Page 47 of The Alpha's Surrogate

After hefting it a few times and aiming down the sight, he handed the weapon to Callahan. “Here, ever handled one of these before?”

Callahan had a grim look on his face. “I have. I’m quite…adept.” He looked at the metalwork and the gears that made up the heavy device. It had a range of over fifty feet, and the bolts could punch a hole through a wall. It was a weapon made to kill monsters.

“Good,” Fannar said. “We need stealth if we’re going to have any chance of success here. The bears occupy a massive territory, and they often operate alone. We need to be quick, in and out, and make as little noise as possible. It doesn’t matter how just our cause is, if we are discovered, we will start a war.”

Callahan nodded in understanding. “Strike first, ask for forgiveness after the fact. Always easier than seeking permission.”

“Exactly,” Fannar said. “We can only do that if we successfully get Josie out safely. They won’t be pleased about our meddling, but they’ll be willing to look the other way. Trust me, they want a war even less than we do, and they will work hard to avoid one if they can.”

He pulled a duffle bag down from a shelf overhead and tossed two crossbows into it. He added a dozen quarrels, and then a few throwing knives. He looked at the bag thoughtfully, as if taking a mental inventory of everything he’d gathered and silently wondering if he needed any more.

He made up his mind and zipped up the bag. He slung it over a shoulder and turned serious eyes to Callahan. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Callahan had been twitching impatiently for the last ten minutes. He couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just tear across the mountain, shift into their lupine forms, and make short work of the were-bears.

He understood Fannar’s diplomatic concerns, but he just didn’t care. If they didn’t leave soon, he had made up his mind to go on his own. Josie’s trail was growing cold with every minute that passed. He pushed his worry to the back of his mind and focused on finding her first.

“Where do we start from?” Callahan asked Fannar as they sped down the highway leading deeper into the mountains in a monster truck. “I can sense Josie. I know she’s safe. I don’t know how, but I can feel it.”

Fannar glanced at Callahan and nodded once. “I see. I have an idea of where she might be. But if you can really sense her, it means you would know if we’re on the right trail…I hope.” He hesitated. “I do have a theory for why you can sense her.”

Callahan looked at Fannar thoughtfully. “Mate bond,” he said. They had connected last night, he and Josie. He’d felt it even as it happened. That was what had confused him the most about her sudden disappearance.

He folded his fists angrily. He wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to her. They were so close, and yet so far away. If Fannar was right and they’d somehow found a way to activate their mate bond, then he couldn’t afford to get to her too late. He couldn’t.

Fannar wound his way steadily up the mountain, and Callahan had a feeling this wasn’t some new thing for him. His friend was used to traveling on this road. It explained why he knew so much about the were-bears. It also explained why he was so afraid of them.

An hour into the drive, Callahan could see his breath fogging in the air in front of him. This was as far north as he’d ever gone. He could feel Josie clearer now, a gentle, rhythmic pulsation that he understood but couldn’t explain.

“She’s close,” Callahan said to Fannar. “Really close.”

Fannar nodded. “Klaus Andersen. I had my suspicions.”

Callahan raised a brow. “What was that?”

“Klaus,” Fannar repeated. “I think he’s the one with Josie. He’s powerful, fierce, and a force to be reckoned with. He was the same man who took Josie’s mother all those years ago. We’re not far from him.” Fannar pointed toward a mountain peak. “He’s created a sort of bunker up in that mountain.”

A few minutes later, he veered off the road and parked the truck between a stand of towering birch trees. “We go on foot the rest of the way,” Fannar said quietly to Callahan. He looked up to the sky. “We have about two hours of daylight left. I think we should wait for the cover of dark before—”

“No.” Callahan’s voice was hard as ice. “You don’t understand. I will storm up that mountain and rip everything I see to shreds if that’s the only way I get to save Josie. “I have no intentions of waiting, not even for one minute. You can come when you think it’s best. I don’t care, really. I’m going now.”

Fannar frowned hard at him for a long second, then looked away. “Damn you, Callahan. Fine. We do this your way, but if anything goes wrong, it’s on you. Got it? It’s on your head.”

Callahan returned the gaze. “Let’s go.” He got out the equipment and geared up. He wore a strap on his right thigh and stuffed bolts into allocated holes. He hid knives in both boots and slung the heavy crossbow over a shoulder.

It was a twenty-minute hike up the snowy side of the mountain, and the light forest gave them some cover as they went. The slope plateaued and there was a clearing on the flat surface.

A few trucks and vans were parked in the clearing, and at the far end, a cave mouth gaped on the side of the mountain. Two men leaned against the wall of the mountain, chatting idly.

Callahan and Fannar watched the clearing for a long time from the cover of the trees, lying prone in the snow. There were no other guards around, and from this distance they could pick up snatches of conversation from the two men.

Callahan felt Josie strongly now, the pulsations reverberating through him. He turned to Fannar and whispered, “She’s here.”

Fannar nodded and as if on cue, they both balanced their crossbows and nocked them with the heavy bolts. The trigger was cool as Callahan’s finger rested lightly on it. He settled his breathing and took aim. I’m here, Josie. I’m here.

“Now,” Fannar whispered. Callahan squeezed the trigger and the force of the shot stunned his shoulder. The bolts struck home almost as quickly as they’d left the bows, and the two men toppled over from their perch on barrels, the snow muffling the sound of their falls.

Fannar and Callahan were already on their feet before the sentries fell, moving forward and nocking the crossbows again. They aimed down and sent bolts flying into two skulls.

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