Blake
The wall came down at precisely six-oh-three in the morning with the first glow of dawn breaking on the horizon.
Blake didn't feel it when it came down but from the howling of wolves and the gunshots echoing in the distance, she knew that the assault had started. It was an effort for her to stay concealed where she was on the flat roof of the clinic. A sniper rifle had been assembled and rested on the ledge, just barely in view of those on the ground. She peered through the scope, looking for movement in the forest.
She barely let herself think of Red or Monroe or Henry in the woods. Or of her other friends – Phillip, Li, Deacon, Lucas, Hope, Juliet, Jenny and countless others who Blake had come to care for. No, it was easier to focus on the task at hand. Of Lucy in the building below. The Luna had been in labour for about four hours and the baby was still firmly inside of her. Still, every so often Blake heard a pained cry and knew that the contractions were coming more frequently.
Soon. The baby would be here soon.
Blake wondered what kind of world it would emerge into. She hoped it was a good one. Filled with love and peace – not bloodshed and hatred.
It had been too late to move Lucy, especially given that the baby was a few weeks early. That, coupled with the stress she'd been under during this pregnancy meant that Henry wanted his Mate in a place where she had access to medical care so they'd stayed at the clinic and the plan had changed.
Those who weren't to be fighting had been moved to a secure location on pack territory that only Henry knew about. He'd commanded them to leave and not to tell anyone where they were headed and then he'd commanded those staying behind not to follow or ask questions about where they'd gone. The Alpha was adamant that those vulnerable pack members wouldn't be found but he hadn't kept the same optimism about Lucy.
The decision had been made for Blake to stay here instead of luring Malachi away. She and Henry had known that it would be futile – that the hunters' arrival today was occurring because someone in the pack had told them exactly when Lucy had gone into labour so that they'd known when the pack would be at their most vulnerable. Which meant that they'd likely also already told Malachi precisely where to find the Luna.
Really, this was the only place for Blake to be right now. Sitting atop a building waiting for Malachi to arrive so that she could apprehend him – but not kill him. As much as she hated him, that kill belonged to Henry. He deserved to slaughter the man that had nearly killed his daughter and had conspired to tear Sanguis Ridge apart.
So Blake sat, and watched, and waited, and did her damnedest not to think of the fact that Red was out there right now fighting for his life. He would be waiting for his gun-wielding packmates to push the hunters right into an ambush spot where the wolves were waiting but it was a dangerous plan and she was worried.
Blake had hardly had a moment alone with him before they'd needed to go to their respective spots for battle. Just one minute outside of the packhouse where he'd stared at her with those forest green eyes as if he were memorizing her face in case it was the last time he ever saw it. They'd held each other, gripping tightly for a moment that was much too short and then he had kissed her with more ferocity than he'd ever done before. The kind of kiss that said 'I love you' and 'goodbye.'
Red hadn't said either of those things before he'd left for the front lines though. He'd simply said, "You are my life, my heart, my soul...Keep them all safe for me today."
Blake had promised and forced him to do the same before kissing him again. In the next second, Red had been a russet wolf darting into the woods and away from her.
The time since had been long and tense and now, through the radio, static and intermingled conversations reached her. Of the wolves in the forest, Phillip had been trusted to lead the ones carrying guns. In the weeks that Blake had been training the wolves, he'd been the most consistent sharpshooter that they could spare. His was the most consistent voice she heard on the radio channel as he barked orders and commanded people into new positions. She chimed in only a few times with the hopes that Malachi understood that she was here and waiting for him.
Even though Blake couldn't see them in the dark shrubbery, she knew that Henry had stationed wolves around the clinic to protect Lucy. Every once in a while, she caught sight of a fluffy tail or luminous eyes. From her vantage point, she could do little to help them if the hunters appeared. The forest here was too dense and with the sun not yet fully risen, it was bathed in shadows. Still, she listened and watched for any sign of the hunters' approach.
For what felt like hours, Blake waited. She stared through the scope and listened to the gunshots and snarling and barks of absolute fury that mixed with the screams of humans. Though time seemed to be moving quickly, the progression of the sun was slow and when Blake checked her watch, she saw that it had only been about twenty minutes.
And still the war did not come to the clinic.
She checked the scope and watched the trees and listened to the whimpers of dying wolves and the groans of dying men – closer than they had been previously. Almost as if they were just on the other side of the treeline.
And still the war did not come to the clinic.
