“What are you two studying?”

  Janie turns to me, her blue eyes meeting mine perfectly for one long moment before she looks away. I have to hold back a shiver that wants to roll through me at the way her pupils widened as they found me.

  Darby waves me over to them. “Come here. We’re trying to find out why Janie had a glowing symbol on her arm. It showed up out of nowhere.”

  I look over at Janie with wide eyes and reach out for her arm before I can think better of it. I study her right arm, and then her left, finding a swirling, black symbol of fire tattooed on her skin before she jerks her arms away from me.

  I step back. “That’s not a tattoo? Like the one you have on your back?”

  Darby whirls around in her stool, just as Janie’s eyes widen to round blue pools of shock. “What tattoo on my back?” Janie asks, trying to look over her shoulder.

  Darby lifts Janie’s shirt up her back, making Janie yelp in surprise. My breath hitches at the bare skin in front of me, and I gulp down my want as I focus on the wolf tattoo. “See, it’s a wolf’s head,” I croak out.

  Janie looks at me with her eyebrows pressed together in confusion. “I don’t have a wolf tattoo. I’ve never gotten a tattoo in my life!”

  Darby drops Janie’s shirt, and I can almost breathe properly again. “There is definitely a wolf on your back, Janie. It’s in the same style as the fire symbol. It must have just…showed up.” Darby whirls on me. “When did you see Janie’s back?”

  “I–it…” I stumble on my words, suddenly feeling like a creep. “It was last night, when Janie came out of the fire with her clothes burned off.” I swallow hard again, trying not to look at Janie. Where did all of this saliva come from? “The image was clear on her back. I assumed it was a tattoo.”

  Janie looks ready to freak out, and my protectiveness kicks in as I step close to her. I grab her shoulders and she looks up at me with a hitch in her breath. “It’s okay. We’ll figure out what this means, just like we promised you our protection.”

  She nods, her tongue jutting out to lick her lips. Christ. “Thanks, Hunter. I just feel so lost.”

  I want to pull her into my chest and cover her with all of me. I want her to feel safe and warm, safe from the unknown. I imagine what it could be like, to feel her hold me back, to tuck her against my body like she belongs there. I don’t do that, though. How can I after the promise I made myself to not have a mate?

  Janie searches my eyes before stepping away from me. She shares a look with Darby and then spins back to the book on the countertop. Darby clears her throat before speaking. “Janie and I did find something, though. Come look.”

  I lean over their shoulders to view the opened page. There are so many symbols on the pages that make no sense to me. One of them in particular, is the fire symbol from Janie’s arm. “What does it mean, then?”

  Darby points to the symbol. “It says that the symbol represents the fire wolves, including the pack we know as the Ignis pack. Years ago, like thousands of years ago, a wolf shifter would receive a mark on their body that symbolized their pack and abilities. The mark would show up when a wolf reached maturity. Over time, we stopped getting these markings as shifters have become more human than wolf.”

  “Except for me?” Janie asks.

  Darby shrugs. “Yeah, I mean, you are probably the only wolf to receive any markings like this nowadays. It’s like you’re more ancient than the rest of us.”

  Janie grimaces. “Great, so now I’m old.”

  Darby rolls her eyes like she does at me all the time. “You’re not old, but something about your wolf spirit might be. There’s a lot we still don’t know.”

  I groan, feeling impatient. “So, how do we find out what we don’t know?”

  “I have an idea, but you won’t like it.” Darby’s mischievous smile tells me enough that I won’t like it. “I think Janie should visit The Luna.”

  I step back with a low growl. “Absolutely not, Darby!” The Luna is a myth, old and dangerous if the stories are to be believed. Our parents told us stories about the ancient shifter woman who had eternal life. “We don’t even know where she lives, or even if she is real.”

  Darby looks at me like I’m an idiot. “It’s worth a try, Hunter. If Janie has an ancient spirit, who better to help her than an ancient wolf? I have studied her for years, and I have a pretty good idea of where she is.”

