He didn’t respond right away and my heart pounded frantically in my chest as my mind spun with all of the reasons why. I was just about to call on Arrow, or Willow, when Rab spoke.
‘Okay. I’ll send a scout to retrieve them.’
Sage tugged my arm. “We are out in the open. We need to get cover.”
I jogged after her, nearly tripping over a bush as Rab’s delayed answer spun in my mind. ‘What’s wrong?’ I finally asked.
He paused again. ‘Nothing I can’t handle.’
‘Rab. It’s my pack. What’s. Wrong?’ I growled and Sage spun to stare at me as I shot her an apologetic look and tapped my forehead. She rolled her eyes, well aware that I was speaking in my head. I didn’t like the feeling that I was being kept out of the loop on my own pack.
Rab sighed. ‘The Independent Society of Douchebag Wolves, or whatever the hell they call themselves, left the bunker and are trying to find our land. In doing so, they might have tipped off the vampires.’
Those idiots! I knew the second I met that dude that he’d be a problem for us. Probably ran out of food and realized he’d made a mistake. As much as I wanted to wash my hands of it and say it wasn’t my problem, they were Sawyer’s wolves; until my husband was out of prison, they were my problem.
‘Where are they now?’ I asked.
‘Roaming Ithaki land looking for us in broad daylight like a bunch of buffoons.’
I threw my arms up in frustration as Sage and I ducked behind a large oak tree right at the border of Light Fey City.
‘Wait until nightfall and then send out a small team to bring them in,’ I told Rab. ‘Then double the patrols. If vampires come sniffing around…’ I paused. Do … what? Run? Fight? I wanted to be there with them to make these decisions. ‘Try to have the witches shield the place better, but fight to protect what is ours,’ I finally said. I hoped it wouldn’t come to any of that.
‘You got it, Alpha. I don’t think they will come all the way here. Rumor is Ithaki are on the outs with the vamps for lack of holding up their end of the deal or something.’
That was a relief. Maybe we could use that to our advantage. I turned to tell Sage what had happened, when a blur streaked behind her in the trees.
“Run!” I shouted at the same time that someone reached around and grabbed me from behind. A strong hand wrapped around my throat and another around my stomach as I was yanked backward and pinned up against someone. Sage moved to help me, when another person leapt out from behind a tree, jerking her backward by the strap of her pack.
My gaze flicked upward into the eyes of Sage’s captor and I froze.
Trip was covered in soot from the barn fire. Black ash covered his face and clothing, except for the wrinkled creases on his forehead. He pointed Sage’s handgun right at my best friend, as a batshit crazy look came over his face.
Fuck.
My cuffs were on, so I wasn’t going to be of much help until I could get them off. Especially if the person holding me was a troll-fey Ithaki, which I guessed they were.
“You. Little. Bitches,” Trip seethed, holding the edge of the gun up to Sage’s chin. “You burned down my business. You took my fucking dragon. I’m going to shoot her and make you watch before turning you in to the vampires for my very well-earned reward,” he growled.
I gulped, trying to assess many things at once. Would he pull the trigger on Sage by the time I could crack the guy holding me in the face? Maybe if I just lunged forward, he would loosen his grip on Sage and direct his attention to me, which would allow her to get away…?
As I was thinking of all these scenarios, Trip and Sage were suddenly covered in a large shadow. It fell over them like…
I grinned, and a millisecond later Pearl swooped from the sky and dug her claws into Trip’s back. An ear-splitting yelp ripped from his throat as Sage pulled her head to the side and Trip dropped the gun. He was yanked up into the air by Pearl as the hand around my throat tightened. Sage dove for the gun and I bucked backward with all my strength to dislodge the bastard behind me.
“Not so fast,” he growled, doubling down on his grip until black spots danced at the edges of my vision. Why did men always go for the throat? I tried to suck in air, to no avail. I used elbows, heels, nothing worked. He was a giant and I was stuck. My wolf rattled my insides as I started to panic. After everything I’d been through, was I really going to get choked out by a troll? I blinked, no longer having eyes on Sage. Where was my bestie when I needed h—?
The loud bang of a gun ripped through the space and the pressure on my neck released. I fell to the ground with a thud, gasping and sputtering for air. My throat felt like there was a hard ball lodged in the center as I struggled to calm myself. When I’d finally gotten enough oxygen to my brain, I looked to the side and saw Sage holding the gun at her side. She’d shot the troll-fey right in the ribcage, which probably had ripped through his heart so that the bullet wouldn’t go into me.
“Couldn’t get a clean shot of his head,” she said, reaching out a hand to lift me up.
With a sigh of relief, I took her offered hand and stood. “Thank you.” I rubbed at my throat and looked up at the sky.
Pearl had Trip in her claws while Marmal rode on her back. He was flailing and bucking his arms and legs, trying to dislodge himself. Then suddenly, she just let him go. Trip’s scream ripped through the sky and became louder the closer he got. His body dropped like a stone to the ground, and I winced when the hard smack echoed throughout the trees.
“I have a feeling Pearl is going to be helpful,” Sage told me. I nodded.
I hated that I couldn’t speak into Sage’s mind like my other pack members. Marmal too.
An idea formed in my mind and I mulled it over. “Sage can you make non wolves … pack members?”
Sage’s eyes bugged a little, but she nodded. “There are rumors, but … why?” Then her gaze flicked to the sky as Pearl and Marmal flew in slow, wide circles, and landed before us. Pearl stomped the ground with one talon, which was covered in Trip’s blood.
Marmal’s hair was windswept as she held onto two horns that protruded from Pearl’s head.
“Well, she can fly!” I shouted to Marmal as Sage and I stepped closer to them.
Marmal grinned and the small tusks in her cheeks dipped inward. “She can.”
“You can speak to her?” I confirmed for the second time, and Marmal simply nodded. Troll magic. Mysterious.
“Tell her thank you. From both of us.” I motioned to Sage.
Sage nodded and then looked behind me. “People will have heard all that. We should scram.”
She was right. A gunshot and Trip’s fall … Light Fey City would be on us in no time. Dark Fey too no doubt.
“Okay, we will steal a car and—”
Marmal shook her head. “Pearl says she can carry up to twenty grown men. You two will feel like feathers.”
Ride a dragon! I mean, that was my escape plan after busting Sawyer and Walsh out of prison, but…
“What if we’re spotted? I was able to see her clearly the whole time,” I argued with my friend.
Marmal nodded. “We wanted you to be able to follow us. She can cloak herself. Old magic. We’ll be invisible.”