Diane flushed. “If that were true, he wouldn’t have left me.”
“It would seem that way, but actually, he would have. The sooner he deals with this, the sooner he can get back to you for uninterrupted time. The problem is while that seemed logical here, the longer he’s away from you, the more scattered his thoughts will become. His animal is riding him hard, anyway. With feral fever, they’re no longer in sync unless they’re with you. Before you arrived, the animal was in control. Zane was more than likely still in there, but his panther was the one in charge. Now Zane’s back, but the fever keeps his animal on the surface, close enough to take over if needed. He’s feral, and at the moment like a loaded gun in a novice’s hand.”
“What does that mean?” Diane asked, almost afraid to know.
“That he’s just as likely to get himself killed as he is to take out anyone else.”
“I can’t lose him,” Diane whimpered, shaking her head frantically.
“I’ll do my best not to let that happen. I just need you to trust me,” Angel said. “Will you do that?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
For Zane, she’d do anything she needed to. Hadn’t she already proven that by coming out here to search for him to begin with? She glanced at the huge man next to her on the porch. At least, she had Angel this time. Nothing against Kenzie, but Angel made her feel a hell of a lot safer than the five-foot-two brunette.
Zane crouched in the tree line, taking it all in and trying to think. They had Kenzie. That was the one thing he was certain of. He wasn’t sure how many of them were gathered, his senses were a little fucked up for some reason. He was hot, burning hot and had a feeling the fever was coming on with a vengeance, and it was so much worse now that he’d tasted the remedy. His mate. He needed her, wanted her so desperately. It fucked with his head, pulling him in differing directions when he needed to focus on where he was and who he needed to help. Kenzie.
They had her. Her scent was strong, as was the stench of blood and sweat. His body shook with the need to burst in and get to her. The panther in him wanted to shed blood, to conquer and kill so they could get back to their mate. They both wanted to leave, go to their mate and ensure she was safe and protected. It was taking all Zane had not to shift and just let the animal have his head. He should have known better than to leave Diane. But would they have been any safer? Or would the hunters kill Kenzie then go after them? What was to say they still wouldn’t?
He had to think, to be smart and find the solution that would save them all. Kenzie. He had to focus on her first as she was the one in the most danger. Unless… There were more hunters circling behind him, searching for Diane. He shook his head. They wouldn’t know he and Diane were there. Chances where, they’d caught Kenzie’s scent and taken her, and she wouldn’t have given him or Diane up no matter what they did to her.
For the hundredth time, he wished he had a way of contacting Tah or Reno. He shook his head. No, he wouldn’t put either of them in danger if he could help it. He’d call Murphy, though. That son of a bitch would have his back in a heartbeat. Finn, too, if he was still okay. Zane should have asked Diane about what was going on, how everyone was. He didn’t even know if Abby and the baby were okay.
He rose and moved stealthily around the cabin the hunters were using. It looked similar to the one he’d taken Diane to, and made Zane wonder how many of them were hidden out here. Perhaps housing people that posed a threat to Tah and the pride. It was definitely something they should all be aware of. Maybe they’d made their perimeter too small?
Four men out front, three more in the back and at least two inside. It was a full-blown hunter party and sure as shit they were here looking for shifters. They might know about Tah. Hell, chances were higher they were here looking for Amia and Reno, especially if they were Blane hunters. They’d understood the risk when Reno had mated with Amia Blane. But Blane was simply Amia’s last name, it wasn’t who she was. She was one of them, now, more so than she’d ever been a member of the Blane clan.
Zane circled around farther. There were two men on the other side, bringing the count up to eleven. More than likely there were at least an even dozen of them, which meant there might be a few unaccounted for. He couldn’t know for sure exactly how many were inside with Kenzie. The sweat and stench of multiple bodies bled together. Kenzie’s scent was the only one he could sift through to with any certainty and even it had been altered. His senses were everywhere, though, and he couldn’t figure out what was off about it.