Page 11 of Dawn of the Pack

“Harridan House has security,” he counters.

“Yeah, because a couple of generations back, a witch cast a curse on our alpha. Plus, it’s a much bigger property. It’d be weird if it didn’t have security.”

“Now that you mention it, isn’t it weird that this town is so small? Smoky Falls is like four times the size.”

I shrug. “I don’t think so. We all have to stay on pack lands, and they don’t remember. I guess the benefit of not being cursed is you get to live where you want.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right. Bastards.”

He’s silent for a few beats, and I split my focus between the screen in my hand and potential hazards on the trail.

“All jokes aside, do you think they’ll recognize us?” Despite his bluster in the truck, I knew Jared was just as nervous as me.

Surprisingly, having a task to focus on has helped and I’m suddenly the calmer one. “There’s no reason to assume the guys who came with the Montrose alpha are anywhere near this house right now. We don’t even know if this is the place they took Derrek. So there’s no point psyching ourselves out.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But what if they recognize our scent?”

“I thought about that. They may be able to tell that we’re from a pack, but I don’t think they’ll know which pack. If it comes to it, we can say we’re from a pack on the other side of Tennessee. I heard there’s one south of Nashville. Franklin Pack. They won’t know the difference.”

“But what if-”

I stop walking and turn to face him. “Jared, you’re over-thinking this. All we’re doing right now is familiarizing ourselves with Montrose territory and—if we can—locating Derrek. Okay? We’re not trying to confront anyone, or rescue Derrek right now. We’re just here to get some information, see what we can find out, and leave.”

He sighs. “I know, but I feel like we’re going in unprepared. I’m used to having a list of plays, like plans for what to do.”

I snort a laugh. “Bro, this was your idea. If you didn’t have a plan at the beginning, how did you expect it to go?”

“You’re right, it was stupid to just decide to drive out here on a whim. I just needed to feel like I was doing something. I’m not the type to sit around and talk, you know? I just get out and do. I’m a doer. And something needed to be done.”

“I agree, and that’s why we’re here. So let’s do something. Our plan is absolutely to not get caught, period. If something happens, we break and run directly for the truck; your phone will lead you back to it. It’s better if we don’t split up, but if we have to, we can meet there. Okay?”

He nods in agreement. “Okay. No getting caught. No splitting up. Back to home base.”

I clap him on the back. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”

We reach the next fork in a few minutes and continue toward the mayor’s house. As we get closer, I’m suddenly more aware of every sound we make, my ears searching for something to indicate people nearby as well. The leaves crunching under our feet are too loud, echoing in the suddenly quiet forest. My heart rate picks up.

“Jared,” I say in a low voice, stopping.

He turns to me with a confused expression. “Yeah?”

“I think it’s right there.” I point to my left, where a hill rises from the trail and prevents us from seeing beyond it.

“Are you sure?” His head tilts to the side. “It doesn’t look like anything’s up there besides more trees.”

In response, I show him my phone, the map indicating a structure immediately to the left of the blue dot marking our location.

We both pause, listening for any sign of someone other than us. Besides the thudding of my heart, there’s a light breeze stirring leaves and some distant animal sounds. No voices, cars—nothing.

Jared and I turn to each other, eyes locking. My hand trembles as I tuck my phone back in my pocket.

“Well, I guess this is it. Are you ready?” A steely determination crosses his face, the same look when he’s about to head onto the field.

I nod, swallowing. “Yeah.”

“Let’s go.”

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