Downstairs, the Luna gave a cry that seemed to reverberate through the air. As if it were a summoning, a small group of hunters stepped forward from the treeline in the east. All of them bloody and dirty but none seemed to be gravely injured. Blake's stomach did a flip. Not their blood then.
They stopped at the edge of the trees but as one made to step forward, his semi-automatic pointed towards the clinic, another held up his hand in a signal to cease movement.
"Wait. I know she's here. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Blake," Malachi called.
Richard backed down, lowering his weapon just slightly but Blake knew that if he even saw a hint of movement behind the clinic doors, he'd open fire. So would Ida, who was watching the forest sceptically. There were two other hunters with them, people Blake didn't know, but there were no wolves in sight – none that appeared and came to challenge the hunters.
It would be so easy to open fire on them right now but Blake knew that she'd only get off one or two shots before they lit up the clinic like the Fourth of July. The risk to Lucy was too great.
Besides, Blake had promised that she'd keep Malachi alive.
"I'm getting tired of waiting, Blake," Malachi called. "You have thirty seconds before I go kill the bitch inside."
Blake left her rifle where it was and angled for the ladder on the back of the building. Swiftly, she climbed down and walked towards the front of the clinic where the leader of the hunters was waiting for her.
Malachi's pale brown eyes lit up gleefully as he saw her emerge. "I knew you'd be here. How are those wounds healing up, by the way? Arm stinging a bit?"
Traitor traitor traitor.
But Blake wasn't the traitor here. She knew who was. Knew what that truly meant now.
"Who told you that I'd be here? Come from your source on the inside?" Blake asked calmly. She glanced past him to Ida and Richard who were openly glaring at her. Ida spit on the ground but Richard only put his finger on the trigger of his gun, even if he did look a little confused by her words.
"No. You're just that predictable, sweetheart."
"So are you. I knew you'd come looking for the Luna because killing her and her child will surely send the Alpha into a rage. And you can't resist being the one who takes him down, right?"
Malachi didn't bother refuting it. He simply shrugged. "I always thought it would be you. Though perhaps I'll allow your brother to have the killing blow of that werewolf brute that you call your soulmate."
He was trying to goad her into a fight. Blake knew him well enough to hold her tongue and not give him the satisfaction.
"You're going to lose this fight, Malachi. The blood of everyone who dies here today will be on your hands."
"You gave me the keys to this house, Blake," he replied. Malachi's fingers twitched at his side, angling for the knife he kept sheathed there. "It's mine now. The blood isn't on my hands. It's on yours. You came in here to play spy. You told me all that I needed to know for this to be possible. You did this. Not me. But I thank you for your service, Blake. You've been a huge help to our cause."
Wind rustled through the trees behind Malachi and Blake's eyes were caught by something that made her smile. The expression startled Malachi whose eyes flared wide.
"And I thank you for showing me who I truly am, Malachi. I'll never forget the lessons you taught me," Blake replied. "I especially like the one where you instructed me on how to have eyes in the back of my head – to always know my surroundings. I guess, after all this time, it's one you still haven't learned."
It took half a second for her words to sink in but by the time they did, it was already too late. The group of hunters whirled, their guns rising, just as a wolf with dark brown fur with a scar through his eye leaped through the treeline and tore into Richard's throat.
Malachi spun back towards Blake as a snarling grey-furred wolf followed after the first. The wolf launched himself towards the hunters that Blake didn't know, very nearly missing a bullet aimed for his shoulder.
Victor and Deacon – Blake's backup.
Richard was a broken, bleeding mess on the ground as the two wolves turned their attention towards Ida and the other hunters. Malachi paid his fallen comrade no heed as he spun towards Blake with fury in his eyes. He lurched forward, fist flying as he pulled free a blade from its sheath but Blake was prepared for the assault. She ducked out of the way, Malachi's punch sailing over her head, and retaliated with a sharp elbow to his gut.
Cursing, he stepped back and then there were two blades out – one in each of his hands. Blake pulled her own fighting knives free and palmed them as Malachi began to launch a counterassault. He swiped at her, a blade angled for her stomach, but she evaded his movement and sent a slice towards him that found purchase along the exposed expanse of his forearm.
The leader of the hunters didn't let that wound slow him down. Instead, the fact that Blake had drawn first blood only seemed to rejuvenate him. His eyes were murderous as he turned his gaze on her and then everything between them happened in quick succession.
