Page 89 of Wolf Heart

CHAPTER24

RAVEN

Fucking shit. I punch the wolf closest to me and it whimpers, dashing away to join the rest of the pack. It's a young pup and I'm surprised it didn't leave with the others when Juniper chased after their leader.

I dart in the direction Juniper vanished. But she’s gone. I twist around for any sign of her.

The woods are empty except for a fragment of her scent.

I growl low and hard, hating that I lost her. And the wolf within wants to attack, but this time it's not just because of my wolf side wanting dominance, it’s because ofher.

But she’s more than a wolf, she’s half-witch and her magic must have zipped her away.

My throat clenches. Or the witches snatched her.

Fuck! Leave it to those bitches to go back on their word.

A pained yelp sounds. Then another howl travels through the air and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

It's getting late and the lost ones will be rousing from their daily hibernation.

I need Aspen and Dex to help me, except they’re not anywhere around either. There’s no way they’d have left her alone with her ex-pack bullies. Shit! The fucking witches must have taken them too.

I go to where we were standing and sniff. Juniper’s scent is light in the air, but I’ve got a good nose.

I inhale more deeply and follow it until it disappears. I stop at the spot where her scent disappears.

There’s a slight tingling in my hands and I grit my teeth. Her scent was here and now it’s gone. For a moment I think maybe I’m losing my mind, except the magic of the witches is still familiar to my nose.

My muscles tense.

I crash through the woods, kicking at the branches and pushing through the bushes, my chest heaving and my heart pumping with adrenaline. I smell them.Aspen and Dex. They’re close and when I lift my head, I spot them running under the cover of the trees.

If the witches took Juniper, then I could find her, Aspen, and Dex together. Why they hid Juniper's trail and not theirs is a mistake, but one that will serve me greatly.

A copper scent of blood fills my nostrils and I scan the area. The taint of magic in the air is strong. Even my wolf senses something is wrong.

I follow the scent of my pack, bursting through the thickets. I stop short, my stomach churning. Blood coats a circle in the grass and the leftover magic burns on the back of my tongue.

Something isn’t right. I curl my shoulders forward, my muscles coiling and releasing with the fury that burns through me.

I’m going to kill whoever did this.

I’m ready to blitz through the underbrush when another scent—the hint of pine—gives me pause.

A wolf whines, wanting to run.

And then I see him. One of the bastards that came after us from Juniper's pack is lying on the ground. His arm is tucked against his body, the bone likely shattered. His eyes are closed, his breathing ragged.

Fear slices through me.

What happened here?

His eyes meet mine and he growls at a warning. But he and I both know that he's in no condition to fight me.

"You with that bitch?" His upper lip curls up in a snarl.

I clenched my fists to keep from leaping the distance between us and crushing his windpipe for calling her that.

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