62. Cole

Aresidual ache lingered, even though I'd mostly healed from the gunshot wound. My wolf hoped we met the fucker who'd shot me. I planned to make sure he regretted ever pulling the trigger.

We ran through the trees, heading toward the main house, which was lit up like a beacon, bright LED spotlights fixed on every available corner. Carlos obviously cared little about his energy bills because he hadn't bothered installing solar panels. It irritated the fuck out of me, but the sight of a lone guard stepping outside a side door soon focused my mind.

Tanner paused in the shadow of a large tree, the rest of us halting behind him. The guard was barely ten feet away and if he looked hard, he would see us. Lucky for us, the moon wasn't out tonight and the shadows were deeper than usual.

I'll take him out.

I needed this. My wolf needed this. We were still struggling with the guilt of allowing our mate to be taken while we lay bleeding on the ground. It was my duty to protect Eva, and I'd failed that day.

Be quick,Tanner replied.

I eased past Rufus and his men. He nodded at me, reading my intention. I took a circuitous route and then waited until the guard was too busy staring at his phone to see me coming. Razor-sharp claws appeared on the ends of my fingers when I partially shifted. Before the guard even knew what hit him, I'd torn out his throat. Blood sprayed everywhere. The man fell to the ground, gurgling helplessly.

Casually killing people wasn't something I enjoyed, but this man worked for Carlos, and that made him a legitimate target. The door the guard had exited through was still ajar. There was a camera above, but anyone monitoring the feed would see nothing but wide open space. Certainly not the group of shifters heading toward the house with murder on their mind.

I waited until the rest of my group reached us. Tanner spoke a few quiet words into a comms unit and paused while everyone got into position.

"Me, Cole, and Silas will head downstairs. The rest of you clear the remaining guards. If you find Carlos, detain him. We need to know how wide this goes, and he's the only one with the answers."

Rufus nodded, his face grim. The alpha from the Misty Falls pack stood at his shoulder, cracking his knuckles. His daughter was one of the missing girls, so this was deeply personal for him.

"Let's do this," Tanner said, calm as anything. The yellow glow of his wolf's eyes was the only clue his control skirted the edge of madness. There was a time when Tanner would have gone feral by now, consumed by blood lust and impossible to stop. But not anymore. He'd learned his lesson.

The door opened wider, and we stepped inside, ready to do battle with the humans who thought they could steal our females.