Page 123 of Never Submit

Noble and I continue, pushing our bodies to the limit, but as long as he’s human, that’s how I’ll stay. It takes hours for us to make it to the area where I first bumped into Red, during her escape.

“Here?” Noble clarifies.

I nod, narrowing my eyes. My next inhalation brings the undeniable stench of blood, sweat, unwashed skin, and fur.

And under it all is something familiar, but I can’t quite place it. Despite the time that passed, the trail is still there. So why, the last time I’d been here, had I not been able to follow it back?

What the hell is wrong with me?

“Smell that?” Noble asks, already on high alert.

I sniff the air again and nod. “Yeah. It’s faint.”

I crouch low to the ground where the snow has been upturned, muddied. More than the last time I passed byhere to check things out. Which means someone else has been here after me.

Which only makes me feel marginally better about my failure.

It looks like the Blood Moon pack passed through here at some point. Why?

Better question—are they around here now?

Without speaking, Noble points to a trail leading further up the mountain. I trudge forward, past Noble.

“Dax!” Noble whispers harshly. “Where are you going?”

“We have to see where this leads. If it’s his hidey-hole, Andras might be there now.”

“Exactly why we should go back and tell Torin and Mathis.”

I snort. If he thinks I’m going to give up a chance to personally rip Andras’s throat out, he’s dumber than I thought. “We’re here to find Andras. Not retreat with our tails between our legs.”

“It would be suicide,” Noble hisses behind me, but I don’t slow. “Evenyoucan’t take on the entire Blood Moon pack.”

“Watch me,” I growl.

We take the winding trail higher, further into the bowels of the forest. The trees thin out eventually only to be replaced by granite stones larger than I am tall. The path in the snow is clearly visible. They made no effort to hide their movements.

Do they want us to find them?

Or do they simply not care if we do?

The trail thins before it widens out into a small clearing, and Noble and I stop at the opening in the mountain’s face. It’s not naturally made. The way the stone isscratched and jagged, it appears to have been shaped by tools.

The tightness in my chest increases, my lungs compressing; I sniff the air again but nothing touches my nose except the faint remnants of extinguished fires and wet fur.

“Empty,” Noble mutters, scanning the area. “Andras has already moved on.”

The scents are days old, it’s true. Which throws gasoline on my fury and frustration. “No shit,” I snap at him.

He glares at me. “We can go inside, see if anything was left behind that can clue us in to where they’ve gone. But there may be traps.”

I wouldn’t put it past Andras. The snake.

Do I care, though? Nope. Not one bit.

Not when my heart is beating way too fast. The only thing keeping me fucking grounded is Red. The memory of her, the feel of her skin.

But as I’m about to turn and step into the dark cave, the air around me suddenly feels too thick, like something’s pressing down on me. I hesitate, trying to draw in my next breath, but even that’s too hard to do.

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