Ancient Ties (Pale Moonlight (Wolf Shifters Romance) Book 2) Page 3

  From what Chayton had seen, Bennett and Mercury never treated Kaitlyn as anything other than a colleague. She was right, he doubted either of them remembered their single days. Hearts damn near danced in their eyes when they thought of their females.

  They crested a hill. In the valley, the lights of the colony stretched in front of them. He breathed a sigh of relief. Some distance from the female next to him couldn’t happen fast enough.

  He idled into town. Kaitlyn twisted in her seat to look around them. Valley Moon was a quaint colony, equipped with some modern updates, but evidence of the ravage lay scattered through the streets.

  A once-sizable building to their left that had probably been a store littered the sidewalk and road. Wood and brick tumbled over the pavement like its foundation was ripped out from underneath, then lit on fire. Small fires still burned on both sides of the street, their trails of smoke wisping into the night sky.

  Several shifters paused in their clean up efforts to glance at them, but must’ve sensed they were Guardians.

  She scanned the street, eyes wide. “How many rogue shifters can do this much damage?”

  Chayton maneuvered the SUV around the blackened, charred remnants and whistled low. “Either a few pissed off rogues or just some crazed ferals. It’d only take one to cause the vandalism while one or two went on a killing rampage.”

  “Or they snuck in and started the fires to use them as a distraction to murder at will.”

  It was the likely scenario and he grudgingly respected her assumption.

  Another building to their right still smoldered under the stars. The beaten-down sign read only one legible word: healing.

  Chayton pursed his lips and shook his head. The healer’s building being demolished wasn’t a coincidence.

  Kaitlyn’s grim expression mirrored his own. “Whoever did this targeted the mainstays of the town. Shifters might not need doctors, but we still rely on them to expedite healing. Our own Doc stays plenty busy with our pack. But Valley Moon won’t have anywhere to get aid or—” she gestured over her shoulder at the felled building they’d just passed, “—obtain fresh food and supplies.”

  “One of the things we need to find out is whether they targeted the females and young to kill or to kidnap.”

  “Two females were taken.”

  “I know,” he said, his tone grim. “We’ll find them, if they haven’t yet.”

  “I didn’t smell other shifters on that animal we encountered.”

  “Nope. He’s a separate problem. Maybe the colony knows something about him.”

  Chayton arrived at the address the commander had given them. A tall, burly shifter limped out. Chayton swore under his breath as he and Kaitlyn got out. The male’s pale features divulged the pain he was in from the ravaged leg he supported himself on. He’d had a full day to heal, yet his body still had a lot of mending to do.

  “Guardians,” the male’s voice resonated. From the powerful aura surrounding him, he was the colony leader. “Come inside.”

  He pivoted gingerly to head back inside, expecting them to follow.

  Chayton glanced at Kaitlyn. Her scrutiny left the small building to sweep their surroundings. As much as Chayton wanted to hold her shifter inadequacies against her, she was an excellent Guardian. Not that he’d ever tell her.

  His senses flared out. Chaos lingered on the heavy air hanging over the colony. Breathing in through his mouth, he tasted death and sadness, but a current of pride carried through. Typical for most colonies. If pride was missing, or wasn’t the base emotion he sensed, it usually meant trouble in one way or another. This colony would survive, and they’d get their females back.

  When they entered the building, several more scents assailed Chayton. Topping the list were pain and frustration. A table surrounded by ten shifters, male and female, ate up most of the space in the large, square room. Somber expressions greeted the Guardians’ arrival.

  After they were settled, Chayton folded his hands on the table and eyed the group before speaking to the leader, who mentioned his name was Willem. “Tell me how it went down.”

  Kaitlyn sat next to him. Her honeysuckle scent grounded him in a familiar way that tightened his gut. He’d sworn himself to another; it didn’t matter what the redhead’s smell did to him.

  He did his best to block her out as the leader spoke.

