He tried to open his eyes wider but found that he couldn’t see much past the black and wet nose. “Where the hell am I?”
The Lupine growled, and while Sean had lived a long time among Lupines, that didn’t mean he understood every nuance of every sound they made. He raised a hand to his face, noting that no part of him did not hurt. He’d been clawed and shot, beaten, and half electrocuted by his Collar.
He lay in a dry cave, but that didn’t much help him figure out where he was. The hills around Austin were sprinkled with caves, some of which were tourist attractions, some known only to weekend spelunkers. Sean assumed that this cave was in the last category; that is, if he was still anywhere near Austin at all. There were plenty of caves out in the middle of nowhere.
As Sean’s senses returned, so did his intense pain. He closed his eyes, as though that would force it away.
The sword wasn’t here. Its presence was unmistakable, Sean’s link to it formed the day he’d been chosen as Guardian. He hoped to the Goddess that he’d buried it well enough, that he could get his hands on a cell phone so he could call Liam or his father to go find it before anyone else did.
The Lupine was sniffing him again. If he drools on me, I’m killing him.
Sean opened his eyes to see the Lupine shift back to the man Sean had already placed by scent—Wade, Andrea’s pack leader. Sean hoisted himself into a sitting position and then spent a few minutes huddled against a wave of pain. “I feel like shit.”
Wade backed away. “You were pretty far gone. You might want to lie down again.”
Not if you’re going to keep poking your nose in my face. “How did you find me, anyway?”
“I was following Jared. I feared he’d gone to harm Andrea, and that’s against the rules.”
“Bugger the rules. Jared was after me. What happened to him? We were fighting, and he went down.”
“He’s dead. I didn’t have room to bring you both.”
“Dead?” Poor, stupid sod. “So you left him for the humans to find?”
“I told you, I didn’t have room for him. You’re lucky I got you away. Jared was a fool and above himself.”
“Yes, he was a thrice-damned idiot, but he was also under your protection. What are you going to tell his dad, who is a Shiftertown leader?”
Wade shrugged. “That Jared broke the rules and suffered the consequences. Shifter law is Shifter law.”
What a piece of work. Wade was the worst kind of pack leader—enforcing rules to the letter without any thought of mercy.
“I have to go back,” Sean said. He started to push himself to his feet but fell back with a gasp. “Shite.”
“You’re hurt. Rest a while.”
“Did you call for help? Call Liam—why haven’t you already?”
“Your cell phone is broken, I don’t have one, and Glory’s wasn’t on her. I wanted to get you to safety.”
Sean’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah? Why didn’t you take me back to Shiftertown? To my house or even yours?”
Wade avoided his gaze. “There’s fighting there.”
“What kind of fighting? Callum, is it?”
“I think so, yes. They attacked Liam when Liam returned from sequestering his female.”
Sequestering his female. Sean wondered what Kim would think of that phrase.
“Then we should be back there,” Sean said. Again he tried to get his feet under him, and again, his legs refused to obey. “I appreciate your tender loving care, but damn it, we need to help Liam.”
Wade didn’t move. “You’re not going back yet. Wait until it finishes.”
“No matter how it finishes, they’ll need me.”
“No.” Wade’s voice went hard. “Callum’s Felines will win. Accept it, Sean. The Morrisseys’ power in this Shiftertown is over.”
“Oh, you’re sure about that, are you?”
Wade’s voice was flat. “You and your family will lose. Callum will lose too, because he’s an idiot. But the Lupines, we will win.”
Mother Goddess help us all. “Don’t be daft, man. Whichever faction wins will be damn strong, strong enough to take out a bunch of overconfident Lupines.” And Sean would make sure the faction that won was Liam’s.
“No, it won’t. Callum has the advantage, and he’ll kill you all, but he bought his power at too high a price.”
“Price? What the hell are you talking about?”
Wade tried to shut up and look wise, but Sean reached out and easily caught Wade around the throat. Sean squeezed, ignoring the agony in his own arm. “What price?”