CHAPTER 7

Later, she believed she smelled Ural. Ural, please bite the fool and come here! But he remained hidden and made no attempt to stop the shooter. Perhaps it was strong wishful thinking.

“Larissa!” From a good half mile away, Darien yelled.

Here! No, Larissa… Larissa had expired. Lelandi! Here. Lelandi averted her gaze. She felt a slight breeze caressing her face and hair strands tickling her cheek, but she lacked the strength to push them away.

The discomfort. The anguish, my god.

Within a few feet of her, someone shuffled. She breathed very little while tightening her eyelids. How did he approach her so closely without being heard? Her thoughts strayed. Be on guard! He could smell her blood if he were a wolf and downwind of her. He could hear her heart beating frantically.

She could hear his heart racing quickly, his deep breathing, his jaws clenching, and the sound of his fingernail rubbing on the gun’s metal. He then backed away from where she was curled up in a fetal position, trying to reduce her body’s heat and energy in order to become smaller and less noticeable.

As more responded to the call, they dispersed and moved nearer while yelling Lelandi’s name. She grimaced. How did they discover her name? In order to prevent the grays from learning that she already had a pack—and a mate—Larissa would have kept her family a secret.

While moving further away and drawing her attention, the shooter remained too close.

Jake, Darien’s moody brother, yelled when the breeze abruptly changed direction, “This way!”

The pain became so intense that she could not concentrate on anything else as she watched for them and almost stopped breathing in anticipation.

Yet no one came to save her.

In front of 30 of his men, everyone of whom was now armed, Darien marched back and forth through the dense forest. The pack had always retained guns—even though they often hunted in their wolf coats—as a backup plan for when local troublemakers overcame them throughout the region’s previous 150 years.

“We thought we repeatedly scented her perfume, but the wind isn’t being cooperative! Where the hell is she, then? Darien enquired.

We must transform into wolves, Jake said.

Sam told him, “Can’t for three more days.” Sam, I know that for a fact. I just mentioned… Jake remained silent, sticking the toe of his boot into the earth covered with pine needles while keeping his hands tucked away in his pockets. His face was shadowed by a mix of worry and displeasure.

“We spent hours looking. How in the world is she? Darien again inquired while expressing his own annoyance.

As if she had vanished into thin air like a puff of mist on a hot, sunny day, they hadn’t discovered anything—her hat, spectacles, or anything else. He stroked his throbbing temples as the thought that she was Lelandi and not her sister, who was hurt and waiting for him to help her, sent a chill down his spine. He would risk his life to keep her safe for the time being since she was one and the same. Right now.

Once he located her and she had recovered, he would send her back to her pack and permanently banish her from his life.

She is unfamiliar with these woods. Without her wolf senses, she could easily get lost, Jake cautioned.

Darien looked out into the forest, remembering how, as wolves, he and his mate had once raced through the woods until they were worn out, mated, and then collapsed like two exhausted dogs. He was able to shake off the paralyzing memories.

“What if he managed to get her?” Jake posed a query that Darien felt certain everyone else was also considering. What if he intended to transport her body and dispose of it elsewhere?

Darien wouldn’t think of doing that.

Mason massaged his beard-covered cheek while his hair fluttered in the wind. “We had been looking all night. We are pooped. She cannot perish from such bullets if they are merely conventional ones. Why don’t we take a nap and try once more in a while?”

“She kept Tom alive.” Jake’s jaw muscle twitched just as it would when he was about to strike someone. I’ll keep searching until a few of you get some rest and let me go.

Darien smacked his brother’s shoulder, knowing he would pursue her until he passed out from tiredness. “We’ll complete it jointly.”

His guys would have kept looking if she had still been with the group. He couldn’t ask them to use any more of their energy without first having some rest without her being one of them. Despite the fact that he had been distant from Darien over the past few weeks, he was grateful that his brother had volunteered. Probably

Because of the negative attitude Darien had since the death of his partner.

The men turned to find Silva walking toward them wearing tight jeans, hiking boots, gloves, and a short-waisted corduroy jacket while the scent of her feminine scent drifted through the air. I’ll support you. She spoke with a determination that matched Darien’s own.

Darien rebuked her for suggesting she join them, saying, “No women.” He had a strong voice.

“Why? Do you think I might also want to kill her? Or perhaps you have a little concern for little ol’ me? But I can manage on my own. Silva laughed. “The woman is a spitfire, and she deserves our assistance.”

Another body that would fill the void couldn’t harm, given his options. “At all times, remain with one of the men.”

Geez, Darien, you nearly make me believe you have feelings for me. She gave him a kiss before approaching Sam. Would you like to join my team?

“All right, go ahead and carry on your quest. The others snooze for a while. Let’s move forward. With a longer stride and the resolve to find her before the night was out, Darien set off.

What do you believe is happening? Jacob hid himself beneath a spruce branch.

“Gunman is a person.”

“Why would you pursue our brother? Why pursue the red? You can take my guess as well as yours. Darien came to a stop to feel the breeze. Nothing more but the aroma of other grays, a deer, a rabbit, pine sap, and autumn. “I think he wasn’t after Tom. Merely the red. If only Tom had been watching her, he would have stood up for her.

“Do you still believe your partner killed themselves?”

Yes, and it was entirely his fault. Whirlwind romance, despite the fact that she had been unsure about being his mate and scared that his people would rebel because she was a red, she had been anxious about something deeper that he could never get her to share. Perhaps if he hadn’t insisted that she become his mate. He had been dreaming about her for months, but heck, she was his soul mate. And she finally admitted that she, too, had dreamed about him. How could he abandon her?

He gave a headshake. I’m not sure what to think, Darien continued to feel the same strong suspicion that she had killed herself. When he did acknowledge it, She had previously tried.

Jake’s jaw fell open. “When? How come you didn’t tell me? “She apologized. Pleaded with me not to inform the others and said she wouldn’t attempt again.

“Pack rules, Darien, a pack leader needs a strong partner. You ought to have at least informed me.

“I swore to her,”

And that led to her demise. Maybe if he had really paid attention to what bothered her. She experienced sleepless nights and used sleep-aid medication, but she continued to wake up scared, worn out, and out of sorts. Hell, he never questioned the veracity of her suicide attempt when she succeeded this time.

Why did she attempt earlier?

She remained silent. She was a reserved individual. She was terribly exhausted and upset—

“Pregnant.”

Darien’s face became hot as his regret and rage clashed. Yes, they are expecting triplets. Which only served to highlight how absurd the entire situation was.

But how would she have been able to take the pressure after the triplets were born if she couldn’t handle life before they were born?

I can see why you believe she may have killed herself at the time, but don’t you think her sister’s business casts a different light on the situation?

“Maybe.”

Despite not being able to see that it did. Unless Lelandi was forced to write the suicide letter by another person. She had not been excited to have the children; in fact, she had been even more miserable about it. He didn’t think it would take much persuasion to get someone to compel her, but if they did, they would perish at his hands.

A mile away, shots sounded out, and Darien muttered an expletive. Jake swiftly closed the distance between them and grabbed his arm as he charged in that way. Darien spun around in rage but noticed Jake’s worried look. What, he murmured.

“Listen.”

He was as still as a lake that had frozen over in the dead of winter as he stood there listening.

A moan followed by a slower, too-slow heartbeat from a distance.

“Lelandi!”

Jake gave him an aside.

Larissa, Darien screamed, with a ferocious glare on his face.

Darien and his brother scoured the area once more, this time being closer to one another in an effort to not miss her. He stopped. “Larissa!