But I was not afraid.
Deep inside, I knew she would never hurt me.
I tried to push myself up off the mattress, but my body would not move. My limbs felt foreign. Heavy. I looked down, desperate to understand why, and froze.
Fur.
Paws.
Claws.
It was not a monster hovering above me. I was the monster. The wolf had not come to save me. She had become me, and then she had killed the alphas who hurt me.
Who was I?
What was I?
What was happening to me?
Debilitating pain shot through me. Every muscle burned, every bone cracked. My skin stretched too tight, and my gums ached before splitting, rows of sharpness pricking my tongue.
"She’s shifting again!" Ryker yelled, panicked.
Shifting? What does he mean?
My body was on fire. Burning down what I was until something new emerged from the embers.
Cade’s face suddenly filled my vision.
“Rowan, look at me. I need you to calm down,” he said, threading his purr beneath the bark of a command.
I tried to focus on him. I couldn’t. Pain drowned everything else, layered with phantom hands and memories that still clung to my mind no matter how hard I fought them.
“Fuck,” Cade muttered. “She’s not going to make it upstairs.”
His hand slid to the base of my skull, fingers spreading through my hair. He pressed his thumb firmly into the hollow just beneath my ear, a precise spot where nerve and blood met.
“Easy,” he ordered. “Breathe. This is the only way.”
I fought it, shaking my head, a sob tearing out of me as my instincts screamed to get away. But the pressure held, controlled and deliberate. Warmth spread from the point of contact, slowing the panic despite my resistance, and fogging my mind.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. You’re safe now, Rowan.”
The world tilted, sound warped, and light blurred.
Cade’s pressure never wavered as darkness closed in and my body went limp in his brother’s arms.
Chapter 2: Cade
The tapping sound of my father's fingers, drumming against the mahogany desk, echoed through his office. I sat silently, waiting for his response as he rifled through a manila envelope at his own pace. It contained the transfer paperwork that would send our unit back to the Border Front Base. He hummed the Arca Anthem, kept tapping, and flipped through more pages, each movement deliberate, calculated to make me wait.
These types of tactics were typical of my father. He relished flexing his control over anyone beneath him, especially his sons. I tried to suppress the eager anxiety bubbling beneath my stoic demeanor, but he was a ruthless tactician and likely sensed my desperation the moment I'd walked in. He'd leverage that emotion for his own personal gain. My father did nothing out of the kindness of his heart.
"And why exactly was your unit's omega wandering the halls in the middle of the night, Captain Green?"
"Sir, the windows in the dormitory don’t open. She was running a low-grade fever and needed some cool air, so she stepped into the hallway. Rowan didn’t want to be a bother and wake us. It was there that she ran into the two alphas whoattacked her and dragged her to the basement. They used their bark on her so she couldn’t call for help."
"I see. I sent a cleanup crew to deal with Talon's mess. His handiwork is astounding, as always. I understand why Arca considers him quite the weapon. As far as the omega, awfully stupid girl, leaving the dorm without a chaperone. There’s a reason that policy exists. Then again, I suppose omegas aren’t renowned for their intelligence. They’re much more useful for their other... anatomy. I trust you have an adequate punishment planned for her recklessness. The training center has excellent resources and facilities. I could arrange for her to spend a day or two there, with one of their programmers."
