Page 125 of Blade's Battle
“I wasn’t convinced I was going to consummate with you out in the open, anyway. That’s one part that should be private.”
He only half-caught what she was saying, his focus on the movement ahead. Blade held his hand up to quiet her, then pulled her behind a pine. Her eyes remained wide as two wolves approached.
“Nate?” Blade said as he stepped out from behind the tree. He hoped his sense of smell wasn’t off and the white and tan wolf was who he thought it was.
The wolf shifted into a stocky blond. “Blade! You’re back!” Nate quickly motioned for Enrique to continue patrolling.
“What’s happened?” Blade asked, sensing Nate’s unease.
“Not sure. Damien’s tripled patrols and ordered a lockdown.”
“Tripled?” Hell, that wasn’t good.
“Anything else I should know?”
“Damien’s expecting trouble, and you know he’s rarely wrong about these things. Stay alert, brother.” Nate shifted back to his wolf form and leaped in Enrique’s direction.
“Lockdown of what exactly?” Anna asked as they continued toward the compound.
“That means the outer perimeter had been cleared of pack members and outdoor classes canceled and brought indoors to the lodge. Families that live on the fringe go to assigned homes of shifters living in or near the main compound.” Blade released a deep breath. “I’ve never seen Damien take such strict measures.”
“It’s Drake that Damien’s worried about, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” When she said nothing, he stopped and faced her. “This isn’t your fault, Angel.” With one finger, he tipped her chin up. “And even if it were, it wouldn’t matter. This is what it means to be part of a pack. Whatever the problem is, we work together to resolve it. Understood?”
She nodded and her expression was one of deep thought. He let that sink in. She simply needed time to get used to their ways. Perhaps in time, she’d let her guilt—herunfoundedguilt—go.
* * *
“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Anna asked as they reached the inner compound, which was full of shifters and noisy.
“I’m debating what to do.”
“About me or the lockdown.”
“Both.”
“Do we have a designated home to go to?”
“Probably, but I never checked into it. I have a position on the border, paired with Frank.”
“Then go find him.”
“I’m not leaving you alone.” That hadn’t worked so well for his birth pack. “The others will be fine without me.”
“Go find them. Be where you need to be, which isn’t here, babysitting me. After all, I don’t see any guards following the kids or the other women around.”
“But you’re—”
“Fully capable of yelling for help if I need it. I’ll grab a chance of clothing and then head to my lab to get some work done.”
“It’s a storage room.”
“When I’m in it, it’s a lab. And it’s right in the middle of the camp, so I’ll be fine.”
He thought about it. “I don’t want you going to our cabin. It’s too far out. Maybe you can borrow some clothes from Tess.”
“Fair enough.”
