Ava’s POV
My body stiffens in shock for a moment before I try to break his grip.
“Ava, stop!” Chris hisses in my ear.
I jerk my head and catch a glimpse of Lily standing beside Eric. Eric is looking around him, alert, with his arm around Lily’s shoulders. Lily is looking at me in bewilderment.
Lily tilts her head to look behind me and I follow her gaze, Chris loosening his grip on me and removing his hand from my mouth.
Oh my gosh.
It’s a smaller group of our pack and Cameron’s mixed together, all watching me.
I cling onto Chris arm that is still wrapped around my shoulders in confusion.
Are these all traitors? Are they with the Red Night pack?
Was I wrong about Chris?
Someone comes walking from around the house and we all look over.
It’s Darius.
He shakes his head as he gets closer and when he reaches the group, who is all gathering closer around us now, he speaks softly.
“No one is inside.”
What? The Lycan isn’t even there?
I look over at Lily, who looks just as confused.
“There was a Lycan there, he must have left.” My voice sounds scratchy. “He was with the Red Night pack, he looked very similar to the Lycan that nearly attacked me on patrol, the one that Cameron killed.”
Darius looked at Chris, communicating in silence.
“And Rachel, she was with him.”
Chris’s grip tightens for a moment before he releases me altogether.
Darius looks at me in surprise.
“Rachel?”
“Yes.” I push my shoulders back and step away from Chris. “She drugged Lily and me and tied us up in the basement. I haven’t been able to mindlink with Cameron, or shift.”
Darius looks thoughtful.
“Can you now?”
I hesitate.
“Cameron?”
“Ava! Stay where you are, I am coming to you now!”
I start blinking rapidly as pressure builds up behind my eyes at the sound of Cameron’s voice, relief flooding through me so that my knees turn weak.
Chris grabs me from behind to steady me.
“Cameron…”
“I will be right th-“
“Cameron? Cameron!”
I look up at Darius, who is standing in front of me, his face blank, then he shifts and takes off, followed by the rest of the group, except for Eric and Chris.
“What’s happening?” I take a few steps away from Chris, in the direction that everyone just left, and look from Eric to Chris in panic. “What just happened? Cameron…”
“They are under attack.” Eric looks towards the direction everyone just went, his entire body leaning towards it, as if he is resisting the urge to go and join them.
I turn to Chris.
“Let’s go help!” I take another step, but Chris grabs my wrist and pulls me backwards, shaking his head.
I jerk my wrist back and glare at him.
“You are his beta! You have to go help!” I yell in frustration, looking towards the direction of the fight.
He shakes his head. “He told us to stay with you two.” He nods at me and Lily.
I feel a new panic rising in my chest and I cannot just stand here.
Desperate, I look at Eric.
“Eric, we need to help!”
Eric rubs the back of his neck as he looks at me, then glances behind me.
“Wish we could, but we had orders…”
“Ugh!” I groan loudly and turn away from them, grabbing at my hair with both of my hands.
“Keep your voice down, Ava.”
I turn to glare at Chris.
“Your sister did this.” I point a finger accusingly at him and turn to look at Eric. “How do you know he isn’t helping Rachel or the Red Night pack?”
Eric looks uncomfortable.
Chris glares back at me and takes a step forward.
“You said that you couldn’t mindlink inside of the house?”
I am taken aback for a moment at the change of subject.
“We couldn’t mindlink after Rachel made us drink something that tasted really bitter. It made us pass out, but even after it seemed to wear off, we couldn’t communicate. It just felt... different than before.” Lily speaks for the first time, her voice small.
Chris exchanged a look with Eric, and they start walking back towards the house, Eric’s arm still around Lily.
I hesitate, then follow.
“How did you find us?” Lily asks Eric.
“We started a search party, broke up into four groups. Chris thought he could pick up on Ava’s scent and it led us here. There was a little smear of Ava’s blood outside a window, but as we walked around the house, we saw you two climbing out of the basement window.” He turns to give me a smile. “Looks like you didn’t need rescuing after all.”
I don’t smile back. I can’t.
Chris smelled my scent? Well isn’t that suspicious.
And why aren’t we going to go help Cameron and the rest? Why are we just standing around?
The urge to mindlink with Cameron is overwhelming, but I am terrified of distracting him…or worse, him not answering…
“Shouldn’t we go join the…”
“We have orders, we stay.” Chris’s tone is authoritative as he pushes the door to the small house open and then holds out his hand so that I bump into it as I go to follow him.
“Wait a moment while I check something.” He nods at Eric and goes inside.
I am practically bouncing on the balls of my feet as I look at the woods around us, feeling anxious.
Eric seems to be feeling the same way. When I look over at him, his fingers are tapping against Lily’s shoulders as he scans the area around us.
Lily stands still, staring at the ground.
“This would explain not being able to shift and the mindlink connection not working.” Chris is back at the front door holding a candle.
A candle? I almost want to laugh at him.
He holds it out towards Eric who grabs it and takes a sniff then hands it back.
“That’s really rare. Whoever is working with the Red Night pack has deep pockets.”
Chris nods and places the candle in his pocket.
“Wait.” I look from Chris to Eric. “Why would a candle not let us mindlink or shift?”
“It’s a candle mixed with wolfsbane, among other things. They can prevent werewolves from shifting or communicating within a certain radius, and these were lit all over the house.”
My mind goes to the candles in the basement and the bathroom.
All I had to do to mindlink was blow out a candle?
I shake my head, making a mental note to blow out any candle I come across from now on.
Thinking of Cameron, I turn to Eric.
“Have you heard anything? Do you know how the fighting is going?”
Eric’s face goes blank for a moment and then his eyebrows pull together into a frown as he looks towards the woods.
“No one is responding yet.”
I chew on my lip as I look towards the woods as well.
“We should really go help.”
“I don’t think you will be a help, more likely, you would just be a distraction.” Chris’s voice is flat, harsh.
I turn to glare at him.
“You and Rachel have deep pockets, right?”
He glares back at me.
I point towards his pocket.
“You sure found that quick. Use them often?”
He takes a menacing step towards me, towering over me, but I stand my ground, my arms folded.
“Hey, that is enough!” Eric steps away from Lily and puts his forearm against Chris’s chest. Eric turns to look at me.
“Let it go, Ava.”
“Let it go? I told you that Rachel is the one who kidnapped me and that she was working with the Red Night Pack! You think Chris isn’t helping her?” My voice is raised as I point at Chris accusingly.
“If only he was, it would have made things so much easier.”
We all whip around to see Rachel standing, arms crossed and with an evil smile, at the edge of the trees. As we watch, more Lycans, at least a dozen, start to emerge, naked, covered in blood, to stand beside her.
Chris pushes me behind me, Eric does the same with Lily.
Rachel takes a step forward and laughs.
“Oh brother, you aren’t seriously going to fight me, you know I will win, I practically already have.” She uncrosses her arms as she walks closer and gestures towards the Lycans beside her, covered in what I am hoping is not Cameron’s blood. She tilts her head at Chris.
“You are clearly outnumbered. Last chance brother…join me.”