“Yeah. We’re waiting on the results, but it looks like it was coated in the same compound.” Remy’s jaw tightened. “The location where you found it wasn’t random. I think it was meant as a warning.”
“Probably,” I said. “But I don’t get why they haven’t pushed in yet. What are they waiting for?”
Remy glanced toward the window. “They’re learning. Trying to find the gaps in our patrols that give them the biggest advantage.”
“Then let’s change things up. Be unpredictable-different shifts every day, varied routes, different patrol sizes.”
“That could work,” Remy agreed. “At least it’ll confuse them and buy us more time to stock the blood bank.”
We lapsed into silence for a moment. The soft hum of Jake’s lab equipment filled the room as he spoke quietly with another healer, poring over paperwork.
When Remy finally spoke again, his voice was low, almost weary. “We’ll shuffle the patrol rotations. The enforcers need to be briefed. Tomorrow, the River Pack is sending support. The extra wolves might throw the hunters off-they’ve probably been trying to gauge our numbers.”
“Want me to brief them?”
“No, I’ll handle it. But I need you to find something that detects cameras-if such a thing exists. I have a feeling we’re not the only ones with trail cameras out there.”
“Got it. You’re not going on patrol tonight, are you?”
Remy shrugged, eyes drifting to the window once more. “I’m not on the rota, but it can’t hurt to have an extra body if we’re mixing things up.”
“Rem, you need rest. I know you didn’t sleep a wink last night. You might think you’re fine, but we can’t afford anyone out there who isn’t at 100%.”
I could see him about to argue, but I had a plan to make him relent. “Besides, I think Paige will sleep better knowing we’re all safe and accounted for-just for one night. She deserves that after what she went through.”
His expression softened, and he let out a resigned sigh. “Fine. I’ll come home tonight, but not because I’m unfit for patrol.”
I nodded, suppressing the triumphant smile tugging at my lips.
“Good,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’m going to head home and see if I can find that camera detector online. Don’t be out late.”
On my way out, I checked on Poppy. She was asleep in the bed Callen had used last night, exhaustion finally catching up with her after what was likely a sleepless night. Leo sat quietly at the foot of her bed, a silent guardian. I gave him a nod, closed the door gently behind me, and set off toward home.
**Remy’s Perspective**
Sleep eludes me tonight.
I lie awake for what feels like an hour, attuned to the steady, even breaths of my bondmates around me. Eventually, frustration wins, and I quietly slip out of bed, unable to quiet the storm of thoughts swirling in my mind. Rest is impossible.
I move downstairs, the house wrapped in a heavy silence. Opening the cupboard, I grab a glass and fill it with cool water. From the fridge, I take a slice of leftover pizza, biting into it as I step out the back door. The night air is crisp and damp, carrying the sharp, invigorating scent of pine trees. I settle onto the porch, gazing up at the moon partially veiled by drifting clouds. Time slips by unnoticed as I soak in the quiet calm of an uneventful night, a rare and fragile peace.
The pack is cloaked in a deep silence, the kind that only falls after midnight, thick and heavy. Yet, my mind refuses to rest. It circles relentlessly around the bullets we’ve discovered-deadly, coated with poison that’s evolving. The hunters are adapting faster than we anticipated. There’s a missing piece to this puzzle, something crucial that I can’t quite grasp. The nagging feeling that we’re overlooking something vital gnaws at me.
Someone has to be backing them, someone who knows our ways intimately. Could it be linked to the insider feeding them information from within the pack? Callen’s attempts at piecing together the truth with his Rumour Roulette have hit dead ends so far, but with everything unfolding, we haven’t exhausted our list of suspects yet.
A faint rustling in the nearby trees pulls me from my thoughts. My wolf instincts snap to attention immediately, ears twitching and nose flaring. I catch the musky scent of a rabbit, a signal both calming and stirring to my wolf’s senses. He’s eager to run, to chase, to break free.
I rise to my feet, shrugging off my shorts as the familiar, intense shift overtakes me. My bones crack and reshape; fur bursts across my skin. Perhaps a run is exactly what I need-a way to burn off the restless energy and finally find some sleep.
My paws hit the earth with steady rhythm as I push myself faster and faster, the cool night air rushing through my fur, muscles burning with exertion. I race at full speed for nearly a mile, the forest blurring around me, before slowing near a small creek. I come to a halt on the bank, lowering my head to lap up the water.
Just as my tongue is about to touch the surface, a scent snaps me back-a familiar, chemical tang that sets my heart pounding. It’s the same scent Jake encountered in the lab earlier today.
“Don’t drink the water. Don’t even let it touch your skin!” I send a sharp warning through the mind-link to the pack.
A flood of responses confirms my message, everyone on high alert.
“What’s going on?” Callen’s voice cuts through the link.
“It’s in the damn water, Cal. They’ve poisoned the creek.”
“Shit. They’re trying to flush us out.”
I shift back to human form, rubbing my arms as I respond. “I don’t think it’s reached our main water supply yet, but we can’t take any chances.”
There’s a pause before he asks, “Where exactly are you?”
“By the creek, north of the camp,” I reply, crouching to study the water shimmering under the moonlight.
“I’m on my way.”
Though he can’t see me, I nod. My eyes scan the creek carefully, watching the water ripple over smooth stones. How could they poison running water? They’d have to keep adding the toxin upstream, or maybe they’ve installed some kind of slow-release device. I begin moving cautiously upstream, eyes sharp for anything out of place.
Suddenly, a series of faint snaps breaks the silence ahead. I freeze, muscles tensing as I peer into the shadows of the treeline. The noise is too deliberate to be an animal. Every sense sharpens, and the wind shifts, carrying a new, acrid scent-metallic, chemical, wrong. My heart jumps.
I slip silently toward the nearest tree, narrowing my eyes in the darkness. Nothing visible moves between the trunks, but the scent lingers, unnatural and foreboding.
Then I hear it-a soft, unmistakable click. The sound of a gun’s safety being released.
Instinctively, I shift, calling the wolf just beneath my skin, ready to spring. But before I can react, a sharp metallic ping slices through the night. Something small clatters onto the ground at my feet, kicking up dirt.
A bullet.
I quickly crouch behind the tree, making myself a smaller target, eyes darting for any sign of movement. The forest remains eerily still.
“Shots fired. Not hit,” I announce through the mind-link to Callen and the enforcers.
There’s no immediate reply; they know better than to distract me now. But I sense their readiness, their swift movement toward my location.
I stay frozen for several tense seconds, heart pounding, breathing steadying. Whoever’s out there isn’t trying to kill me-at least, not yet.
They’re testing me, taunting me.
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