Chapter Three
Two days later…
The orange orb of the sun boiled up out of the horizon, floating in a sea of fire. Sharp lances of yellow-white sunlight stabbed through the trees, bouncing off Austin’s windshield and nearly blinding him. Tension twisted inside his gut as he negotiated a winding curve, heading out of Greenville.
Apparently everyone wanted a piece of him these days.
His niece, Serafina, had texted him, begging him to come visit their pack lands in Hidden Hills, North Dakota – or let her come visit him. His brothers, Cliff and Grant, were at each other’s throats all the time over stupid pack issues, and it was driving her nuts.
Austin had a soft spot for Serafina, whose parents had been almost as vile as his own, and he was glad that she was going away to a shifter college in South Dakota next year.
He’d had to tell her no, which had left a bitter taste in his mouth. But she should get used to life without him. After all, he was a wolf whose days were numbered.
And Cliff had been texting him for the last six weeks, with increasing urgency. Austin’s relationship with Cliff had always been strained. He’d ignored the texts. Whatever Cliff needed or wanted, Austin couldn’t help him.
And then three hours ago, his friend Tully had called him six times in a row until Austin finally answered the phone. Tully’s pack, the Pebble Creek Pack, was in the far northern part of Washington State, but he was driving south to meet Austin. It couldn’t wait.
He felt something sour brewing in the pit of his stomach. He suspected that Tully had found out about Austin’s little episode in the grocery store. And since Austin was still technically a member of Tully’s pack, Tully had no choice but to come down here and deal with it.
When Austin had first started having hallucinations, he’d gone to Korbin, the healer of the Crescent Moon Pack. The healer had told him there was nothing that he could do for him – and he’d predicted Austin’s grim path. Increasingly bad hallucinations and violent, uncontrollable outbursts.
Oh, he’d tried to be helpful. He’d urged Austin to fight it as hard as he could. Told him what exercises he needed to do to keep the madness at bay for a little longer.
To buy himself some time.
He’d thought about travelling around, searching for more help, but Korbin was one of the most powerful healers in the country. Why fight the inevitable? Why waste what little time he had left on a fruitless search for answers that couldn’t be found?
His mood was glum as he pulled into the parking lot of the small rest stop off Rural Route 7, where they’d arranged to meet. There was a gas station there to service the shifters who drove along Rural Route 7, and a small convenience store. Half a dozen cars were parked in front of the shop, and a family was eating at one of the picnic tables off to the side.
Tully, a burly man with a scar slashing the right side of his face, was already waiting for Austin at the other end of the lot, as far away from the shop as possible. He was standing next to his van, and he had a scowl creasing his forehead as Austin strolled over.
“Hey, brother,” Austin said, giving him a quick hug and a hard clap on the back. Then he took a step away. “I have a feeling that I know why you’re here.” His tone was steady and even, but his heart was thudding against his ribcage. He didn’t want a confrontation with the man who’d been like a brother to him. Because Tully couldn’t win.
Tully glanced around, scowling, as if to make sure there was nobody near enough to overhear them. “People are talking, Austin. They say you’re going feral.”
A rogue wolf was one who lived on his own. A feral wolf was one who’d tipped over into insanity.
Impatience and worry laced his voice. “Is that why you just up and moved all the way across the state? So we wouldn’t get caught up in the shitstorm?”
His light blue eyes were searching Austin’s for signs of madness.
Austin met Tully’s stare. “Listen, Tully, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I’m leaving your pack. I should have told you earlier.”
Tully and the pack had taken him in right after he ran away from military school. They were a small pack of hired killers and bounty hunters, who travelled the Northeast taking care of rogue shifters. They had accepted him as one of them. True, he had never felt completely at home with them, but he didn’t feel at home anywhere.
That tended to happen when most of your own pack shunned you as a cub, to the point where your father regularly tried to kill you, your mother sat there drinking and watching, and your older brother was so eager to be next in line for Alpha that he tricked Dear Old Dad into sending you away to a brutal military school.
His father had regularly beaten all three of his sons, but he’d had a particular hatred for Austin, his youngest. His pack members had sensed it, and most of them, fearful of Lloyd’s wrath, had tended to avoid him whenever possible.
Lloyd had gone into a long alcoholic decline a few years back, and Cliff had taken over from him, officially gaining the title of Alpha after Lloyd died. Technically, Austin could visit the pack now, but why would he?
Tully and his pack were as close to home as anything Austin had ever felt, and he would be damned if he would cause them harm.
“It’s not that easy,” Tully snapped. “You should have come to me for help as soon as you knew. Now my pack has been hired to take you out.”
“And yet you came alone.” Austin smiled politely. He cocked his head to the side. Tully knew what Austin was capable of.
“That’s because I’m not here to kill you, you idiot.” Tully shook his head with frustration. “I’m here to help you. Are you actually giving up this easily? Since when did you turn into such a pussy? Let’s start hitting up the healers and seeing what we can do.”
