had moved over to the other side of the clearing. “Two of the hybrids were shot. It looks like Kendra stabbed this one to death with the barrel of her M4, too. Her scent is all over him but none of her blood.”
“Damn.” Derek laughed. “I knew Kendra was a badass.”
“Looks like it.” Tate grinned. “Let’s go find them. They can’t be too far ahead of us now.”
Angelo was down with that. But Clayne and Ivy made no move to lead the way. Tanner stared at the ground.
“What’s wrong?” Angelo asked.
Clayne exchanged looks with Ivy. “We don’t know where they went.”
Everyone stared at him.
“What do you mean, you don’t know where they went?” Tate demanded.
“We can’t pick up their scent,” Ivy explained.
Tate frowned. “Can’t you just follow the smell of those damn flowers like you’ve been doing?”
She shook her head. “We swept a hundred meter perimeter before you got here. We didn’t pick up the scent of those flowers anywhere. The only thing we smelled were more hybrids.”
“Shit,” Angelo muttered. “How many of them?”
“A couple scouting packs,” Clayne said. “Not as many as this bunch, but we’re still talking at least three or four of them. No doubt, they’re looking for Declan and Kendra, too. Hopefully, they’re not having better luck than we are.”
Tate swore. “What the hell do we do now?”
“Hang here while we try to pick up Declan and Kendra’s physical trail,” Ivy said.
We meaning her, Clayne, and Tanner.
“Again?” Tate scowled. “That took forever before.”
“It’s the best we can do right now,” Ivy said.
And it was a hell of a lot better than they could do on their own, that was for sure, Angelo thought.
She gave Landon a long look, then turned to follow Clayne and Tanner in the jungle.
“You heard Ivy,” Landon said. “We hang tight here until they get a bead on Declan and Kendra. Until then, let’s make sure we’re ready if any more hybrids decide to show up.”
Angelo dropped his pack and pulled out his NVGs. The sun was already going down, and if recent experience was any indication, they were going to be in for another all-nighter.
Kendra hadn’t checked Declan’s wounds since the sun had gone down an hour ago, but they’d all closed up, even the deep ones. She never would have believed it was possible, but he really was healing himself. She knew shifters healed fast. She’d personally seen how quickly Ivy had recovered from the torture those freak doctors had put her through. But as bad as those wounds had been—punctures, scalpel cuts, pieces of skin sliced off—they’d been minor compared to the ragged claw marks crisscrossing Declan’s body.
She didn’t know how Declan had been able to keep this talent hidden from the DCO for so long, but ultimately she didn’t care. He was going to live, and that was the only thing that mattered to her. It had been a long day in the cramped shelter waiting for him to wake up, and from how slow his breathing and heart rate still were, he was probably a long way from coming out of his hibernation.
She gently smoothed his hair back from his forehead. She’d figured out a while ago—when she’d laid her ear on his chest to convince herself that his heart was still beating—that her touch wouldn’t rouse him. It had been beating…albeit very slowly. Since then, she’d held his hand, refusing to let go. Even that simple contact made her feel better.
As she sat holding his hand, she kept an ear out for hybrids, but so far she hadn’t heard any. And in between doing that, she’d daydreamed about all the things she and Declan might do once they got back home. Making love topped the list, of course. Followed by going out to dinner. Or maybe they’d just get takeout. That way they wouldn’t have to leave her apartment—or his—for days. She wondered what his place looked like. Probably very rustic, with lots of wood and outdoorsy furniture. But mostly she just wanted to hang out with him and make up for all she’d missed with him in the past seven years.
Kendra was still smiling at that image when she heard a noise outside. Her heart catapulted into her throat. Just because she heard something, that didn’t mean it was a hybrid. There were all kinds of animals out here in the jungle.
Pulse pounding, she slipped on her NVGs and quietly moved aside the branches covering the entrance to their shelter just enough to take a