Liam linked Damien: “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, give me just one more minute,” Liam replied. He wanted to reassure Azalea before they left, so he opened his phone and texted her:

ME: Hey beautiful I can’t wait to see you tomorrow Sleep well tonight

He waited for a reply, but when the three dots didn't appear, he placed his phone on his nightstand and prepared to leave. He was eager to stop the hunter and reach Azalea.

Just as he was about to leave, his phone dinged. A smile spread across his face as he read Azalea's message:

AZALEA: Hi Liam. Please be safe. I will try, but I am worried about you. Good luck.

Liam knew he didn't have much time, but he couldn't leave her worried. He replied:

ME: Don’t worry, kitten. Just a few rogues. Nothing Damien and I can’t handle. Need to stretch my legs sometimes, too. Will it make you feel better if I tell you when I’m back?

AZALEA: Yes, it would.

Liam smiled. The mate bond must be strengthening.

ME: It will be very late, but I promise I will. Sweet dreams, beautiful. I really can’t wait to see you for dinner tomorrow.

He put down his phone and left the room. He needed to deal with the hunter situation.

He met Damien at the front door. “You ready?” Damien asked.

“Yeah, is everyone else?” Liam replied.

“Yeah. We should head out. Langston will be meeting us at the territorial border. We’ll start where last night’s attack occurred and work our way through the other locations. All extra patrols are in place and on high alert,” Damien explained.

“Good. I don’t want any more wolves caught by that bastard,” Liam said.

They went to the front lawn, where the rest of the hunting party waited. Liam nodded to them, and they proceeded to the tree line. About 100 yards in, they paused to strip, tying their clothes in bags on their legs to have clothes for the return shift. Taking the lead, they shifted one by one. Once everyone was ready, Liam linked, “Let’s move,” and they set off toward the site of last night's attack.

Damien and Liam moved ahead of the others. As Alpha and Beta, they were larger, faster, and stronger. Damien, even in wolf form, was Liam's size, likely due to his human stature. Liam sometimes joked that Damien would shift into a bear. They were evenly matched in strength, with Liam slightly faster. Their Gamma remained with the other warriors as they went to meet Alpha Langston. Nearing the territorial border, they slowed, trying to locate Langston and his warriors. They picked up a scent from the south, so they turned in that direction. After a few more minutes of running, they found them. Damien linked their Gamma to their location to bring the rest of their warriors.

Langston and Liam shifted back to human form to speak.

“Good evening, Langston,” Liam greeted.

“Liam,” Langston replied, nodding.

“Preliminary reports show no activity in the area so far,” Liam informed him.

Langston nodded. “We should begin moving and mix our groups for better communication.”

“Good idea,” Liam said. Damien nodded, and began linking their warriors, dividing them into two groups, likely assigning one to be responsible for shifting back and forth if needed. “We’ll be ready in a moment. I’ll take my group back into our territory. You should head through yours; we both know the land better that way.”

“Fine. Let’s get moving,” Langston said. Liam nodded, turned to his warriors, and commanded, “Second group, follow Alpha Langston,” before shifting back. Half of their warriors moved toward Langston's group, and vice-versa.

Once in formation, Damien signaled, and Liam howled to the sky. The group followed suit as they headed back into their territory.

After a few minutes, Liam linked Damien, suggesting they split the group and approach from different directions. Damien agreed, linking the others to split up. Langston’s warriors quickly understood, and they set off in different directions.

After an hour, Liam stopped his group for a break. He linked Damien while everyone got water and rested.

“Find anything?” Liam asked.

“Faint traces, possibly him. But we’re near the human border, and I doubt he’d be this far out if he’s after us. Although, he could be using the human town as cover,” Damien replied.

Dread washed over Liam; he didn't want the hunter near Azalea. He hadn't considered the hunter hiding in the human town.

“Damien…” Liam began.

“I know. But he couldn’t know about her, Liam. Your uncle and I are the only ones who know.”

“My parents know she’s my mate, but they don’t know I’ve been in contact with her,” Liam admitted.

“When the hell did you tell them? And how is she alive? No offense, man, but your father isn’t the most understanding.”

“We’ll talk about that later. Follow the traces and let me know. We’ll head toward you in a few minutes.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Damien replied, dropping the link.

Liam told his group they’d move in five minutes, his heart racing with worry for Azalea. He needed to find the hunter before he connected Azalea to him; she wouldn’t be safe. Even with patrols or wolves near her inn, he couldn't guarantee her safety without revealing their secret.

Once ready, they headed toward Damien’s group. After about ten minutes, Damien linked Liam again.

“Alpha, you need to see this now,” he said.

“What?” Liam asked.

“Just get here quickly. Come ahead of everyone else,” Damien said, then went silent.

Liam linked the senior warrior beside him, who nodded, and Liam took off. Within five minutes, he reached a small clearing where Damien stood. They shifted back to human form. Damien stepped aside, revealing a sign staked in the ground:

SHE’S A PRETTY LITTLE THING. TOO BAD YOU CAN’T PROTECT HER.

Liam noticed something green flickering in the breeze—a piece of Azalea’s sweater, the one she wore on their date. He carefully removed it.

He turned to Damien. “She wore this last night,” he said coldly.

“Liam, whoever this is already has access to her.”

“I know, and he’s made it clear. He’s after me and will use Azalea to get to me.”

“What do we do?”

“We need wolves in the human town tonight.”

“But how do we explain things to Langston?”

“Let me handle that.”

“Liam, you know you have to bring her here. We can’t protect her that far away.”

