Chapter 16

"Shouldn't you go with him?" Theo asked Norm, worriedly.

Looking at the spot where Smokey had disappeared into the forest, Norm hesitated. As much as he wanted to go, he knew Smokey was right. Turning to Theo, he said, "Let's do what he said and hide with the kids. I don't know what happened, but our mate can handle it."

Before Theo could argue, he heard a small howl followed by growling. Turning around, he spied Daniel's wolf making a beeline for the forest. "Danny, stop!" he yelled.

"I'll get him," Norm muttered, running after the pup. "Stay with the others."

Shaking, Theo headed over to the fallen tree, noticing the looks of fear on Galen and Eamon's faces. Reaching them, he pulled them tight to his chest before saying to Jake and Jessica, "I want you guys to shift."

Norm was surprised at how fast Danny's wolf could run, but luckily, he stopped at the edge of the forest.

Staring into the trees, the wolf pup sniffed for Smokey's scent. Baring his teeth and snarling, he stepped into the brush, following the trail left by the bear.

"Fuck!" Norm muttered, finally catching up to the young pup. "Danny, you can't go after Smokey." Scooping him up, he held him firmly, grimacing as he listened to Danny's growls at being thwarted. Heading back to Theo and the rest of the kids, he hoped Danny wouldn't take out his frustration on him. When he reached his mate, he handed him over and said, "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"To find us a place to hide." Norm glanced around the meadow, looking for a place that would serve their purpose. He jogged over to a path hidden from view, grunting with satisfaction when it showed no signs of recent use. Returning to Theo, he said, "I'll take Danny and Jake. You'll have to carry Jessica."

Bending down, Theo picked up Jessica with one arm, and grasped Eamon's hand with the other. "Galen, take your brother's hand…and don't let go."

After Galen had grabbed Eamon's hand, Theo saw the fear still etched on all the kids' quiet faces. To ease their tension, he asked, "Everyone ready to play hide 'n seek?"

"Who we hidin' from?" asked Galen, looking carefully around the meadow.

"Smokey!" exclaimed Theo. "Norm's found us a perfect place to hide."

"Is he countin'?" asked Eamon.

"Yup, so we better go hide before he finishes," Theo replied.

"What if Smokey can't find us?" asked Eamon.

"Remee will," Galen said, his eyes filling with tears. "He's always finds us."

"And so will Smokey," Norm assured the two young boys. "C'mon, wait until you see the hiding place…it's like a secret fort."

"A fort?" Galen asked.

"Yup, it'll be our secret fort."

Excited by the sound of that, Eamon tugged on Norm's hand. "C'mon, I wanna see my fort."

Giving Theo a brief smile, Norm led the way to the path, sending a short prayer to the gods for Smokey's safety.

~/~/~/~/~

Running through the underbrush, Smokey shifted mid-step, avoiding anything that would delay him getting to Willow. He didn't know what trouble she was in, but two gunshots led his mind back to the humans who'd hunted Kevin's parents. Growling, his bear sniffed the air, but other than the smells of the forest, there was no trace of her. Frustrated, he changed direction, trying desperately to pick up her scent.

Sniffing as he ran, Smokey's mind went back to the humans and wished he had Hawk's eyes in the sky, but unfortunately, his aerial scout was miles away in LA. Finding a path, he took it, hoping it'd lead him to Willow and whoever else might be with her. All he knew for sure was that there were two gunshots and two screams—and the screams were not from the same person.

Smokey slid to a quick stop when the path abruptly ended at the edge of a cliff. Shifting back, he held his breath as he peered over the edge, exhaling in relief when he saw nothing at the bottom other than boulders. Standing, he turned to the forest he'd just emerged from, searching for anything that might give him a clue as to where Willow might be. But again…nothing. No scent…not even a broken branch that would indicate someone might have recently been there. Cursing under his breath, Smokey realized he was at a disadvantage. Without maps and other information normally given to him in a mission briefing, all he had was his senses and luck. And so far, neither had done him much good. But he was determined not to give up—wouldn't give up. Willow needed him and he wasn't going to let her down—or his friend Glenn, her son.

