senses that told him danger was close. He had to place his faith in the Lady. Marigold shivered and pressed back against him.
The hair on the back of his neck rose, but Toby refused to turn and look. Gus leaned against him as the imps fluttered overhead. They seemed to know exactly what hovered behind them in the woods, watching and waiting. Whatever it was, it didn’t try to cross onto the sand.
Toby sucked in a breath and pressed his cheek against Marigold’s head, tucking his arm more tightly around her and giving her a gentle hug.
Nick and Brooks needed to hurry the hell up. The safety of the sand by the lake wasn’t feeling so safe after all.
Chapter Fifteen
Brooks leaped in front of the human as the Erlkings began to fly faster toward them. He howled, trying to get the attention of the others, but wasn’t sure anyone could help. He heard rustling and cracking behind him, and as he turned, he saw the human being lifted into the air by… branches. Of the trees.
“Not again,” the human groaned. “Look out, Wolf!”
Brooks spun and charged the Erlking, not taking too long to process what the hell he’d just seen. The human didn’t seem afraid of the trees, so he left him to them. As he charged, he heard the thunder of footsteps behind him. With a giant leap, he pushed through the cloud of smoke, driving it apart and hopefully distracting the thing long enough for someone else to intervene.
He hit the ground with a thud, suddenly weak to his core. He rolled and pushed himself up once more, but it was over. The stag had used its giant rack of horns and destroyed the final pieces of the Erlking before it could regenerate again.
The stag huffed and stomped its feet before rearing up and transforming back into a human.
Brooks stumbled and fought to keep standing. He needed all four of his legs to keep his balance.
“Zachary? What are you doing?” Roan—the name Brooks thought the guy in the tree had used for the stag—asked.
The human growled and pushed against the tree branches surrounding him. “They put me in a cage, Roan! Tell ’em to let me down already.”
Leaving the stag to deal with the human, Brooks made his way back to the others, immediately seeking out Nick. He needed to let the alpha know what had happened to Toby and the kids. He needed Nick to get them back.
The others seemed as weak as he felt. Brooks brushed up against Nick’s side to get his attention.
“Puteri’s whipping us up one of her potions to fix the whammy the Erlkings put on us. They can’t drain adults as easily as kids, but they can still weaken us.”
It explained how he felt, but not what he needed.
Brooks forced himself through his shift and pushed to his feet. “We need to get them back.”
Even to his own ears, his voice sounded weak.
“What?” Nick scowled. “Get who back?”
“Toby. The kids.”
The door to the rec hall slammed open, and Riggs stormed out. “Where the hell is Gus?”
Nick’s eyes widened, and he grabbed Brooks’s neck. “Brooks, where are they?”
“In the fae realm, Alpha Smith,” Hildr answered. “The Lady sent for all of the children, but we were unable to get them to the lake prior to the Erlking’s attack.”
Nick’s voice deepened, and Brooks could sense his building fury. “But you were able to get some of them through a portal?”
“Yes. Toby, the girls. Gus. Jeremy. Several others. Nick, we’ve got to get them back.”
Brooks hated the desperation in his voice, but he couldn’t help it. He’d sent his human mate and those children through a portal without another member of their pack to keep them safe.
“It’s okay, Brooks. The Erlkings are gone. Hildr can get us to the Lady after we deal with—” Nick stopped and glared over his shoulder to where the two strangers stood.
“Roan and Zachary,” Brooks muttered. “Zachary is human. I have no clue who, or what, Roan is.”
“Forest Guardian,” Puteri exclaimed. “Yes, yes. He is beholden to the trees.”
“That’s why the trees picked up the human?” Brooks asked.
She huffed at him like he was an idiot.
“Guardian,” Nick bellowed.
Roan had already stepped into his clothes. He took Zachary’s hand and led him over to where they stood.
“Thank you for your assistance,” Nick said.
“My duty is to the forest,” Roan replied formally.
“Basically, the trees boss him around. They said you needed some help. Can someone clue me in as to exactly what