It would dissipate under wizard or fae magic, but would stay strong against physical weapons and force. In other words, it was perfectly suited to trap werewolves or shifters.
Nine hunters were stationed in the area. Nine.
Those are odds I can’t hope to beat.
All of them were carrying either a gun or an unsheathed dagger. Four of them seemed to be responsible for the trap, now that it was up and activated. They were spaced out around the trap, focused on the silver daggers slammed into the ground that were anchoring the spell.
Those will have to be taken out to destroy the trap. But I can’t go against nine hunters.
Amos was pacing in the middle of the group, talking on his phone with a despicable smile of satisfaction.
Scarlett and Radcliff were watching him with frowns, but I didn’t recognize any of the other hunters present.
I could see Wyatt and Aeric through the trap’s net-like surface. Aeric had transformed into a wolf, but Wyatt was still a human. His clothes were ripped and dirtied, and one of the lenses of his glasses was broken, but he looked uninjured. About a dozen of the captive werewolves had switched to their wolf form—they had the time, trapped as they were.
My throat squeezed shut when Aeric slunk off, momentarily revealing why some of the wolves had stayed human.
Hector was limply laid across the ground. It looked like they were trying to elevate his head.
The trap was pretty far away, so I couldn’t see how badly he was hurt, but he didn’t seem to be gushing blood—a legitimate worry after hearing that gunshot.
Did they catch everyone? Were Greyson and the Pack caught?
I chewed on my lip as I considered my options.
Greyson and the wolves wouldn’t have cellphones on them, and I didn’t want to whistle and give away my position until I had a plan.
But what can I do against nine hunters? Maybe I should backtrack and try to find Greyson?
Something moved at the back of the meadow, and I saw Amelia and Teresa hurtling across it, running from the lodge, toward the trees.
The hunters saw them, too. One whistled then used hand gestures and pointed at the two.
Amos peeled his attention from his phone long enough to give an order. “Leave them,” he shouted to his hunter. “We do this to guard humans. They’ll be grateful, eventually.”
At least his hate-filled logic means the humans will all be safe.
Even so, my frantically beating heart kicked up again.
Because if Amos knew they were humans, it meant he’d been watching the Pack members, habits, and families. He’d been planning for this kind of thing for a long time.
Stop it. I need to be calm. Getting frantic isn’t going to help anyone.
I forced myself to take a deep breath, then released the branch slowly—so no one would notice the movement—and prowled deeper into the forest as I tried to figure out what to do—or who to call.
First, I should try to meet up with Amelia and Teresa—maybe they can tell me what happened.
I picked my way around the meadow, heading in the general direction they’d disappeared in.
They were easy to find—I just had to follow the sound of Teresa’s crying, and the blatant trail they’d left—and they weren’t alone.
They were huddled at the base of an enormous tree, whispering with Young Jack and Original Jack.
“Teresa.” I spoke before I emerged from the trees, hoping I wouldn’t startle them too badly.
“Pip!” Teresa—her face red and smeared with tears—latched on to me, ringing her arms around my waist. “Pip!” she repeated, her voice turning into a wail.
Amelia was shaking, her hand grasping the hem of Young Jack’s grass-stained T-shirt, while Young Jack was practically vibrating with anger.
Original Jack was attempting to make a call on his cellphone, his face creased with worry. When he turned to me, some of the strain eased around his eyes and he lowered his phone. “Pip.”
I rubbed Teresa’s back, trying to soothe her. “What happened?”
Young Jack shook his head. “The hunters called Hector out—Amos said they were leaving. Remy and Forrest came out with Hector, and the hunters started purposely insulting them and trying to rile them up.”
“They held out admirably—I believe they learned from watching you, Pip.” Original Jack glanced down at his phone. “But the rest of the Pack came out, and the hunters sprang a trap.”
“On the front lawn,” Young Jack spat. “How could we not have seen them set it?”
“Hunter traps are portable,” I said. “I’m sure they made it somewhere else and then transported it in. What happened to Hector?”