23
RYDER
Ididn’t turn on any of the lights in the basement in case the glow bled out the narrow windows near the ceiling. Instead, I dug my old phone from my pocket. Turning it on was a risk, but, I tempted fate anyway.
The flashlight revealed several stacked boxes and storage totes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The cot to my right bothered me, but only because it reeked of Ness and despair. My beast snarled as a bloodlust washed over me. I did my best to swallow it down and reached for the first box.
The howls outside made me stiffen. My shoulders cinched tighter and tighter together each time I heard them. I should have been outside, helping Ness. Instead, she had me in here.
She’d lied to me and led me on. I shouldn’t have cared for her. She wasn’t like anyone I’d ever known, though. Though weak compared to her packmates, Ness held her ground and often sacrificed herself for the better of her pack.
No, that reminded me of someone. A person that I’d been before my life fell to shit. I would never be that person ever again. The least I could do was help Ness hold onto her ideals.
The boxes and storage totes revealed nothing interesting. If anything, the pack Alpha had a hoarding problem. There were boxes of women’s clothing with bits of jewelry, such as small pendants and bracelets, caught in the folds.
There were no women here. At least, aside from Alvin’s wife. Though I’d seen little of her since arriving in Lakesedge, I doubted she wore frilly dresses like these. There was a bright sundress that would have been too small for even Ness. Maybe Vi would have fit into it. Another dress looked closer to Ness’s size.
As I pulled them out and listened to the clink of jewelry hitting the bottom of the box, my dread grew heavier and heavier. The dresses were all different sizes and styles.
Why did Alvin have a collection of dresses? He wasn’t wearing them in his free time, that was for sure. The sizes were all wrong.
I held one up to my nose. It didn’t smell of shifter. Instead, the myriad of scents—from shampoo to perfume to car exhaust—made me think this had belonged to a human. The others smelled similar.
“The fucker has been hunting humans and taking trophies.” My stomach curdled.
I closed the box and tucked it under my arm. As I turned to leave, the floor above creaked. I hesitated and held my breath.
Beryl’s magic should have covered my scent. I couldn’t smell myself, so I’d assumed that it’d worked. If she’d pulled a trick and blinded me to my own scent, then I would burn her restaurant to the ground after this.
The floor above creaked again. Something heavy prowled upstairs. Had it heard me? I glanced at the windows near the ceiling. They were too narrow for anyone to crawl through. That meant I had no other choice but to go upstairs.
A howl in the distance filled my blood with ice. The floor creaked, as if whoever was upstairs had jumped at the sound. I waited several more heartbeats for the shifter to leave before climbing the stairs.
A silhouette in the foyer drew me to a halt.
Ness
Alvin announcedhis victory with a chilling howl. I’d be damned if I was going to go down that easily, though. The storm above seemed to fight itself, thunder-filled clouds pressing against one another as they flared with electrical light. I willed some of that lightning to come down and smite Alvin, but nothing worked.
I would have to do this the old-fashioned way. I wiggled out from under Alvin’s paws. He swiped at me, but I ducked his attack.
No. I wouldn’t fall tonight. Alvin would go down before I did. I would have it no other way.
Without any real strength or arcana on my side, I ran. I darted between the trees to frustrate Alvin. His larger form couldn’t fit so easily through the smaller spaces. When I slid beneath a fallen log, he had to leap over it. He cleared the log and landed in front of me.
I made a sharp turn and ran right into Harvey. He prowled closer. Thin rivulets of drool dripped from his muzzle. Revolted, I backpedaled. Unfortunately, Alvin was there. He lunged to bite, but I dropped to the ground. His teeth snapped at the empty air as I rolled out of the way of his attack.
I bounced back onto my feet.
Was Ryder done yet? Had he found anything? We hadn’t discussed a signal. Our primary concern had been how long I would be able to hold out against Alvin and the others. Next time, I would know to form a more comprehensive plan.
My hound told me that she could run all day. I knew better. Eventually, we would reach the corner with no exit. Alvin would corner me again. I’d nearly died once before. Ryder had stepped in to save me that night. With Ryder busy elsewhere, I couldn’t rely on him to save me.
I had to escape. Hopefully, Ryder had found what he needed by now. I could almost feel Alvin’s hot breath on the back of my neck. I knew it was all in my head, but the footfalls behind me were too loud.
Thankfully, the trees ahead parted. The sound of an engine lifted my hopes. Vi’s Jeep came into view.
Alvin roared angrily. I jumped for the Jeep’s open back. Alvin was faster. His teeth closed around my back paw. He yanked me back and threw me to the ground. The impact reverberated up my spine. I growled, but the sound was weak.