“No. Stop running.”
She was about to respond when someone—well, several someones—emerged from the trees in front of her. They quickly spread out into a semicircle around her, forcing Zara to slide to a halt to keep from crashing into Jen, who was standing directly in front of her.
“You can’t run from this,” Jen said as she stared directly into Zara’s eyes.
Zara dropped her gaze, her wolf instinctively recognizing Jen as the more dominant.
“We can help you,” Decebel said, stepping close to his mate.
The large man loomed closely over Zara, and the girl wanted to cower. With some effort of will, she forced herself to remain standing, though her head stayed lowered.
She felt a hand on her head, running down her back.Wadim.Zara leaned in to her mate’s touch. It was still weird to think of him in such a way, but his presence certainly made her feel safe.
“If you will be patient with yourself and us, we can figure out a way to help you gain control of your wolf. Can you do that? At least try?” Jen asked her.
The wolf growled internally, but Zara fought against him. What choice did she have? It’s not like she could leave the pack and survive. She’d probably get herself shot by a hunter or wind up butt naked in front of some random humans because she couldn’t control when she phased. Finally, Zara nodded her wolf head and then looked up at Wadim.
“I’m searching the archives,” he said gently, “for anything on that might explain your condition. Dormants have always been a bit of a mystery, but hopefully we will find something that explains why you have no control over your transformations. If I can’t find anything, maybe Peri can help,” Wadim said, his eyes full of something she hadn’t seen in a very long time—love.
Zara turned back toward the Romania pack mansion and walked closely by Wadim’s side. His hand remained on the scruff of her neck, his touch a reassuring reminder he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Never,”he said through their bond.“I will never leave you. We will get through this with one another and with the help of our pack.”
Chapter Two
“My parents always used to say, 'One day, when you have children, you'll understand.' Sometimes parents just say stuff, or so it seems, and teens are like, 'Um, sure, whatever.' Turns out, my parents were right. Now that I have Titus, I understand exactly what they were saying. He changed everything.” ~ Sally
“Dearest wolves, fae, elves, and warlocks. You are being watched. Don’t consider your recent acquisition as a victory. We will get what we want. If you do not comply, then we will start attacking humans openly. Entire towns will be wiped out. The vampires are hungry. You, have after all, kicked them out of their homes. We want the healer, and we will get her, or innocent people will die. Hope this finds you well. Sincerely, TOBC.”
Vasile placedthe wrinkled paper back into the top drawer of his desk. He’d read the demand letter from the Order of the Burning Claw so many times he had the words memorized. The Alpha had hoped to find some clues as to the organization’s true plans, or, if he was really lucky, some hint as to their whereabouts. Unfortunately, the cryptic message yielded nothing helpful. It didn't help him, but it did infuriate him. How dare these people try and steal something so precious to his pack—their gypsy healer? Like all gypsies, Sally was light and goodness personified. Vasile had no doubt the Order would turn her into something just the opposite. They’d already started. Though Sally was on the mend, recovering from the psychic trauma of having her memories stolen and replaced with a terrible dark magic, she was far from the pure young woman he’d once known. And now these cretins thought he would just turn her back over to them. Over his dead body, and every other wolf in his pack as well. Sally wasn't going anywhere.
Still, the demand itself was troubling. If the Order had the audacity to make such threats, then they had clearly grown in strength. At one time, long ago, they had enough members to make life for peace-loving members of the hidden supernatural world very difficult. If the Order had regained that kind of membership, then the implications of standing against them would be catastrophic. Considering the size of the hives they'd discovered, Vasile didn’t have much hope that the Order of the Burning Claw was bluffing. Just a couple of months ago, he would have written them off as a few disgruntled supernaturals throwing a hissy fit about living in secret. Now he couldn't make that assumption. The sheer number of vampire covens they'd found was alarming. It appeared they had an army, and if the Order declared war against the mortals, many innocent people would die, humans and supernaturals alike. But giving in to their demands would be far worse. If Vasile didn’t fight them, if he stood idly by while their power grew, the organization would eventually become strong enough to take over the world.
The Alpha wished he were just being dramatic. Vasile would love to believe the human authorities could stand against a combined onslaught from a group of supernaturals. Such hope would be in vain. The Order’s letter threatened violence against the humans, promising the destruction of entire towns if he didn’t comply. He had no doubt they were capable of such violence. But despite that threat, Vasile would not capitulate. He’d never bowed to tyranny before, and he wouldn’t start now. The only hope of his pack and the othergoodsupernaturals was complete and total victory. Vasile was ready and willing to lead his wolves in that effort. But how could he fight a battle against enemies who hid in the shadows? He needed to find some way to expose the vermin to the light. But try as he might, he could think of no way of flushing them out.
His phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts and he growled at it, thinking to ignore the call. But when he saw the name on the caller ID, his growl faded in his throat. Vasile snatched the cell phone and swiped the screen to answer.
“Where the hell have you been?” He snarled as his fear and worry morphed into anger.
“I found my mate,” Skender said.
“I would congratulate you, but I’m too pissed off to be happy for you. It’s been months, Skender. Why haven’t you checked in?” Vasile asked.
“I haven’t been able to. Even now I’m taking a huge risk in contacting you.”
“Risk? What risk?”
Skender sighed. “You remember the Order of the Burning Claw?”
A chill spread down Vasile’s spine as the hair on the back of his neck rose. “I do.”
“My mate is a member.”
Vasile bit back the string of curse words that threatened to spill out. At the same time, a myriad of thoughts swirled in the Alpha's mind.What did this mean?A wolf who'd found his mate couldn't really control who or what she was. For good or bad, a true mate was a true mate, no matter how despicable. But this revelation certainly complicated things, which were complicated enough already.
“Who is she? What pack is she from?” Vasile asked.
“No pack. She grew up in the Order. Her parents were members,” Skender explained.
