Once we rejointhe other two men at the cave, we leave immediately, heading back toward Quinton’s pack lands with Frost taking the lead. For several hours, I’m too focused on the joy of running, of being wild and free, to worry about what’s coming.
The dynamic between all of us seems a little easier now. Things between us are more settled, despite Kian’s sullen silence and the way he hovers too close to me as we run. I don’t know if he’s trying to make sure I don’t try to run off or if he’s doing that puffed chest, caveman thing. Probably the latter, since the last words he spoke to me were a promise of protection.
There’s nothing out here that I need protection from though. Not yet, anyway. The sun continues to rise higher in the sky, warming the ground beneath our paws. Melted snow leaves patches of moist dirt and mud that our paws thud against. An hour into our journey, I look like I’m wearing dark socks. We pass nothing and no one except the usual wildlife, and the lack of obstacles makes me feel good about our odds.
We’re in a deep valley, cutting between a circular range of mountains, when Malix darts ahead of me and purposefully kicks up clods of dirt in front of my face.
Mud splats on my snout and my head, narrowly missing my eyes and mouth.
You asshat, I growl in mind speak, putting on a burst of speed to catch him.
On a burst of laughter, he darts away, bigger and faster than me. You’ll never catch me, little kitty.
I chase after him, claws digging into the soft dirt as I try to get enough purchase to catch up to him. He circles Frost to elude me, but Frost kicks out a paw and sends him sprawling to the ground.
I pause long enough to dig at the dirt, sending a pile of mud onto him, before I take off again.
Bad kitty! Malix calls after me.
I just laugh and leave him in my dust.
We run for most of the day, taking breaks every couple hours to find a snack or drink from a stream. But I don’t really notice the passage of time, because we talk amongst ourselves as we travel, continuing the conversation from last night about our pasts and life as we know it.
I open up more today, and at some point, I realize I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. It’s an odd feeling, since this isn’t the first time I’ve worked or traveled with these three shifters. There’s something different about this time, though. Last time, we had an uneasy alliance with a clear end to it—an end that wound up being a lot more painful than I thought it would.
This time, though…
This is a true alliance. Even with Kian being a grumbly asshole, it’s clear he’s chosen a place by my side. To protect me. And Malix’s good-natured teasing no longer has a bite to it, but a genuine affection that wasn’t there before. Frost, of course, is as silent as ever, but some of his coldness has worn off. He catches my gaze often and doesn’t try to keep space between us.
For the first time in a long time, I’m no longer on my own.
Dusk comes, but we easily decide amongst ourselves that we’re going to push on. We sail into the evening, watching as the sky above the mountains turns orange, then red, then dark purplish like a bruise when night falls.
Malix bumps into me with his shoulder as we make our way across a flat stretch of land. You ever wanted pups, kitty?
Startled by the out of the blue and somewhat intimate question, I trip over my own feet. Luckily, I’m quick enough to right myself before I hit the ground snout-first, and I reroute my paws to continue racing forward. Um. I guess I’ve never given it any thought. You?
From Malix’s other side, Frost speaks up. It is unlikely we shadow shifters could breed.
Malix and I both groan, and I say, Ew, please don’t call it that.
Frost’s pale gaze darts to me. What? Isn’t that what wolves do?
Before either of us can come up with a witty response, the back of my neck prickles, my hackles rising in an instinctual warning. Then figures explode out of the trees around.
Quinton’s pack.
They found us.
Fuck!
The four of us scatter, spreading out so that the whole pack doesn’t converge on us immediately.
I dodge a female wolf’s attack and headbutt her, sending her smaller form flying, then barrel headlong into a larger male. I take the blow on the top of my head with a soft grunt, falling backward on my haunches. Giving my head a shake, I try to chase away the sudden cobwebs and snarl as the wolf leaps at me again.
But he doesn’t reach me.
A shadow wolf flies from the darkness nearby and slams into the shifter with deadly force. Something cracks, and the shifter snarls before he hits the ground and goes still.
Kian’s unearthly blue eyes swivel toward me. Then he lopes away, back into the melee.
I don’t have a chance to regroup before another shifter clashes with me. But this time, I’m ready. I hit the wolf full force, latching my teeth onto his snout. Using my own body like a counterweight, I swing him around, my teeth tearing into his skin, blood pooling in my mouth. At the fastest point of my shifter pendulum, I let him loose, and he flies into his comrades, bowling down four or five at once.
Malix, Frost, and Kian are cutting a swath through the group with their superior speed and strength. In the dark of night, they seem to be in their element—emerging from the shadows, striking, then melting back into the night as if they’re invisible.
I don’t know if the bodies on the ground are alive or dead, but at this point, I’m not sure I care. The mission has changed now. Our goal is to find Quinton’s stone and demolish it. If that means laying waste to his pack…
How different is that from my original goal of killing three shifters to save the world?
Three wolves come at me, growling and snapping. I leap forward and twist into a roll that sends me careening into their legs. All three go down in a tangle of limbs, and I get a few kicks to the ribcage for my effort. But I manage to roll to my feet and dart away from them.
A loud howl cuts through the air, and everyone seems to freeze in place. Swinging my head around, I see the three shadow shifters facing off against a single wolf, their lips curled back as they growl.
The wolf has dark red fur and nearly black eyes, and I don’t need to be told who he is, even though I’ve never seen him in this form before.
Quinton.
He has a handful of pack wolves at his back, ready to defend him, but I’ve seen my men fight. I know what they’re capable of, how strong and brutal they can be.
This fight could go our way. All isn’t lost.
Quinton snarls at the three feral shifters. You think you can beat me? That you can win this war?
Kian inches forward, just ahead of his brothers. No one answers the alpha.
Gruff laughter fills my mind, then Quinton sits down, his entire body still and calm. Way too calm for someone facing his probable doom.
Why isn’t he more worried? Why have his shifters paused their attack?
You aren’t the only beasts with talents, Quinton says, his tone smug. You are beings of half shadow. But I have pure shadows on my side now. They owe more allegiance to me than they ever did to Felicity. They are mine to control, so I wrested them away from her. And now, they will make you pay for what you’ve done.
He lifts his nose to the air, another howl pouring from his lips.
And as if he’s summoned them out of the ether itself, the shadows attack.