Chapter 22 · Marked Registry - Chapter 22: Heartbeat in an Empty Car

Ella was already running.

The platform ping still glowed on Cain's screen but she didn't wait for him to decide if it was safe or smart or whatever the hell he needed to calculate first. Her boots hit the pavement outside the coffee shop and the cold bit through her jacket. She didn't care.

Mia was there. Right there.

"Ella." Cain's hand caught her elbow. Not rough but firm enough that she had to stop or actually fight him. "You can't just walk onto that platform."

"Watch me."

"They're tracking every registered wolf in the city tonight. You show up on a hot location and they'll have a team on you in under three minutes."

She yanked her arm back. "Then we have three minutes."

"We have nothing if you're bagged before you even see her." His voice stayed level but his jaw was tight. "They want you to run in blind. That's the whole point."

Ella's pulse hammered in her throat. The registry mark on her wrist burned cold under her sleeve. She could feel the full moon pulling at her skin even though it was still two nights out.