Mated in Mist (Talon Pack #3)(37)

“Drake and I will go this way. Brandon and Bram can go with you, Ryder, as they are closer to you.”

They all agreed and made their plans before Bram hung up. Brandon had already made his way to them and the three set out to follow her scent. He prayed that they were on the right trail because he wasn’t sure what he’d do if he lost Leah. It was already a form of torture to be near her and have her in his bed but not have her. It was a mess of his own making, but damn it, he couldn’t lose her. Not like this.

They made their way in silence, on alert and ready to fight. He didn’t know exactly how much of a head start the humans had, or if they had vehicles, but the three of them were running as fast as they could without making a sound. They remained human in case they came upon a non-friendly, but f*ck, he wanted to shift and tear the faces off the humans who dared to touch her.

Ryder inhaled again and slowed down. He held up his hand, and Bram and Brandon came to his side. He tilted his head and tried to see if he could hear anything other than the normal sounds of leaves rustling and animals in the forest. However, he could scent the presence of humans. Not many, but enough in a place that there weren’t normally a group of them that it gave him pause. It could be a group of hikers that had gone deep into the national forest, or it could be those who’d taken his Leah.

He could hear a few men speaking in hushed tones and the sound of metal against metal. The scent of gun oil reached his nose and he held back a curse. These had to be the *s who had Leah. Either that, or they were hunters in the wrong part of the forest. It wouldn’t be the first time, but hell, Leah’s trail led here. This had to be them.

He opened his mouth to say something, but two spirits slid out of the trees and stared at him. They didn’t scream or try to touch him. Instead, the unfamiliar ghosts came closer and nodded at him before turning in the direction of the humans. He narrowed his eyes at them then blinked. Wait. He’d seen these two before. They were two of the apparitions he’d seen around the Coven. The spirits he’d assumed were ancestor witches. And now, they seemed to be pointing him in the right direction without asking for anything from him. He didn’t understand it.

They nodded again at him, and he studied them, noticing that they were a man and a woman in older robes. The woman had Leah’s eyes. She wasn’t Leah’s mother, as this woman looked far older than the woman would have been when she died, but Ryder would bet this ghost was an ancestor of Leah’s. Whether on Luis’s side or her mother’s, he wasn’t sure, but it was clear that these two spirits wanted to help as much as they could.

He wasn’t sure what to do about it. He’d never had this happen before, or if it had, he’d ignored it—the same as he always ignored his gift. But if working with them could help Leah, he would.

“Is she there?” he asked, aware that Bram and Brandon were studying him.

The woman nodded. She held up her hands and showed eight fingers.

“There are eight humans in there?”

She nodded again. The male ghost moved to the side and pointed down a path.

“And we should go down that way?”

The two spirits nodded then faded away, looks of pain on their faces. He didn’t know what that meant, but he knew he owed them. He’d have to figure it all out later. Now, he needed to get to Leah.

Bram didn’t ask him what the hell had just happened, but Brandon’s look spoke volumes. Ryder wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his secret much longer.

“She’s in there,” he said softly.

“You’re going to explain this, brother,” Brandon whispered. “Not now, because we need to get to Leah. But you will explain.”

Ryder didn’t answer but started down the path.

Bram merely mumbled something about secrets and powers and contacting Finn, but didn’t say anything specific. Ryder didn’t care at the moment. He just needed to find Leah.

They made their way down the path, and he almost growled as he saw the makeshift camp. The eight humans had set up large tents that smelled of weapons and chemicals. This must have been where they’d stored the bombs before they tried to take down the compound. There weren’t any guards on this end, but he knew they might make a patrol this way at any moment. All eight of the humans were at the other end, and because it wasn’t that large of a camp, he could see them all.

They surrounded a large wooden pole, and Leah stood strapped to it, her head down as if she were still drugged.

His claws ripped from his fingertips, but he held back the growl of agony that threatened to break free.

“They’re going to burn her at the stake,” Bram muttered. “Fucking barbarians. And they say wolves are the animals.”

“We need to get her. Now.” Ryder took a shallow breath. “If she’s unconscious, she can’t protect herself.”

“That’s probably one reason they used the damn drug in the first place,” Brandon added. “That and getting her here so quietly. You saw Leah when she woke up in our medical bay. She fought back. She’d fight now if she could. Damn bastards.”

Ryder let out a breath through his nose. “Bram, you go left, Brandon, you go right. I’ll go down the damn center since they’re not watching the tents. We get Leah out and find out whatever information we can about them from their uniforms or spare notebooks, and all of that. Then we get out of here. I don’t trust this.”