Malachi lunged and swiped with his blades and Blake parried and fought back until she was on the offensive and he was forced to defend himself. She was aware of every rake through her skin that his blades executed but she didn't let them stop her. Not even as blood dripped from her arms and hip – not even as he landed a hard kick to the back of her leg that caused her to limp. More blood dripped into her mouth from a split lip where he'd hit her and she could feel the left side of her face swelling with a bruise from where his knuckles had landed.
Blake took all of that pain, relished and harnessed it, until it was a living, thrumming thing inside of her. Until Blake was pain and fury and pure, undiluted murderous skill. Distantly, she was aware of Victor and Deacon still attacking the humans and winning too.
Or at least, they had been winning. And then there was a gunshot and a whimper of pain followed by the cracking of bones before the brown wolf was replaced by a six-foot-tall man who swayed and crashed to the ground. Victor's face contorted in pain and blood seeped from a wound on his chest, just above his heart.
Deacon snarled and launched himself towards Ida who had fired the shot. A scream died in her throat as the wolf tore into her but Blake couldn't watch further as a slash of Malachi's blade soared near to her throat.
She ducked beneath his arm so that she was behind him. The hilt of her blade connected with his temple and Malachi half crumpled but recovered enough to send another swipe her way. It was a wild effort and gave Blake the chance to disarm him. His blade clattered to the ground but Blake kicked it away as she wrestled Malachi down.
His eyes widened, shocked and scared, and Blake knew - knew at that moment that she'd won. For all of the years he'd lied and blackmailed and forced her to share his bed...For all of the innocents that she'd killed in his name – they were avenged.
She was avenged.
Or, at least she would be soon when Henry ripped him to shreds and all of those lost souls would be able to rest.
He was bigger than Blake was but it didn't matter. Malachi had taught her well and Blake knew how to keep an opponent that was larger and stronger than her down. Had learned where to apply pressure and though Malachi struggled, trying to remove her hold, Blake held on like a vice. Firm and unyielding.
Blake didn't want to kill him so she discarded her own blade, replacing it with a fist that she careened into Malachi's face, putting all the force of a wolf behind that punch. The first hit sent his head whipping to the side. The second shattered his nose. And the third knocked him unconscious.
Slowly, Blake stood up, blood coating her knuckles. Malachi didn't move but his face was already swelling, turning shades of black and blue. It was an effort to leave him lying there but she did. Somehow during their fight, she and Malachi had ended up across the street from the clinic near the Diner. As she looked across the narrow road, she saw that there were five bodies on the ground.
The four hunters were dead and Victor was...Blake exhaled as she saw his chest rise and fall. Alive, then but it was a shallow movement. Laboured. Deacon was trying to help his friend to his feet but the other wolf wasn't in much better shape. Like Victor, he'd also been shot but the bullet seemed to have gone through Deacon's side. It looked like the wolf had dug the bullet out of his flesh with his fingernails. Blood leaked down the side of his body but it seemed to already be slowing, the wound clotting and closing.
"Shit," Blake swore as she rushed for them. She left Malachi in the street, knowing he'd be out for a good long while. Victor was deathly pale as Blake raced by, heading for the clinic. She banged on the locked doors. "We're good out here but Victor's down! He needs help."
Barely a second later, the door opened and Dwayne stuck his head out. Beyond him, Blake could see a black-furred wolf standing guard. Henry's father – Adrian. She nodded at him and the former Alpha nodded back, a dip of his snout.
Dwayne rushed for a gurney. They loaded Victor up and inside to the clinic. Blake hoped that Dwayne had enough time to patch the werewolf up but from the grey tone of Victor's skin and the close proximity of a silver bullet to his heart, Blake didn't know if it would be possible.
Her heart clenched a little. There was no love lost between her and Victor but she didn't want him dead. Wanted the chance for the two of them to work through their shit, perhaps maybe even be friends one day. He'd been here for her today. He'd had her back.
Blake hoped to their goddess that the wolf survived as Dwayne rushed him inside, shouting for help.
"You too," she said to Deacon. His eyes slid to her and he swayed a little, unsteady on his feet. He was in better shape than Victor but not by much. "Get checked out."
"Blake—"
"Stay with Victor," she amended. "I'm fine but tell Adrian that I need reinforcements to guard Malachi. He's out for now but I'm not taking any chances."
"You don't look fine. You're covered in blood."
She shrugged and then winced as it hurt. Her face stung. So did her ribs and her leg and – okay, maybe she was a little banged up. But a lot of the blood wasn't hers and she wasn't about to take shelter when and hide with Malachi nearby and the war still raging.
