Page 87 of Wulf's Pack
We cross the street and approach the deli slowly, keeping our wolves close and our senses sharp. The closer we get, the stronger the bear’s scent becomes, but it’s old. “Not here anymore,” Easton says, voicing my thoughts.
I open the door to the deli just in case, but there is no shifter inside. “Must have just come for dinner.”
I scan the area and pick up a faint trail. “This way.”
Easton and I follow the scent to the end of the street and around the corner. It’s a solid trail. I’m guessing the shifterwalked this route less than half an hour ago. Hope pricks my chest. I really need this. My wolf is growing more and more desperate the longer this takes. I close my eyes and focus on my mate bond. It’s still stifled. More so than it was before.
Panic explodes in me, and I stumble to a stop.
“Alpha? What is it?”
Easton’s voice is tense, but I barely register it. All I can focus on is that connection to my mate. Something is off with it. It’s weaker. I sink into the bond, desperately searching for answers. I push my worry and confusion toward Skylar. I’m not sure how much she can feel through the suppression collar, but I need to feel her respond. My wolf is starting to unravel.Skylar! Baby, please. Can you feel me? Are you there? What’s wrong?
Just when I’m about to lose my mind, I feel the tiniest nudge in my heart. It’s a feeling of reassurance and comfort. When it comes through, I realize why the connection was weaker. Skylar, herself, was blocking it. I can feel her trying to hide something from me. But now that she’s opened the link, her feelings are sneaking past her.
Pain. So much pain. And fear. My mate is terrified and hurting.
This is the final straw. I let out a roar, and my wolf explodes out of me.
“Alpha!” Easton is worried now.
I let out a sorrowful howl and take off at a sprint, following the path that leads to the bear shifter. Easton falls in behind me, hard-pressed to keep up, but I don’t slow down. I can’t. I’m not in control. My wolf is driving, and he’s one hint of pain away from going feral.
Half a block down the road, the bear’s scent disappears into an auto repair shop. There are three bays with the doors up and cars on lifts inside. Several humans in greasy overalls are wandering around, working on this or that, but I don’t see thebear. I let out a sharp bark to make my presence known, but as hard as I try, I can’t shift back. My wolf is too distraught.
The humans come out of the garage and stop when they see me. They eye me warily, and I smell both alarm and anger coming from them. But it’s not the fear of an ignorant human coming face-to-face with a dangerous wild animal. I’m pretty sure they realize I’m a shifter, and I’d be willing to bet that means the bear works here and has let his coworkers in on his underworld status. But what’s with the hostility?
Shift.I order my wolf.We need to talk to them.
All I get is a growl in response. He’s losing it. He’s going to go feral.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
We can’t help Skylar if we don’t talk to these people.
Run, he responds.Lake. Trees. Find mate!
Let’s talk to the bear first. It could be faster.
He snarls at me again, but lets the suggestion sink in.Find bear.
Yes.
Before I can demand we shift again, he sniffs the air and surges forward, heading into the open garage. Workers shout at me, but they scramble to get out of my way. The bear’s scent is stronger in here. I track it to a closed door that must lead into the shop’s front lobby. I push at the door, and when it doesn’t budge, I growl and scratch at it with my paw.
The pounding of feet run up behind me, and I immediately recognize Easton’s scent. He’s slightly out of breath and still wearing clothes, so he didn’t shift and sprinted here as fast as he could on two feet. I turn to him and whine while scratching at the door again. “Alpha,” he says calmly, “I don’t know what happened, but you need to shift back.”
I whine again, and Easton takes a step closer, his hands raised. “You can’t fall apart, sir. Luna Skylar needs you.”
For a moment my wolf seems to listen, but then a heavy growl reverberates through the garage. My hackles raise, and I snarl at the bear standing behind Easton. Easton had been so concerned about me that he didn’t notice the shifter sneaking up on him. I hadn’t noticed either, but that’s because I was too busy fighting with my out-of-control wolf.
Easton whirls around and quickly backs up, putting his back to the wall so that he’s facing both the bear and me. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he says. His hands are still raised in a defensive gesture, but there’s a little more urgency in his voice now. “Everybody, stay calm.” He turns to the bear shifter. “I apologize for us showing up in your territory like this. We mean no harm. My alpha is in a lot of distress at the moment. His mate was abducted by a rival pack. We’ve tracked them here, but can’t pinpoint an exact location. We’re only looking for answers, asking around to see if anyone has seen or heard anything.”
Thank goodness for Easton. He’s remarkably levelheaded. It could be from all his years of mixed martial arts. That takes hard work and discipline, and it’s necessary to keep your head in a fight. That patience and laser focus is really coming in handy right now.
The bear, a rather large, dominant black bear, roars. It’s a soft roar, though. He’s more vocalizing his annoyance than threatening us.
We need to shift.
