Page 67 of Oath of Revenge

Todd sighed once more and shifted to his wolf form without another word. He nuzzled the wolf girl, then they loped off in opposite directions.

Scarlet breathed a sigh of relief. As time passed and the night grew colder, she worried about Wulfric. Where had all this diplomatic talk come from? These thoughts had been in the back of her mind as they’d talked over the past few days but it had surprised her when they’d all spilled out.

Did she really believe Wulfric should work with the Robins and Knox? It was definitely better than the alternative of Growlers running all over Busparia and being captured by the crown. Or worse, by some other Hunter, the few that were still operating in Busparia.

What happened to letting the glocken tea wear off, having the Growlers reverse her curse if they could, then leaving this place? She wasn’t seriously considering working with Wulfric to help the Growlers, was she?

If she did, she could probably take a small, select team of Growlers with her into Busparia to destroy the queen.

If they’d listen to her and obey.

If Wulfric became alpha again.

If they accepted her for who and what she was.

Her head ached, and she reached up and touched an antler. Neither Sasha nor Todd had said a word about them, although they’d both stared in horror.

Half an hour passed, and Scarlet was growing weary. Her bones ached from the cold and her stomach was in knots. She was also growing too far from wherever Wulfric was.

Stretching her senses for this long was draining her energy. She glanced up and pushed, realizing that she’d tightened the boundary around her as she’d grown more tired.

Her spine stiffened. Coming toward her along the outer perimeter was an aura. It wasn’t the Growler she’d been following in the circle around the camp, but it wasn’t Wulfric, Todd, or Sasha either.

Shit, what was she supposed to do now? The wind was at her back. The Growler would’ve smelled her by now. She pulled her hood back up and held her daggers ready in the folds of her cloak.

Then she waited, continuing her slow walk forward as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

Too soon, the brown Growler came through the dark trees, his mouth bared.

“Easy now,” she whispered softly, coming to a stop on the balls of her feet. “I’m no threat.”

The wolf paused and glanced to the side. Scarlet looked to the left as a flash of brown fur slammed into her. She slammed into the frozen ground, gripping her daggers tightly. Damn it, she’d been so focused on the one, she’d missed the other. A flanking attack was classic, and she’d fallen for it. Anger and adrenaline shot through her as she hit the ground, her teeth chattering and pain radiating from her shoulder.

The familiar magic surrounded them, then the Growler’s now human arms wrapped around her tightly, trapping her arms to her sides.

She kicked but grabbed the cloak with her finger tips, careful to hide her daggers. She had to bide her time.

“Well, well, well, what kind of freak do we have here?”

“Look at the prey that wandered into the big bad wolf’s territory, Greg.”

Greg? What kind of Growler name was Greg?

“Put me down, you stupid oaf. I’m the granddaughter of the druid.”

The two males laughed, then one said, “If that were really true, you would’ve killed us before we even got close.”

Shit, what exactly had her grandma done thirty years ago?

The arms tightened around her as they tossed her over a shoulder and started marching toward camp. Damn it, her arms were trapped in one long, bulky arm, pinned to her side with the butt of the daggers digging into her thighs. She squirmed to lay the blades flat against her thighs, careful not to alert the stupid Growler too soon.

“Let’s see what Brody has to say about her. Maybe we can have a bit of fun before killing her.”

Scarlet’s feet swung wildly, kicking at her captor’s stomach until he wrapped his other arm around her knees. She was held too tight to escape.

With only her mouth free and unable to angle her head to bite him, she attacked with words.

“You’re so going to regret this,” she seethed, her jaw clenching. Oddly enough, she wasn’t afraid, the familiar rush of anger heating her from the inside.

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