Chapter 23

The wind pushed us onward as we flew down the beach, but soon our footsteps steadied into an abiding lope. As promised, the males hadn’t followed us over the dunes, so we only needed to keep our eyes peeled for attackers along the flat expanse of shore and water. Still, the churn of sand, the scream of gulls, the endless vigilance all combined to make it impossible to reconnect with my absent pack mates.

Even though I was unable to see what was actually happening, I couldn’t help but imagine Lupe and Amanda hiding together in their man-made hole. In my mind’s eye, I watched young bloodlings pouring back into the valley and directly into the arms of our enemies. Hunter fighting an uber-alpha stronger than himself. Nina’s twins wailing in agony as they were tortured and killed.

I could imagine. But there was nothing I could do other than run.

Only when we neared the end of the first long island did our steps once again slow as we butted up against potential peril. The causeway leading to the next spit of land was over two miles long, a blacktop bridge above the sound providing no avenue of escape if cars barricaded opposite ends and trapped us in the middle. And, yes, the area appeared deserted save for a family of one-bodies fishing in the harbor just before the bridge...but who knew what lurked beyond the limits of my eyes, ears, and nose?

Still, there was no way to go but ahead. So tentatively, we bypassed the dock on the west and crept toward our goal on bent legs and earth-brushing bellies. Finally, together, Ginger, Sinsa and I leapt up onto the pavement as a united body, as a pack.

Toenails clicked against the asphalt and heads swiveled as we searched the air for danger. The rushing wind was weaker here, slightly inland from the ocean-side breeze. Nevertheless, the endless roar of ocean made it difficult to hear. No wonder the car crept up behind us almost before we realized it was present.

Shit. Another ambush.

Whirling, I placed myself between vehicle and crew. Unwilling to be protected, though, my companions paced forward to stand stoically by my side.

Together, we bristled and waited. We could scramble up and over the barrier then dive into the ocean below. But a wolf isn’t a prime swimmer. We’d be forced to retreat, then to start on the same perilous crossing all over again from the original side. Time would be lost and All-Pack would recede further into the distance.

No, we needed to cross now. So until the menace became intolerable, we’d stand our ground.

The vehicle bore down on us, slowing as it neared. Sunlight glinted off darkened windows, making it impossible to see inside. Salt and oil blocked any organic aroma beyond the sharp tang of bird shit at my feet.

Then a window rolled down. I held my breath, expecting a wave of alpha compulsion or perhaps the barrel of a gun. I had no defense against either here in my lupine skin.

But, instead, human heads craned out. The peril dissipated and became instead a family of tourists, a teenager in the back seat snapping photos with a smartphone.

They stared. They laughed. Then they accelerated and left us in a wave of exhaust.

There would be strange news stories of a pack of wolves crossing the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge. A mild infraction against shifter law. But no evidence left behind, no corpses for Fish and Wildlife to scratch their heads over. We were still in the clear.

So, turning, I allowed Ginger to pull into the lead, sandwiching Sinsa between our protective forms. Picking up our pace, we trotted southward.

For now, we were safe.

***

But were our absent pack mates still living? Off the bridge and back on terra firma, I knew I couldn’t leave Wolf Landing to fend for itself indefinitely. Sinsa, Ginger, and I were now as sheltered as we were likely to become anywhere between here and All-Pack. Best take the breathing room while it lasted and attempt to contact our clan one more time.

You’ll try Cinnamon? I asked the elder of my two companions silently. A lift of her tail and a flick of her ears was lupine reply enough. Then, wordlessly, Ginger slipped up over the dunes to bed down in the lee of the wind where she could curl nose to tail and delve as deep as necessary into any bond that might still exist despite the distance separating us from her twin.

Meanwhile, Sinsa and I were left to guard the beach, an easy task since we could see for what seemed like an eternity in either direction. To the south, wild National Seashore ran for nearly ten miles with few access points and no structures along the way. Danger, if it existed, would come from the north, so I chose that direction and headed back the way we’d come in search of enemies.

While my physical body sniffed and searched, though, I couldn’t help pushing against the empty spot in my own brain. One by one, I tested the air for the resonance of each shifter in turn, and one by one the potential tethers between us came up missing.

I shivered, trying not to turn the perceived void into clan members dead at the hands of outpack marauders. No, distance was the more likely factor preventing Lupe and company from answering my call. Still, it was hard to believe that all was well when the teenager’s momentary connection had thrown me deep into the dangers lurking around Wolf Landing’s boundaries, when I had seen how close Lupe walked to the cliff edge of her personal limits.

Halt, my wolf whispered then, pulling me out of my brown study. Obediently, I paused, feet planted in the loose sand at the base of the dunes as figures came into view at the far end of the beach. My pack mates and I weren’t alone on the National Seashore after all. Instead, there were two-leggers walking toward us from the causeway. And, hoisted over the lead figure’s shoulder—a long object that might have been a stick...or a gun.

I crouched, belly to earth. Our enemies were coming and my fangs were the only weapon standing between them and my defenseless companions. I’d known this would happen all along. Our run so far had been too easy, the roadblock the only real danger standing between us and the gathering that so many alphas wanted to ensure we failed to reach.

Luckily for me, the wind was blowing from the northwest, my own aroma carrying down the beach and then out to sea so these newcomers had no chance of catching our lingering scent trail. Plus, my crew and I had been careful to run at the edge of the surf, ignoring the cold spray in the interest of covering our tracks with the next advancing wave. We’d done our due diligence, so our attackers wouldn’t know where we were currently located...but they also couldn’t be allowed to pass my sentry post and attack Ginger while she was deep in her twin-tether trance.

Before the decision to move had fully solidified in my mind, I found myself stalking forward, lupine instinct sending me along the least visible path toward my prey. The sun had turned to the west an hour earlier, leaving a wedge of dark shadow at the foot of each dune. This protective obscurity would hide my grizzled fur and give me the jump on our enemies. It would still be three against one, but maybe the element of surprise would be sufficient to give me the upper hand.

Hunt, danger, enemies.

The wolf consumed me as we padded forward and I let her lead. She was better than I was at hunting. She was better than I was at hiding. And when it came right down to it, she was better than I was at taking down prey.

Then, almost as if clinging to control of our shared body had been the only reason I’d been unable to reach my pack mates previously, a tether materialized out of thin air before us. Strong, vibrant, tantalizing.

Usually, I could have decided whether or not to accept the beckoning call of a pack connection. But this time around, the bond tugged me off my feet and crashed over my head like a tidal wave. It pulled me under, breaking off all access to the outside world even as my wolf stalked ever closer to our shared quarry.

I wanted to stay and support my alter-ego. But I had no choice other than to leave my wolf behind and fall down, down, down...into the overwhelming aroma of blood.