Rand quickly updated Rob then listened. “Okay… yeah. Sounds good. We’ll be right over.” He ended the call and looked at me and Natalie.
“We’re going to hunt him, wolf style. Rob’s sending out an all-pack alert. Natalie has to go to work, but you can wait at Rob’s house while we search.”
“I’ll call in sick,” Natalie said, shaking her head. “This is more important.” She reached for me, and I fell into her arms, desperately needing the hug.
“Thank you,” I choked. “You two have been here for me so much this past year, and it means everything.”
“Of course. You’re part of the pack.” Rand joined, making it a brief group hug. “Now let’s go find your man.”
33
BOONE
* * *
I woke curled up in a snowdrift. My fur and the snowbank made it a warm nest, protected from the cold air and wind.
It was quiet. Only white all around me.
Unfortunately, the stillness and quiet didn’t cut the noise in my head.
Last night, I ran for hours without paying attention to where I was going. I pushed my way to the surface of my little nest and shook the snow off my fur.
Where in the fuck was I?
I’d been out of my mind with self-loathing and grief and had run blindly.
I sat on my haunches to survey the landscape. I was up in the mountains, but where? How far had I gone? Animal wolf packs’ range could extend a thousand square miles. Shifters didn’t usually roam that far. Our human side kept us closer to conventional shelter. There was a fear that if we stayed in wolf form too long, we’d go feral and be unable to shift back to human form.
Maybe that was what I should do. Run straight to Canada, away from all civilization, where no shifters could find me. Or I could do the opposite and stay close and let the shifters find me and put me down. Surely Rob had connected with Johnny to track me and finish me.
That was what they had to do with feral shifters. Not only were we a danger to humans, but if humans ever caught or killed a shifter in wolf form, it could expose our species. That meant feral shifters were a significant danger to our kind. They couldn’t be controlled or trusted.
Like me.
Yeah. My choices were either to stay on the run or allow myself to be hunted and killed.
I put my snout in the snow and licked it to slake my thirst. I still had the nasty taste of blood and flesh in my mouth, and I was sure my muzzle was coated in it.
The memory of what I’d done slammed back into my head. That asshole hitting my mate. Looming over her as she was tied to the fucking foot of the bed. Summer’s wide eyes after I’d killed him. How she’d scooted away in fear.
Fuck.
Pain ripped through me.
I would never see her again.
My beautiful, sweet mate.
How would I survive that?
I already knew the answer–I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t go moon mad because I’d marked her, but my wolf would go crazy just the same. I couldn’t live without my mate. Couldn’t breathe knowing I’d never get to touch her again. To make love to her. To hear her scream my name–
Fuck. I had to stop this anguish.
I couldn’t think about Summer. My stomach roiled. I’d have to hunt something to eat soon, but I had no interest.
I had no interest in anything.
