I can only pray Jordan has noticed my absence. He should have. He's been on high alert since our arrival at the festival.
Stop thinking, Scott.
I push my legs forward, ignoring the burning sensation in my throat and lungs. The cold air has set my rib cage ablaze.
Don't worry, your husband has your back.
So, I run without looking back.
Jonathan and James aren't Seers. They have no idea they're following a lycan and not a human.
It changes everything. It's not safe now.
A human poses no threat, but a lycan is a whole other story. I haven't seen her eyes, so I can't even tell for sure if she's strong or weak.
She can be either.
"James!" I scream, the burning sensation in my throat turning into an inferno. "She's not human! Don't follow her!"
People throw me weird glances, but I couldn't care less, and I force my way through. Some curses, some insults me; I can barely register whatever is coming out of their mouths. My ears are buzzing.
Despair crashes over me when they disappear into the alley. Faster, move faster.
I can feel the spiritual energy flowing to my legs, strengthening my muscles. I grit my teeth, pretending I don't feel the searing pain of the muscles tearing. I'm putting too much stress on them, yet I don't stop the spiritual energy from seeping into my muscles, my nerves, my blood vessels, and my bones.
I can't afford to think about the aftermath.
Everything has turned into a blur when I stumble into the alley. I'm just in time to see the woman knock out James. Jonathan is wobbling, barely standing on his feet. A chop of a hand later, and he falls against her.
"Don't you dare!" I snarl between two gasps, my legs throbbing in pain. "Let the kids go, now."
She turns around to face me, arching an eyebrow, and my heart sinks. That's not a weak lycan; that's a goddamn luna. The shadow of her bright silver eyes tells me as much.
"Were you the one screaming I'm not human?"
Ah, of course, she heard me. A lycan's ears are keener than a vampire's. Even so, James and Jonathan should have also heard me and should have been able to react in time. The fact that they haven't raises alarm bells in my mind.
"Also, dear…" A smile that doesn't reach her eyes slips onto her lips. "How did you find your way to this alley? You shouldn't be able to."
…'Cause I can't tell whether or not there's a frigging barrier in the way, duh! That kind of stuff doesn't work on me, and I can't even notice them. But that's not something I can say. So, I keep quiet and instead eye James and Jonathan, whose limp bodies lean against her. She's wrapped her arms around their thin shoulders, holding onto them.
She's making it crystal clear that she has no intention whatsoever of letting them go.
"What's taking you so long?"
A male voice resounds behind me, and I momentarily forget how to breathe. Slowly, I peer over my shoulder at the newcomer. Oh, sure, an alpha. Why the heck not? There's already a luna, so adding another monster to the lot doesn't change things much at this point.
"Sorry, honey, we have an unexpected guest," she chuckles, and the hair on my arms stands up. "I'm not sure what to do with this one."
"Just kill it." It? A fucking dog is calling me an it? "We don't need adults, only children."
"I know, but he's an interesting one." Please, use it, too. Now I feel uncomfortable if she treats me like a human being. "He knows I'm not human."
"Oh? Does it now?"
The lycan's bored expression changes into a curious one. I don't know if that's a good sign or not, but what I do know is that I need to stall for time.
Jordan should have noticed by now that something is amiss. I'm sure he's scouring the area with the kids.
The thing is, will my husband notice there's a barrier shielding us from view and enter it? That cumbersome thing seems to be of a high level, high enough that I fear even a patriarch of Jordan's caliber wouldn't necessarily perceive it.
Jonathan didn't, for one. Even half-asleep, he should have felt something wasn't right when they approached the alley and should have turned around, but he didn't. He walked in without a second thought.
It tells me everything I need to know.
To make matters worse, I'm not even sure the trackers in their coats work. Some barriers block them. A wry laugh is caught in my throat. All of Jordan's precautions were made with the idea that our targets were humans, not freaking lycans. Guess I'm not the only one who screwed up royally this time.
Yet, for some reason, the panic has receded as the gears turn in my mind. Jordan's sight hadn't been activated all day, and no strong feelings or emotions snuck up on him. Same for the kids.
So, I believe we will be fine.
If not, dread should've gripped Jordan's heart the moment we stepped foot into the festival, just like when Oliver abducted me.
"Has the cat gotten your tongue?" The man hums, sizing me up with amusement. White stripes twirl in his silver eyes, a mirror of the moon. Wait. Something is off. "By the way, you either have nerves of steel or have no survival instincts." His smile deepens. "Or then again, are you used to being around my brethren?"
Ah, shit. He's in his true form, isn't he?
I didn't notice, thanks to stress. My ability usually gets enhanced whenever adrenaline rushes through my veins, and it makes it nearly impossible to tell whether what I'm seeing is an afterimage of their true form or them having shed their human appearance.
It's already quite difficult in normal times, too.
There's nothing much I can do, so I offer a cold smile and say, "Well, hunters meet all kinds of beings every day, after all. We can't get spooked out just because you're in your true form, can we now?"
He grins and takes a step closer. His voice is low as he taunts, "I'm not in my true form, though."
I narrow my eyes. He's probing. Aren't lycans supposed to be all brawl and no brain? Could this one not play mind games, please?
"Then," my smile grows colder, "I guess I'm imagining those ears and that tail."
There's a second of silence before he bursts out laughing. He takes another step, and I have to crane my neck to look at his face. I swear, lycans and their tendencies to be stupidly tall. And well-built, too.
Well, now that he's standing a few inches away, it feels like I'm facing a fucking fridge.
"What an interesting little thing," he smirks. "Let's bring it with us for the time being. We can't idle around, anyway. Government dogs are stationed nearby, just a few meters away from the package I was supposed to pick up."
Ah, damn it, here goes the ambush.
"That aside, she asked us to be discreet, and killing a hunter isn't exactly what I'd call discreet. The barrier won't last much longer, and a corpse appearing out of the blue won't go unnoticed for long. There are too many people around."
"Right," his partner nods, and I flinch as she picks up Jonathan and James, throwing them on her shoulders like potato sacks. "We can always dispose of him later. For now, let's just get moving and drop them at the agreed location. My wife is waiting for me, so no way in hell am I returning home late just 'cause of some random human. Nuh-huh, not happening."
The man laughs in response, and I feel my mouth twitch.
Guys, I'm right here, and I'm hearing everything. But before I can complain, I feel a sharp pain in my neck, and the next second, everything grows dark. The last thought resonating in my mind is a loud and desperate "fuck".