Chapter 275


    The closer we get to the address where Karolina is situated, the more my wolf bes agitated. I shift


    restlessly in the front seat of the SUV, wondering what’s going on with her.


    It’s like she’s on high alert. Like we’re somehow trapped, or there’s some unseen danger, and we


    should be fleeing in the other direction.


    I can tell James is also feeling simrly troubled as he parks the SUV just down the block from the


    abandoned house.


    James had been right about this neighborhood.


    Every house is in a sad, neglected state. Sagging roofs, broken windows, junk in the weed-choked


    yards and broken down, rusted cars.


    Only some of the houses look like they’re even upied. A lot of the houses look like they’ve been


    abandoned.


    “Why is my wolf so-”


    “Freaked out?” James finishes with a quick smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You should trust


    what she’s telling you, there’s danger nearby.”


    “What do you mean?” I ask apprehensively.


    That prickly leeling


    there are Vampires somewhere nearby. We need to get in and out as fast as possible, before they


    realize wolves have wandered right into their territory.”


    I nod and swallow down the dread, checking my weapons before we get out of the SUV.


    Despite the fear and the way my wolf is wing at my insides to get out of here, I’m not going to back


    down.


    I’ve never faced Vampires before, but I’ve heard the stories from other wolves who’ve either narrowly


    escaped them, or heard stories from other packs who encountered them.


    Vampires are no joke. They hate wolves for the simple fact of our existence, and if they evere


    across us, they don’t show any


    mercy.


    I’ve heard tales about entire packs being wiped out.


    We’re strong, but mortal. Vampires… are not.


    And it’s nigh on impossible to kill something that’s already dead.


    Karolina must be hiding something huge here-most likely the AI tech-otherwise why risking here at


    all?


    James and I hurry down the block toward the house.


    I’m alert to every step we take, scanning my surroundings, scenting the air, my senses running higher


    and sharper than


    they ever have.


    It’s almost exhrating, I can feel the true power of both my wolf and her Alpha status flowing through


    my veins like fire. But the reason for it-the danger we’re in just by being here-that gives the whole thing


    an unpleasant edge.


    As we approach the house, I almost expect to find Council Enforcer wolves guarding the perimeter, but


    there’s no one else around.


    Karolina took a big risking here without any backup.


    What could she possibly be up to that she’d put even her own safety at risk like that?


    We quietly slip into the house and pause to listen.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    At first I don’t hear anything but the sound of water running somewhere deeper in the house.


    I scent the air, but it’s heavy with mold and rats and general gross decay, so it’s hard to pick up any


    trace of anything else.


    I do think I get a hint of Karolina over all that, but the stronger scents are definitely wreaking havoc on


    my sensitive nose.


    James and I share a quick nce of acknowledgement, before we start creeping toward the sound of


    running water.


    We pause at the sound of Karolina humming, as if she’s doing some boring task, and absentmindedly


    filling in the silence.


    scent reaches me that makes me stop dead in my tracks.


    It zaps though my body like a livewire, lighting up every cell of me, but I can’t believe it.


    It doesn’t make sense.


    James notices that I’ve stopped and sends me a questioning


    look.


    He’s not reacting like he scented anything besides all the gross in here, and I think maybe I just


    imagined it.


    I take another step, then another, and on the third, I get another hint of the scent, this time stronger,


    and I know I’m not imagining it.


    “Aaron!” I whisper in shock.


    James looks at me with wide eyes, but then suddenly cuts his gaze toward the doors of the den or


    living room or whatever’s down there, his gaze shing with his wolf, and I know then he’s scented it


    too.


    “Alpha,” he says, voice all growling and protective.


    Even if I can’t believe my own senses because I miss my mate so much, I trust James.


    And if he’s scented Aaron, then that means something.


    That means Aaron isn’t dead.


    He’s here, with Karolina.


    I don’t care about being silent or stealthy any longer.


    I charge forward, my wolf close to the surface, ready to tear through anything that stands between me


    and my mate.