"Most of it isn't mine," Blake told Deacon, placing a hand on his bare-skinned shoulder. "I'm okay."
"Where are you going to put him?" Deacon asked, looking past her to where Malachi laid on the ground, still out like a light.
"The Diner. It's close and I won't be able to get him all the way to the prison alone. Now go and keep an eye on Victor."
Deacon nodded and ducked inside as Blake raced back across the street. The door to the Diner was unlocked so she propped it open and dragged Malachi inside. He didn't stir and she'd prepared for a moment like this, so Blake reached for the handcuffs at her belt and secured him to the refrigerator.
She removed his weapons, keeping the nicer things for herself. Blake unbuckled the kukri blade from his hip and sheathed it to her own body. Perhaps a strange twist of fate had brought it back to her, this blade that had sliced her up. One day, when Annalise was old and experienced enough to wield the blade, Blake would gift it to her, if she wanted it. A reminder of what they'd endured. What they'd overcome. What could never hurt them again.
Blake leaned against the stove and used a damp cloth she wet at the sink to begin mopping up the blood from her face. A wince pulsed through her as she hit a tender spot but it was overshadowed by a shooting pain coursed through her body. Hot and burning along the side of her neck, so intense that she nearly screamed. Yet as Blake placed her hand against the point of agony, she found that there was nothing wrong with her. Nothing at all.
It was like it wasn't even her pain but someone else's.
Red.
Her mate her mate her mate her mate her mate.
She was halfway to the door before she realized that she couldn't leave Malachi alone. He was too resourceful to remain unguarded and even weaponless and handcuffed, Blake knew that he could find a way to escape if he willed it.
Fear raced through her veins and she bounced on her toes, eyes scanning the town and forest beyond the windows. A breath left her as three figures appeared, jogging from the copse of trees. Li, Lucas, and Juliet. The female's eyes were near-glowing as Blake unlatched the door and opened it for them. Juliet strode directly behind the counter to see where Malachi had been chained up. All three of them were dirty with specks of blood peppering their skin but they seemed otherwise okay.
A mercy even if her heart still raced.
"Red," Blake said. The pain in her neck had already begun to subside, replaced by something dark and cool. "Where is Red?"
Li started at the panic in her voice. "Before we headed back here, he was out near the clearing where we play soccer but by the time you get there, I'm sure he'll be long gone."
The very same clearing where Blake had first seen the Sanguis Ridge pack and opened fire on them. Luckily, she knew where that was and how to get there from here.
"You're good?" she asked, pointing to Malachi, already halfway out the door.
"Yes, but—"
"Watch him. Don't let him out of your sight. Promise me."
Li's mouth tightened and his eyes settled with a grim resolve but he nodded at the order. "I promise."
Blake didn't need any more assurances than that as she sprinted into the early morning light. Her fingers wrapped around a handgun she'd swiped from Malachi's body and just like the last time she'd sprinted through these woods in a war, her katana was strapped across her back. The difference was that this time, Blake knew these woods. They were hers.
And she was going to find Red because if he'd been hurt – if a hunter had harmed him, then that hunter would die. Blake would kill them and feel no remorse. No matter who it was.
Blake ran, jumping over fallen logs and roots. A few times she even tripped over dead bodies. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved that almost all of them were the bodies of hunters. Some of whom she knew from Beare Lake.
Later. The confusion and grief and emotions would come later. The only thing that mattered now was finding Red.
Her eyes searched wildly, looking for any glimpse of green eyes or a russet coat but saw none. All she heard was the echoing of gunshots, the ringing of screams, and piercing howls and barks. That pain in her neck didn't flare again and Blake was filled with fear and dread. He couldn't be dead. She would know if he was dead.
Wouldn't she?
If it was his pain that she was feeling then surely it meant that the stupid bond he always talked about had been alive and true moments ago. But now she just felt nothing as she always did. Blake didn't have the time to wonder about the intricacies of werewolf Mating Bond magic. All that mattered was that she found him.
As she approached the clearing though, getting ready to begin calling out for him, she was distracted by snarls and the muttering of a most familiar human voice.
"That's him, right? Malachi will be pleased."
"He's not answering on the radio," a second voice replied, a hint of nervousness shaking through. Concern for his leader.
"Neither are Richard and Ida," a third added. "We should just kill this monster and fall back."
"Malachi wanted the kill," that first voice repeated. Cold and flat. It sent shivers up Blake's spine just to hear it.
The third person replied, "Yeah, well he's off hunting your bitch traitor of a sister. At the end of the day, he'll just be glad that this wolf is dead."