“Damnit, Damien, I can’t!” Liam roared. “She’s terrified of anything pack-related! She panicked when I mentioned her coming to the pack just to see my uncle! We tortured her, Damien! Would you return to a place where you were treated like a worthless traitor?” Gavin, his inner wolf, urged him to go to Azalea.

“Liam, calm down. You’re right. But it doesn’t change anything. She isn’t safe there, and you can’t be with her 24/7.”

They fell silent.

“Let me send a couple of wolves to check the inn. I’ll also send a patrol to the town. At least the woods surround the inn, allowing them to watch her. We need to meet with Langston, and you need to tell him something.”

Liam sighed. “Alright. Get everyone moving. Give the inn wolves a Pack car and tell them to get there quickly. They need to give a note to the innkeeper. He’s too old to protect her, but he can be another pair of eyes.”

“Good idea,” Damien said, already linking Lily for assistance.

“As soon as we’ve met with Langston, I’m going to her. Gavin won’t wait much longer until we know she’s safe. Can you send the search parties back and have one of Langston’s warriors link him to meet in my office?”

“Yeah, I can do that. Are you going back first?”

“Yeah, I’m going to shower and pack. I was supposed to meet her for dinner. I’ll probably spend the day there to keep an eye on things.”

“Understood. See you shortly,” Damien said. He shifted and ran toward their party.

Liam shifted and ran back to the packhouse.

“There was no trace of him when we got there. He knows about Azalea. He could be anyone!” Gavin growled.

“I know, I know. I just need to handle things here, then we can go to her!” Liam retorted.

“What if he takes her while you’re wasting time?”

“Shut up. If he wanted her, he could have already. We spoke to her hours ago, and she was fine!”

“And she’s been alone and vulnerable for hours. He’s two steps ahead. Attacking the pack members was a distraction!”

“I’m getting that; thank you!”

“We need to bring mate here now. There’s no other choice. We can’t get him if she isn’t safe.”

“You know she won’t come. We can’t bring her here until she’s ready!”

Gavin fell silent. Liam broke through the tree line, shifting mid-run, and crashed through the front door, heading straight to his room and his phone.

He called Azalea. After two rings, she answered.

“Liam?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, sweetheart. It’s me.”

“Did you finish your pack business?”

“Yes, I’m back.”

“Good. Oh, wait, the inn phone is ringing.”

Liam heard her answer. After a few minutes, she returned to the call.

“I’m glad you’re back safe. But I have to go, Liam,” she said.

“What’s going on? It’s the middle of the night,” Liam said, worried.

“A couple just called for a late check-in. I need to get their room ready. They’ll be here in about 30 minutes,” she said. Relief washed over him.

“Okay. I won’t keep you. Come straight back and rest, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow?” she said hopefully.

“As soon as I can get away from the pack, beautiful,” Liam lied.

“Get some sleep. Sweet dreams,” she said, hanging up. He sighed; she was okay, for now. But the hunter had access to her, and he needed to find him.

He showered, got dressed, packed a bag, and headed to his office. Damien and Langston were already there. As Liam opened the door, Langston stood, shouting:

“I demand to know what you found and what’s going on, BOY!”

“Please, sit down, and I’ll explain.”

“No, start talking now. Why did you call off the search parties with no dead hunter?”

“Because we no longer believe your territory is the target.”

“And how can you know that? He attacked my patrols, too!”

“Because this hunter is after my mate and me,” Liam said firmly. Langston looked shocked. “If you sit down, I’ll explain. This explanation doesn't leave this room. Am I clear?”

Langston hesitated, then sat.

“Are you sure about this?” Damien linked Liam, giving him a pointed look.

“I can’t hide it forever, and he should know. I’ll tell the rest of the pack in time,” Liam linked back.

“I’m sure you’re surprised to hear I have a mate. No one outside this room knows.”

Langston nodded for him to continue.

“The situation is complicated. For her own reasons, she hasn’t accepted me yet and doesn’t wish to come to my packhouse. She’s in human territory. I inadvertently led the hunter to her, and now he’s using her to get to me. We believe her life is in danger.”

Langston nodded. “Then you need to bring her here for protection, young man. I don’t need to tell you how important a Luna is to her Alpha.”

“I understand. But it won’t be simple. For now, I need to go to her; I’m sure you understand. I appreciate your discretion,” Liam said, standing.

“I understand. Good luck, and I’m eager to meet her. Let us know if you need assistance. I’d be happy to lend warriors to protect your Luna,” Langston said.

“I appreciate that. Thank you,” Liam said, bowing. Langston bowed and left.

Liam turned to Damien. “You’ll have to tell Lily, you know?” Damien said. “She’ll be mad if we don’t.”

“Can you explain it to her? I need to go. Plus, you can calm her down.”

“Sure, Lily might not know everything about Azalea, so it’s probably best I explain. She might throw things at you again,” Damien chuckled, remembering Liam's last encounter with Lily's wrath. Liam gave a tight smile.

“Go to her. I have things here. Patrols will switch tomorrow, and I’ll have new ones checking the inn every two days.”

“Thanks. What did you tell them?”

“That we think the hunter is there, and they’re to watch the humans. Look for strange behavior and ensure no one is harmed.”

“Good thinking,” Liam said, heading for the door. He paused. “Damien… thanks. Really,” he said over his shoulder.

“Don’t mention it. Go get our Luna, man,” Damien said, smiling.

Liam left for the garage to get his car. He could run faster with Gavin, but he needed his SUV tomorrow. He knew Damien had his back. If Damien and Lily accepted Azalea, maybe the pack wouldn’t be hard to convince.