Page 109 of Pack Captive

We found the remains of the scouts at an old watch tower. Several of the Warriors howled their grief at the sight, but the Claws were silent and watchful.

This time, they hadn’t been torn apart.

The killer had skinned them alive and hung the wolves from the tower. Their red corpses shone sickeningly in the light of our runes.

The hides were completely gone, not a trace left behind. The Claws moved in close, sniffing for any sign of tracks.

A breath of wind brought a new smell to us: ash and blood.

Shadow wolves. Take them, Ryden ordered, his mental voice hard but thick with grief.

As the pack moved, red eyes began to light up in the darkness. The shadow wolves crept from the trees like smoke, slinking low to the ground.

I slammed my power into the pack, not bothering to hold back this time. I had to use all of it if we were going to kill them and find the murderer.

Runes blazed in the darkness, lighting up the field. Nearly forty shadow wolves lunged at us, screaming when they saw the light.

But that didn’t stop them from tearing into the Warriors. Wolves snarled, ripping into each other savagely.

I felt a tug in my mind from Calian.

Tracks over here, he said. His tone was so flat that Ryden and I both went, finding him on the other side of the watchtower.

I took a deep breath, following the trail, and my blood ran cold.

Over the stench of ash and blood rolling off the shadow wolves, there was a clear trail of warm cinnamon.

Merikh had come this way.

Let the Claws take the shadows, Calian said coldly, staring at Ryden.We three go after the Bloodfang. We can take him with Ayla.

I fed more of my power into them. Their fur was almost crackling with energy as their runes blazed.

Hunt him down, Ryden said, his voice soft and deadly.

Calian went after him, following the trail Merikh had left.

Yet again, I’d been wrong. It seemed I couldn’t make a clear decision to save my life where the Bloodfang was concerned.

But I still didn’t believe in my heart that he’d had anything to do with that.

We were nearly a mile away from the killing field when I heard a new voice in my head, a male one that didn’t belong to the pack.

Turn back.

Do you two hear that?I asked, my ears twitching.

I hated how dark it was; the trees obscured any light from the sliver of moon above, and a shadow wolf could be lurking behind any of them.

I hear nothing, Ryden said. Calian didn’t answer; he was far ahead of us, crashing through brush and thickets, his mind full of thoughts of nothing but violence.

The voice came again.This isn’t your fight, Ayla. Get back to Lykos.

I was so surprised, I almost skidded to a halt.

It was Merikh’s voice.

How could we be pack linked? The mind connection only worked if you were invited in and accepted.

---