“Who the hell is that?” the were snarled on the other end.
Aric watched me carefully. “Just answer her.”
The were paused. “It runs from her jaw across the length of her throat. But what…?”
My hand fell against my side. No. Not again.
“Celia. What is it?”
I swallowed hard. “It’s Antoinette Malika. Your wolves are tracking another judge.”
CHAPTER 22
“You’re to stay behind me at all times. No leaping into danger. No taking unnecessary chances. No attacking. No changing. Unless we’re all incapacitated or dead, you are not to engage any vampires. Even then you are to flee to safety. Do you understand?”
“I understood you the first five times you told me, Aric.” He growled something under his breath, but stopped when I placed my hand on his thigh. It wasn’t like me to be so forward, but touching him felt as natural as breathing, despite the flush it sent to my cheeks. “I’ll be careful. I promise.” I sighed dramatically. “I know I’m just a poor, helpless little feline and I should leave any dismemberment to you big, ass-kicking lupines.”
Aric focused straight ahead, except he couldn’t stop his grin. “Damn straight.”
Koda chuckled behind me. His good cheer surprised me. But then again he’d spent quality time with Shayna, and now his beast was going to have fun mutilating a vampire.
Aric’s Escalade bounced along the pitch-black wooded path hard enough to make my teeth rattle. I knew then why the wolves drove SUVs. Evil knew no boundaries. All-terrain vehicles were a must.
Aric hit the Bluetooth thingy when his phone rang. “It’s Aric.”
“We snagged the leech. You want us to kill her now?”
“Not unless she starts to break from your hold. I’m bringing a witness to identify her. If she’s who we think she is, we have bigger problems on our hands.”
“Got it. You have our location?”
“Koda’s tracking you through your cell phone. Koda, what’s our ETA?”
Koda hit a few buttons on his cell. “Park here. If we cut north up the hill, we’ll be there in less than five.”
Aric veered off to the side and hit the brakes. “Stay close to me, Celia.”
We hit the ground running. Aric and Koda barely made a sound. When they saw how easily I kept up, their steps pounded faster, pushing until they reached their full human speed. My feet sped lightly over the moist soil, barely kicking so much as pebble. The brisk night whipped my hair behind me. Aric glanced over his shoulder just to wink. I smiled, but the agonized roaring ahead easily erased my grin. My tigress growled along with the wolves. Aric didn’t like that one bit. “Remember what I told you,” he said in a low voice.
We stopped in a small clearing where the wolf pack stood as humans…naked humans. Buff, strong, strapping, very naked humans.
Holy crap.
I dropped my gaze. Except for some guy holding a cell phone and a bazooka-looking thing draped over his shoulder, we were the only ones dressed. Aric frowned. “Why aren’t you watching her?”
And why the hell are you naked?
The guy with the phone held out his hand. “Relax. The rest of the pack is with her. It took all the senior wolves to corner her and take her down. Some vamp showed, too, insisting he see her.” He rolled his eyes. “Wait till you see this idiot. He’s as sturdy as a kangaroo with a busted leg, but he claims to be a master.”
I winced, knowing who’d made an appearance.
Aric followed the other wolf. Koda placed his hand on my shoulder blades and nudged me forward when I hesitated. My tigress didn’t like the idea of walking through a wall of wolves. And they didn’t exactly welcome me with open arms. Deep amber eyes watched me as I passed, scrutinizing my every step. My tigress perceived each small gesture—like the narrowing of eyes or the subtle raise of a hand—as a challenge.
“Don’t worry, Celia. They know better than to touch you.”
Koda’s tone told me his words were more a warning to them than words of comfort for me. He had my back. Between him and Aric, I didn’t feel alone. But that didn’t mean the situation bothered me any less.
We walked through another cluster of trees until it opened into a larger field. A fire had ravaged the area at some point, but the forest was reclaiming the land. Thick ferns grew beneath our feet, and saplings sprouted through the dense forest floor. And skipping across the field toward Aric was none other than Blondie, his date from the other night.
Her Victoria Beckham bob swayed picturesquely against her. And so did her damn boobs. She threw her arms around Aric’s neck. The same neck I’d had my arms around less than an hour ago. “Hey, baby. I knew you’d come.”