowed. “I’ll wait.” He nodded, then turned his gaze at Finn. “But if she doesn’t show up, I’ll come after you.”
I raised my hand, stopping Finn the second he took a step.
“Enough,” I glared at Eric. And without looking back at Finn, I said, “Let’s go,” and shifted.
In wolf form, my head was level with Eric’s. I looked him in the eyes, and I could tell he was confused. I knew he still wanted to stop me, but he didn’t dare risk losing my respect.
I turned away and approached James, who lay on the ground covered in blood.
Can you walk?
He moaned, and panting, pulled himself to his feet. Yeah, I’ll manage. And as I took off, my wolves followed.
* * *
Finn didn’t speak a word or look at me on our way to the cars, and I could sense his fury.
We always had extra clothes with us. He shifted to his human form first, and as he put his pants on, he opened the trunk, pulled out my shorts and a t-shirt, and put them on the back seat. I shifted and slid into the car.
“I know you’re angry,” I said, putting my clothes on. “But it had to be done.”
“Okay, I get it,” he barked, finally looking at me. “You took the blame, made it look real, and it worked. But,” his gray eyes shone in the darkness, “what did you mean by saying you’ll take him up on his offer?”
He was too worked up, and it was a bad time to share the idea that came to me right before I spoke those words. I wasn’t even sure if the idea was good. Being the main character in this play that suddenly flashed in my mind, I needed some time to decide if I was ready to follow the script. That would be an extreme, desperate move, and I still hoped that the others might find a better solution to our problem, come up with a new plan.
“Those words didn’t mean anything.” I got out of the car. “I just needed him to focus on me, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Finn shouted. The others were dressed now too. Alister and Liam, who were helping James to get in the car, turned to look at us as Finn went on. “Spencer, we were trying to hide you from him all this time, and here you are, offering yourself as bait. Are you out of your mind? And what were you doing here?”
“Finn,” Alister approached us. “Calm down.”
“Yeah, man,” Liam drew closer too. “She saved our asses.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw, and Finn turned his eyes up to the dark sky.
“Listen.” I put my one hand on his arms tightly folded over his chest, and with the other one wiped the blood around the cut on his cheekbone. “We searched Aaron’s house and found out that the relics were in a safe again. Then two men showed up, and I heard them say that one of you was injured. I knew you were stalling to give us more time, and I had no way to let you know we were done and that you could leave. Of course, I ran. I couldn’t let you all get ki—”
“We kicked their asses, alright,” Finn glared at me.
I sighed as I glanced at Liam’s shirt soaking with blood from his wounds. “I know you did.”
Finn dropped his hands, got in the car, and shut the door.
“Spencer, where’s Clare?” Alister asked.
“I told her to wait next to the bridge.”
“Liam, let’s go get her.”
“No,” I shook my head. “Finn and I can pick her up. Let James have your back seat to himself. He needs to rest.”
* * *
FINN
My blood was boiling, and afraid to say something I would regret later, I didn’t look or speak to her the whole way.
Eric was an alpha’s son, and I knew that she came up with the best explanation to justify our actions in his eyes. I was sure he didn’t believe her a hundred percent, but he was too busy trying to impress her to get to the bottom of her story at that moment, and it gave us a chance to leave before he called reinforcement.
But I hated the way he looked at her. And as if it wasn’t enough that they were standing naked in front of each other, he dared to touch her.
FUCK. I had to rip him to pieces for grabbing her like that. But I was so afraid to put her in danger by attacking him that I had to swallow my pride and watch him drool over her. We all, except Spencer, had marks on our arms, and if they’d taken even one of us, they would’ve known we were the outcasts. It would’ve compromised Spencer, and I couldn’t let that happen.
I felt Spencer’s eyes on me. I clenched my teeth to stop the word sorry from coming out of my mouth. Maybe by not attacking Eric, I did what was right under the circumstances, but I didn’t want her to think I was okay with what happened.