Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(75)

Without waiting for her reply, he headed down the hallway, opening the distant door and closing it with a decisive bang.

“I wonder if all the Unseen are so friendly,” she muttered.

At her side, Soren moved to butt her with the top of his head, silently herding her forward.

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, grabbing the edge of the windowsill again and climbing through.

Dropping to the ground, she heard the scramble of Soren’s nails against the tiled floor before he was leaping through the air to land beside her.

She paused long enough to make sure they hadn’t been noticed before she was jogging toward the nearby fence.

“Let’s go home, big boy,” she told her companion.

The sound of Soren’s howl echoed through the air.





Chapter 11


Holden’s argument with Jonah had been short but fierce.

The Alpha of the Golden Pack had been determined to confront the bastards who’d kidnapped his daughter on his own. Holden understood his fear. It was always a danger that the men coming to speak with Jonah would sense Holden and his wolves and punish Cora. The male would do anything to protect his daughter.

Not to mention the fact that they were flagrantly disobeying SAU law by sneaking out of the compound without permission. Which could potentially be a death sentence.

But there was no way in hell that Holden was going to let the Alpha travel to the secluded area alone. The days when shifters could enjoy being enemies were long over. If they were going to survive, it meant facing the humans together.

No matter the risk.

Jonah had grudgingly agreed to his demand that he slip several of his best fighters through a secret tunnel they’d managed to dig beneath the fence, while Jonah had taken a more visible journey through the front gate.

Now he silently moved among the shifters that he’d spread along the base of the five sharp peaks that ran along the east slope of Green Mountain. Known as the Flatirons by the locals, the area was heavily foliaged and miles from civilization.

Still, he commanded his wolves to patrol the area. Not only to prevent any nasty surprises from sneaking up on them, but to make sure there were no stray campers who might get spooked if anyone decided to start shooting.

He was making his second sweep when Jonah stepped onto a flat rock in the center of a clearing and waved a hand in his direction.

Shifting into his human form, Holden stopped by the Jeep that the cats had driven to the area to pull on a loose pair of sweats. Then, jogging through the pine trees, he joined Jonah, who was in the process of shoving his phone back into the pocket of his slacks.

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

The Alpha cat flashed a lethal smile. The kind of smile that indicated he’d just gotten the cream and now intended to slay the mouse.

“I just received a text from Cora.”

“Soren found her?”

“Yes.”

Relief slashed through Holden. Shit. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized just how worried he’d been for his Beta. He’d lost too much.

The thought of Soren being taken from him was…inconceivable.

“Both of them?” he pressed, needing to hear the words.

Jonah nodded, his gaze meeting Holden’s with an understanding that only two Alphas could share.

The price of leadership meant that they had to be willing to put those they loved most at risk.

“Both.”

“Thank God.” Giving himself a second to savor the news, Holden quickly turned his thoughts back to the reason he was standing in the middle of nowhere instead of tucked in his bed with his mate. “Did your daughter say why they were so anxious to get their hands on you?”

Jonah curled back his lips to reveal his elongated fangs. “They think they can force me to create shifters.”

“Shit.” A combination of guilt and frustrated fury replaced Holden’s momentary relief. “I knew that Claire’s treachery was going to come back and bite us in the ass,” he snarled.

Jonah shrugged. “I suppose it was inevitable that they would learn that particular secret.”

Holden didn’t know if it was inevitable or not. He only knew that a female he’d trusted had betrayed them all.

“That bitch is going to pay.”

“Right now, I’m more concerned with what they intend to do with the shifters they want me to create,” Jonah said.

Holden grimaced. His companion was right. Claire’s betrayal was over and done with. There wasn’t anything they could do to change it.

All they could hope to do was minimize the damage.

“My vote is that we don’t ever find out,” he said. The mere thought of an Alpha being forced to create a shifter was offensive on a cellular level. And to have the SAU involved…a deep shudder wracked his body. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Jonah held up a hand. “Not yet.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“They boldly came into our lands and stole my daughter.”

Holden’s heart squeezed with dread. Shit. He understood that Jonah was pissed. The mere thought of having the humans enter their territory and take his child would no doubt haunt him for years to come.

But they couldn’t afford to create a head-to-head confrontation with the government.