Page 22 of Wolf Targeted
6
Archer
“Hello?” I say into the truck’s Bluetooth.
“Alpha,” John says slowly into the phone.
“What is it?” I bark.
Whatever he has to tell me doesn’t sound good, and I clench my fists on the steering wheel.
I’m still half an hour from the pack. Dread sinks in my gut like a stone. There’s something he doesn’t want to tell me. Shit.
Is it Jara? Is she okay?
“I found Jara and Libby in the forest playing,” John says.
“She what?”
What the fuck was she thinking taking a pup into the forest to play? She knows the stakes., doesn’t she?
Did I forget to communicate the stakes again?
No. She was there when Patrick confirmed that the government car had been in our territory. She fucking knows better.
“Libby was shifted, alpha,” he says with a sigh.
“Motherfucker.” I growl.
Why the fuck would Libby shift in the forest? We are supposed to be careful. What is she thinking?
“Did Jara wander out there with a head injury?” I ask.
She was supposed to be getting that healed. What happened? Mary had her and was working on her when I left. Did she decline treatment and wander off?
It’s the only thing that makes sense, but where was Patrick then? He was supposed to stay with her.
“I didn’t see a head injury.”
“I need to call Patrick.” I stab at the screen for my Bluetooth to hang up and call Patrick.
“Alpha,” he says when he answers on the second ring. “Is everything okay?”
“What happened with Libby and Jara today?”
Patrick sighs. “Libby is in serious trouble for that stunt, but I can’t get her to shift back so I can scold her. Scolding her wolf is like kicking a puppy.”
“What were you told about the incident?” I punch the steering wheel.
This is fucking bullshit. Can my mate not stay out of trouble, ever? What the fuck was she thinking?
“They were playing hide-and-seek. Jara found her in the forest. I’m sorry, alpha. It wasn’t Jara’s fault.” Patrick is quick to say.
“She knows the stakes. She should have gotten her out of there the second she found her.”
A creak comes from the steering wheel, and I loosen my hold.
“I wouldn’t be too hard on her, alpha. It was a rambunctious nine-year-old’s fault, and as soon as I get her to shift, she’s going to hear about it.”
