Chapter 41

Lucian

Kieran and I stalked towards the Rogue encampment in wolf form. We had only a half dozen fighters with us. We didn't dare bring more than that. There was a risk that this whole thing was a distraction, that the Rogues or one of the other Alphas intended to attack the main pack while we were away.

It was a risk, but it was one we had no choice but to take. It was the full moon. When night fell, the voices would take Kieran. It was inevitable. And my wolf would take over and run wild. We needed Zara.

The madness grew closer with every full moon. I could feel my wolf scratching at my control. It wanted to howl and rage. It wanted to rend and tear flesh and crush bone. And it wanted Zara. Bizarrely, when I thought of her, the wolf's desires shifted. The wolf wanted to curl up at her feet and it wanted to roll us in her scent. It wanted her hands in our fur.

I shook my head. I didn't have time to be distracted. I needed to find Zara. We had only a few hours before the moon would rise.

Once we were a few yards from the edge of the encampment, we gave up on stealth and stalking. Kieran broke into a full run, howling as he went. Our fighters followed close behind him. I slunk off into the tree line, a shadow among shadows.

Kieran's job was to distract the Rogues, and keep them occupied. If he could kill a few of them, even better. My job was to find Zara.

The Rogue encampment was larger than I expected. What was such a major force doing so close to our lines, and how did they go unnoticed? I had a lot of questions to ask once we recovered Zara and returned to the pack compound. Someone tried to hide all this from us. I would see that they regretted it.

I heard snapping and howls. Kieran had engaged the Rogues. My wolf grumbled within me. It felt torn. It wanted to fight at our brother's side. And it wanted to find Zara and reclaim her. Hearing our brother in battle and moving in the other direction made the wolf whine and twist under my control.

I tightened my grip on the wolf. I could not afford to give in to its wishes. Mostly because if I did, I'd end up running in useless circles as the damn thing tried to go to Kieran and find Zara all at the same time.

I put my nose to the ground and moved in swift, wide circles. I needed to catch Zara's scent.

At first, I found nothing. There were too many scents. Wolves came and went frequently. This was a shockingly well established camp. Zara had been here only a short time. Her scent wouldn’t be very strong yet.

She was there, though. I knew it. I felt it. More than scent, more than the information Kieran had gotten from her sister, I knew. I felt her presence in my bones.

It didn’t make any sense. Why did her presence resonate with me so strongly? It almost seemed like the draw of a bond, but that was impossible. Zara already had a fated mate.

Which was something we would have to discuss at length once I found her.

Maybe it had something to do with how close she’d been to us recently. I’d become accustomed to her presence, so I could feel it when she was near. That made total sense.

I cast about for her scent and again failed to find any physical trace. But my wolf was utterly certain she was near. It tugged at me, demanding I follow a trail that was more instinct and emotion than anything else.

I wavered. I wasn’t having any luck finding her scent. They must not have let her move through the encampment much, if at all. I was running out of time. My brother would have to retreat soon, and then I’d be alone in the center of a hostile Rogue camp.

But to trust my wolf, with my wolf bond so fractured and strained? Did I dare?

I huffed, as I realized I was out of time and options. I would have to trust my wolf.

I let loose on my control, just enough that the wolf could direct me. I shuddered as my body turned and the wolf ran, following that ineffable sense of presence.

My wolf skidded through the trees, ignoring the trails in favor of making better time. I crashed through underbrush and trailing vines and came to a rolling stop near an overgrown, dilapidated shack.

I heard voices inside. One was a male voice that I might have heard before but couldn’t recall exactly. The other I knew. It was Zara, and she sounded angry and upset.

I wrenched control back from my wolf. It wanted to crash through the door and attack the male who dared take Zara from us. I knew better. Time was of the essence, but acting without information or a plan was a good way to end up ambushed.

After all, the only reason to grab Zara was to draw out me and Kieran.

I paced closer to the shack. There were no other wolves nearby. I would have expected at least a couple of guards.

Either Kieran’s distraction was more effective than I thought, or whoever was in that shack wanted privacy.

Zara’s voice suddenly grew louder, while the male voice dropped into a growl. Now there was an undercurrent of fear in Zara’s voice that made my wolf yank and twist at my control.

Then, I heard Zara yelp and a scuffle. My wolf had enough. And to be honest, so did I.

I leapt for the door, taking it down in a single hit. The place really was in shambles. I took in the scene. Zara was backed up against the wall. A strange male loomed over her.

I thought I recognized him from somewhere, but I didn’t care. He had no right to touch her. Zara was mine, and my wolf wanted blood.

I growled, and the strange wolf staggered away from me. He was in human form, but I could tell the moon was pulling on him, too. It was in the eyes.

“What the…” the stranger looked from me to Zara and back. “Who is that?”

Zara shook her head, as though she didn’t recognize me. Or as if she wasn’t willing to give this wolf any information at all.

I moved in between them, and gave Zara my back. I couldn’t trust her not to try to escape, but I did trust her not to attack me. She wasn’t a total fool.

The stranger’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not part of my old pack, I’d recognize you.” He glanced over my shoulder to Zara. “Wait. Is this one of those damn Alphas?”

I dipped my head and raised my chin in a kind of nod.

“Wait, you seriously came for her? I mean, I convinced the other Rogues to take her by telling them you’d trade for her, but I never thought you would actually bother to try to get her back yourselves!”

I tilted my head, honestly baffled. If he was so shocked by my presence, why had he wanted Zara?

“Adrian, let us go,” Zara said. “You can’t beat him in a fight.”

Adrian, I knew that name. I let myself muse on it while my wolf growled and braced for combat.

Oh, right, he was one of the wolves we banished from the Sawyer pack. He’d been the son-in-law of the former Alpha, and hadn’t been willing to bow to me.

Why did he want Zara? I thought his mate was the Alpha’s other daughter.

I’d have Zara explain it all to me later.

First, I was going to kill this idiot who dared take what was mine!

I growled, and jumped for Adrian’s throat.