Page 69 of Hunted

Bennett squeezes my shoulder. “I’ve had that thought more than once since Helena told me she was pregnant.”

I snort a laugh. “Looks like living in a retirement town has turned us into old men.”

Bennett laughs.

Warren, Tina, Penny, and Colton approach.

We’re still a short distance from the back of the hotel, and where Sara heard strange noises, but I’d intended that. We’ll shift here and start our hunt.

Before I can speak, a howl cuts through the night.

“Who’s up for a hunt?” I ask, already stepping out of my sneakers.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Colton says.

We strip quietly, quickly, and drop into crouches to embrace our wolves.

I take the lead as the rest trail me. The wolf is still up ahead, closer than I thought, given he had a head start.

Head down, we round trees, dart around bushes, sticking close to the wolf’s tracks.

And as I close the distance between us, the wolf’s scent teases my nose.

Where have I smelledthatbefore?

The stronger the scent grows as we close the distance, and the more distracted I am by a scent that taunts me.

The tracks stop, and I slow, the rest of the pack milling around me.

I shift, frowning, and so does Bennett.

“Something is wrong.”

“Yeah.” Bennett gets to his feet, also frowning. “I got that.”

“Don’t shift back yet,” I tell Warren, Colton, Tina and Penny. Still sniffing, I struggle to work out what is bothering me so much about this scent.

“Mack?” Bennett trails me.

“Give me a second.” I continue my prowl around the forest. “I just?—”

I step into a pile of leaves and I keep falling.

I have a second to absorb the pile of sticks pointed up, right at my face.

A trap.

No. An ambush.

Maybe one Aerin sensed was here.

One thought trickles through my mind, and only one.

Let Aerin be okay.

23

AERIN

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