Cameron’s POV
My eyes jerk open.
Something doesn’t feel right.
I go to rub my hands on Ava’s side, but I grab a pillow and lift it up.
She’s gone.
My stomach plummets.
Damnit! Where did she go now!
I jump out of bed and grab discarded shorts and inhale. Shit!
She left the room.
I follow her trail down the hall.
Did she sneak off to meet Alpha Caleb?
I feel anger mixing with my panic.
I can’t believe she would sneak off!
What the hell is she thinking?
I follow her trail and feel a moment of relief when it goes to the left instead of the right towards Alpha Caleb’s room.
The relief is brief as I realize her trail leads to outside.
No.
I rack my mind to think who is leading patrol tonight, not wanting to mindlink the entire pack…even though I will if I have to.
I follow her scent and stop short.
Damnit Ava!
She must have snuck onto patrol!
I strip my shorts off.
If she thinks I won’t drag her out of the forest in front of other people, she’s dead wrong, because that is what I am going to do.
I shift and take a step before I hear it.
“Lycan’s in Northeast, at least 3!”
It feels like someone just grabbed my heart and squeezed as hard as they could.
Full of desperate panic, I race to the Northeast, trying to follow Ava’s scent.
I hear the fighting up ahead.
I feel someone’s pain.
Please don’t be Ava, please don’t be Ava.
I know I’m close, her scent is stronger…
I see an outline of a small wolf, hunched down in terror as a huge, black furred Lycan charges towards it.
Ava!
I run and leap forward, jumping over Ava and biting at the Lycan as I land on top of it, rolling together against the hard forest floor.
The Lycan is quick, already back on it’s paws.
He glances over at Ava, leaning towards her like he wants to get to her, before turning it’s snout back towards me.
I use his hesitation to my advantage, leaping back at him and aiming for his neck. I make contact and rip as hard as I can, warm blood filling my mouth as he whines and falls with a hard thud to the ground, shifting back into a man with long, black hair.
I look towards Ava.
“What the hell are you doing out here?”
Ava’s wolf whimpers.
“I’m so sorry Cameron! I thought I could help out, I wanted to do my part…”
Blind fury is coursing through my body as I think of how close my mate was to having her own neck ripped out.
I hear paws thudding ahead of me and I turn, crouching.
“Who is still nearby? What is happening?”
“Two wounded. We need to get them back to the healer, now! We think we injured two of the other Lycan’s pretty bad, but one escaped.”
“I have one dead here with me. I’ll call for back-up, you get the wounded to the healer!”
I turn to look back at Ava, still crouching on the ground, her wolf eyes wide and terrified.
She can hear everything we are saying, and I can I hear her thoughts, worrying about Ralph.
That does not improve me mood.
I mindlink with Darius, letting him know we need backup on patrol from another attack.
I turn and watch as Luca comes past, his arms around a bloody, semi-unconscious Ralph.
Ava whimpers.
“Calvin is wounded too, Stacey and Kyle are coming behind me with him.”
I notice that not all of the blood on Luca is from Ralph. He has a long gash from his shoulder to his elbow, and his ear looks like it’s nearly been ripped off.
“I think they’ve retreated if their previous patterns hold true. They attack and run away, wait a couple days, then return.”
“Yes, but there were three this time, there were only two on the previous attacks.”
Luca nods and flinches slightly as Ralph slumps lower to the ground.
“Get him back.”
He nods again and takes off.
“Um…should I go with them?”
I growl as I turn towards Ava, who whimpers and backs away a step.
“You stay with me until backup comes!”
Stacey and Kyle follow shortly after Luca, both carrying Calvin, who’s head is slumped to the side, flopping as they walk.
I walk over to them to take a closer look.
It doesn’t look good.
“Move fast!”
They nod and take off at a trot, Calvin’s head bouncing off Stacey’s shoulder.
I pace the area around us, listening hard for any movements.
As I move closer to the naked body on the ground, I push at it with my paw, making him roll over so I can see his face.
I don’t recognize him, but he has facial features that remind me of the southern territory. Could they be the ones behind the attack?
I look up as I hear paws pounding towards us, mixed with a couple of scents, one of them being Alpha Caleb.
I glance towards Ava, who is watching me.
A big brown wolf bounds through the trees and skids to a stop near me, followed by a gray wolf and Darius.
Alpha Caleb’s wolf eyes instantly lock on Ava.
I can feel their private conversation, and I don’t like it.
“I need to get Ava back to the packhouse. Do you have this under control?”
I’m talking to both Alpha Caleb and Darius. They both assure me that they do, Alpha Caleb continuously glancing at Ava.
“Good. I’ll be back soon.”
I turn to Ava.
“Let’s go!”
Ava follows by my side as I move quickly, but not so quick that she can’t keep up with me.
We reach the edge of the trees and I tell her to put her clothes on while I walk to my discarded ones and shift back.
There’s a large crowd gathering outside of the packhouse again.
I watch Ava come out of the trees, looking tiny and super fragile.
A fresh wave of anger crashes over me. How could she be so reckless?
I walk over to her and scoop her up onto my shoulder and carry her inside, while people stare and try to engage with me as I walk past.
I ignore them all and march inside and up the stairs.
Neither one of us says anything until we reach the bedroom and I dump Ava onto the bed unceremoniously and glare down at her.
“Explain yourself!”