Page 40 of Broken Moon

“Lennon,” I said, surprised.“You’re coming with us?”

“Jared believes my power mightbe of some use.”

“Power?” I asked. Lennon was aseer—not a fighter.

She reached into her coat andpulled out an ornate, crooked wand, and suddenly, without her so much asblinking, a crackling blue light flared to life and began dancing around thewand. When she waved her hand, the light sputtered and then came back brighterthan ever.

“Pretty,” I said, impressed,“but I still don’t see how—”

She whirled around with aparticular graceful movement and pointed the wand. The light disappeared fromher wand, reappeared on a small gargoyle statue across the way, and the statueexploded into blue dust.

“I always hated that statue,”she said, as I gaped.

“Wow,” I said, awed. “I needthat wand.”

She laughed. “It wouldn’t workfor a non-witch, Kaitlyn, and even if another witch took my wand, she’d have todelete my energy and soak it in her own for weeks before she could use it.”

I knew that, but still. Mymouth watered at the thought of adding a wand like that to my collection oftools. “I’ve heard about witchwolves, but I’ve never met one.”

She smiled and put thebeautiful wand away. “You can’t say that anymore.”

“Can we get to know each othera little later?” the alpha growled. “We have a creature to contain before hekills more of my people.”

“Right behind you, boss,”Lennon said, then gave me a wink.

As we jogged toward the woods,we were suddenly surrounded by six of Jared’s warriors. One second we werealone, and the next, they were there, running grimly beside us. That was thething about warrior wolves—if they didn’t want to be seen, you would not seethem.

One of them carried what lookedlike a heavy canvas bag on his back, and I figured it held a silver net andpossibly restraints. While in human form, the silver would not hurt a wolf—butwhen he shifted, the touch of silver could weaken him. If it got inside him—viasilver shot, a silver blade, or particles he ingested—it could do more thanweaken him. It could kill him.

Eli wasn’t with us, but withthe alpha insisting on hunting, the beta would stay behind to protect the packshould an enemy attack while the alpha was gone.

Jared ran his pack differentlythan my old alpha—Adam Walker—ran his. It was fascinating, really, and even morethan the excitement of the coming hunt, I felt the joy of belonging to a pack.Not that I did, officially, not yet, but I felt with everything inside me thatI would. And not even the way they’d treated me in the past was bigger thanthat.

“What’s with the muscle?” Iasked Jared. “Last time it was just the two of us.”

“Eager to be alone with me,Kaitlyn?” he asked.

My cheeks burned. “Mywolf,maybe,” I snapped. “Definitely not me. An alpha would not be on my list ofdesirable mates.” But his spicy alpha wolf scent wafted into my brain and Icould feel the almost irresistible heat coming from his body. I had a very badfeeling that when my wolf was finally free, I was going to be all over thealpha.

“Careful not to protest toomuch,” Lennon murmured, and I could have smacked her.

Then we crossed the field andentered the woods, and everyone went silent. It was a relief to slip away fromsexy thoughts and into hunt mode. Not to brag, but I was a damn good hunter.And now that I’d had a run-in with the exsoloup, I had his scent to latch onto.I had the feel of him in my bones. He was prey, and I was a predator wolf.

Everything else faded away.

Ten or so minutes in, I saw somethingon the ground. I crouched, using a stick to gently touch a black stain.Exsoloup blood.

One of the warriors—who I’dpretty much forgotten—spoke. “Is that—”

“Quiet,” I snapped. I closed myeyes and reached below the excitement of the hunt, the fear of the exsoloup,and the pain of my wolf, and I found the slightest hint of the creature. It washis scent, sort of, but mostly it was just the feel of him.

And when I opened my eyes andbegan walking once again, sliding through the darkness with the alpha at myside and the others at my back, I understood something I’d overlooked before.

“He can’t see very well,” Isaid quietly, and though I couldn’t have known for sure, I still felt it wasthe absolute truth. “He can’t see, and he can only smell wolf. Because we’re inhuman form, if we’re quiet, he won’t know we’re here until we’re upon him.After this point, do no speak, and above everything else, do not shift.” Ilooked at Jared. “We’re close. Have your men hang back.”

Before he could say anything,one of the warriors, a muscular wolf with shaggy brown hair, got in my face.“Do not dare to command us,” he snarled. “The alpha is ours to protect, and youwill not put him in danger with your careless human ways.”

“There are too many people,” Isaid calmly. “Even if we don’t make a sound, he’s bound to feel the threat ofso many warm bodies. I think it’s—”