River stood quiet for a moment. “This is the best chance we’ve had so far of finding Tryx.” He clasped Chase on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure nothing happens to your mate.”
Chase lifted panic-filled eyes to his brother. “It’s not just her I’m worried about.”
River lifted his brows waiting for him to elaborate.
“She’s pregnant. It’s what has made it harder for her body to adjust to her change.” He wished there was something else he could do to keep her safe. Some way he could take her place and keep her and their children from harm.
Tightly gripping the chair in front of him, River’s eyes widened. “Does she know?”
Chase shook his head. “No. It’s been so difficult for her body to adjust to being a shifter without me throwing in that she’s going to be a mother too. It’s hard enough to keep her from trying to shift.” He paced around the confines of the room.
River’s face paled. Determination quickly replaced the worry that lined his features. “Then we need to make sure we do this right. Let’s call everyone and get in place.” He smacked his brother on the back and pushed him out of the room to join the others and make plans.
* * *
Sophia hated how far she’d pushed Chase, but the man needed to learn she had a brain. They were supposed to mates, which implied a partnership. So far, he’d told her what to do at every turn, and she’d followed along because his judgment made sense. Now, it was time to follow her lead.
He contacted her through his wolf. He told her they were in place and to go ahead and make the call.
He got her to promise not to do anything to get herself hurt and to leave all the fighting to them. Then he implicitly told her not to try to shift, to which she reluctantly agreed. What she didn’t tell him was that if the need did arise she was going to give it a try and to hell with the consequences.
She picked up the phone and made the call at the time she’d been instructed to by Chase.
“Dr. Reese. We’re going to—”
“Hold on a second.” She tried to calm her nerves and remember what she was supposed to say. “I am not giving you my work until you take me to the wolf and let me see her. I want to make sure she’s still alive and not hurt. You’ll have to bring her with us when we go to my lab.”
“You are pushing your luck, Doctor.”
“Tough. You want my research, I want Tryx. So you take me to her and I will gladly give you all my samples, plus my written data without complaint or any trouble,” she promised.
“Very well, since you are agreeing to be of assistance, I see no reason why we must make things difficult. We will bring you to see the wolf first. My men will be there to get you in a few minutes. Be ready to walk outside with no weapons or electronic devices.”
The line went dead.
Sophia had to take a deep breath to calm the sickening pain in her stomach. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a sandwich hoping the food would calm the cramps. As a last thought, she darted to her room and gave herself a spritz with a body spray she’d stopped using. She hoped to confuse their sense of smell. She was glad Chase had a lot of her stuff brought over to his place, and she was able to use the body spray.
Almost gagging at the strong scent, she tried to adjust by walking away from the fumes. She knew she would either have to put up with it or wash it off. After the majority dissipated, she was able to handle the clinging scent on her body. It was not something she’d be using again after this.
Ten minutes later, she heard the roar of engines pull up. She brushed her sweaty palms on the sides of her jeans and walked out of the house. She saw two wolves on the ground outside the door with darts protruding from their necks. She looked at each of their chests and noticed the faint rise and fall, indicating they lived. She walked away feeling marginally better.
Four large men stood by a black delivery van and a green pickup was parked right next to it. She walked slowly and steadily, holding her head up. She looked each man in the eye.
She stood in front of the one she figured was in charge and lifted her chin. “Let’s go,” she ordered, putting her hands on her hips.
The man looked her over and then sniffed the air around her. His eyes narrowed, and she lifted haughty brows at him.
“What? I smell like the wolves you guys hate so much? I have been staying with a bunch of them in case you hadn’t noticed genius.” She prayed her words were enough to keep the man from taking any closer sniffs of her.
He considered her for what was surely too long, causing her palms to perspire once again. She kept herself calm knowing they could sense it if she was nervous or lying.