A voice filtered through my mind, curling inside me. I looked around to make sure no one had spoken. Cade was still lecturing me about how I had snuck off in the night. Ryker was pushing peas around on his plate, still smirking. But Talon was staring at me with intensity, his yellow eyes flicking between my angry expression and sharpened claws.
Dig your nails into your palms. Use the pain to ground you. Control your emotions. You are not a beast.
The voice echoed again in my mind. This time I could hear the words more clearly. They were silky and smooth, resembling Talon’s voice. He was communicating through our shifter bond.
I vaguely remembered the sensation of calling out to him while shifting, unaware of what was happening to me. He promised he was coming for me, his voice steady and sure even through the chaos in my head. The memory settled through me like warmth, soft and comforting, easing the panic clawing at my chest.
I focused on his words.
Dig your nails into your palms now, or you are going to shift, Rowan.
His voice slid through my mind, louder and surer this time. I listened, driving the tips of my claws into my own palms and squeezing my fists shut. As the pain from each stabbing wound ripped through me, the fury lessened. It was like dousing a fire with cold water. My wolf quieted, and the world dulled.
I looked at Talon, who was staring back at me with intensity. A smile crossed his lips, and I realized the emotion he was looking at me with was pride.
You did well, pet.
He nodded, and I couldn't help the small smirk that came to my lips as I sent him a message back through our bond, testing the connection.
I'm still not your pet.
“Rowan, do you think this is funny? Why exactly are you smiling?” Cade began angrily, but then abruptly stood, rushing toward me with a haste that made me falter.
“You're bleeding. What happened? Show me your hands.”
I held out my hands in confusion, only just noticing blood running down my fingertips and the small crescent-shaped cuts curving across my palms.
He flipped my hands over, checking my arms and shoulders frantically for any other injuries. Warmth spread through my chest at the sight of his urgency and concern. He had been so distant since my escape attempt, his words clipped and his eyes unreadable.
I had believed that whatever he once felt for me had disappeared. But now, seeing the tremor in his hands and the way his breath caught as he looked me over, I knew that wasn’t true. Beneath all the anger and restraint, he still cared.
Maybe more than he wanted to.
Placing my palms in his, I stilled his movement. “I’m okay, Cade. I was—”
He looked at me, confusion flashing across his face before realization dawned. He drew a sharp breath of relief, then forced his expression back into stone as he pulled his hands from mine.
“Shifting. You were shifting. I see.”
“I was able to stop myself. Talon told me how. He was talking to me, through our—” I pointed to my temple, feeling silly sayingthrough our mindsout loud, so I corrected myself. “Through the bond.”
He looked between us before saying, "Good," in a clipped, definitive tone.
While it wasn't his usual “good girl,” I was halfway there. A part of me missed that phrase, his praise, the warmth and heat those words sent through me. Even though I was angry, no,furiousthat they had stripped away every ounce of my freedom, I understood why.
I had run, I had broken their trust, and my choices had forced Cade's hand. I put myself and ultimately all of them in danger. The guilt of it sat heavy in my chest, twisting together with the resentment I felt toward them for turning me into a prisoner.
I hated the control, the rules, the constant surveillance, but I also hated that I knew I had earned it. Despite that, somewhere beneath all that anger, I wanted his approval. I wanted to hear him say those two words again.
Chapter 5: Talon
Crisp wind whipped through my wolf’s fur as its limbs stretched out, eager to run after so much time spent caged within me. It was a relief to allow the beast to roam freely, to surrender my fragile control and let instinct take over. After tracking a direworg along the wall, we finally caught up with it. My wolf lunged, tearing the creature to shreds and sating its hunger for flesh and blood.
While the wolf fed, Ryker stood guard nearby, scanning the treeline with his scope, but allowing his gaze to flick down to his tactical watch every few seconds. He was impatient for our shift to end so he could get back to our pet. The wolf growled at him, annoyed by his divided focus. Distractions could get us killed.
“Chill and hurry up. I don’t know how you eat that shit. Those things are fucking gross,” he said impatiently.
The wolf growled, lowering its head and baring teeth at Ryker, territorial over the fresh kill.
