Page 45 of Dawn of the Pack

I settle back into the cozy crook that Milo’s arm and body makes, and a yawn escapes my lips.

“What’s the matter, Lily? Did you have a hard time sleeping last night?” Milo asks in a wry voice.

“As a matter of fact I slept very well, thank you,” I answer curtly. “I just didn’t get a lot of sleep. What I got was excellent, though.”

“Why don’t you try and nap, then? I’ll wake you up before we get close.” His lips press to the top of my head, and I curl into him, resting my face against his chest.

It’s warm and familiar, his citrusy cedar scent in my nose, and the steady, powerful beat of his heart lulls me right to sleep.

True to his word, Milo shakes me gently awake while the van is still in motion. “Lily, we’re just a few minutes from the turnoff to Shuya’s house.”

I straighten and stretch, yawning again. “Anything happen?”

“Not a thing. Jared just checked in with the security team and they said it’s all good.”

“Okay, that’s good.” I scrub my fists against my eyes, trying to shake off the haze of sleep.

Everyone else appears to have remained alert for the ride, and a brief pang of guilt hits my chest. I’m the alpha. I’m supposed to be protecting them. Instead, I was sleeping, and they all kept watch. I have to do better than this. It’s my responsibility.

A few moments later, the van slows, and Sasha flicks her signal, easing onto the unfortunately familiar gravel drive.

Jared’s sister wasn’t here the last time, but the rest of us were. We watched someone die here, and for some reason, I didn’t expect the sick swirl of feelings from that day to come rushing back at me.

My anxiety spikes, and I reach out to sample the feelings of my companions.

Sasha is a medium orange color, her anxiety simple.

The guys are more complex, their colors like a lamp that cycles through the rainbow.

Anger, fear, anxiety, dread, concern, and love revolve around me like some sort of psychedelic light display.

I know what they’re feeling, because the same confusing mix is racing through my body, too.

Drawing a deep breath, I exhale slowly and focus on what I want to happen at the end of this driveway. Shuya will answer the door when we knock, and she’ll be absolutely shocked to hear what Azalea has done, pledging immediately to help us save Derrek. She’ll give us some sort of… magical thing we can take along to disable the collar. We’ll leave swiftly and be gone before anyone could even know we’d been here.

We turn the last corner and face the well-worn cottage ahead, all the bizarre wind chimes hanging from the wrap-around porch exactly as before. Now a variety of pumpkins in every size, shape, and color line the stairs, and brown leaves have piled up around the bushes.

Jared’s phone buzzes, and he reads aloud. “The security team stopped a quarter mile before the turnoff to avoid drawing suspicion. They can be here in 3 minutes if we need them. Are you guys ready?”

A shudder runs through my body, and even though I avoid looking at it I’m keenly aware of the spot where Jeremy bled out in front of our eyes. I peer out the windows but there’s no sign of Azalea’s souped up sports car, so I unbuckle. “Let’s go.”

Sasha remains in her seat but hits the button to open the side doors. “I’ll leave the doors open and turn around so we can make a fast exit if we have to,” she promises, a slight tremor in her voice.

Jared claps a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Sash.” He steps out of the van on the right side, eyes sweeping the trees that surround us on three sides.

Landon hops out behind him, and Milo nudges me ahead so he can take up the rear. We move as one up to the house, taking the porch stairs with slow, deliberate steps.

I feel like some kind of movie star, only not in a glamorous way. The guys are big and protective, surrounding me with their bodies as if I’m some kind of frail weakling that can’t defend herself. And it grates at me, to know in this circumstance I actually need their protection.

Jared reaches up and knocks swiftly on the door. “Ten minutes, guys, like we planned. Last time it took Azalea over twenty to arrive once we set off her ‘alarms’, so we should be out of here in plenty of time. Landon?”

“Timer’s already started,” Landon answers grimly.

Steps approach the door, and we draw in a collective breath. It feels good to finally be doing something, moving closer to getting Derrek home and safe, with me where he belongs. Shuya can help, I know it.

The only problem is that when the door opens, it doesn’t reveal the person we were expecting.

Chapter Twenty

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