“Did you get all that?” Cage said into the phone. “Yep, we’re already moving. ETA thirty minutes to pick up point... understood.”
Cage ended the call and turning toward her, he scooped her into his arms. “Cage,” she squeaked, surprised. “I wore sneakers so I could run.”
Laughing as he set off, not slightly breathless, he answered, “Our ETA will be more than likely an hour if we go at your pace.”
“Fine,” Anna grumbled. “When did you set up a pickup point?”
“Before we moved in. Best to be prepared when you live in my world.”
Anna shook her head, saying nothing. She loved her new life, but occasionally, there were no words to describe the craziness of it, and she’d had a lifetime of crazy. With more likely to come if fate had its way.
Chapter 17
Toby
Toby had been in class for twenty minutes, and he was already struggling to keep focus. It wasn’t that he regretted his decision to join a human high school; it would have just been cool if school had fewer classes and more socializing. Breaks and lunch were what he came for. He had a few friends who invited him over to their house regularly, and being at their houses playing online games and chatting about mundane teenage things were some of the most surreal and amazing moments he’d ever experienced. Their lives were vastly different to his, their worries not at all life and death. Toby could only imagine their faces if he told them what his real life was like.
Unfortunately for Toby, he knew life and death situations weren’t going to be absent from his future anytime soon, so he made the most of the mundane as much as he could and carried on, hoping all those he loved made it out of the war alive.
A gentle knock on the classroom door drew Toby’s attention from the whiteboard. The teacher went to the door as it opened, the conversation they shared hushed, but Toby heard every word. Heart beating wildly in his chest, his face heated as he waited for them to call him out, his entire body primed for whatever was to come.
“Mr. Sinclair?”
“Yeah?” Toby answered.
“There’s a message for you at reception,” his teacher explained, nodding toward the receptionist waiting outside.
“Okay.” Picking up his backpack, Toby stuffed his textbooks inside. He was half relieved he didn’t have to listen to Mr. Edwards drivel for another forty minutes and half concerned about what the message awaiting him would say. Because messages didn’t come for him at school unless it was urgent. And urgent in his life meant someone might die.
“What did the message say?” Toby asked as they began their walk through the school. Toby’s stomach dropped; the look at her face said it wasn’t good.
“A relative from Indiana has fallen ill, and you need to get there straight away.”
Toby only heard one word, Indiana. He had no relatives there, and what the message meant was you’re in danger, get home now. He’d had many arguments with both his parents and Jackson since the battle that was brewing grew closer and closer; they didn’t understand his need to attend a public human school and didn’t see it as a necessity when everyone else had been grounded to pack lands. Surprisingly, it had been his brother who’d backed him and convinced Jackson to let him stay. Clearly having a human mate was rubbing off on his “usually a stickler for rules” brother.
Toby tried his best to look concerned. “I best get going then.”
“I just need you to sign out at reception first,” she said.
Toby redirected his steps toward the reception and away from the exit. Urgency pumped through his veins, his senses coming to life. Suddenly, the mundane he’d been craving seemed like a stupid endeavor compared to his duty to protect his pack.
Scribbling his details on the sign-out sheet as fast as possible, Toby strode for the doors and took the steps three at a time. He hadn’t even reached the school gates when he spotted a car creeping down the road.
How the hell do they know I go to school? Stomach doing a flip, Toby pushed his fear away and allowed his inner wolf to take control in all ways but skin.
Keeping his pace fast but not urgent, Toby changed direction and headed across the green. The sound of a car door opening and slamming had him pushing off into a run. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed what he’d dreaded. Two of Indiana’s pack were pursuing him.
Toby sprinted across the grass, heading for the cover of trees. His only option was to shift and outrun them in wolf form. He could attempt to take the two of them on—he’d faced worse odds before—but from past experience, Toby knew the Indiana pack tended to carry guns, and no amount of skill could stop a bullet.
Their tendency toward weapons was a cowardly trait in Toby’s opinion. Being a shifter meant fighting with teeth and claws, connecting with the animal that was their other half. Yet Indiana had forgotten that. Or maybe it was Castor who’d forgot. Castor simply wanted to win. It didn’t matter who he killed or what he destroyed as long as he finished on top. But being an alpha meant more than winning. It took loyalty and trust, all things Castor didn’t possess.
Crashing through the tree line, the Indiana pack fast on his heels, Toby threw his backpack into the nearest tree and shifted. With no time to strip his clothes, they shredded around him as his body twisted and morphed, changing forms. As a wolf, Toby wasn’t big, but his size would be his advantage today. Quick and nimble, he dashed through the trees, undergrowth pulling at his limbs and snagging on his fur.
Slowly the landscape opened,
