he would vomit.
Kaden slammed his fists down on the table. “The pack is dying. A boy is missing. Not one wolf here can find him. I can’t pick up his scent. So what do we do?”
Nash snarled faintly.
“Something to say, Nashoba?”
“You are the leader. We are falling apart because you fail to pay homage to the spirits. What kind of pack leader spends nearly twenty years without a mate? What kind of wolf cannot satisfy the mate he was handed by the Moon herself!”
A cold, quiet fell over the room. No one talked to Kaden that way. The truth in the statements only pissed him off that much further. The other wolves lowered their eyes, not wanting to challenge their leader or Nashoba.
“I will whip your pureblood ass back into submission soon enough.” Kaden enunciated each word through clenched teeth. “Now.” He pressed one finger down on the table. “Our priority is finding Mason.”
Kaden kept his eyes locked in a stare with Nash, who finally dropped his gaze with a half shrug and said, “So let’s interrogate everyone. For all we know the kid skipped out because he was scared of the shift. There’s no room for weakness.”
Levi sighed. “I talked to him. He was not afraid. Nervous.”
“ Nashoba, I want you to talk to all the wolves. No violence. Levi, see what you can find out from the boy’s human friends. Maybe have Elle help you out with the school. Blake and Luke, go up into the mountains and see what Old Finn has to say. Good?”
Nashoba had a sadistic grin on his face. “And what are you going to do?”
“I’ m going to find the traveling medicine man.”
“Alone?” Levi asked.
“Yeah. I can handle it. He’ll never reveal himself if more of us show up.” Kaden sighed, remembering his last visit to the infuriating and unnerving man. “Dismissed. Levi, hang back a sec.”
The wolves left to attend to their assigned tasks. When they were out of ear shot, Kaden spoke. “Call Marala and tell her to stay where she’s at. I doubt she’s coming, but I don’t want her and Jak here when I don’t have things under control.”
“Sure.” He hesitated. “So, you and her… things didn’t go so well?”
“I’m not discussing it.” Kaden gave Levi a look that ended the conversation and the beta left the cabin.
Kaden thought of Jak and how he’d lose his mind if it were his son out there, lost or dead. The walls he’d built up with anger were falling down around him and it wasn’t a good time for it. At least his family would be safer for the time being where they were.
“Careful, Mom! You’re going to drive off the side of this mountain!” Jak panicked every time he looked out the passenger window. That drop was a long way down and his mother was not the best driver in the world.
“Calm down. You’re not helping.” The GPS had led most of the way, but now they were off the grid in the mountains. Secret lycan communities didn’t have addresses. She knew where she was going. Sort of. But the nearby cities and surrounding forests had changed a lot since she’d runaway. The darkness didn’t help. The drive had taken longer than she’d expected, too. Jak had wanted to eat what seemed like every five minutes. She dreaded the day he changed. He’d never stop eating.
“Stop!” He called out and she slammed on the brakes. The front wheel stopped just short of the overlook plummet.
“That was too close.” She put the car in reverse and back ed up a little before parking. “The entrance should be around here somewhere. We should have stayed in a hotel until morning.”
Jak hopped out of the car and stood frozen as he took in his surroundings. He heard crickets and owls, the scurrying of animals in the woods. “We should have. We’re going to get murdered out here. Someone is going to chase us and when we look back we’ll fall. The killer will catch us even though he’s walking and slash us up.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s safer here than in the
Kaden slammed his fists down on the table. “The pack is dying. A boy is missing. Not one wolf here can find him. I can’t pick up his scent. So what do we do?”
Nash snarled faintly.
“Something to say, Nashoba?”
“You are the leader. We are falling apart because you fail to pay homage to the spirits. What kind of pack leader spends nearly twenty years without a mate? What kind of wolf cannot satisfy the mate he was handed by the Moon herself!”
A cold, quiet fell over the room. No one talked to Kaden that way. The truth in the statements only pissed him off that much further. The other wolves lowered their eyes, not wanting to challenge their leader or Nashoba.
“I will whip your pureblood ass back into submission soon enough.” Kaden enunciated each word through clenched teeth. “Now.” He pressed one finger down on the table. “Our priority is finding Mason.”
Kaden kept his eyes locked in a stare with Nash, who finally dropped his gaze with a half shrug and said, “So let’s interrogate everyone. For all we know the kid skipped out because he was scared of the shift. There’s no room for weakness.”
Levi sighed. “I talked to him. He was not afraid. Nervous.”
“ Nashoba, I want you to talk to all the wolves. No violence. Levi, see what you can find out from the boy’s human friends. Maybe have Elle help you out with the school. Blake and Luke, go up into the mountains and see what Old Finn has to say. Good?”
Nashoba had a sadistic grin on his face. “And what are you going to do?”
“I’ m going to find the traveling medicine man.”
“Alone?” Levi asked.
“Yeah. I can handle it. He’ll never reveal himself if more of us show up.” Kaden sighed, remembering his last visit to the infuriating and unnerving man. “Dismissed. Levi, hang back a sec.”
The wolves left to attend to their assigned tasks. When they were out of ear shot, Kaden spoke. “Call Marala and tell her to stay where she’s at. I doubt she’s coming, but I don’t want her and Jak here when I don’t have things under control.”
“Sure.” He hesitated. “So, you and her… things didn’t go so well?”
“I’m not discussing it.” Kaden gave Levi a look that ended the conversation and the beta left the cabin.
Kaden thought of Jak and how he’d lose his mind if it were his son out there, lost or dead. The walls he’d built up with anger were falling down around him and it wasn’t a good time for it. At least his family would be safer for the time being where they were.
“Careful, Mom! You’re going to drive off the side of this mountain!” Jak panicked every time he looked out the passenger window. That drop was a long way down and his mother was not the best driver in the world.
“Calm down. You’re not helping.” The GPS had led most of the way, but now they were off the grid in the mountains. Secret lycan communities didn’t have addresses. She knew where she was going. Sort of. But the nearby cities and surrounding forests had changed a lot since she’d runaway. The darkness didn’t help. The drive had taken longer than she’d expected, too. Jak had wanted to eat what seemed like every five minutes. She dreaded the day he changed. He’d never stop eating.
“Stop!” He called out and she slammed on the brakes. The front wheel stopped just short of the overlook plummet.
“That was too close.” She put the car in reverse and back ed up a little before parking. “The entrance should be around here somewhere. We should have stayed in a hotel until morning.”
Jak hopped out of the car and stood frozen as he took in his surroundings. He heard crickets and owls, the scurrying of animals in the woods. “We should have. We’re going to get murdered out here. Someone is going to chase us and when we look back we’ll fall. The killer will catch us even though he’s walking and slash us up.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s safer here than in the
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