  “They attacked right before dawn when most of the colony were still sleeping. The fires started, diverted us from the real trouble in the development on the outskirts of town.”

  “Was that where the majority of the casualties took place?” Kaitlyn asked softly.

  The leader nodded. “Many of us rushed downtown to put out the fires, leaving our families at home to be attacked. Or worse.”

  Chayton grimaced. “Do you know anything about the rogues?”

  “There’d been sightings.” Willem’s tone was grave. “No run-ins or encounters, but my people reported there were four rogues. This was the first time we saw them all working together.”

  One of the colony’s females spoke. “We hoped they’d ravage each other in the woods and leave the carcasses to rot.”

  If they’d been feral, perhaps. Chayton refrained from saying so. Rogues hadn’t yet descended into madness and still functioned using higher thinking while shunning society’s rules and constraints. Kaitlyn also remained quiet on the point. Members of the colony knew the difference, had chosen to ignore it and paid the price.

  Kaitlyn broke the silence. “They weren’t recognized as being from any of the packs in your colony?”

  Willem shook his head. “No, but this forest is littered with shifter colonies. We’re one of the most rural. Beyond us, the terrain becomes too rugged for a decent-sized clan, much less a colony of them.”

  Except Chayton’s home was even deeper into the forest, had been a part of this land for centuries. His people could survive anywhere.

  Chapter Three

  “We go tonight,” Chayton announced.

  Kaitlyn’s eyes flared in an Aren’t we going to discuss this? silent message. An imperceptible shake of his head answered her. He scanned the faces around the table, who Kaitlyn credited with looking just as wary as she felt.

  Fire flashed in Chayton’s gaze. “They won’t be expecting us and every minute those females are gone is another minute of a nightmare for them.”

  Yes. She had to agree. The colony’s day search had done no good. She and Chayton had no time constraints and didn’t need to recover from an attack, like many of the town’s leaders.

  Kaitlyn stood up. “Be ready to point us toward a healer when we return.” She and Chayton weren’t returning without them.

  From Chayton’s surprised glance, he must’ve expected an argument. She was glad to disappoint.

  Willem rose. “We’ll send assistance. Patton and Blanche.” He inclined his head toward a couple at the back of the room. One of them was the female who spoke.

  The male and female exited the building, stripping as they went.

  Kaitlyn mentally sighed. This part she hated. Shift, or run? Her ability to shoot better than anyone else and fight hand-to-hand no matter the opponent let her kick ass as a human. But to search deep in the forest, an unfamiliar environment for her, shifting was best. Yet if she found the females and they required aid, all Kaitlyn could do was lick them because the shift back to a human would incapacitate her.

  Chayton breezed past her. “Load your stuff in the SUV, we shift and run.”

  Well, he yanked the decision out of her hands. She just hoped his decision was based on strategy and not spite.

  Kaitlyn reached their vehicle and tossed the bag inside. She checked over her shoulder to see the colony’s clan leaders peering out of the window and standing on the building’s stoop. The two shifters who would accompany them circled further down the street, waiting.

  Modesty was another drawback to being raised human. In her pre-shifter days, she’d wear tiny dresses and dance on cou
nters. Stripping down with a male, or two, was totally different than baring all in front of a group.

  Chayton ripped his shirt off. His hands worked at his pants and they dropped, too. He kicked them next to the boots he’d shed.

  She shut the door and walked around to the other side.

  “Seriously?” Chayton muttered.

  Kaitlyn refrained from comment and opened the back door. It served two purposes—to fold up her stuff and set it inside, and block herself from Chayton’s scrutiny. She removed her boots and shed her clothes as quickly as possible while he gathered his items on the driver’s seat. He slammed the door shut, almost jumping her out of her pants.

  The whoosh from his shift carried under the door. A hint of desire tainted it. Good. That’d piss him off.

