Page 77 of Veil of Shadows

Much to my shock, Voss joined the group as he walked over to the northwestern side of the compound.

We need water diverting underneath this hedge so we can still grow things,he said, dropping to his knees and digging handfuls of dirt out from beneath the hedge.

Make sure whatever path you carve out is inlaid with some stones,Dom said as he walked around and used his charismatic powers to help settle the pups back into bed.Bubbling overthose stones will help filter the water a bit. You know these pups are gonna jump right into that shit in the morning.

Voss continued to dig, moving armfuls of dirt without ever breaking a sweat.Yep, I got it.

I watched him snake beneath the hedge as I finished up with the vines.

Ronyn, give me a bit of headroom with those vines. I’m about to start tossing river rocks over,Voss said.

I grinned as I turned toward where he was digging. A trench that was at least four feet deep ran into the compound, cutting through the meadow toward the other side. The man worked like a damn dog, hefting dirt everywhere like it was nothing before he disappeared through the hedge once more. I turned my attention toward the bath house and grew stores of garlic for the healers and members of the pack to harvest at will. I even went so far as to use the last of my energy stores to help grow some of our crops. I tended to them, watching the squash and pumpkins grow right before my eyes. Broccoli sprouted and cauliflower ripened. Half of our garden would be ripe for the picking come morning.

I smirked at my handiwork before the ground thundered with a boom.

Incoming!Voss exclaimed.

I looked over toward where the sound came from and saw a massive river rock dropping down seemingly from the sky. Then another one got launched over the hedge.

Incoming!Voss exclaimed again.

I watched yet another one come over the hedge fence.

Incoming!he yelled again.

I blinked.You’re supposed to say incoming before you launch it over.

Asif he was still trying to stick it to me, I watched a rock heave its way over the hedge and drop down right into the trench.

Incoming!Voss bellowed.

I rolled my eyes and groaned, but the sound of giggling, yawning children helped me to relax. I looked over as rocks thundered against the ground rhythmically, and I saw Dom running around with a few of the kids that weren’t ready to be tucked in. They laughed and giggled as if nothing happened, and I saw by the way Dom soaked his shirt with sweat that he was in the middle of using his powers to help them settle down and decompress.

I wanted to go over there and tell him to use his powers to get those pups in bed so that he can rest. But I watched Merida storm over to him and I knew she’d deal with it.

Then my troops started checking back in with me.

Commander?Lieutenant Mac asked.

Loud and clear, whatcha got?I asked.

Rocks continued to slam into the ground like meteorites before Voss came wiggling back through the hole in the hedge he dug beneath it with his bare hands.

We got the all clear seventy miles out on both the north and east of the compound,he said.

My stomach dropped. You mean to tell me Bexley was more than seventy fucking miles away from us. Where the hell did they go? Where the fuck did they take her?

Lieutenant Rhonda, reporting in,she said breathlessly.

Do you need backup?I immediately asked.

I watched Voss clamor back beneath the hedge before he scooped up those massive rocks, two at a time, beneath his fucking arms like they were wiggling children. He dropped them into the trench before stomping on them, embedding them into the fresh mud beneath the dirt he dug up.

No, no,Lieutenant Rhonda said as she pulled my attention away from Voss.We ended up going eighty miles out. South and west. No sign of anything. No scent. No trace. No fire. No smoke. Nothing.

“Fuck!” I barked across the compound.

Everyone whipped around and looked at me, Voss included. He pinned me with a look I absolutely deserved after that outburst, especially when I heard a couple of children sniffling again in the distance. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. It was my fault for having any sort of expectation of finding Bexley with the patrols. But, god-fucking-damn-it, where the hell did Delilah take Bexley?

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