“Right.” Roman was quick to transform into his wolf form. He had his nose nearly touching the ground.
“Anything?”
He continued to sniff, walking in a straight line towards the east as if he had caught scent of something.
“Roman?”
And then he went off in a sprint. I had to scramble to catch up but I could tell by the wagging of his tail that he had found her. We tore through the forest, leaving dust in our wake.
“Jane,” I called out to her in my mind but she didn’t answer. Was she unconscious? Had they already done something to her? Would we find her mauled and torn to pieces like all the other members of our pack?
Just the thought fueled me with newfound rage. These wolves were not shifters — they were downright abominations. This wasn’t a territorial qualm — this was premeditated murder. And it was my job to put an end to it.
Roman started to slow down. “Careful,” he said as he took cover behind some nearby trees. “She’s close.”
All I wanted to do was barge in there and take her into my arms but I knew that doing so was a stupid idea. It was a surefire way to get myself killed. And if I got myself killed then who would protect my family to be? No. Jane needed me to keep a level head.
I waited for Roman’s signal but it never came.
It was then that I realized how quiet it had become. Even the wind had ceased.
“What’s going on?” I asked, unable to stand the silence.
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe we should find out.”
“And maybe we should walk right into another one of their traps.”
Roman inched forward and poked his head around the tree, trying to see whatever it was that lay beyond it.
“There’s no visibility. I need to get higher. Cover me while I climb.”
He didn’t even wait for me to answer before he started scrambling up the trunk. He slipped halfway to the top. I prepared myself to catch him but he dug his claws into the wood and steadied himself before we could have a disaster on our hands.
“Try to focus,” I chided.
“I am focused.” There was a certain edge to his voice that I didn’t like. Roman was losing his cool and doing so was the quickest way to a royal fuck up.
“Roman.”
“What?”
“I know that you’re worried about Jane. I am too. There’s no telling what they’ve done with her or what might happen the longer she is with them. But if we continue this way then it’s going to spell disaster. The best thing we can do right now is work as a team. If you kee
p pushing me aside in order to prove yourself, we’re not going to get anywhere. We’re only going to succeed in getting ourselves killed and then we’ll be useless to Jane and the baby.” I looked up, hoping my message would get through to him.
“I see her clothes!” he said after a moment’s delay.
“Her clothes?” I didn’t like the sound of that. “What about Jane herself? Can you see her anywhere?”
“Don’t you think if I could, I’d tell you as much?” Again, there was that edge to his voice. He sounded like a different person, possessed by the stress of the situation.
He jumped down and made the shift. Back on two feet, he walked into the clearing like he didn’t have a care in the world. I was starting to fear that he had lost his sanity.
“Roman.”
“It’s fine. There’s no one here.”