  She welcomed the shift as the addicting rush of her animalistic side took over. The world grew brighter, colors more vibrant, smells attacked her nose. Since her first shift, she learned why dogs loved hanging their heads out the windows. Lord, she wished she could shift more. But she had to get past the psychological block and to do that, she’d have to know why. What was affecting her so badly she blacked out trying to shift back to human?

  Enough about her issues. She had two females to rescue and four rogues to hunt.

  Chayton led the other two through Valley Moon. They hung back, knowing he needed to investigate the scents himself to determine where they searched. The female shifter accompanying them, Blanche, pointed out the attackers’ scents. Kaitlyn lingered while Chayton filled his nostrils. When it was her turn, she inspected every inch.

  There was definitely a difference between normal and batshit crazy shifters. Their scent held a tang like milk ready to sour, or garbage reaching the get-it-out-of-the-house stage.

  Three males and one female, all borderline feral. Feral enough to be dangerous, but not so far gone they’d be easy to catch.

  Chayton twisted to face them. Fan out, but follow me. Based on reports, at least two of them were on foot in order to carry the females.

  As they ran toward the trees, Kaitlyn loped to the far right and Chayton the far left. Not that the two assistants weren’t excellent trackers, but they weren’t Guardians. They could be recruited, put through training, but they’d never be born Guardians like Chayton and Kaitlyn. Her DNA, and her frustrating partner’s, was designed for this stuff: increased speed and stamina, stronger tracking skills, extremely heightened senses, and even a special scent that signaled others to their status. Having a Guardian flanking each side expanded their tracking distance.

  The farther they got from the colony, the rougher the terrain to navigate and the fainter the scents grew. A benefit to the increased exertion was that each deep breath drew in greater quantities of scent. Progress slowed as they reached a steep embankment.

  Blanche spoke first. This is where we lose their scent, like hitting a wall. I expected that if they shifted back to wolf, the odor would grow stronger, but it just stops.

  Kaitlyn paced up and down, weaving in and out of the trees. Blanche was right. Even the captives’ scents were gone. She raised her head to sniff the breeze.

  Water? Her communication was for Chayton alone. She trotted to his location while their two assistants circled the area, sniffing for clues.

  Yes. A couple rivers run through this part of the state.

  Any chance they used the water to cover their tracks?

  Chayton’s eyes narrowed. He moved forward to crest the embankment and stopped short. Kaitlyn pulled up next to him, but no further. At first glance, the trees they stood in melded with the trees in the horizon—until two feet in front of where she stood. They had topped a short cliff that had been cut into the side of the earth by a fast-flowing river.

  A faint rushing noise reached her.

  That’s a waterfall, Chayton filled in as if he instinctively knew she was unfamiliar with the sound.

  She scanned the far side of the river. Lower than the side she was on, it still rose several feet above the water. Studying the riverside, Kaitlyn noticed that each edge of the water had a narrow strip of rocky beach.

  It came to her. They threw them.

  Chayton’s head swung toward her. What?

  Jutting her snout to the beach, she explained. See the disrupted rocks at the bottom? The females are shifters, they’ll heal. So before they shifted, they tossed them down. Then the attackers jumped into the water from as far back as they could muster.

  His eyes spoke his disbelief.

  Only one way to prove it was possible. She trotted back to where their scent cut off.

  Don’t try it, Savoy, he warned. I’m not carrying your broken ass back, or parking here and waiting for you to heal.

  The other two shifters sensed distress from Chayton and began pacing around the trees. They hadn’t been opened up into their communication yet.

  She gauged how much distance she’d need to leap and found a path clear of tree trunks. Crouching low, she dug her claws into the ground and envisioned how this would carry out, one of the many tricks she learned in her years studying martial arts and visualization.

  Her claws dug in, her wolf’s thighs exploded. She ran as fast as possible and once she reached the area the scent wall hit, she vaulted.

  As she flew through the air, she heard the shocked inhales of the male and female. If Kaitlyn didn’t crush all her bones with this stunt, would they follow?

  She cleared the edge just as her arc rounded to the descent. Her path would end in the water so at least she’d calculated that correctly.

