Free Cloaked by T.F. Walsh

didn’t respond, I stepped around him, wading through the thick grass.
    Ignoring his sigh, I lifted my head to peek inside. Two Chinese takeout containers sat on the table in the center of the room along with a lit candle. If we hadn’t been following a potential animal thief, I might have mistaken the scene for a romantic dinner. Disfigured shapes from the candlelight morphed across the walls plastered in animal pelts—wolves, bears, foxes, deer, lynx, and polecats. My throat parched, and every inch of me quivered.
    Staring closer at the wolf pelt on the wall, the one with the gray brindled fur and head intact, I froze. It was the same one from the shop. Bastard store owner.
    A hand on my shoulder made me flinch. I turned to Connell as shadows galloped across his face, partly concealing his scowl.
    “The wolf pelt is from the store. Has the same white ear tips and fur pattern.” My hands curled into fists. The faintest footfalls reached me from the back of the shack. Then a tiny snap of a twig. Connell didn’t react or glance away. He hadn’t heard it.
    He wrapped a hand around my wrist. “I’m going inside. You return to the car.” His voice was barely a whisper.
    I pulled free. “My cubs might be in there.” I sidestepped him, but his arm shot out across my stomach, drawing me to his side.
    Rage burned the back of my throat and blurred my vision with tears. What gave people the right to take an animal’s life for sport, for adventure, for decoration? Nothing. And hell if I wouldn’t make whoever was inside pay. One way or another, I’d make them experience what it was like to be hunted.
    “Daci, look at me.” Connell’s voice lowered, his breath warm against my cheeks. “I don’t want you hurt. I’ve got this and won’t let them get away. Please return to the car and stay there. Will you do this for me?”
    Not trusting my words, I nodded.
    “Good.” He guided me back toward the pebbled driveway and put his car keys in my hand. He nudged me forward. I had to do this on my own, so I walked toward his Audi.
    Several footsteps later, I glanced over my shoulder. Connell sprinted into the shadows toward the front door of the shack. The faint creak of the door reached me, meaning he’d headed inside.
    I spun and bolted back to the building, careening down the side, toward the back. I’d make sure the culprits didn’t escape. They might have a gun or blade, but I had speed. Thank the goddess I retained some of my abilities, even if faint, outside the full moon.
    At the rear corner, I halted, though my breaths were racing so fast, my pulse resonated in my ears.
    In the dark yard, only a faint light streamed out from the rear of the shack. In the distance, a man hunched over a tree stump away from me. His ponytail fluttered in the breeze.
    I knew it!
Sam was involved in the kidnapping.
Monster!
    He stood and half turned, sharpening his knife with a metal rod. The grating sound of metal on metal made my skin ripple with shivers.
    A half grunt, half cough came from behind Sam. I tilted my head, staring into the darkness, and spotted three boxes near a tree. No, not boxes. Cages about two feet in height and length. The familiar
mor-mor
sound of the bear cubs made my heart bleed. My cubs were in there and still alive.
    Before I could stop myself, I tiptoed out from my hiding spot. The crunch of twigs beneath my boots froze me on the spot.
Shit.
    The man jerked around to face me, his scowl twisting his features. “What are you doing here?”
    I scanned the ground for any kind of weapon. A branch, an ax, anything.
    A scuffle resonated from inside the house, along with a loud thud.
    “Ted!” Sam yelled. “What you doing in there? We have company.”
    Another thump, as if someone crashed into a wall. Goddess, please keep Connell safe.
    “Lady, you better turn around and run for your life.” Sam stepped closer. He was a frightening figure, tall and solid, wearing the night for a disguise and swinging his