Mated in Mist (Talon Pack #3)(35)

“Gina!” he called out. He didn’t know where the enemy was, and with all the smoke and broken ground and trees around them, he couldn’t get a scent lock on the bastards. For all he knew, this was like the last time the Talon Pack had been bombed by human extremists. They’d used timed devices that could go off without anyone having to be near.

How they—whoever they were—knew the witches and wolves were meeting there was a question that would have to be answered.

Soon.

But first, he needed Leah and his Pack.

The fact that he thought of Leah first in all situations was not lost on him, but he’d have to deal with that later. Instead, he slid beside Gina and pulled her off Hannah.

“Let’s go. We need to get away from here.” His voice was firm, but he didn’t make it a true order. She wasn’t his Pack, and though he was more dominant than her, he didn’t want to use it and cause Pack issues. He f*cking hated politics sometimes.

Gina lifted her head and met his gaze. A few cuts marred her face, but she didn’t look much worse for wear. She let out a little growl, but he didn’t feel that it was directed at him. “Every time I tried to move toward someplace safer, they let off another freaking bomb.” Brandon stepped closer to her, but she held him off. Ryder didn’t think the action was rude, just two friends who needed their space after a harrowing ordeal.

“It makes using magic a bit difficult when you’re trying not to hurt your Pack and you have no idea where to aim,” Hannah said dryly as Ryder lifted her into his arms. “I can walk just fine,” she snapped but put her arms around his neck. As she had two very dominant mates, he had a feeling she was used to wolves carrying her around when there was danger. She was a tiny witch that might be able to Heal others, but she couldn’t Heal herself.

He set Hannah down on her feet near the building and away from where most of the bombs had gone off. They wouldn’t be completely safe until they were behind the den wards, but it would have to do for now. Brandon came closer and looked over her cuts, but as they didn’t have a first aid kit on them, it didn’t do much good.

“Have you seen Leah?” he asked, his wolf frantic. Hell, he was frantic, too.

Hannah’s eyes widened and she looked behind him. “She was right by us when the first bomb went off. We all hit the ground and Gina covered me.”

Gina cursed. “Hannah was closer to me.” She met Ryder’s eyes. “I couldn’t reach Leah. I’m sorry.”

He would have liked to blame Gina for not covering his mate, but he couldn’t. And he needed to stop f*cking thinking about her as his mate. She was not. But she was his, if only for the moment.

“Stay here with Hannah,” he growled. “Finn is around the back with the other witches. I’m going to find Leah.”

“Max and Bram are around here, as well,” Hannah said. “Be careful, Ryder. We don’t know who is out there. And don’t forget, I might not be able to heal like you, but I can still protect myself.” She raised her chin and he lowered his gaze in acknowledgement. She was right. Her powers were far stronger than any other witch he’d met. He’d just seen her on the ground and assumed the worst.

He left the two to protect themselves and find the others while he and Brandon went in search of Leah. It had been a few minutes since the last bomb, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be another one soon. As he searched, he shot off a quick text to his Alpha, letting him know what was going on. He wasn’t sure what the next step would be, but he did know that if he didn’t find Leah soon, he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions.

“Ryder!” Bram called out.

He turned toward the other wolf and cursed. Bram had Max’s arm around his shoulder and was practically dragging his cousin toward the compound.

“What happened?” He took Max’s other side and helped the progress. Bram could have easily lifted him since he was a wolf, but Max was just tall enough that it would have been awkward as hell. Brandon came up behind them, his body on alert in case the enemy was near.

“Bomb blew too close and the damn wolf pushed me out of the way,” Bram gritted out. “Knocked him out cold. He’s still breathing, and he should be fine soon I would think. But I’d get him to your Healer just in case.”

“Damn cousin,” Ryder muttered.

An SUV pulled in next to him and Ryder let his claws out, his wolf on edge. When Hannah opened the passenger door and ran toward him, he relaxed somewhat.

“Get him in the back,” she ordered. “I might not be a Healer for the Talons, but I can at least do what I can.” She met Max’s gaze. “We’ll get him to Walker. Your brother will be able to help him.”

Ryder nodded and helped Max into the back of the SUV. He was trusting his blood with the Redwoods, and yet he knew it was the right decision.

Gina had her window down as the car idled. “Finn and Drake are taking care of the other witches, though they claim they weren’t part of it.” She let out a snort. “I don’t know as I truly believe that. This is a bit too much of a coincidence, and I know our Packs didn’t do it.” She cursed. “But Finn can’t actually keep them there for long.”

Brandon let out a curse of his own. “He can try his best, but yeah, we don’t have proof. And frankly, this could have been the humans finding us on their own.”