  Please be deep enough, please be deep enough. Dark blue sped toward her, and she hit before the worry of jagged rocks arose. A giant splash and her mouth and nose filled with river water. She exhaled slowly and waited for her downward plunge to end so she could propel herself to the surface.

  When her head broke free, she resisted a howl of triumph. If she guessed correctly, they would be back on the hunt.

  She glanced up to see Chayton poking his head over the edge, along with the other two.

  He bared his teeth in the wolf version of a scowl. Get to shore and see if you can find their trail.

  Before she exited the water she smelled the pain from the females. Conscious or not, their bodies would feel the impact of the rocks. This is where they landed. Kaitlyn sniffed around and faced downriver, the path the group had taken with their captives.

  A splash startled her. She spun around in time to see Chayton surface.

  He paddled toward her side of the river. Blanche and Patton are going to shadow us up on the ridge.

  Good decision. If either one of them didn’t make the jump, she and Chayton would have to leave them to mend to finish the search.

  They trotted along until the morning’s rays lightened the sky. Fatigue feathered the edges of Kaitlyn’s mind, but she blocked it out. The little discomfort she experienced was nothing like what the captured females suffered.

  They split their time between the rocks and the water to save their paws. The trails grew clearer, as if the rogues worried less that they’d be followed over time. The cliff eventually dwindled until it was only feet above water level. Blanche and Patton stayed on shore, letting Chayton lead.

  Miles went by. Her stomach rumbled, but she ignored it. They were closing in.

  A distant howl sounded. Spurred by the noise, they ran faster. The rushing sound grew louder until they found themselves at the edge of the rapids and the trail evaporated.

  Chayton nosed the river’s edge. They probably went back to higher ground.

  Nothing over here, Patton answered. Did they cross to the other side?

  It’d make sense, Chayton answered.

  Gingerly, Kaitlyn picked her way over the rocks that preceded the rapids. Cold water swirled around her legs with a force that could topple her in where she’d be battered by the rapids. When she was close enough, she leapt to the riverbank. A sickening smell assaulted her: death.

  Chayton landed behind her
. Shit.

  The other two shifters picked their way across more slowly than the Guardians, but she waited for them. Understanding dawned on their faces. She led them to where Chayton located the body of a naked and beaten female. The way she’d been beheaded sat like lead in Kaitlyn’s gut.

  That’s Shelly, Blanche said. Even mentally, Kaitlyn heard the pang of loss in her words.

  Chayton searched the surrounding areas. She fought too much. They couldn’t keep her without risking themselves.

  That’s Shelly, Blanche said again, pride lifting her tone. She always fought hard before being made to do something she didn’t want to.

  Kaitlyn’s assessing gaze swept the woman’s body. The rogues had forced themselves on her. The smell of sexual assault bombarded Kaitlyn’s senses until she choked back bile. She didn’t know if the others smelled it, or guessed at it, but for Kaitlyn the unique mixture of blood, semen, domination, and pain couldn’t be missed.

  She directed her communication to Chayton. She was raped before they killed her.

  That’s what the rogues took her for. The female in their pack probably tires of servicing them. His tone held the same urgency at finding the pack to save the other female.

  When we find Terri, Blanche said solemnly.

  Patton nodded. We’ll carry Shelly’s body back for a proper burial.

  Of course, Chayton answered. He detected the trail again and took off. Their efforts were infused with the drive to find the rogues before Terri met the same fate. They traversed the countryside until voices drifted to them on the wind. Chayton slowed, his movements precise and quiet.

  Kaitlyn unconsciously mimicked him. Stalking was instinctive, but she didn’t spend as much time in her wolf form as Chayton. He flowed through the environment not like he was a part of it, but like the world moved around him.

  Growls and yips grew louder.

  “Shift, dammit,” a male’s guttural voice demanded.

  Kaitlyn paused, but Chayton kept his progress moving forward.