Abandoned and Unseen (Branded Packs #2)(17)

“I know,” she whispered. She patted his cheek then kissed his chin. “I’ll come back with them. I promise.”

He nodded. “I’ll keep the house waiting for you. If the SAU patrols come near, we’ll keep your absence hidden.”

She closed her eyes, knowing if their escape were noticed, it would mean not only her death but likely the death of those close to her, as well. The SAU didn’t take rebellion lightly.

She turned away from her brother and climbed the fence, slightly envious that Cole could jump it in one motion. She was a bear and slightly heavier than the other shifters because of her DNA. She might be able to climb as well as a cat, but she didn’t have the same balance.

When she hit the ground on the other side, her knees ached, but she took the pain in stride. It helped her remember that everything she did from here on out would be dangerous. She looked behind her, but Oliver was gone. Her brother probably didn’t want to stand by the fences for too long and attract attention. On that note, she raised her brow at Cole, who had a serious frown on his face.

“What?”

“Just keeping up with the scent. I’m better as a jaguar, but it’s not like those are very common in the Colorado landscape. It doesn’t matter that we’re in a forest where seeing a bear would be common, the SAU will shoot on sight. I have to concentrate harder to track like this. It’ll take more energy, meaning we can’t go as far in one day.”

“I know, Cole. I don’t blame you for having to go slower. You’re trying to save my children.”

“Far cry from what you’d usually do, though.”

She shrugged, following him closely and keeping an eye on their surroundings. While he kept tracking, she would watch their backs. He couldn’t do it all at once, so she would do what she could to keep them safe.

“I’ll berate you when we have Owen and Lucas back.”

She would not think about her use of the word we just then.

“Good enough.” He grunted. “Fuck. He got into a car here, Anya.”

She froze and looked down at the tracks at their feet. “No. No. We can’t lose him.” For some reason, use of a vehicle hadn’t occurred to her. Of course, it should have, but she’d never driven before. She didn’t have the need within a den.

“I can still track him, but doing it this way is going to be a whole lot harder. If he went into the city, I might lose the trail completely since the scents will be mixed so well. We’ll have to find him using other ways if that’s the case.”

She fisted her hands at her size. “What other ways?”

He met her gaze, his cat in his eyes. “If we can’t use our sense of smell, we’ll ask around, find out who knows something about shifters being hidden and taken away.”

Anya took a step back. “What the hell? You can’t just ask a human that? It’s a dead giveaway that we’re shifters. They’ll kill us.”

“You’re right. They will. That’s why we won’t ask a human.”

She blinked. “You’re talking about the Unseen.”

Cole let out a breath. “Thank God. I was worried you didn’t know what they were, and I vowed to my Alpha I wouldn’t speak of them to those who didn’t know.”

“Andrew didn’t vow me to secrecy since I wouldn’t tell anyone anyway. I shouldn’t have blurted it out to you as I did, but you caught me by surprise. You’re telling me that we’re going to find the Unseen and try to find my sons that way?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

Anya let out a breath. “Fine, then. Let’s go. We don’t want to stay in one place for long.”

“Got it.” With that, he went back to his tracking. She’d never seen him so in his element. His face contorted as he concentrated, but then he’d relax ever so slightly, only his jaw remaining strained. The amount of energy it must take to use his ability as he did was staggering. She couldn’t pinpoint the individual scents of her sons and Frank after the human piece of trash had gotten into the car. Now she only smelled exhaust fumes and her own desperation.

And the spicy scent that was all Cole.

Not that she would be thinking of that. At all.

Ever.

They moved toward the city of Denver quickly and in silence. Cole needed to focus, and she needed to keep her bear from panicking. She was far stronger than her bear, but on edge as she was, it wasn’t easy to keep in control. Her gaze kept going to the mountains in the west and the plains in the east. There was nothing more beautiful than the landscape of the Denver area. Once the shifters had roamed free through these woods and peaks. They’d lived and worked within the human world, yet could shift to their other half and be free in the wilderness.

When the Verona Virus had hit over twenty-five years ago, only the humans got sick. Anya never knew exactly why the shifters were spared, but she had her suspicions. As time passed and more humans died with no cure in sight, others noticed that family groups hadn’t gotten sick. Shifters were immune to the virus, and in the process of trying to find a cure, her people were revealed to the public. Shifters were not only able to help create a vaccine, but they’d also inadvertently started their own path to death.

The humans—what was left of them after the Verona Virus had decimated a third of them—were fearful of what they didn’t understand. The government fast-tracked laws and stipulations, and the Shifter Accommodation Unit was born. They were the fourth branch of the government and didn’t have to wait for Congress, the courts, or the President to make decisions.