hellhound breath is not exactly honey and roses. Are you sure you can’t shrink into your wolf form?”
*Sorry.* Fenrir did his best to curl up smaller. They’d stripped out all the equipment from the back of the crew vehicle and pushed down the last row of seats. Even so, it was still a tight fit for his hellhound body. *Could only do that when thought that was what self actually was.*
At his other flank, Stone Bitch shifted position, accidentally kicking Fenrir in the ribs for the fifth time in the past hour. “I hope you learn to shift soon, Fenrir. Otherwise we’re going to need to get a bigger truck before the start of fire season.”
“I think that would be the least of our concerns,” Icehorse murmured.
“Oh.” Stone Bitch flushed. Her knees jabbed Fenrir yet again as she twisted around to pat his shoulder apologetically. “Sorry, Fenrir. I wasn’t thinking. Of course we’d be more worried about you and Darcy if…well, you know.”
The thought of still being stuck in this form for even another day—let alone months—made his heart feel like a heavy black rock in his chest. He knew that Stone Bitch had sensed his distress down the pack bond, because her hand lingered on his shoulder for a moment. But to his relief, she didn’t say anything further. Out of them all, Stone Bitch was the one who knew that words did not always help.
Deep Bitch leaned forward, raising her voice above the rattle of the engine. “Have you discerned our final destination yet, Darcy?”
“I haven’t managed to get an exact fix on Vance’s IP address.” The Bitch’s voice crackled from the cellphone mounted on the dashboard. “But according to your GPS signal, you’re in the right general area.”
Birdcat glanced at Shadowhorse. “Callum? Sense anything yet?”
The pegasus shifter shook his head. “Just wildlife. No humans or shifters in my range.”
“He’s probably moved on by now,” Birdcat said. “But perhaps we can still follow his trail. Can you narrow it down at all for us, Darcy?”
The Bitch’s frustrated sigh gusted out of the speaker. “No. In a wilderness area like this, I can’t pinpoint network locations the way I can in a town or city. I think you’re going to have to sniff around.”
“Literally,” Birdcat said. “Pull over, Blaise. Fenrir, looks like it’s up to you now.”
It was a relief to be able to stand up again, after so long in the back of the truck. Fenrir took a moment to stretch out his legs, flexing each paw in turn. Then he dropped his nose to the snow.
“Anything?” Stone Bitch asked anxiously.
*Too much, at the moment.* He worked his way in a widening circle, trying to sort through the confusion of car fumes and animal tracks. *Need a starting point.*
“Well, we know Vance must have been using a public Wi-Fi network,” Icehorse said. “And since it seems unlikely that any of these trees are internet-ready, I suggest we look for some sort of structure.”
Seesnake hopped onto the hood of the truck. Straightening to his full height, he shaded his eyes and peered around.
“There’s something over there,” the sea dragon reported. “Looks like a park information kiosk.”
Fenrir let out a sharp, warning bark as everyone turned in that direction. *Stay back. Will go on ahead alone. Will be easier to find trail without packs’ scents getting in the way.*
“Hey!” Seesnake sniffed at his own armpit. “Are you saying that we smell?”
“You are the one who vowed not to bathe until Fenrir was human,” Deep Bitch murmured.
“I’ll go with you, Fenrir,” Birdcat said. He brought his phone up to his ear. “Darcy, we might have found something. Fenrir and I are going to check it out.”
“Okay. Keep me posted.” A pause, and then The Bitch added, in a much softer tone, “And tell Fenrir to be careful.”
Oh, my mate. Grief clamped cold jaws at his throat again. If only he could speak to her…
Still, at least he could be of some use to her in this form. That thought was all that allowed him to shake off despair and stretch into a run.
The information kiosk was a small, squat building, with maps of hiking trails displayed in the windows. The tiny car park out the front was empty. Yet as he approached, Fenrir’s hackles raised all down his spine. Someone had been here, and recently. Someone not human.
And not a hellhound either.
*Birdcat,* he sent, uneasy. *Keep pack well back. Prey is more dangerous than we thought. Must be cautious.*
The griffin landed