Ice_Reaux - Laura Wright Page 0,6

discovered earlier. Remaining within the magic of Wildlands so he stay in his cat form, he followed the edge of the road that skirted the bayous, heading toward La Pierre, a small town just a few miles away.

Hoping he could capture them before they managed to escape, Ice growled with frustration when the scent abruptly disappeared. He didn’t need the deep ruts in the muddy ground to tell him that a car had been waiting for them.

Unable to follow them, Ice headed back into the Wildlands, finding Parish waiting for him outside the clinic.

With a burst of magic he shifted, shivering at the agonizing pleasure of transforming back so quickly. “They took off in a vehicle that must have been waiting for them.”

Indy stepped out of the shadows. “We have to get her back.”

“We will,” Parish said, his gaze never leaving Ice. “Is it possible to track them?”

“No.” Ice shook his head. He was a hell of a Hunter, but he wasn’t a miracle worker. “They must have left just after the explosion. There’s no way to know which direction they went once they hit the paved road.”

Parish paused, his gaze skimming over the gathered Pantera as if seeking inspiration. Then, with a quicksilver movement, he was turning toward Indy. “Do you have anything of Karen’s that holds a deep emotional attachment for her?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I’ll be right back.”

Ice narrowed his gaze, a sharp-edged suspicion twisting his gut in a knot. “Parish—”

“We need to get her back,” Parish interrupted.

“Right now we need to concentrate on making sure the Wildlands are safe,” Ice growled.

Parish took a step closer, his voice pitched low enough it wouldn’t carry. It was easier to sprout wings and fly than to have a private conversation in the middle of a pack of shifters.

“If the enemy went to this much trouble to get their hands on Karen, she must have something that either is vital or possesses a danger to them. Which means she’s an asset to us we can’t afford to lose,” Parish said, his tone bleak. Was he blaming himself for the enemy slipping past their borders? “Besides, she has too much sensitive information on our people to leave her in their hands.”

Before Ice could speak, the young female was returning, handing Parish a small picture of an unknown woman in a golden frame.

“Here,” she said. “This is Karen’s mother. She died before Karen managed to escape. It’s all she has left of her.”

Parish gave the picture to Ice. “Take this to Cammy. See if she can use her powers to find Karen.”

Ice paused. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in Cammy’s ability to track down Karen. He didn’t understand her strange talent for using objects to find people, but he knew that it was very real.

No. His hesitation came from his ingrained habit of trying to avoid the young Hunter. That part of him urged him to ask Parish to send another Hunter with Cammy. The leader wouldn’t be happy, but he would accept Ice’s demand to remain and help guard the Wildlands.

It’s what he would’ve done just a few days ago.

But everything had changed when Rage returned home with a mate.

Now…

“Fine,” he muttered, his gaze seeking out the female who’d fascinated and aggravated him for years.

Parish laid a hand on his shoulder. “Stay in touch.”

CHAPTER 2

Cammy jogged to the edge of the Wildlands, carrying the backpack that she’d hastily stuffed with a change of clothes, a few toiletries and her favorite gun. She was dressed in leather pants and a black turtleneck sweater and heavy boots, with her hair pulled into a tight braid.

Her entire body tingled. She told herself it was a combination of delayed shock and eagerness to strike back at their enemies.

It couldn’t have anything to do with spending the next few hours alone with Ice. Could it?

Okay, there’d been a moment when he’d rescued her from the falling beam. Heat and heart-thumping awareness. And she couldn’t completely ignore the fact that her cat roared with anticipation when Ice had sought her out to tell her that they were going on the hunt for the missing Karen.

But still…

Her tangled thoughts were interrupted as she caught the rich scent of Ice’s musk. The tingling intensified, sending a strange quiver down her spine as he stepped from the shadows of the cypress tree.

His large body was emphasized by the tight black T-shirt he was wearing despite the sharp chill in the air, and the worn jeans that clung to