89. Jax

89

Jax

"If we'd known all it would take was one panicked alpha searching for his mate to cull half the rogue population, we could have gotten the mountain back in order a long time ago," London said, panting. Around him, three wolves lay dead.

"We need to keep moving," I growled. "The longer we're delayed, the fainter her scent grows."

We were already at least a full day behind. I'd hoped Anna's pregnancy would slow her down some, make her sleep, but with Finn by her side, she was likely able to make up some ground. Elonso and Jenson had both tried to stop me from leaving. We needed to be guarding Lunessa.

Surprisingly, it was London who came to my aid. He pointed out that having the actual ternary out running around was even worse because she didn't have a whole pack and a shit load of magic to protect her. I knew it was guilt driving him. He would never forgive himself for bringing traitors onto our land.

Even if they did have their reasons. London needed to run, and I was happy to have him by my side.

Only once had I managed to break the spell Anna had woven around our bond. When it split, I was overcome with fear and pain. It was so overwhelming that once she stitched her spell back, I hadn't tried to break it again.

I'd made her feel like that, and I deserved to have it flooding me tenfold, but I couldn't let anything stop me. When she was in my arms again, I would let her pain wash over while I begged for her forgiveness.

I'd made her afraid of me. Afraid for her child. What kind of monster did that make me?

"You think the wolves are attacking us because we make good targets or because they're under Maeve's control?" London asked as he toed at the dead wolf.

"I don't know, and I don't care. Shift. I want to make up a few miles before the sun sets. I think she's traveling by night."

"I just hope she doesn't go through another damn river. My wolf hates being wet," he muttered before he shifted.

I shifted with him, and we ran. The sun was already low in the sky. Anna would have been slower traveling during the day, but she started at night, and she would have wanted to put as much distance between as she could until she couldn't move any further.

Distance from me.

When we'd first scented her on that burnt out cabin, I'd nearly lost my shit right then and there. Simple traps had been set around the cabin, which didn't make any sense. Did she need them with Finn there? And one of the dead wolves had been taken down by a flare gun. Why had she been fighting as a human?

Had Saul told her that shifting was bad for the baby? I should have been there for her exam. I should have known exactly which questions she'd asked and what Saul had said.

I was her fucking partner, and I'd frozen her out. Now I was losing her.

Finn's pack bond was shielded just like Anna's, but what Anna didn't know was that her scent was stronger than ever. The scent of a pregnant female. Did she know that she was probably attracting every male rogue in the area? Did she know what they would do to her if they caught her?

The fear made me run even further until I stopped at a clearing. Her scent tracked all the way to the cabin in front of us. But the cabin wasn't empty.

Next to me, London growled, and the man's head popped up as he looked in the direction of the woods. He reached down and picked up a shotgun.

For fuck's sake, where did he get that from?

"If you're tracking the girl because she's pregnant, you might as well turn back right now. She's not alone, and he'll rip you to shreds for even looking at her. If you're tracking her because you were told to, you're going to have to get through me first."

I recognized his voice even if my wolf didn't. Slowly, I shifted. "Dr. Ramirez," I said as I walked out and put my hands up. "Do you know who I am?"

The old man squinted at me and London and lowered the gun. "You're the idiot who let her get away."

Next to me, London snorted tiredly. The moon was fully up in the sky, and now that we'd stopped, I knew that we were both going to drop to our feet. We had to make camp, or we'd be no good to Anna when we found her.

"That's me," I agreed. "If you tell me where she went, I'll give you whatever you want."

"Only one thing I want," the doctor muttered. "And it's that bitch's head on a stake. In any case, I can't tell you where she went because she didn't tell me. I suspect she knew you would try and find her. Still, if you came this far, you'll find her. I can offer you the same thing I offered her. Food and a place to rest, although I offered her my last chicken. You're gonna have to make do with rabbit."

"Can we trust him?" London asked in a low voice.

"I don't trust anyone at this point, but I don't think he's going to gut us in our sleep."

An hour later, our bellies were full, and London's wolf was curled up in the corner of the room and snoring loudly. My mind was racing too fast to drop off to sleep.

"They slept separately," Hector offered. "Not that you asked, but I figured you'd want to know. I gave her my bedroom, but she slept on the floor. Finn slept on the other side of the door. I remember when that boy was so carefree, even when he lived out here. Now there isn't an ounce of trust in him."

"Maeve took control of him, and he lured his sister to her death," I said flatly. "Hard to trust when you can't even trust yourself."

Hector's eyes narrowed. "He didn't tell me that, but then, that's no surprise. At least the other girls are safe. No reason Maeve needs to fool with them now that she has what she wants. Magic turned that woman into a monster."

"What makes you blame magic?"

"We don't need to be seeing into the future. It does nobody any good. Prophecies just destroy us. She turned into a monster trying to keep from turning into a monster. Magic is not for wolves. Maybe it shouldn't even be for witches. It should stay in the earth where it belongs."

"Our humanity makes us greedy. I don't think magic has anything to do with it." I hesitated. "Did Anna seem okay? Was she hurt or ill? Did you see her wolf?"

"She had just about run herself into the ground, but she wasn't hurt. She ate enough for three, and I hoped it would hold her. I filled their packs with enough supplies to last them a few more days."

"I owe you."

"You do, and you'll tell me what the hell you said to that woman to make her run. Ain't no wolf should be afraid of their mate. It's just not right. If I think for a second that you'll hurt her, one of us will die in this cabin tonight. Even if it's me, at least it'll give her more time to escape."

Exhaustion swept over me. "I'd never lay a finger on her. Never. She's running because of another prophecy. A stupid prophecy that I didn't tell her. I hid it to save her, and now I've lost her."

Hector grunted. "Told you."

"Yeah. You did."

"She said it was over. That Maeve was done for. Not dead, just done for. That true?"

"No," I told him honestly. "No. She came out her because I didn't tell her the truth. I didn't tell her that she wasn't safe."

"What do you plan on doing about it?"

"Make it right, whatever it takes."

We slept for four hours before we headed back out again. Hector had filled our own packs, and I instructed him to find safety in my territory, but he declined.

It was easy to catch Anna's scent again, and we traced it for two hours before I knew exactly where she was headed. Darkwyn Coven. Maybe to find sanctuary or maybe to pay her respects.

I was the only who'd killed Evalina. I was the one who needed to pay my respects to the Mother.

The path leading to the den was filled with death. Finn's work? Had he thrown the wolves into the spell traps?

It wasn't until we reached the den that I knew I was wrong. Anna would never let Finn break into the coven this way and leave it vulnerable. Something was very wrong.

I walked cautiously through the door, my wolf tense for a fight, and saw a shadow pass over the doorway on the left.

We weren't alone.