NIGHT DRENCHED ATLANTA’S streets, blue-black and viscous like ink. It slid down the ruined buildings, gathering in the empty holes of the windows, and dripped into the rubble-choked alleys. Cuddles clopped down the street, the sounds of her hoofbeats sinking into the darkness. Robert and Desandra moved with me on my left, Derek on my right. Robert didn’t jog; he glided completely silently, his movements small and fast. Desandra and Derek had dropped into that long-legged wolf stride that would let them go for miles and miles. Derek’s face had gone flat, neither brooding nor hard, just ready.

I didn’t brood either. I had a target. I would take care of it. The trick was not to think of everything I would lose if I failed.

I should’ve made more time for me and Curran. I should’ve . . .

I slammed that door shut. Fix this mess first. Guilt, regret, and moaning later.

Our people would find Curran and if they failed, I would find him. He was okay. We would be together again. I’d bury Hugh’s head next to Hibla’s grave. I already had a spot picked out for her. Right next to Aunt B. Maybe my nightmares would stop then.

Derek stopped and pivoted on his heel, looking behind us. He tilted his head down, his expression predatory, his unblinking eyes staring at a fixed point in the distance, where ravaged houses cast deep night shadows onto the street. His muscles tensed and his mouth opened slightly, betraying just a hint of his teeth, as if he were a wolf frozen in the moment before a strike.

I reached for my sword. Robert put his hand inside his jacket. Desandra smiled.

“Come out,” Derek said. “You’re busted.”

A shadow separated from the deeper night shadows and stepped into the street. An angelic face looked at us with devil eyes.

Damn it all. “Ascanio!”

The bouda sauntered forward, a picture of pure innocence on his face.

“What the hell are you doing?” I growled.

He pulled on a disarming smile like a shield. “Following you.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

So help me God, I would brain him with something heavy in a minute. “Because why?”

“I wanted to come. It’s too dangerous for you and I’m concerned.”

Derek snarled quietly under his breath.

“You can’t blame me,” Ascanio said. “Anybody in my place would be concerned. You don’t even have a proper horse. You’re riding a mutant equine of unknown origin.”

“Don’t disrespect my donkey. If you wanted to come, why didn’t you say so?”

Ascanio gazed at me, broadcasting sincerity. “Because you would say no. And I would never disobey you, Alpha.”

Argh. “Did you tell Jim where you were going?”

He looked taken aback. “Of course not!”

“Why not?”

He spread his arms. “Because he would say no.”

I put my hand over my face.

“Technically, I haven’t disobeyed any orders,” Ascanio said.