What is happening?I scream, but it comes out in low whines and indistinguishable growls.
A wolf stalks toward me, not attacking—herding. Trying to push me back.
But I can’t. I can’t go back. Not after what I did.
I’ll never be able to go back.
Scrambling, I dive between two wolves and run.
And run.
Branches whip at my face—my fur?—I don’t know anymore. The forest blurs around me. I jump at every sound, stumble over every log. I narrowly miss another patrol on the south side, duck under low brush, and keep running until my lungs are on fire.
Behind me, two dozen wolves chase after me, their howls loud in the night air. I push myself harder, faster, twisting between trees and leaping over a creek. Every time I land hard, pain lances up my legs. Every snap of a twig is too loud for my sensitive ears.
But none of it compares to the pain of the tether.
I can feel Rowen’s grief stretching across the miles—raw and endless. It hollows me out, a distant cry of a broken heart. I can almost hear him whispering to me.
Reach for me, Toby.
His forgiving tone slices through me. It’s how I know it’s not real. Rowen will never forgive me for what I did. Never.
I keep going, never stopping. Somehow, the sound of the wolves fades, becoming something far away. An owl hoots somewhere in the distance, and I can see a large house up on a ridge, lights glowing from within.
When my body nearly collapses from exhaustion, I stop at a stream, quickly dropping my head for a drink. The cool water soothes some of the ache, but only a little. My reflection ripples in the water, then steadies. And I freeze.
A fox stares back.
A fuckingfox.
I scratch my ears, disbelieving, but it’s really me. The reflection mirrors every movement.
Holy shit. I’m a beautiful red fox with black-tipped ears, a narrow snout, dark eyes, and a long plume of a tail.
…how?
I sink back on my haunches, panting. I… shifted?
I peer into the water again, tilting my head this way and that. My mind tries to catch up. I try to think, to breathe. For a split second, wonder cuts through the horror. This is me. This is what I am. Then it hits—what I’ve done.
Oh gods.Jasmine.I attacked Rowen’s mother!
Grief hits me square in the chest, and I let out a low whine. What have I done?
Sitting back, I stare at my reflection, rubbing at my too-big ears with a paw. It tickles yet feels amazing at the same time. No wonder Rowen likes it when I scratch his ears.
At the sound of something moving, I scurry under a bush and curl into a tight ball. My body feels alien, but somehow, my animal knows exactly what to do.
A few seconds later, a large mule deer steps into view, towering over me. As soon as it’s gone, silence settles again.
Trembling, I hide my face under my tail, trying to block out the world, and slowly, I realize something. Not only is the forest quiet, but my head is silent too. Rip is silent.
The constant thrum is there, but it’s dulled now, like it’s on another frequency. When I try, I can still hear him shouting at me, but it’s like he’s trying to reach me through thick glass. The words are all muffled and inaudible. I can still feel the bond running through my veins like poison, but for the first time in literal days, I can hear my own thoughts.
And as if pulled by a magnetic force, my mind latches onto the only thing that seems to matter right now: Rowen.
My heart shatters. How could I have hurt him the way I did? I’d nearly killed him.Him.My mate. The man who has been the one constant thing since I broke free of the club. He’s been my friend, my provider, my protector. My lover. Nothing he did or could ever do deserves being choked.
