Leap of the Lion (The Wild Hunt Legacy #4)(27)

The Dogwood villagers were shifters but not in Calum’s territory. Dogwood had been in Mt. Hood Territory in Oregon, and she’d never met the Cosantir there. Would either Cosantir take the risk of rescuing the captured villagers?

The dangers were real. Darcy stared down at the table, imagining the black vans driving into village after village. Like in Dogwood. Human soldiers pouring through the streets, shooting their lethal weapons. Snarling horribly, a male falling, blood soaking the front of his shirt. In the street, gory, tangled remnants of people. Over the shouting sounded children’s high, piercing screams. Everywhere, there was only death and burning buildings.

If the Scythe discovered more shifters existed, they’d search the forests. Would find Cold Creek.

As fear pierced her chest, she pulled in a shuddering breath. Right now, the Scythe couldn’t track her and probably didn’t realize others had helped her escape. They’d think Darcy had attacked the hunters since a human couldn’t tell one cougar from another in the dark. A vehicle had driven away, but she might have been the driver. When doing the Scythe vehicle maintenance, she’d learned to drive—although only on the property. But her driving out of the park wouldn’t be impossible.

Right now, the Scythe didn’t know if more shifters existed. A concerted rescue of the Dogwood females and shifter-soldiers would reveal the truth.

“Darcy,” Bree said softly. “I’m sorry. Did you hope Calum could send shifters into Seattle?”

Darcy nodded. “I wasn’t thinking of anything but freeing my friends and littermates. I hadn’t thought of the consequences.”

“Of course not.” As Bree rose, she leaned over to squeeze Darcy’s hand. “Owen should be back any minute, and I’m making BLTs for his lunch. Do you have room for a bit more to eat?”

“No, thank you.” Darcy managed to smile. “It was great, though.”

After putting bacon on to fry, Bree sliced some bread and started to put it into the toaster. With an exasperated huff, she laid the bread in the oven and turned on the broiler.

“Um, Bree? Why don’t you use the toaster?”

“The stupid thing broke yesterday. It burns everything I put in it.”

Darcy’s spirits lifted. “If you have some tools, I can take a look at it. I’m pretty good at fixing things.”

“That’d be wonderful.” Bree disappeared and returned with a small tool caddy. “This is the house set.”

As Bree returned to cooking, Darcy started working on the toaster and felt more…settled. The prìosan had regimented every moment of her day. Here, she had no idea what would happen next. What was she supposed to do today? Tomorrow? The uncertainty left her off-balance.

At least for the next few minutes, she had a job. “Do Owen and Gawain live here?”

“No, Owen has a place way up in the mountains, someplace not even accessible by road. But after a hellhound broke his wrist a couple of weeks ago, he kept reinjuring it. Calum ordered him to stay here until he healed up.”

“Oh, right. I kind of remember hearing that.” Owen would be here for a few days…and the relief she felt was confusing. The male was a grumpy cougar who disliked her. Why in the Mother’s world should she feel better with him around?

Darcy frowned. “Doesn’t Gawain live with Owen?” Littermates usually lived together.

“Huh-uh. Gawain lived down in Oregon, but he’s moving to Cold Creek. He’ll be staying in the lodge while he house-hunts.”

Both of them were here. Darcy opened the bottom of the toaster. “Gawain seems really nice, and I owe Owen a lot for getting me out of Seattle.” Darcy huffed a laugh. “Although, when I tried to thank him, he—”

“He probably glared at you, right?”

“In a way.” Darcy examined the toaster interior and found pieces of bread stuck to the heating coils. No wonder it wasn’t working. “He kind of just walked away.”

Bree rolled her eyes. “The idiot. When it comes to interacting with females, he’s got the disposition of a boggart.”

“Oh.” Maybe Darcy wasn’t the only person who raised his hackles.

“Owen scared me some when I first met him. He stared at me like he thought I’d steal his wallet, although I think he likes me well enough now.” Bree rolled her eyes. “You know, with other males, he’s a whole different cat—relaxed and fun.”

Had Darcy ever seen him look relaxed? “That would be different. But I do know how brave he is.” And she’d put up with a lot from the shifter who’d saved her from the Scythe.

However, she might smack him on the nose if he got too grumpy.

*

As Owen strolled past the Wild Hunt Tavern parking lot, he noticed the young redheaded female he’d mated with at the last Gathering. She and her two loud friends were leaving, having probably gone for a trail run. The tavern’s underground cave system extended into the forest and provided a safe entry for town-dwelling shifters.

After goodbyes, the noisy friends got into a car, and the redhead crossed the lot to hers.

Owen scratched his jaw and then raised his hand to attract her attention.

She flinched.

By the God, he wasn’t planning to claw her. Walking over, he tried to arrange his expression into something that wasn’t a scowl. It would help if he could remember her name. In all reality, he doubted he’d even asked.