He couldn’t find Rain in the gathering either. Had she holed herself up in her room on purpose? Most likely, Felix didn’t allow her out of her room. As punishments went, it wasn’t necessarily a harsh one, but wolves were social creatures. Starving a pack mate of the company of the pack would eventually leave them feeling empty.
Scarlett appeared next to him. All around him, Felix’s pack mates were starting to undress and shift. Kieran remained where he was.
“I overheard two of Felix’s enforcers, Dale and Colin, talking earlier,” Scarlett whispered in his ear.
“What did you find out?” Kieran asked.
Dale and Colin probably didn’t even realize Scarlett had been listening to their conversation. Even when they were kids, his sister had always been good at tracking, spying, and appearing invisible. She was a dominant female wolf but was capable of toning down her aggressiveness to nothing.
“Felix is planning to have your omega killed tonight. He’ll send someone to tell Rain she’s free to join the hunt, but in reality, she’ll be lured into a trap set by Colin and Dale.”
Silent fury filled Kieran at those words. Felix was leadingRain like a lamb to the slaughter. Kieran had butted heads with deceptive and dangerous lead alphas, but Felix was in a class of his own.
If Kieran found a traitor in his own pack, he’d deal with the traitor personally. Felix didn’t even have the guts to execute Rain on his own.
“What do we do now?” Scarlett asked.
The plan had been to find Rain and extract her during the run. Good thing Kieran thought quickly on his paws.
“We’ll proceed with joining Felix and his pack mates on the run as his guests. Once Felix believes we’re still running alongside his pack, we’ll break off. You and Damien head back to the house, get the car running,” Kieran said. “Meet us on the highway.”
They agreed on specific coordinates to meet.
“You’re taking a huge risk,” Scarlett reminded him. “If things go wrong, Felix could hunt you and Rain down. In a one-to-one challenge, I know he’ll be an easy kill for you, but Felix will have the might of his entire pack.”
“That won’t happen. Trust me,” he said.
Scarlett nodded. In the end, his orders were always absolute.
Kieran took off his clothes, noticing the admiring glances of the pack omegas and even some of the betas, and pretended he didn’t see them. In the blink of an eye, he shifted. He had always felt a deep connection to his inner wolf, so he could change forms quicker than most lead alphas. That always gave him an advantage in pack challenges.
He entered the woods with Scarlett and Damien behind him. Kieran placed a small distance between him and Felix’s pack. He noticed Felix and some of his enforcers checking if they were following, then the group resumed the run. Felix’s pack mates started to howl and yip as they delved deeper into theforest.
Moon Craze. Some shifters fell under the spell of the full moon and gave into their baser emotions. Kieran and his pack were more disciplined than that. Kieran let out a low growl to Scarlett and Damien, a signal for them to branch off from Felix and his pack.
Scarlett and Damien returned south, back to the Silverbite Pack House like Kieran ordered, and he started his hunt. He had taken note of the scents of Felix’s special inner circle earlier on. Kieran liked to mark his potential prey for emergencies like this.
He caught Colin’s repulsive scent first, then Dale’s. Kieran didn’t need to put his tracking skills to use for much longer. A howl of torment soon reached his ears. Rain. He sprinted in the direction of her cries. The sounds of ripping flesh soon filled his ears.
Had Kieran arrived too late? White-hot anger took hold of him as he spotted a large male wolf, Colin, standing on top of a slender, smaller wolf. He ripped into her underbelly with his sharp teeth. The smell of copper filled the air. Crimson soaked the dry bed of leaves Rain lay upon.
Kieran hadn’t been aware of streaking forward like a silver bullet. He slammed into Colin, driving the surprised alpha to the ground. Kieran would’ve preferred to torment Colin a little further, to let him feel an inkling of the pain he inflicted on Rain. No time for that.
Kieran closed his sharp teeth into the side of Colin’s neck and ripped out his throat. He sensed Dale behind him. Kieran spat out Colin’s blood, spraying it into Dale’s charging face. The alpha growled, coming to a halt. Kieran was on him in seconds.
He pounced, digging his claws into Dale’s fur. The wolf cried out underneath him. Kieran could take his time killing this one. Dale struggled uselessly against him. Kieran wasbigger, more vicious. He bit into Dale’s neck. Blood spurted out, drenching his coat and face.
Kieran finally put the alpha out of his misery. Then he padded over to Rain. The female omega remained unmoving. She stared at him, yellow eyes filled with nothing but terror. Certain there were no wolves nearby, Kieran shifted back to human form.
Kneeling next to her, he ran his fingers through her fur. “I’m not here to kill you, Rain. Relax. I’m here to save you.” Kieran flashed her a smile, although no doubt he looked ghastly, covered in Dale’s and Colin’s blood. “You’re coming home with me.”
****
Rain couldn’t make sense of Kieran’s words. He wanted to takeher, a dying omega, with him? Where was home? Why did Kieran kill Colin and Dale? Had it been for her sake? God. Kieran had ended her two former tormentors like a well-oiled machine.
If Felix faced a monster like Kieran in a challenge circle, he would never have stood a chance. Kieran didn’t wait for Rain to answer. He picked her up. She gasped at the sharp pain in her lungs. She could see her insides hanging out of her. It hurt so much. Too much.
How could one person bear so much agony? Kieran kissed the top of her head, and for some stupid reason, that made her feel better. A silly kiss made the pain more bearable.