Chapter 142 Chapter 142
He slowed down and watched for a place to pull the van off the road. This area was thick and a good place to slip into the brush leaving no evidence in the direction they’d gone.
“Up there,” Kobie said softly.
He looked where she pointed. It was a small path into the bush. “We’ll leave the van there.” Leaning forward, he turned on the GPS and hoped there was enough signal here. He didn’t like just dumping the Alliance’s van in the middle of nowhere and walking away.
Kobie leaned over and brought up the map on it so it would give rough coordinates. “Are you sending them coordinates from this?”
“Seems like the thing to do.” He said as he pulled the van in as far as he could and put it in park.
“There’s a small compass in my pack. Find Northeast on it. We have to stay on point all the way there from here.” He took the map from her and glanced at the GPS before he shut the van off. Picking up his phone, he typed the coordinates in a message to Devin. The signal was faint, but it would still send as soon as there was one.
Climbing out, he stretched and rolled his shoulders before looking at the map. It took him a moment to find their location on it. Living where he did, it was easier for him to find unmarked roads and trails from the color keys on a map than it would be for others. He glanced over to see Kobie turning slowly with the compass. Most shifters didn’t carry a compass with them. Then again, most hadn’t tried to compete with Calum Dante in the middle of a three-hundred-acre bush before. That man and his cat were insanely good at traveling in a forest so thick there was nothing to give away a direction, but he always found the predetermined location every damn time.
“Got it.” Kobie pointed.
“Give the compass and map to someone that isn’t shifting, so they can keep us on course.” He typed a quick message to Gage, telling him they were heading into the bush now and would try to update when he could. He hit send and watched to see if it sent.
“I’ll take the compass and map.” Cortney went over to Kobie.
“I want to help too.” Daisie got out of the van and bounced.
Blair smiled down at her and then held out his phone. “I have to turn the ringer off because we can’t let anyone hear us, but I need to know if I get any calls or messages.”
She gave him a serious nod. “I’ll keep it in my pouch and check all the time.”
He winked at her and watched her put it in the front pocket of the small pack she had around her waist. “Thanks, honey.” He watched the others as they prepared packs or backpacks. He wasn’t sure how many were going to travel on four paws but hoped at least a few would. The more scenting around them, the easier this would go.
Kobie rolled up her jacket and held it out to Nichelle, who put it into her backpack. When the teen moved over to take Mika’s jacket, Blair took that opportunity to go over and talk to the leader among the women.
Kobie looked up at him as she took off her hiking boots and tied them together.
Blair sat on the ground and took his boots off. “The men you found,” he said in barely an audible voice, but knew she’d hear, “any of their mates?”
Kobie tied her boots to the pack and then took off her socks. “Two were.” She motioned with her head to where Torrey and Mika stood. “Fish went back and buried them.” She said with barely any voice at all.
Blair nodded. There was nothing more he could say about it. “The others?”
Kobie paused and looked at him. “My father, my brother, Cortney’s mate, and fifteen of our men never came back.” She reached into the bag and pulled out a hunting knife. “Ten women and young males went missing before that in the last year.” Standing up, she looked over at Cortney and held up the blade.
Cortney came over and took it. She glanced down at him, “Daisie won’t make a sound once we’re moving.”
Blair nodded.
Mika came over and leaned down and pulled a knife out of her boot and gave it to Cortney as well. “Torrey and you shifting?”
Cortney shook her head, “No, we’ll stay like this and keep watch over the four girls.”
Mika nodded, and then just stood there.
All of them looked down at him. It took a few seconds to sink in that they wanted him to make himself scarce so they could strip down and shift. Clearing his throat, he motioned to the van. “I’ll go shift over there.” Getting up, he made fast work of getting there. Grabbing his pack out of the still opened door, he tucked the keys under the mat and closed the door.
“Should we take the blankets?” Torrey asked, looking at him through the window on the other side.
“As many as you can, in case we don’t meet up before night.”
She nodded and reached back into the van.
He watched the young teen, Kasia come over to the van. She opened the door and pulled out his backpack. Coming around, she took his boots from his hand and tied them to the backpack, then slung it over her shoulder.
“Thanks.” He’d actually planned to leave it behind, but the change of clothes and other gear inside could come in handy.
“I just want to do something to help.” She said quietly, with no emotion in her voice at all.
“I appreciate that honey, I really do.” He gave her a soft look and for a second, the pain eased in her eyes. With a nod, she turned around and went back to the others.
Pulling his shirt over his head, he rolled it and jammed it into his small pack. He wanted to believe it was going to be as easy as a run through the bush to meet up with this other clan and then all the weight would be off his shoulders, but his gut was telling him that wasn’t how this was going to go down. His cat was so silent he had to wonder if they slept when they weren’t on the outside.
Shucking his jeans off, he rolled them tightly and stuffed them into the pack, and then zipped it up. Adjusting the long strap to its full length, he put it over his head and one arm through it. On his human body, it hung to his waist and made him look like he was wearing a purse. Shaking his head at his own ridiculous thought, he shifted in the next moment.