Page 18 of Veil of Shadows

She rushed around me as if I wasn’t even there, and I took that as my cue to leave.

I quickly slipped back into my clothes before heading out of the bath house. I wondered what the hell had Merida in such a focused tizzy. I heard her rushing around, clinking glass together and muttering to herself, even as I stepped out of the bath house and onto its small porch. Everything seemed off. The compound was quieter than normal. Shifters poured from the woods, rushing to their homes and sprinting across the compound. My head was on a swivel, trying to figure out where Dom went.

I was intrigued by our conversation, and I wasn’t ready to be done with it yet.

“Dom!” I exclaimed, cupping my hands over my mouth. “Dooooom!”

I watched the edges of the woods as Ronyn’s troops stormed out of their darkness. But, I didn’t see Ronyn anywhere. The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end. Panic gripped my heart as it fell into my stomach. Why were Ronyn’s troops back, but not Ronyn himself? Did something happen? Is that why Merida came charging into the bath house like a bat out of hell?

I resisted the urge to call out for the guys again, and instead, backed myself into the shadows of the compound. I slinked around in the night, silencing my footsteps and stalking those men like prey. I watched some of the troops race back into their homes. I watched a couple more of them hobble over to the bath house. There was a man cradling his stomach, and I watched with curiosity as a woman helped him into the bath house itself.

“Voss, wait up,” I heard Dom command.

“Get on it, or get off it,” Voss snarled.

I whipped toward the sound of their voices, but all I found was the darkness from the forest cloaking their figures. I eased my way into the woods, watching them move away from a pack that clearly needed them. I peered over my shoulder and watched as some of the women from my pack helped the troops into the bath house. I watched as Little Billy and Little Annabelle stayed on the porch of the house they were staying in, watching everything unfold from the porch railing.

Could I really leave them vulnerable to follow the guys?

Did they give me a choice?

“What are you guys up to?” I whispered to myself as I headed deeper into the woods.

I stuck to the shadows, watching as Dom and Voss made their way deeper into the night. I had a bad feeling about everything, and it forced me to stay silent. What the hell were they up to? Why wasn’t I allowed to know? Clearly, it was important enough that it required all three of them. So, why wasn’t it important enough to clue me in? I didn’t like that theywere keeping secrets. I didn’t like that they always felt the need to keep me out of the loop. So, I kept a safe distance behind them and followed their footprints.

Until their footprints turned into paw prints.

“Shit,” I hissed as I took off running.

No matter how quickly I ran, however, I couldn’t catch up to them. All I had were their paw prints, skid marks, and a bit of fur here and there that got ripped off by the trees and branches I passed by. I found a tree with lower branches and shimmied my way to the top. The tree swayed in the breeze, and I forced myself not to look down as I gazed out over the whole of the treetops. As far as my eyes could see, there were mountains and forest, coming together at the darkened skyline as the stars twinkled by the millions in the air above our heads.

Had it been any other moment, I would have sat there and cherished the breathtaking view.

But I had a mystery to figure out.

When I saw trees rustling off in the distance, I slid back down the tree and took off. I ran as quickly as my legs would allow, tracking them with everything at my disposal. I came across fur and the freshly mangled carcass of a small deer. I reached up and plucked a bit of white fur from a jagged tree that looked like it was about to fall. After rushing behind them for what felt like hours, a mountain finally emerged in front of me. It loomed tall against the navy-blue backdrop of the sky, and it didn’t take a genius to know they were inside.

Their paw prints led right up the mountain to that cave, which meant I had to find another way in.

I crouched down behind a massive rockface and studied the cave itself. It was inlaid into the mountain, and if I played my cards right, I could scramble to the top of the cave and listen to whatever the hell was going on. I slipped silently away from the rock and gave myself enough clearance around the mouth of thecave. I moved to my left until the cave was completely out of sight, then I used my tiptoes to climb up the steep rockface of the mountain. I clawed my nails against the smooth stone, taking in deep, silent breaths to steady my nerves. And as I climbed up and around the cave, I perched on the curved roof near the mouth’s edge.

I sat down, crossed my legs, and listened.

“What’s her plan?” Ronyn snarled.

A voice I didn’t recognize chuckled. “What makes you think she’s got a plan?”

A resounding crack pierced the night and my eyes widened. Did Ronyn just slap someone?

“Answer his question,” Voss snarled.

That same chuckle wafted from the mouth of the cave and up to my ears. “I did. You just don’t like my answer.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” Ronyn growled.

SMACK!

“Let’s try this another way, then,” Dom said as his voice piped up. “Why did Delilah leave you behind?”

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