Reflective, green eyes make contact with mine.
I slam on the brakes without thinking.The car keeps going and skids into the lane of oncoming traffic.
Shit.I panic, turning the steering wheel too fast.Then everything spins out of control.My heart leaps into my throat as the car barrels off the side of the road and smashes through the first layer of weeds.I lurch forward as a metallic crunch fills the air, and my head flies forward.Throbbing pain radiates from my forehead.
Fuck.
Everything goes dark and hazy.It’s hard to breathe.
My chest hurts from the seat belt digging into my skin, but without it, I might not be in one piece right now.
I can’t tell if it’s eerily quiet or if my hearing is going in and out.Rain continues to pelt the roof.I take a deep breath and try to move, but the driver’s side door is crunched in.My thighs are wedged between the seat and the steering wheel.Fumbling around, I find the keys and turn off the car.
Then I go completely still.
It’s out there.
I can sense it.And somehow, I know it can sense me.
Whateveritis.
2
ROEN
A memberof my pack is in trouble.
Everything felt normal when I crossed into our territory twenty minutes ago.After a trip out of town to pick up supplies and spend a night at the club, nothing is better than coming home.Being close enough to sense my pack again.To smell dirt wet with fresh rain and the tangy sap on the trees.To feel the salty mist from the ocean bordering our land.
Then it hit me.
Fear.Pain.Exhaustion.
Usually, the pack bond is subtle when I’m not in wolf form, but this time it came like a physical punch to the chest.I can feel every erratic heartbeat pounding under my ribcage.
Olivia would have called if we were under attack.What’s going on?
I step on the gas and speed closer.It’s pouring rain, too dark to see much with my human eyes, but I’ll get there faster in a vehicle.
The emotions are so overwhelming that I can’t pinpoint who it is, but I know they belong to me.An alpha’s bond is never wrong.I hone my senses and scan for unfamiliar wolves.
A small distance away, I sense three of our younger members: Shane, Cleo, and Tiff.Figures they’d be the ones to find trouble.Why are they pacing around?They’re nervous, but not afraid.Not in pain.
Not like the one who called for me.
The one who needs me.
I catch the scent more clearly as I get closer.For some reason, I still can’t place their name.But I knowher.I know she’s mine.
It must be the heightened anxiety that’s muddling my senses.Or maybe I stayed away too long this time.How could I forget the scent of my own pack member?
My hands tighten around the wheel.Her fear becomes almost unbearable as I race ahead.I spot a trail of crushed grass veering into the forest and hurry to pull over.
Rain soaks me as soon as I jump out of the car.I reach out to Shane for help, but he seems hesitant.His wolf’s golden eyes peek out at me from the woods, along with two pairs of green.Shane tips his nose toward the path, then backs off.I sense Tiff’s guilt, Cleo’s worry.They’re okay.
She’snot.
Wait.I stop just as I’m about to shift.
