44. Maya

44

Maya

Irene summoned Lunessa. We left Anna and Janelle at the den, and despite her mutters earlier about how she wasn't going to help us, she transported us immediately to Nash. I held back my grief when I saw his prone body in the clearing next to a river. Making as little noise as I could, I raced over to him. There was far too much blood under him, but I did see his chest move. When I touched him, his eyes opened, gleaming gold, and he grabbed my wrist.

"It's okay," I whispered. "It's me. We're going to help you. We're going to get you back to the den, and…"

"They took the king," Nash whispered. "They knew who he was. They were fucking waiting for us."

How the hell was that possible? I opened my mouth to argue, and quickly clamped it shut.

Paisley. Why the fuck would he rat us out?

"They shot him up full of drugs. Dante and Juniper too. Don't know about Jenson. I managed to avoid it, but I couldn't take them all. Shifted enough to shout for Anna to run. Did she make it?" He wheezed.

"Anna is fine. That's how we got here." I looked up at Lunessa. "Can you heal him?"

She nodded. "I'll have to take him back to the den, and then I won't be any good to you."

"Do it. I have the element of surprise on my side." I looked at Irene. "How are you in a fight?"

"I've learned a few things," she said darkly. I had a feeling that she wouldn't sit back anyway if Jenson was in danger. I didn't know if they were mates or not, but they were definitely in love.

"I'm going to let my wolf out and track them. I won't be able to shift back without taking up too much time, so if you need to tell me something, tug on my nape and whisper in my ear." I hesitated. "I'll keep control. I swear it."

"The fact that you had to say that is not comforting," Irene muttered, but she stepped back. I called to my wolf, but she wasn't slumbering, and the change didn't take nearly as long as I had feared. Lunessa gathered my clothes and disappeared with Nash. Other than our scents, there was no evidence that we'd been at the river.

Putting my nose to the ground, I started to sniff. I caught Rhyson and his wolves' scents, but I didn't recognize the others, which meant that Gideon was part of the group that attacked them. I kept my pace slow, so Irene could keep up but also so I didn't miss anything. I'd never tried to track anyone before, but my wolf knew exactly what to do. She shared control with me, nudging me one way or the other.

It wasn't traditional communication, but I was learning to understand her a little better. The smells got a little stronger when I stopped suddenly.

Another scent had caught my attention. Raising my head, I looked up and debated. Rhyson and his wolves were on the path in front of me, but there were two scents to my left and a multitude of others. Gideon and Paisley.

Except not Paisley. Just something that smelled like Paisley.

I needed to find Rhyson, but I also needed to try to see the whole situation for what it was. Then I heard a faint sound that made my decision for me. The sound of a girl crying. Turning, I crept slowly to the sound, aware that Irene was right behind me.

A small wooden shack lay ahead of us. Irene's hand slowly touched my nape, and I stopped as she knelt down next to me. "Jenson is in there. I can feel it," she whispered.

I frowned. I hadn't caught Jenson's scent, but I believed Irene. There were two small windows on the front and a door, but no guard outside. Pressing against Irene's leg, I pushed her gently to the left, and we made our way around to the back.

There were seven wolves growling in the back. We were upwind, so they were going to catch our scents soon. I couldn't tell Irene to try to blast her way to the front, and I knew that I couldn't really take seven wolves, especially since there were probably one or two hiding elsewhere. Not to mention it was going to cause a very loud commotion and send every wolf in the front to us. Not to mention if Rhyson and the others were close, it would signal their wolves as well.

"Close your eyes," Irene shouted, and suddenly, she burst into a beam of light. I quickly closed my eyes, and when I opened them, the seven wolves were on the ground, not moving.

The back door opened, and I jumped into action. Racing full speed to the door, I brought the first wolf down and ripped its throat out with my teeth. The second wolf tripped over its body, and I was on him in an instant. He was bulkier, and we tumbled. It wasn't long before I was fighting two and then three wolves. Claws ripped into my back, but I ignored them. I did whatever I could to protect my belly and fight.

A wolf was flung off me and screamed in pain. I turned in time to see Jenson, blood dripping down his shoulder, slashing at it with a machete. He was…impressive. I could see why Irene liked him so much.

The wolf under me went still as I raked my claws deep into her belly and turned to rip the other wolf to shreds.

Irene ran down, and Jenson stumbled. "There's a girl inside," he wheezed. "Your kid's girlfriend, I think. She's beaten pretty badly. I think Gideon used her to make Paisley report on us."

I growled at Jenson. "Rhyson isn't here. Gideon separated me to get information on Jax. Gideon's not here either. If you catch my scent, or his, you'll find Rhyson. There's another shack about half a mile from here, but it's got at least three times the wolves. Irene, you're going to have to go with her."

"I'm not leaving here without you. Shift, and I'll accelerate your healing." She looked back inside. "We can't leave the girl here. What kind of shape is she in?"

"Physically, she should heal if she shifts. Mentally, she's in rough shape."

We headed inside, and I recognized the young girl curled up completely naked in the corner: Darla. She was from Gideon's settlement. Old and new bruises covered her body as well as cuts. Dirt caked her feet and her nails. Upon seeing us, she sobbed and tried to climb even more into the walls.

"We're here to help," Irene said in a soothing voice. "It's all right."

"Please don't hurt me," Darla whispered. "Please."

"We're not here to hurt you. You recognize Jenson? They tortured him. He's no friend of Gideon's and neither are we. We're going to take care of you, but we have to leave here and find the others. Can you shift?"

"He said if I shifted, he'd kill my dad," Darla sobbed. "Please, I just want to see him and Paisley again."

"Is your dad here?"

Darla shook her head, and Jenson knelt down by her. "Darla, look at me," he said in a strong voice. "Have you seen your father since Gideon brought you here? Do you have any evidence that your father is being kept somewhere?"

Sniffling, she shook her head.

"Then your father is probably out looking for you. He's not being hurt. Gideon is lying to you to manipulate you. Shift, heal, and come with us. Believe me when I tell you that Gideon is not going to live to see the sunset."

After a moment, she closed her eyes. It took some time, but a small black wolf emerged. "Good," Jenson said. "This wolf here is Maya, and Irene is a witch. I'm going to shift, and Irene is going to accelerate my healing. We're going to track down the others, and when we get there, we're going to find a place for you to hide, okay?"

Her wolf nodded, and Jenson started to shift. I headed back outside and surveyed the area. It was quiet. If Gideon had a bond with any of these wolves, he knew that they were dead. He should send someone running.

Then I saw the first wolf emerge from the trees. And the second. And the third.

Looking over my shoulder, I gave one warning roar to Jenson, and then I turned and attacked.