~/~/~/~/~

Norm found it slow going on the overgrown path, covered with rocks and fallen trees, but despite the rough conditions, he forged ahead. He began to have second thoughts about his choice of a hiding place when he realized how difficult it was becoming to get there. Exhaustion was beginning to wear on everyone and he had to help Galen and Eamon climb over obstacles and catch them before they stumbled over the exposed roots crisscrossing the path.

Finally though, he managed to get the kids safely to the hidden cave without further problems—except for Daniel who struggled to get down halfway through the trip. Eventually, he gave in, letting him jump to the ground, where Daniel's wolf promptly padded to the head of the group. Turning to Theo, he grinned. "If there was any question about Danny being the puppy pack Alpha, I think that's just been resolved."

"I think he regards all of us as his pack," Theo murmured. "Look how concerned he was about Smokey."

His mate was right. From the moment Daniel assumed leadership, everything seemed to become easier; his wolf was everywhere—finding the easiest route forward, licking Eamon's tears after a stumble, and allowing Galen to steady himself by grabbing his fur. Like every good Alpha, Danny kept his eyes on everyone, instinctively knowing who needed his help the most.

Setting Jake down next to Theo, Norm asked Danny, "Can I count on you to keep everyone safe while I check out the cave?"

Baring his teeth, Danny growled before heading over to Theo. Sitting down next to him, he lifted his nose in the air, sniffing for signs of danger.

Chuckling quietly at Danny's behavior, Norm ducked into the cave and was soon surrounded by darkness. Using his bear's sight, he quickly surveyed the inside, and was happy to find it uninhabited by any animal. The only problem would be with Galen and Eamon. Being non-shifters, they wouldn't be able to see in the dark. The obvious solution would be to build a small fire, but the smoke would broadcast their location to anyone near them.

Deciding to do that as only a last resort, Norm pushed aside the vines hanging over the cave entrance. Stepping out, he said, "All good."

Nodding, Theo put Jessica next to her brother and said, "Danny, you go first…Jake and Jessica will follow you."

"What about me and Eamon?" asked Galen nervously.

Bending down, Theo said, "You guys get to go with me and Norm."

"Why can't we go with Danny?" asked Galen.

Kneeling down in front of the boys, Norm said, "Because it's too dark in there for you to see where you're going."

"Gally, I don't want to be in the dark," Eamon cried, sniffling as tears filled his eyes.

"We can't go in there," Galen insisted. "We never go where'iz dark anymore."

"Why not?" asked Norm.

"Because bad men will come to hurt us," Galen said, his voice wavering.

Confused, Norm glanced at Theo, his eyebrows raised. "Do you know what they're talking about?"

Shaking his head, Theo replied, "I think it has something to do with what happened before Remy came for them."

"Is that why there's a light on in their bedroom at night?"

"I think so," Theo said quickly.

Norm sat back on his heels, noticing the fear in the boys' eyes. Inwardly sighing, he had no choice but to build a fire and take the risk. Rethinking his plan, he looked at Galen. "Hmm…gimme a moment to get a fire going so the cave won't be dark anymore, okay?"

Nodding, Galen wiped away a stray tear, then gave Norm a small brave smile. As long as there was light, he and Eamon would be safe.

Rising, Norm looked around and spied a bunch of dead branches on the ground. Gathering them up, he realized he didn't have any matches, but there were other ways to build a fire and luckily, the time he spent as a Spirit Bear Cub Scout had given him the skills needed.

~/~/~/~/~

Turning back to the edge of the cliff, Smokey scanned the view again, to make sure nothing had changed. Deciding to backtrack and find a different trail, his nose picked up a faint scent of blood. Sniffing, he turned slowly to lock in the direction from which it was coming and, when he was sure he'd found it, hope filled him. By his second step, Smokey had shifted back to his bear and a surge of adrenaline coursed through his body. Without a path to follow, Smokey began to bulldoze his way through the bushes and underbrush. Sniffing the air repeatedly, his bear homed in on the scent that was growing stronger and stronger. Increasing his speed, Smokey threw caution to the winds, focusing only on his need to rescue Willow from the danger she was in.

~/~/~/~/~

Bending down over Willow, Hope pressed her hand to the bullet wound, trying to stanch the flow of blood. She searched her mind for every bit of medical knowledge picked up from injuries her children had sustained when they were young, but none ever involved a gunshot.

"Leave her," Josiah growled.

