1

Wolf howls pierced my ears, adding more of a chill to the already cold Oregon February breeze blowing across my skin.

The sound was only a mile or two away. The noise had come from behind me, which meant the wolves could stumble upon my scent and track me.

A shiver raced down my spine.

I wasn’t supposed to be out here, far from our pack neighborhood in Oxbow, Oregon. This area marked the state line between Idaho and Oregon, where someone in our pack could easily trespass onto Idaho land and cause problems with the neighboring royal adviser. There was no telling who these wolves were.

Coming here to hike Hells Canyon National Recreation Area had been a mistake, but this was one of the safest places for me to walk alone, and I desperately needed time to myself after our alpha, Zeke, had forced me to clean his house and miss my shift at the local coffee shop…again. I was going to get fired, and my chance to escape the pack was being stolen from me because of my position as the weakest wolf in it.

I tried to push away my concern and admire the shining full moon high in the vast, cloudless night sky. Cloud-free nights were rare here—another reason I’d decided to sneak out for this walk.

The third reason was that I couldn’t shift because my wolf was so weak, so when I had a stressful day like today, I came here.

Multiple wolves howled, and they were closer…only about a half mile away.

My chest constricted as the wind picked up, rustling the branches of the surrounding larch, lodgepole pine, cypress, and true fir trees and adding to the already eerie atmosphere. My wolf stirred within me—or so I suspected. The sensation resembled a churning in my chest rather than in my stomach.

Gods, I wished I could pack link, but that was yet another thing I couldn’t do.

Knowing I couldn’t head back because I’d run into them, I ran deeper into the woods toward the canyon the Snake River flowed through. I could use the water to cover my scent. If these wolves were part of my pack, I couldn’t use the knife strapped to my ankle to defend myself against them, or I’d be in trouble with the alpha. But standing here to take whatever abuse they decided to bestow upon me wouldn’t be smart, either. I had to get away.

Hell, the only reason I had the knife was to defend myself against another pack, especially with the king and queen of the Southwest territory making moves to take over Oregon.

I propelled myself into a run. I could hear the panting of the wolves drawing closer and the pounding of their paws in the forest mulch.

The hair on the nape of my neck rose. With each breath I took, air puffed in front of me like fog. The temperature was close to freezing, but I no longer felt it. Not with adrenaline and fear pumping through my blood.

For each step of mine, the wolves gained two on me, and a prickly sensation washed over me. I was their prey.

I pushed forward, determined to get away. I dodged roots and tree trunks across the forest floor, knowing them almost as well as every beat and cadence of Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life,” a song that spoke to me on a level very few did—one that hit me in the gut and defined how beaten down and numb to my future I’d become.

Rocks lay scattered less than a half mile away. Losing focus, I stumbled over a large stone hidden by grass and landed on all fours. Sharp pain jolted through my hands and knees, which had taken the brunt of the tumble. This was nothing compared to what my pursuers could do, so I scrambled back to my feet. Hopefully, I was being overly paranoid and these wolves were merely running and playing and just so happened to be heading toward the Snake River Canyon like me.

Something inside me flinched at my naivety.

Despite my warmer internal wolf temperature, a frigidness settled deep in my bones as the pack drew closer until I could make out five wolves behind me. They’d be on me in minutes, no matter what I did.

I’d been foolish to come out here on a full moon, but it was forbidden to be in this area in wolf form, or so I’d thought. What the heck? My anger and resentment had made me willing to take the chance, and now I wished I could go back in time and stay home.

Unable to link with anyone in my pack, I reached for my phone in my back pocket. I needed to call Theo. He’d come and help me, and they’d listen to him since he was the alpha’s son. I paused, hating to stop, but escape was futile.

As I typed out help, the wolves emerged behind me between two larch trees. My eyes widened as I took in who they were, my attention settling on the one that hurt the most, my sister Pearl. It was easy to tell her apart from the others, as her fur was almost solid white.

After hitting send, I stuffed my phone back in my pocket and faced them.

The dark-gray one—Charles, my sister’s boyfriend—was in front. He snarled and bared his teeth at me. His minions behind him followed his lead, including my sister.

They wanted to scare me. They wanted me to feel weak. They wanted me to cower.

That was what any good weak wolf would do—submit. But I was never able to, not even when it was in my best interest. My parents always scolded me, but something inside me refused to show weakness and would rather take the beating.

I straightened my shoulders despite the nausea churning in my stomach. A small but logical voice screamed at me to flee, but my body stood firm and still while I lifted my chin in defiance.

With two wolves flanking Charles, they stopped short of me. Bryson, at the end on the left side, shook his light-gray fur while Josh’s beige wolf stood between him and Charles. Pearl was between Charles and Fred, a charcoal wolf whose fur stood on end.

I tried to keep my expression indifferent, showing no fear or anguish. But seeing Pearl here, actively trying to bully me, squeezed my heart like a vise. I didn’t know what she had against me, but she was the sibling who’d never accepted me as part of the family, even though I was five when they took me in.

Straightening my shoulders, I said, “I’m just out for a walk. I’m not trying to cause problems, and I won’t tell Zeke you were here in your wolf forms if that’s what you’re concerned about.” It wasn’t as if our alpha would believe me, anyway, if the five of them called me a liar. He always thought the worst of me, no matter the situation.

Charles bared his teeth, drool dripping from his snout. He pawed at the ground as if he were about to charge.

I needed to submit. They’d still be cruel, but nowhere near as bad as if I didn’t. However, I couldn’t avert my eyes to the ground. I stared into Charles’s eyes as if I were challenging him. A lump formed in my throat, and I struggled to breathe around it.

Great.

He crouched, ready to spring at me and prove he was stronger. That was when some logic sank through my thick skull, and I took a step back. He was in wolf form, which was when a shifter’s magic was at its strongest, while I was human. There was no way I could win a fight against him. Hell, I didn’t want to attempt to fight because I had no doubt how it would end.

I lifted my hands in surrender, but my dumb ass still couldn’t break eye contact. “Seriously, I don’t want any trouble. I need to be close to nature, and since I can’t shift, I come here. Just go run and play, and I’ll head back home. You won’t see me again.”

The breeze picked up, and the temperature dropped several degrees as Charles’s hackles rose.

Josh chuckled, which sounded like a wolf choking. The hardening of his ebony eyes and his low tone made the sound as cold as the air. They were going to attack to teach me some fucked-up lesson. I might as well go down with a little bit of dignity.

Inching closer, Charles kept his attention on me. He moved slowly, no doubt to get inside my mind, making me anticipate the attack. The emotional side of abuse was more important to them than the physical—that was just the icing on the cake. Their prize for being so patient and toying with me.

Tensing, I glanced at the huge true fir on my left. I could climb it and wait for Theo to get the message and come help me, but that would be worse in the long run. They would know their advances had frightened me.

They would wait for another opportunity to teach me whatever lesson they thought I needed.