Slowly, she crept forward and peered through a section of dense foliage as the three hunters twenty feet ahead began to bicker amongst themselves. All of them were young and male and looked like children on a battlefield. Two watched the forest, fidgeting uncertainly with their guns but the third stood tall and strong. He was the youngest of the group but there was such hate in his eyes. Blake's heart began to shatter and break in her chest.
Josh.
Her little brother who was dressed in dark, thick clothing and carrying a loaded semi-automatic rifle. The barrel of it was pointed at a humongous grey wolf stuck in a trap – silver razor netting that cut into the wolf's skin. It wasn't enough to force the wolf back into human form but it was more than enough to keep him down.
The wolf was familiar to Blake and seeing him only increased her panic. It wasn't Red but Henry. The Alpha wolf – stuck at the mercy of three hunters.
His back was to Blake so he had no idea that she was there to help but she could all but feel the nervousness and hatred oozing from his pores. Blake's fingers twitched on the gun but her eyes kept falling on her brother. To the messy black hair and the slate grey eyes – eyes they shared.
Blake didn't want to hurt her brother. Josh was the only blood family she had left in this world and killing him would mean killing a part of herself. But neither could she let Henry die for this misguided cause. Couldn't let him pay the price that her actions had brought about.
Trembling, Blake lifted the gun and aimed. She very nearly pulled the trigger – was about to – when a hand landed on her shoulder.
Blake jumped but held in a shout as she turned her head. Relief flooded through her.
"Mick," she whispered.
"Rebellion looks good on you, Blake," he replied with a wink. Dirt had lightened his black hair to brown and there were bruises forming on his cheek but no blood. His green eyes sparkled.
"You too, Mick."
A few steps behind him, crouching low and out of sight of the hunters on the other side of the bush, were Amir, Pam, and another hunter about Blake's age named Finn. All three grinned – even if Pam's did look a little forced. Not surprising given that it seemed as if she'd taken a blow near the corner of her mouth.
"That a friend of yours?" Mick asked. When Blake nodded, he said, "Okay. Let's see if we can get him out of this jam without it becoming a bloodbath. Got a plan?"
"Do you?"
A pause. "I have an idea."
Blake said, "Tell me where you need me."
Mick laid it out and there was no time for her to think about the fact that he was here – that he and Hix had flipped people to their side. Her side. That there were other humans unwilling to let the slaughter go on unchecked and were here now to fight for the innocents.
When everyone was in position, Blake stood and stepped through the bush. Immediately, the guns were removed from Henry and trained on her as she aimed her own weapon in the general direction of her brother.
She only stared at Josh whose mouth dropped open. Between the siblings, Henry stiffened but he spasmed in shock as she said, "Hey, bro."
Josh's hands trembled on the gun but he didn't remove it from her chest. "Blake."
"Put your guns down and go. I'll escort you off pack land myself. No wolf will harm you if you're with me." Blake looked at the other two hunters – Brad and Leo, who were Josh's friends – and added, "No werewolf will harm any of you if you're with me. I swear."
"That's rich coming from you," Leo hissed. His blue eyes narrowed. Sweat dripped down his forehead, coming from a place within his blond hairline. "You're working with them. Living with them. You might not grow a tail and claws, but you're a werewolf. A monster."
Blake raised her chin. "Maybe I am. At least I can say that I'm doing what's right. Can you?"
"These monsters killed Caden," Josh said and his voice broke. "That's what Malachi said. And the wolf in this pack killed mom and dad. That's what you said."
"I was wrong," Blake admitted and slowly she began to take a few steps forward. "I tried to tell you that day when Malachi locked me up but I didn't have time to fully explain. Malachi killed Caden and orchestrated the murdering of humans in Denver over the past year. As for the werewolves that killed mom and dad – they're both dead. Malachi killed them. He's lied to us for years. Manipulated us and probably countless others to keep us hunting. This pack is innocent, Josh. Most Shadow World beings are. We've diverged from the path. We stopped hunting the bad ones and started hunting all of them. I can't stand by any longer. I won't."
"And neither will we," Mick said as he stepped out of the foliage, ten feet to Blake's left. He, Pam, Amir, and Finn had fallen into position with Blake to form a circle around the three young hunters who were now outnumbered and outgunned.
Blake could feel the shock emanating from Henry but the Alpha held himself still. She wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision or if it was the silver holding him in place – but either way, it was a smart call.
Josh's gun began to waver slightly but he didn't lower it. "You're lying."
