Moon Claimed (Werewolf Dens #2) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,96
not to cry again. Hanging up, I pulled on hiking boots that once belonged to Rhona. Maybe I should give them back before she accused me of stealing these too.
Out on the porch, I listened for Wade’s footsteps.
Nothing.
He made the trip in less than an hour usually. A leaden feeling weighed in my stomach.
I grabbed a jacket and jogged down the trail.
Is your Wade in danger? my wolf asked.
Probably not, I replied. Best to check.
He wouldn’t worry me on purpose. Not on a grid day, but also not ever.
“Wade?” I called.
Inhaling, I froze, crouching as the faintest strand of spice reached me. Smell that?
My wolf checked the scent. He’s no longer here. Recent scent.
Fear climbed my throat.
I ran toward the scent and Wade’s salted caramel hit me.
No.
Bursting up the rise, I paused where the scents grew strongest, noting a rusty tang.
Blood. Human blood.
Red smeared the stone at my feet. A low cry fell from my lips as we circled, searching for more.
Wade was wounded.
Not badly, my wolf said.
Sprinting, I chased the trail, surging out of the tree line and onto a dirt road.
The scents stopped.
My eyes fell to the thick tire tread embedded in the soft mud of the roadside.
Blood rushed into my ears, and I gripped my hair. They have him.
Wade is your pack, she answered. We must find him.
I ran back the way we’d come, giving control to my wolf as I turned over the problem.
I couldn’t take his disappearance to the tribe. The news would cause an all-out war and telling anyone what I knew about the black wolf would inevitably lead to uncomfortable questions and the risk of them uncovering my Luther nature.
If I told Cameron, that could put her at risk.
Only Sascha could help.
Panting as I reached the cabin, I called him.
He screened the call and I screamed, nearly hurtling my phone into the trees.
I typed:
This is urgent. Call me back.
Sascha’s name popped up without further delay, and I didn’t waste time.
“What’s wrong? Where are you?” he said.
I clenched my teeth against the urge to tear a chunk out of him for avoiding me. “Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“Wade was taken by the black wolf. He was supposed to be at mine half an hour ago. I found their scents on the rise behind my cabin. The scents stopped at a road. There were tread marks from a truck.”
Sascha’s growl echoed down the line.
“The tribe can’t handle this right now.” I paced on the porch.
A snarl rode his voice. “The wolf is from my pack. He’s my responsibility.”
“Where do we start?” Wade could be anywhere.
“I’ll call a pack gathering. I’ll force the truth from my black wolves.”
Something he really didn’t want to do.
“I know what he smells like. I can tell you who it is.”
“Outsiders aren’t allowed in pack gatherings.”
“You’ll be a whole lot less popular for bursting into the minds of eighty wolves, Sascha.”
He was silent for a beat. “You’re right. Formality must be put aside. Most of the pack work until four. I’ll call the gathering for then.”
“That’s six hours away!”
“I don’t like it any more than you do, but all black wolves need to be here. No one can be absent, or this doesn’t work, and Wade pays the price for our impatience.”
Tears sprang into my eyes. “He may not live that long. There was blood.”
Sascha swore. “How much?”
“Not much, but he’s injured. This Luther knows what Wade means to me. He’ll hurt him.”
“We’ll get him back, Andie.”
I covered my wet face. “I can’t lose him, too, Sascha. I just can’t take any more of that.”
“I’m here, little bird, and I’m not going to let anything happen to Wade. Okay? I’m going out right now to search for him.”
“I’ll come too,” I said.
“We can’t let this wolf know anything is amiss,” Sascha said. “I need you to stay at the manor today. Until the gathering. It’s normal for me to run between our grids and around the pack lands over the day. No one will think twice about seeing me in wolf form. They will if you’re there.”
I couldn’t sit in stupid meetings all day with Wade hurt. “I can’t just do nothing.”
“It’s not nothing. Wade needs you to be smart and calm. Can you do that for him?”
That didn’t feel smart. It felt cowardly and uncaring. But there was logic to Sascha’s words.
“If you find him, please tell me straight away. Tug on the bond like I’ve done,” I whispered.
His voice was harsh as Greyson climbed in. “You know I will.”