Emmet didn’t question him. He slowed the truck and let him out.
“Don’t get yourself killed,” his brother said leaving him in a small cloud of dust.
Cutting through the forest, he approached the building from the east. A big, black SUV sat in the drive, blocking Maple’s little car in. And behind it, Emmet’s truck. His brother didn’t bother trying to be quiet. If Jaxon had to guess, he’d say he was drawing attention to himself as he let the truck door slam good and loud.
The faint scent of Maple’s blood floated in the air, driving his beast mad. The wolf growled low and mean, demanding they charge in and get his mate, but Jaxon held on, if only by a thread. He had to be smart about it. Both their lives depended on him keeping his head on straight.
***
Both men grinned at the sound of another vehicle approaching. Their sinister smiles had Maple’s heart pounding and fear skittering down her spine. The eldest of the two hobbled to the window to peer outside.
“That’s the older one. He’s mine. The Alpha won’t be far behind. He’ll come for her. Probably shifted. Be ready,” he warned the younger male.
“Buck and Morris are close. James is guarding the immediate yard. The bastard won’t get close without us knowing about it.” He went to a window a little farther down and peered outside.
Maple listened to every word, but none of it made sense. Next to her, her uncle stirred. She could hardly recognize him for all the swelling and the bruises covering his face. The one eye that wasn’t completely swollen shut opened. He blinked slowly a few times, his brow furrowing.
“Maple?”
She shushed him quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to them.
“Listen to me. If you get the chance to run, I want you to take it. Do you understand me?” her uncle said in a hoarse whisper.
“I won’t leave you.”
“You will. These aren’t just bad men. They’re werewolves. Killing you would be a mercy compared to letting you live in their captivity.” A soft wheeze escaped his lips with each of his shallow breaths.
Werewolves? Now she knew her uncle was delirious. She looked over at the men. They were unkempt and mean, but they didn’t have fur covering their bodies. Memories of her grandfather’s stories surfaced, but she pushed them back. Now wasn’t the time to let her imagination get the best of her.
The long, eerie howl of a wolf sounded, and it was close.
“Looks like James found someone in the woods. What did I tell you? Have some faith, old man,” the younger of the two said, and was rewarded with a scathing look.
“Show some fucking respect, asshole. It never pays to underestimate your enemy.” The man lit another cigarette, puffing the smoke out in a cloud around him.
The younger of the two snorted and went back to looking out the window. “He’s coming in.”
Just like he had when he’d advanced on Maple, the man held his cigarette between his lips and raised the gun, pointing it toward the door. He squinted his eyes against the smoke, but held the gun steady. “Let him.”
Eighteen
Jaxon found a busted window at the back. It was barely wide enough to accommodate his shoulders, but he squeezed himself in. The sting of a fresh cut from the broken glass on his back was nothing compared to the fury roaring inside him.
Crouching behind one of the large woodstoves once used for boiling the tree sap, he bided his time. He had yet to lay eyes on Maple, but his nose identified her easily. Luckily for him, the older wolf with a gun pointed at the front door couldn’t smell a damned thing. His smoking habit wouldn’t let him filter out his scent. Jaxon could only hope that the smelly cloud snaking through the air was also making the other male nose blind.
Emmet had given him a few minutes grace, he just had to wait and see what his brother would do. He didn’t have to wait long.
The front door clanged against the wall as it was thrown open. He stood there, framed by the sunlight outside, not saying a word. His wolf’s vision would adjust quickly. He could almost see Emmet taking the scene in. His gaze drifted to the left, beyond a pile of crates Jaxon couldn’t see past. That had to be where Maple was.
“You’re on Wassookeag land. Surrender now, or die. Your choice,” Emmet said, his tone hard and cold. It was no wonder he could strike fear into his opponents when he’d been Alpha.
The older wolf sneered, then spit at Emmet’s feet. “My men already have your Alpha in custody. They’re on their way here now. By the time this day is over, this property and his whole fucking pack will be ours. I hear the women here are soft and pretty. We’ll enjoy breaking them in.”
“You’re sure that howl you heard was your man in the forest? That he got Jaxon?” Emmet goaded. The howl they’d heard was Luca, not the enemy. It had been victorious. Whoever was out there wasn’t going to interfere.
With both men’s attention on his brother, Jaxon moved across to the pile of crates. Twenty feet away, in the center of the large room, Maple lay facing in his direction, her neck craned to the side to see what was going on, her eyes wide with fear. Even from where he hid, he could see her shaking. An older man lay next to her, his body beaten. He wished he could reassure her, but he couldn’t take the risk.
“Shut the fuck up and get over there,” the man said after a long, pregnant pause. He flicked his cigarette to the floor and ground it out with his boot.
“No,” Emmet said with a lethal growl. If Jaxon didn’t do something, fast, his brother was going to get his ass shot.
Glass shattered as a wolf crashed into the
