An Alpha's Choice (Talon Pack #2)(50)

And while all of that was happening, he knew he was missing something. What, he didn’t know, but there was something off about whom he was and what he was supposed to do.

Would working with the witches help? Again, he didn’t know, but he would do as he was told. That’s what he did best. What he was told.

Until, of course, he knew that he had to do something else…something to save his Pack and his people.

Kameron slammed the door open and ran into the room, his wolf in his eyes. All three wolves already there stood up, ready to fight.

“What is it?” Gideon growled.

“There was an explosion outside the wards.”

Ryder frowned. “Again?”

Kameron let out a growl of his own. “Yes, and we can scent Brynn and Finn like before.” He met Ryder’s eyes and a chill slide down his spine. “They weren’t there. Someone took them. I’m sure of it.”

“Two bombings around them is not a coincidence,” Walker drawled, his voice deceptively calm.

“No. It’s not,” Gideon agreed, Alpha to the bone.

“We’ll find them,” Ryder vowed. “Call the Redwoods. Someone took our Pack, our sister. We’ll go for blood.”

His words didn’t surprise anyone. After all, he spoke when it mattered.

His sister was in trouble, and the humans better pray that she and her mate made it out alive. Because if she didn’t? The lines of war wouldn’t be so blurry.

No, the lines would be drawn and filled with blood.

The Talons didn’t let anyone hurt their own and live.

And Ryder knew that deep in the dark valleys of his soul.





Chapter Thirteen


Either a two-ton pickup had rammed into her, or Brynn had been blown up by a bomb. From the way her body ached and her eyes refused to open, she wasn’t quite sure which. She held back a moan as she forced herself to wake up. As she didn’t know where she was or what had happened, she didn’t want to make any excess noise and alert someone of her presence. If that were even the case.

Her eyes opened slowly and she tried to take in her surroundings. Darkness surrounded her, but her wolf eyes could at least make out some shapes. Metal bars, a dirty floor, and a low ceiling.

A cage.

She was in a cage.

Pushing away the memories that threatened to boil over, she inhaled deeply. Rot and blood overwhelmed her senses, but she pushed past it and tried to scent where she was. She could only see that she was in a dark cage, nothing more. Her other senses, however, went into overdrive.

There.

She knew that forest scent of man and strength.

Finn.

She slowly rolled to her belly, placing her hands on the dirty floor. The coolness of metal beneath her palms surprised her, but it shouldn’t have. This was a full-on cage, not just a prison cell.

Her wolf rose to the front, and she tried her best to make out shapes in the darkness. If there had been more than a slight sliver of light, she might have been able to fully see. As it was, she could barely figure things out.

She squinted at one blurry shape in particular and sucked in a breath.

Finn.

The shape wasn’t moving, but if she focused, she could hear the slight intake of breath, the slow beat of his heart.

Her wolf whimpered, but she didn’t make a sound. Finn was alive, most likely hurt, but alive. Speaking of being hurt, she quickly assessed her injuries and wanted to curse. Dried blood matted her hair to the back of her head, and she felt a few scrapes and bruises over her skin. Other than that, she wasn’t really injured. Whatever had blown them up in the forest had knocked her out cold so someone could pick her up and bring her to wherever she and Finn were now.

It couldn’t be a coincidence that she and Finn had been near two bombings right outside the wards. The first had to have been a practice run to test the wards.

The second was to take them in.

Brynn couldn’t scent anyone other than Finn and humans near the cages, so she had a feeling that the war that wasn’t quite a war had escalated.

The shadow in front of her moved, and she bit her lip, trying not to call out to her lover, her mate.

She watched the shadow as it moved as if to assess its injuries and surroundings before finally turning toward her.

Praying she wouldn’t alert anyone who could be watching, she reached through the bars toward the shadow. She was only guessing Finn was in a cage, as she couldn’t quite make out the bars, but she wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

The shape reached out for her, and she strained her arm through the bars, her shoulder pressed tightly against the opening.

Their fingers didn’t touch, but she felt the brush of air against her skin as Finn tried desperately to reach for her. Her heart lurched. So close, yet she couldn’t feel his touch, couldn’t feel him.

Overhead lights clicked on. The harshness burned her eyes, and she blinked twice so she could focus. Finn met her gaze, his green eyes intense. Quickly, she took in his appearance, noting every single cut and bruise.

Someone would pay for hurting him.

Finn gave her a nod, and they both moved their arms back and slowly turned to whoever walked toward them. Their footsteps were light, but she could hear the muted taps along the floor as the human came closer.

“You’re up,” the man noted. “Good. I was afraid the blast had knocked you out too hard. It would suck if you died right away. Our plans didn’t account for that.”