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13
Theo
“You want to do what?” I asked, holding my mate to my chest and blinking in disbelief.
“I need to go back, Theo. We need to find out The Society’s plans. Maybe we’ll get lucky and no one will realize Hall and his men are dead before we return.”
“I get that you wanted revenge. Hall is gone. He can’t harm anyone else ever again. That warehouse is dangerous, baby. Who knows what surveillance they have? Maybe security has been improved. We’d be going in blind and I don’t like that.”
“I know, but this is important. Other shifter communities are at risk. This isn’t just about Cedar Creek and Timber Mountain. These humans will hunt us down. They aren’t going to stop.” She placed a small hand against my cheek as my hold tightened. “Do you want them to return once our child is born?”
A feral growl launched from my throat and I shook my head, my lips crashing down on hers with the thought of anyone harming my family. “No, never.”
“Then we have to eliminate the threat. This is our only chance to gain some valuable information before it’s discovered by someone else.”
She was right.
“We must protect our own. We can’t allow any more kidnappings or deaths, Bec.”
After we had showered and dressed, I led her downstairs to eat something before we left. Rinnick was fully on board with our plans and met us outside a half hour later.
“You’re sure about this, Becca?”
She nodded, slipping her fingers into mine. “We can’t allow those humans to return. They might come in greater numbers next time and Elena and Briar are both pregnant. We have too much to risk right now.”
“Including you and our cub,” I added as I turned to Rinnick. “Let’s go. The faster we leave the better. I have no idea what we’ll find. I want to be long gone before darkness falls.”
Cole and Dane joined Rinnick in the back of Theo’s truck as we drove to The Society’s warehouse. I parked close to the same spot as last time as we all shifted. Rinnick thought our chances of being ambushed were higher if we could use our enhanced senses. He was right but we didn’t find anything close to what we expected.
The stench of rotten flesh and blood filled my sense long before we stumbled upon the bodies. I shifted back to human form and turned to the others who followed my lead. “There’s no humans left alive.”
Rinnick whistled low. “Did the two of you leave all these bodies behind?”
“No,” Becca snapped, placing her hands on her hips. “We left over a week and a half ago. These are fresh kills. Someone beat us here.”
Rinnick’s smile faded. “Let’s find out who it was.”
Our alpha led the way across the property as we walked through a minefield of scattered body parts, slashed organs and limbs, and puddles of blood. The inside was worse than outdoors. No humans could ever create such a horrific scene no matter how deprived. Only shifters tore into bodies and flesh this way. It was instinctual, a base and feral response that only an animal could accomplish.
“All of the cameras and surveillance equipment has been destroyed.” Rinnick shook his head. “This look like the bears. Theo?”
“Yeah, I’d say that the Black brothers have some explaining to do.”
“Cole? Dane? What does it look like to the two of you?”
“I’d say either werecats or the bears,” Cole agreed.
“Bears for sure,” Dane answered thoughtfully. “I’ve seen all the fresh kills after Yarl Black went on his murderous rampage. All of the bodies had similar slash and claw marks. I’d put money on the fact that bears are responsible.”
“Which means the Black brothers are hiding something,” I added. “We need to pay Rory Black a visit. Now.”
“There’s definitely more going on than we’ve been led to believe,” Rinnick surmised, his voice so low it sounded almost guttural. “I intend to find out exactly how much Rory knows about The Society and my brother’s death. It’s time we had a nice long discussion.”
“We’re coming with you,” Cole insisted as Rinnick smirked. “I’ve got my own reasons.”
Yarl Black was responsible for two attempts on Briar’s life and nearly succeeded. He was also the same rogue shifter that terrorized our clan for weeks before Cole stopped him. He murdered over a half dozen wolves and a fellow bear shifter. His true identity was revealed along with the truth. Yarl had murdered Cole’s first mate and Briar’s older sister Renleigh as well as Cole and Rinnick’s brother Seth.
“I suspect all of you feel the same way.”
