I start with closing my eyes and taking yet another deep breath through my nose as I concentrate on the fluttery feeling in my chest that connects me to Luke. The sensation pulls more toward one direction, so I give in and let my instincts guide me, rising to my feet and following the tug in the center of my chest as it leads me through the woods, hopefully in the direction of Luke.
As I move deeper into the forest, the lights from the clearing disappear, leaving me almost blind in the darkness. As a shifter, my night vision is better than a human’s, but I still can’t see in the dark. I stumble over a fallen branch, knocking my elbow against a tree.
The flash of pain drags up a flicker of memory. A night like this, another desperate search in the dark, after… after… after…
“Sorry about this, Blake, but I can’t let another alpha take Clay’s rightful place,” says Wanda’s voice.
A snarl and the clink of chains. “I don’t want his place, you crazy bitch. I want my little brother.”
The snippet has no context, but the raw emotion in Blake’s voice creates an uncomfortable feeling that churns in my stomach as I swallow back tears. I try to hold on to the quickly fading bit of memory, pull it further into focus, but it slips away, leaving behind nothing but a chill down my spine.
Wanda lied. My brother didn’t run away. She did something to him.
That knowledge rests heavy on my shoulders, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. Whatever happened to Blake is in the past, and I need to concentrate on the present.
I continue walking, the moon the only thing to illuminate my path. Leaves crunch under my feet and twigs poke at the soles of my bare feet as I move through the underbrush following the tug toward Luke.
In the distance, a pale light shines past the trees, growing brighter as I approach, and the low rumble of an engine reaches my ears. My mind latches onto the sound, sending an unexplained bolt of fear through me as my heart rate picks up. Something about the sound of an idling engine and being in these woods is setting off my mental alarm bells.
But there’s no time to figure out why. I need to get to Luke.
Unfortunately, the tug of the mating bond is leading directly toward where the engine noise is coming from. An emotion close to terror rockets through me at that realization, and I speed up, not caring about the noise I’m making as I crash through the underbrush. I stumble onto a path and break into a jog, catching sight of a low concrete building over the next rise.
As I get closer, the engine noise grows louder and the scent of exhaust lingers in the air. Another scent reaches my nose and my stomach drops.
Humans. Two or maybe three of them.
Shit shit shit.
Panic overtakes reason and I break into a full out run as a slide show of images flashes through my head.
Memories of my time in the cage.
Memories of the humans there.
And memories of my brother and a frantic sprint through the woods trying to get to him—just like this one.
Another barrier in my mind comes crashing down and the past overlays the present.
I’m sixteen years old again, running past the trees and following the sound of different vehicle—or maybe the same one, who the fuck knows.
As I reach the top of the hill, the humans are loading a cage into the back of a truck. My brother is inside, his face twisted in a rictus of pain and rage as he bashes himself against the metal sides. His eyes land on me and widen in horror.
He shakes his head frantically. “No, Ollie. Go back. Run!”
But it’s too late. The humans have already seen me. One of them turns, his mouth curving into a delighted smile as he swings a thin rifle off his shoulder and points it in my direction.
“Looks like we get two for the price of one,” he says, chuckling.
Blake roars, his gaze fixed on me. “Shift,” he screams, the power behind the word almost knocking me over.
My brother isn’t the Alpha. He shouldn’t be able to tap into the pack bond and use an Alpha command, but somehow, he does. My very first shift rolls over me in a wave of twisting limbs and snapping bones and I’m suddenly drowning in too-sharp senses. Andpain.
In the present, I understand Blake was trying to give me an advantage by commanding me to shift, making me faster so I could get away. But back then, all I felt was dizzy and confused, losing me any advantage at all.
The replay continues, the human with the rifle setting the sights on me even as Blake screams at me to run, his voice cracking. But my wolf form is too new, too unfamiliar, and I’m frozen in place. Something pricks my shoulder, the bite of pain urging me into movement too late. My steps slow, falter, and finally stop as I fall onto my side, the past going dark as the present takes over again.
Back then I wastoo young, too weak, too lateto save my brother, and stupidly got myself caught instead. This time, I’m too late to do anything at all.
