Page 103 of Pack Captive

East, Calian grunted at him.We’re going too far north.

The scout gave us specific directions. Ryden’s mental voice was just as flat.

The scout’s sense of smell is bullshit, because there is clearly fresh blood to the east.

Why don’t you—

Hey, I snapped at both of them. Their ears went back at the same time.We need to work together. Do you think we’ll stand against Merikh, let alone Fenris, if we’re divided?

Ryden snorted in displeasure, his paws ripping up the earth, and Calian pulled ahead just a little as if trying to prove a point.

I refused to feel guilty. They’d been clear that they were both pursuing me, and that I had their blessing if I wanted either of them.

So it turned out I wanted both. They’d have to figure out their pissing contest.

We all need you, I added, a little more gently.I need you. Please.

I sensed a lightening in their tension after that.

A little more east, Ryden acknowledged, and though he still sounded a little grumpy, Calian made a concession.

Your path was quicker, he said.

And that was the end of that. For now, at least.

I had a feeling I’d be dealing with more of it in the near future as long as they were both around me.

We found the Guardian not long after that. He was in the same condition as Darius: torn to pieces.

Calian and I sniffed the borders of the forest, following the blood trail all the way to the edge of a lake.

No shadow wolves. I stuck my nose in a thicket and breathed in deep, smelling nothing but nature.Whoever did this was flesh and blood.

Calian’s ears perked up.It has to be Merikh. We’ve known him for a long time, and... he’s not as innocent as you seem to think he is.

I have no doubt about that. I followed the trail past the lake, but it vanished in the water.I just question if these specific deaths were his doing.

With the trail dead-ending at the water’s edge, we returned to the Guardian. One of the Warriors identified him as Gavril, another Azuran.

I shifted into human form, taking a shroud from one of the Warrior’s packs and laying it flat on the ground next to Gavril’s body.

Putting him together was grimy business. I was just tying the shroud, which was streaked with blood and gore, when all the hairs on the back of my neck rose straight up.

Something was watching me.

I scanned the woods, my hands frozen over the shroud, and Calian nudged me, letting out a soft sound that was a question.

Maybe it was Merikh. Who else could spy undetected on a whole pack of Claws and Warriors?

As quickly as it came, the feeling faded. Whoever had been watching me was gone.

“I think he was out there,” I whispered to Calian, and shifted.

His lips drew back in a snarl.We’ll kill him soon.

We heldthe rites for Gavril that night, not wasting any time in putting him to rest.

This time, there was no glittering mist that rose from his pyre.

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