Rex Cooper mind-links me, and my wolf pushes forward, shifting before I even realise what’s happening. Within seconds, we’re eating up the ground between bed-and-breakfast and the packhouse, pushing as hard as we can to get to Leah. The lush green forest is silent save for the pounding of my paws on the soft forest floor. It’s beautiful up here in the summer, but I don’t see any of it as I charge through the woods at full speed. I take the most direct route, through streams and thick undergrowth, to get there as quickly as possible. Stacey lied to me. She was probably right outside the café when she called me, sitting there waiting to see if I was with Leah or whether she was on her own. Exposed and vulnerable. She must have thought Hayley was just another human that she didn’t need to concern herself with. A serious miscalculation on her part. Stacey should have been able to smell that Hayley is mated to a wolf. She obviously didn’t think highly enough of her to even pause and analy

Nathan Crouching down beside Rex, I give him a gentle slap across the face to rouse him. Probably unnecessary, but I’ll take the opportunity to rough him up some more while I can. Stacey is wailing like a banshee on the other side of the room, being comforted by a very impatient Alpha Steel who burst in the second he heard Rex crash to the ground. It was a great punch I got him with. I’m pretty proud of that one. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to catch Rex off guard and if there was ever a time to do it, this was it. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but there is no way I was letting Rex do something rash like claim Stacey as his mate again. The elders once told us a story of a couple of wolves so perfectly suited that even though their parents forced them to reject each other, the Goddess made them second-chance mates. Hence, the bond snapped back into place again immediately after the rejections were complete because it was outside forces conspiring to force them

Leah Back and forth, side to side. The gentle rocking motion would be calming if I didn’t feel like I was suffering from the worst hangover ever. I have a splitting headache and my stomach churns with every slight movement. Why is my bed rolling? Swallowing hard, I attempt to keep my lunch from reappearing as I crack open one eye and shut it immediately when bright daylight burns my retina. I was expecting the cool darkness of my bedroom. So I don’t just have the spins, I actually am moving. I take a second to breathe in through my nose and calm my senses. The sound of water gently lapping close by reaches my ears as the feel of something damp and rough presses against my cheek, a splinter digging into my soft skin. Beneath my fingertips, I detect the texture of unvarnished wood. Possibly worst of all is the burn of rope wound tightly around my wrists and ankles, as the acrid stench of sweat and fear fills my nose. This is bad. Pulling my legs up in front of me, I attempt to roll

Leah Since being brought to a private room, I’ve drifted in and out of sleep, exhausted. Other than checking my vitals regularly and hooking me up to oxygen when we arrived, the doctors have left me alone. They want to monitor me overnight, but provided I have no complications from inhaling water, like developing pneumonia, but rest is really all I need. Rex hasn’t left my side. Which would reassure me if he wasn’t acting so strange. Normally, he is the strong, silent type in an annoyingly calm and confident way. I think back to when I first arrived in Grey Ridge and he’d just watch me, arms crossed and stony faced as I tried to get a reaction out of him. Now, he’s silent, but he’s not one bit calm. Try as he might to hide it. “If you need to go outside, to run or whatever, just go. It’s okay,” I say without opening my eyes, shifting in the bed to get comfortable. A stabbing pain cuts through my right side, and I regret it immediately. I hiss and the hand gripping mine tightens imme

Leah A soft click has me opening my eyes in the dim room. The blinds are down but not fully closed, and the early morning sun is weak, only barely making its presence known in my quiet room. Rex is gone. I can sense it now without even needing to look. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the gloom enough to make out who is that’s lurking beside the door silently. He shoves his hands deep into his pockets as he leans against the wall. Ethan. “Are you okay?” Ethan enquires quietly when he sees that I’m awake. I sit up and straighten the blankets over my lap, smoothing them out to make sure I’m properly covered. Rex wouldn’t have left me indecent, but I don’t remember nodding off, only what we were doing right before. Holy moly, that man is fire. “I will be,” I say honestly, seeing the strain on his face as he takes in my chaffed wrists and stiff movements. There is no point in lying to him. I can see the anguish in his face, the concern. He won’t appreciate me trying to fill h