Hunted (Pack of Dawn and Destiny, #1)(85)

Not just any blood—Pip’s.

I was deep in the heart of the forest, with hunters hot on my trail. By leading them deeper and then circling back behind them I’d taken out at least six of the hunters.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts despite the overwhelming scent of blood.

She’s hurt—I need to help her.

The instinct dug deep in my chest.

I ignored it and jumped a hunter from behind, snagging him by the knee and ripping his leg out from under him. I crunched down on his throat before he could scream and warn the others.

The scent of Pip’s blood was overwhelming now.

Everything in me screamed that I needed to find her. Now. I wasn’t too surprised by the impulse—I’d been openly approaching her. Of course if she was in danger it was going to affect me. But I needed to take care of these hunters. Pip was smart. She wasn’t going to risk her neck if she couldn’t win.

I exhaled sharply and slipped through the underbrush, smelling out my next target.

I spotted a hunter shining a flashlight into the shadows of some trees. Thankfully these idiots were so unfamiliar with one-on-one combat that they hadn’t thought to climb a tree like Pip would have.

I lined myself up so I could jump on his back and hopefully slam his head into a tree trunk if I was just right.

Pain slammed through my chest. It was a hot, knifing sensation that was so intense it was hard to see.

It was like the gnawing pain of my missing mate, multiplied tenfold.

FIND HER!

Every instinct screamed at me, and I took a few steps away.

No—I should stay and fight.

A scream rippled through the forest, coming from the direction of the lodge.

Pip!

I snarled at the hunters, scaring the one in front of me and drawing the attention of the others.

“There he is!”

“Shoot him!”

Bullets ricocheted off trees as the hunters shot at me, then thrashed through the forest, attempting to follow.

I kicked it up to the fastest pace I could manage, my paws ripping up the forest turf as I ran.

As I drew closer and closer to the meadow, dread filled me as the scent of Pip’s blood saturated the air.

She’d been hurt, badly.





Chapter 24





Pip





“Pip!” Wyatt shouted. His yells were eclipsed by howling—I was pretty sure that was Aeric.

I tried to stand—I probably had five minutes before the blood loss would totally take me out—but the pain was too much to contend with. It felt like my whole back was on fire.

I have to keep going—I have to give Amelia and the Jacks enough time to get that second anchor point out!

Amos snarled as he regained his balance. His face was smeared with blood from his broken nose. “You!” He stomped closer to me.

I yanked my gun from my holster. I fumbled with flicking off the safety, but I was able to rack the gun and load a bullet in the chamber. My hand shook from the pain, but I was still kneeling, and his foot wasn’t even two feet away. I aimed and shot.

Amos shouted so loudly his voice turned hoarse as he staggered, trying not to put any weight on his foot.

The handgun slipped from my fingers—it was too heavy to hold up anymore.

A hunter kicked me in the chest, but I was about to collapse anyway, so it didn’t hurt too badly when I fell—though the dirt mashing into my open shoulder wound probably wasn’t going to do wonders for it.

There was a lot of shouting, and a hunter with a satchel sprinted over, uncorking a fae potion.

They must have dumped at least two potions on Amos’s foot, because he was standing over me before I had time to try to formulate another plan.

“What are you?” Amos snarled down at me. “How can you keep going?”

“Easy. I’m a hunter—trained by wolves.” The wooziness was starting to affect me. It felt like everything in my skull was tilting. But I had enough strength to scissor kick Amos in the ankle.

He cried out, and a hunter rushed to stabilize him while another planted his boot on my chest—as if I was going to sprint off.

“Hope I broke it,” I muttered as nausea churned away in my gut—the blood loss was setting in, fast.

“Why do you fight for them?” Amos demanded. “Wolves killed your parents! By all rights, you should be joining us! Did the beasts brainwash you?”

“We got them!”

Beyond Amos, one of the Fletching hunters dragged Amelia, Young Jack, and Original Jack out from behind the trap.

The hope that they’d get the second anchor point out sputtered and died in my chest.

“Let me go!” Amelia scratched the face of the hunter who was struggling with her, and it took another two hunters to control Young Jack and Original Jack.

Amos laughed and wiped blood off his face. “So that’s what you were so valiantly fighting for, was it? Too bad—you failed.” He smirked at me, then hummed as he strode toward the Pack.

“Don’t hurt them!” Young Jack shouted. “Mom! Dad!”

“Stop it!” Amelia screamed.

Scarlett and Radcliff jumped at Amos, but several hunters caught them and dragged them off.

The pain and nausea was too much to take, but no matter how I tried to move, I could barely twitch my neck.