Page 6 of Dante's Circle Reborn

The raw hunger there almost brought Alec to his knees.

And even worse, he knew the same hunger was likely in his own.

Without a word, the two moved out of each other’s way, their bodies tight as bows, each shaking with tension.

Hunter had been right, after all. If they didn’t get this worked out, one of them would have to leave. There was no way Alec could be anything good for his Pack if he had to be near Liam and notbenear him.

Silently, they got into their seats, and Liam started the car, making his way out of the den and the wards that protected them from any too-curious humans. While most of the realms within the worlds were connected by portals and other various magical means, wolves were slightly different. They were one of the only species that lived within the human realm, albeit secretly under ward protection. They weren’t separated into their own realm through portals like the angels or demons or even the lion shifters.

It had gotten harder and harder throughout the years to keep their existence a secret, but the Conclave, the governing body of all the supernaturals, always had new and, undoubtedly annoying, ways of making it work.

Twenty minutes into the trip, they’d gotten far enough out of the forest that anyone looking at them wouldn’t notice where they’d come from. As long as they kept going, too-curious humans wouldn’t happen upon the wards. Of course, if those humansdidnotice, the wards and magic would push them away, their memories wiped, keeping the den safe.

“I need coffee,” Liam grumbled.

Neither of them had said a word since they’d started the trek, and apparently, Liam’s unholy need for coffee was going to be the thing that broke the ice.

“We just left my place,” Alec said in a tone that he hoped was devoid of emotion. “You could have just asked for coffee there.” He dared to look over at the other man who constantly invaded his thoughts.

Liam had his fingers around the steering wheel, much like Alec had earlier, the whites of his flexed knuckles prominent against the tan of his skin.

“I thought we needed to head out and find this rogue,” the other man bit out. “I just wanted to get out of the den and get on our way. I don’t know where the hell we’re going. Hence, coffee.”

“Hence?” Alec said with a snort. “Since when do you say hence?”

Liam pulled his eyes off the road for a brief moment, a familiar grin sliding over his perfect face for an instant before the other man must have thought better of it.

“Becca is teaching me the big words now.”

Alec snorted. “I thought Becca only taught us the curse words.”

“Truth, man, truth.”

They drove a bit longer before Liam pulled over and swore. “I have no idea where we’re going. How the hell are we going to find this rogue and make sure the Pack is safe when I don’t even know where to point the damn car?”

Alec sighed. “You’re going the right way. I figured we’d head to where the latest attack happened and see if we can catch a scent trail. You just happened to be going the right way as soon as we left the den, so I didn’t comment on it.”

Liam glared at him out of the corner of his eye. “Of course, you didn’t comment on it. Why would you say anything?”

Alec gave him a sharp look and then forced himself to relax. They needed to get through this. Get over this. And they weren’t going to do that if they didn’t talk about it. However, going at it right off the bat probably wasn’t the best way to start, especially since Liam needed coffee. Alec wanted to keep his head on his shoulders, thank you very much.

“Did Hunter give you any info on what we’re going into?” Liam asked after another few minutes of deep silence.

“The rogue killed a college-aged girl on her way home from work one night.”

Liam cursed while Alec’s wolf clawed at him. Their wolves might want blood, but they didn’t kill innocents. That was the difference between a rogue and a shifter in control of their animal. The way they controlled themselves might be different than other shifters in how they calmed themselves and even how they sometimes gave in to the wolf for their hunts. All shifters ruled by control.

It was the only way to keep their souls safe—as well as the rest of the realms.

“Who found her?”

“One of us.” Alec let out a breath, calming his wolf. They would track, and they would hunt, and they would kill this rogue. That promise was the only way to keep his wolf sane at the moment since they didn’t have a scent yet. “A pixie and her boyfriend found her.”

“The pixie we know?” Liam asked as they turned the corner.

“No, Faith wasn’t near this, though it’s close to Dante’s Circle.” Dante’s Circle was the bar where Hunter had met his mate. It was a familiar place to the Pack.

“Dante isn’t handling this?”

---