Ignoring him, Hope tore off the tail of her shirt, folding it several times before placing it down over the wound. Within seconds, the bandage was stained red as Willow's blood continued to flow. Pressing harder as sobs escaped her; she knew her efforts weren't going to be enough to save her friend.

Hovering over Hope, Josiah pressed his gun against Willow's head. "Either you come with me now, or she will pay the price for you disobeying me."

"Gimme a minute," Hope whispered before using a piece of Willow's shirt to secure the bandage as tight as she could to her chest. Then she rose slowly and looked at Josiah, finally facing the psychopath responsible for all of her nightmares. The fear that had controlled her for so long disappeared and her only thought was to keep Josiah as far away from her family as she could. But first, she had some questions.

"Why, Josiah? Why did you kill my babies?"

"That was an accident."

"Accident?" Hope slowly shook her head. "No, I was there…I heard you give the orders to kill everyone…including the pups."

"No you didn't," Josiah snarled. "Your fucking friend lied to you…I was trying to save everyone."

"If you didn't give the order, then who did? Not Rudy because you would've killed him for that," Hope said. "Why did you do it, Josiah? I deserve to know."

"You already know," Josiah replied.

"No, I don't…tell me," Hope demanded.

Josiah glanced down at Willow, relieved to see she was near death. When he turned his attention back to Hope, he growled, "I did it for you."

Hope's eyes widened in shock. "What in the world do you mean? I never asked you to kill my babies or anyone else."

Narrowing his eyes, Josiah growled as he grabbed Hope's arm, dragging her over to him. "Enough! Let's go."

Struggling to free herself, Hope kicked and punched Josiah, but when she felt the barrel of the gun against her temple, she stopped resisting. For now, she was alive and she was determined to remain that way, if not for herself, then certainly for her sons and her grandpups.

Josiah grunted as Hope acquiesced to his demands. Smiling triumphantly, he tightened his hold on Hope, but before he could take a step, a loud roar filled the clearing. Wheeling around, he saw a large grizzly bear burst from the forest, heading straight for him. Without hesitating, Josiah lifted his gun and fired off several shots, laughing as the bear fell ten feet away from them. "Too bad I have to go…he would make a great trophy mounted over the fireplace of my new home." Then, without another look, he headed into the woods, forcing Hope to come with him.

Dragged by Josiah past the bear, Hope looked down at him, her eyes filling with tears. Whoever had come to rescue her had paid the ultimate price. And after seeing Josiah's reaction to the bear's attempt to save her, she knew it would happen to any others who tried the same thing. Determined not to put anyone else at risk, she hurried after Josiah, mumbling a prayer for her friend before disappearing into the forest.

"I will avenge you, my dearest Willow," she vowed to herself.

~/~/~/~/~

Leaving Theo in the cave with the kids, Norm headed back to the meadow, taking note of the tracks they'd left behind. There wasn't much he could do about their scents but at least he could brush away their footprints and create some false trails. Stopping at the edge of the tree line, he scanned the area and, satisfied it was safe, hurried over to gather up the blanket along with Jake and Jessica's clothes. Stuffing everything into the picnic basket, Norm then studied the remnants of Danny's clothes. They were barely usable but he picked them up anyway. Leaving them would be a red flag to anyone who knew what caused their current condition.

Setting the picnic basket over by the hidden trail, Norm trudged through the meadow, brushing his fingers through the tall grass to leave his scent. After crisscrossing it completely, Norm headed toward the trees surrounding the meadow, and did the same. When he was satisfied with his efforts, he picked up the basket, ready to return to their hiding spot.

Giving one more look around to make sure he'd missed nothing, Norm started back to Theo. Before he'd taken five steps, more gunfire rang out. Turning his head in their direction, he hesitated, dread spreading through him that Smokey might be hurt.

Dropping the basket, he took a few steps towards the gunfire, his bear urging him to find Smokey. But then his mind shifted to Theo, pregnant and waiting for him to come back. If he left without telling his mate where he was going, Theo would certainly worry—something that Mac warned Norm could cause his mate to lose their cub. Smokey wouldn't want that.

Decision made, Norm turned, picked up the basket, and hurried back to Theo. Only when his mate knew he was okay, would he then leave to help Smokey.