Free Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) by Bethany Shaw Page A

scent. Regardless, the best defense is a strong offense.”
    “Did you play sports?” Vincent teased.
    Sarah took a few berries as she rolled her eyes, nodding.
    “What’d you play?”
    “Softball.”
    “How did I not know that?” Vincent asked, grinning.
    Sarah shrugged. “You came in the late spring and the season had already ended. We didn’t play well enough to make it into the playoffs this year.”
    Vincent chewed on his berries. “I saw your swing; you’re pretty good. I’m thinking we should get you a club to use as a weapon. Like you said, we need a good offense. First thing we need to do is mask our scent. We’ll need to rub our clothes and ourselves down with leaves and dirt. Even then, your shoulder could give us away. You’ll need to be careful not to let it get infected as well as not letting it reopen. Blood is a very powerful scent; wolves can smell it from miles away.”
    “Fantastic,” she muttered.
    “We could use it to our advantage though,” he started slowly. Sarah met his eyes and waited for him to continue. Her stomach turned as she realized where his train of thought was going. “You’d be the bait. Then I would attack when they least suspect it. Only problem is, we wouldn’t know how many of them we’d be luring in. If we get too many, we run the risk of being captured.”
    “If we do this, I want a weapon,” Sarah admitted. She picked up a branch with the circumference of a finger and twirled it in her hands. “Do you think we could make one? It’s not a bat, but it would be effective.” she held it up for him.
    “You’ll want to make sure it’s sharp enough to puncture the skin and thick enough not to break when you stab them,” he replied.
    Sarah picked up a stone from the ground and started working it against her stick to make a point.
    Vincent scrubbed a hand through his hair. “We can’t take on more than two—maybe three. I can only take on so many and with your injured arm, you will have a hard time in a fight. I know you are more than capable of handling yourself, but I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”
    “Me neither. Getting caught is not an option I’m willing to consider,” Sarah said honestly. The Lunas wanted her for one thing—to be a breeder. The thought of a life in captivity made bile rise up in her throat. She gagged, shuddering at the same time. That is not going to happen.
    ***
    V incent walked alongside Sarah as she followed a trail through the trees. They had spent most of the morning in pursuit of their enemies. So far, the woods were silent; he couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. If they’d managed to evade their assailants, then maybe they were better off continuing on away from danger.
    He didn’t like the idea of putting Sarah into such a precarious situation. She’d already been through so much the past few months and he would kill anyone who tried to hurt her again. The innate need to protect her was overwhelming—the yearning to be near her consumed him. He couldn’t quite explain it.
    There was something about being with her that just felt right. He could talk to her about anything. He’d told her things he’d never talked about with anyone. Though, she’d called him a friend and he had reciprocated the feeling to her. But he knew it was more than that—at least for him. Besides, she was still broken up over Preston and he didn’t want to ruin what they had. Not to mention, he didn’t know the first thing about being in a relationship. He would probably screw it all up and then lose her completely.
    “You want to take a break and stop for lunch?” Sarah asked tiredly.
    “Are we going to eat those awful silver packets of food because I think I’d rather starve,” he joked. The idea of eating preserved, dehydrated food was disgusting.
    “Despite how awful they taste, they have lots of nutrients, which we both need,” she pointed out. “And when you’re starved, anything tastes