14

AURORA

The other part kept drifting back to the changes that had started earlier under the black moon.

The wolf inside me felt restless.

The heat from that primal shift still burned deep in my body.

“Aurora, you need to settle down before we go in there.”

Theron had come to stand beside me.

He understood what I was fighting. The ritual had affected him too.

“It’s not a good idea for her to stay here long,” he added.

A growl slipped out.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Talking about me like I’m not here.”

Frustration sharpened my words.

“I know what’s going on. And I know how much I can handle.”

Theron simply shrugged and stayed quiet.

Good.

Jax lifted his walkie-talkie.

“We’re here.”

A voice crackled back.

“What do you mean you’re here? Where?”

“We’re holding at the forest edge,” Jax replied. “Waiting for the all clear.”

Then a sharp howl split the night air.

It came from the direction of the sheriff’s office.

Every muscle in my body tightened.

That sound wasn’t....

Instinct took over.

My feet were already moving.

I ran at full speed toward the building.

Theron and Jax shouted behind me, but I only pushed faster.

What was inside my jail?

Men nearby turned in shock as I rushed past.

Dirt flew behind me with every step.

Even without my full shifter strength, I moved faster than most of the pack.

Two men stood at the jailhouse entrance, blocking the door.

A low growl left my throat.

“Move.”

One of them shifted nervously.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. We can’t. Those are our orders.”

Their hands hovered close to their weapons.

My hand moved to the knife at my hip.

I was ready to pull it free.

“You can step aside,” I said quietly, “or I’ll make you.”

Truthfully, I didn’t know if I had the strength to follow through.

But claws and teeth could still do a lot of damage before anyone stopped me.

Another howl tore out from inside the building.

A cold chill ran down my spine.

That sound.

It was...

“Move,” I ordered again.

One of the guards looked past me.

His expression changed immediately.

Slowly, he stepped aside.

Jax and Theron must have caught up.

Inside the small waiting room stood three guards I recognized.

“Aurora, you shouldn’t go in there,” Jax said. “We don’t know if it’s safe.”

“Why not?” I shot back. “Isn’t he locked in a cell?”

“Yes, but....”

My eyes shifted to the guards.

Sweat covered their arms.

None of them looked directly at me.

They were nervous.

And somehow it involved me.

“Aurorrrrrra.”

My name came out stretched inside a long howl.

Pain filled the sound.

My steps slowed as I backed away slightly.

“What the hell…?” Jax muttered behind me. “Report.”

The guard who seemed to lead them glanced toward me again.

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” I said. “Just say it.”

“He’s a changeling.”

My heart skipped hard.

Breath caught in my chest.

This could not be happening.

Not tonight.

Not on my first day as alpha.

“That’s impossible,” I whispered.

“Sir,” the guard said to Jax, “you should speak with him. Since we brought him in, he’s been trying to tear the place apart. And the howling… it’s driving everyone crazy.”

“What does he want?” Jax asked.

All three guards turned toward me.

They answered together.

“Her.”

Something tugged at the back of my memory.

No changeling had ever survived the change.

Not one.

“Aurora,” Theron said carefully, “you should stay here. Let us go in.”

He stepped in front of me.

I slipped past him before he could stop me.

“No.”

If the creature inside wanted to speak with me, then I would find out why.

Even if he truly was a changeling.

With all these armed men here, the situation could be handled.

I walked down the hallway without waiting for another word.

If some half-wolf creature had ruined our ritual and taken my father, I wanted to hear what he had to say.

Then I would deal with him myself.

Three steps later, Theron and Jax followed behind me.

That simple fact made me smile slightly.

They always had my back.

Bars rattled ahead.

Growls echoed down the hall.

For one person, he was making a lot of noise.

Our footsteps echoed against the floor.

He must have heard us coming.

Suddenly the noise stopped.

Then he spoke.

“Aurora?”

My step faltered.

He said my name like he had expected me.

Like he already knew my scent.

My nose flared, sorting through the smells inside the building.

His scent felt familiar.

But the wolf scent was weaker than I expected.

At the end of the hall, I saw hands gripping the cell bars.

Human hands.

But thick hair covered them.

Long claws stretched from the fingers.

A shiver ran through me.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” the deep voice said with a strange rumble.

Moving closer, I saw him clearly.

Long black hair fell in waves past his shoulders.

He was tall. Very broad.

At least six foot four.

My eyes lifted to his face.

A heavy beard covered much of it.

Then our eyes met.

Bright blue.

The sight hit me like a shock.

Memory slammed back.

A night I had tried hard to forget.

“Still beautiful,” he said softly.

Sarcasm edged his voice.

“Time has treated you well since the last time I saw you.”

“Do I know you?”

My face stayed calm as I spoke.

Inside, tension tightened every muscle.

He would never know how much he had once affected me.

Restlessness filled him.

The wolf inside him showed in every way.

In his scent.

In his movements.

In the raw strength pressing against the bars.

He laughed bitterly.

“Of course,” he said.

“Just like a spoiled princess to forget a man the moment she’s done with him.”