Blake shook her head and advanced again until she was standing directly beside Henry. "No, I'm not."
"A warlock dug through your brain. You told me that. What if he planted those memories or changed the truth to fit this delusion?"
"He didn't. They were my own memories and I investigated Caden's body personally. I know you're hurting because of Javier's death but you're fighting on the wrong side here, brother." She slid into place in front of Henry, eliminating a clear shot from Josh, Brad, or Leo. They would have to kill her first. Henry grumbled quietly behind her, a muted warning. "Please see that."
Josh's jaw quivered but when he glanced at Brad and Leo, Blake saw his resolve return, taken from the strength of their hateful eyes.
"If you shoot your sister and that wolf, you'll never make it out of this pack alive," Finn said. He was standing on the opposite side of the circle from Blake, his gun trained on Leo. "The hunt is nearly over and I can guarantee that the hunters have lost. You three have the opportunity to survive this thing. Don't go out on a suicide pact."
Again, another one of those communicative glances between the three friends and then their guns were being lowered. Brad glared balefully towards Blake and the Alpha at her side and then, without a word to anyone, he ducked into the nearby woods. Leo followed a moment later but Blake's brother lingered a second longer.
"Josh—" Blake began.
He only shook his head at her, eyes filled with grief and loss and heartbreak, and was gone.
Tears stung at her eyes but she blinked them back as she spun around and pulled the silver netting off of Henry. The second it was gone, he was standing and facing her, thankfulness written in the depths of those hazel eyes.
Henry Shifted and for a moment, all Blake could hear and see was bones breaking and reforming, hair receding and replaced by smooth skin that was crisscrossed with minuscule cuts and burns from where the silver had dug into his flesh.
Behind Blake, there was a gasp of shock and then, "Oh, god he is totally naked." Mick sounded utterly scandalized.
"Yup," Finn replied but he didn't sound nearly as upset about it as Mick did. Quietly, he said, "Look at him. No wonder Blake stayed if they all look like that."
Blake, who had long grown used to the Shifting and the nakedness that came with it, ignored them completely and hardly even blinked as Henry placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" he asked. His voice was guttural, almost like he was still partially in his wolf skin. "Looks like you got banged up."
"Don't worry – our mutual friend is worse. He's alive though. I left him chained to the fridge in the Diner for you. Li, Lucas, and Juliet have eyes on him. Victor was hurt pretty bad and Deacon got shot but he'll be fine. Dwayne's working on Victor but...He's in rough shape."
Henry's eyes darkened but he nodded. Over her head, he looked to the hunters that were standing awkwardly. "Thank you," he said to them. "For not killing me."
Mick stepped forward and held out his hand. "You're welcome."
The Alpha stared at the extended hand and what it represented, a peace offering. A moment later, he grasped it and shook it.
Now that Henry was safe from imminent danger, Blake's mind reverted to the task that had brought her raging into the forest, "Do you know where Red is?"
"No," Henry said and there was tension now lining his eyes. "I felt him leave pack territory and we were talking but then he was just gone. He's alive," Henry added quickly at the despair and horror dawning on Blake's face. "I'd know if he was dead."
"He left? Willingly?"
"He was chasing something. A hunter maybe. That's the story I was trying to get out of him."
Blake's next breath hitched in her throat. "You should go to the clinic. It doesn't seem like there are many hunters left out here. I'm going to go find him."
"I gave the order for everyone to head back to the house before those hunters got the jump on me. Your friend here was right about the hunters. Half are dead, the rest are fleeing...Maybe Red had to Shift for some reason. Come with me to the house and if he's not there, I'll come back out here with you personally to find him."
It was the last thing she wanted to do but this forest was huge and if he'd gone off territory or was hurt then she would need those supernatural senses to help her track him down. "Fine," she agreed, even if her heart clenched.
To the other hunters, Henry added, "You can come with us."
The four humans hesitated. Even though Blake's body was filled with anxiety, she calmed herself enough to say, "It will be fine if you come. You'll be safe with us. Besides, if you leave now, the hunters you turned on will just track you down and kill you for the betrayal. Let them get far away from here and then decide what you want to do."
Mick, the calmest of the bunch, nodded. "Okay."
Henry Shifted back into his wolf skin and led the humans through the trees. Blake lingered a moment longer, circling slowly as if she'd see Red jump out from between the foliage but no green-eyed russet wolf appeared. With the lingering phantom pain still stinging her neck, Blake turned and followed the Alpha home.