  I think about this ridiculous idea. It’s clear that Janie is meant for greatness. She has actual fire in her veins, but her white fur could mean she has even more to unlock inside of herself. How could I ignore her need for knowledge?

  I look down at Janie, into her sad eyes. “What do you think, Janie? I’m not your alpha, and I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to. This could be dangerous, and we could end up with no answers, or more questions.”

  She blinks a few times, her eyelashes brushing against her high cheekbones. “I don’t know who this woman is, but if she could have answers about where I came from, I’m willing to go.” She looks at Darby, and then back at me, determination in her eyes. “So, when do we leave?”

  Part 3:

  WOLF

  MARKED

  CHAPTER 1

  Janie

  I know it’s a dream. I can feel the lightness of it all, the unreal surroundings. But I don’t care that I’m dreaming, all I want is this. Hunter’s dark eyes are locked onto me, tracking my every movement as I run through a forest so full of color that it could be an abstract painting.

  The trees are such a bright green that I want to touch them. The sky behind Hunter’s head is so full of stars that it is more light than dark. Finally, I reach him, and he takes me in his arms before I can even think. Hunter’s hands slip below my butt, gripping onto me tightly as his lips move to say something I can’t understand.

  Then, his lips are on mine, hot and fast. I grip onto his neck as Hunter lowers me onto the lush grass beneath us. His body is hard against mine, moving in perfect synchronicity with me as I cry out his name. His lips move to my neck, the skin above my breasts, and just when I can’t take anymore, his teeth sink into me, claiming me.

  “Janie!” Darby’s voice is a rude interruption to my dream.

  I gasp as I lurch up in my bed, ready for a fight. My eyes find the smiling brunette, and the panic inside of me settles. “What’s up, Darby?”

  She practically hops over to the dresser in my borrowed bedroom, and she pulls out some random clothes. “You overslept. We’re leaving in twenty minutes, and Hunter is being overly impatient.”

  Right. We’re leaving today to find the elusive Luna, the ancient wolf-seer woman who holds all of the answers about my existence. Darby first mentioned finding The Luna two days ago. Since then, she has narrowed down the woman’s location to a few square miles. Now we just need to head out and hope that The Luna knows what I am.

  Ever since the glowing tattoos started to appear on my body, I have developed abilities that I never thought possible. I can wield fire, well, partially. I still don’t know how to make it happen on command, but I can touch fire without it burning me. That’s a major plus.

  I climb out of bed and quickly change into a simple, black tank top, a tight pair of jeans, and blue Converse. I look down at the second outfit Darby has laid out for me. “Are we staying overnight?”

  She shakes her head. “No, but we will be shifting, and I thought an emergency change of clothes would be handy.”

  I nod. “Yes, you’re absolutely right. I’ll pack this away and head out front.” Being naked out in the woods is not my idea of a good time.

  “Okay, but hurry. It’s a five hour drive to Nashville.”

  My eyebrows press together. “Nashville, Tennessee? You know that’s only like an hour away, right?”

  Darby chuckles. “Nashville, Indiana. A much smaller town than ‘Music City’.” She opens my door and steps out into the hall. “Now get moving. Hunter’s in a mood and he’ll come in here to throw you over his shoulder if he has to. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

  I grimace, but I can’t help the thought that rolls through my mind. I might like that too much.

  I find a brand new, dark gray Nissan Rogue parked at the front of Hunter and Darby’s house. I toss my backpack into the trunk of the SUV and I’m shocked that I beat the others outside.

  It’s a beautiful day, almost cloudy, but mostly sunny. I’ve never been on a road trip with other people before, even though I have driven a lot by myself.

  “Good morning, sunshine.” Jax’s voice perks me up better than coffee.

  I turn around to find him with his own backpack thrown over his shoulder and a big grin on his handsome face. “Are you coming with us, Jax?” I ask excitedly.

  “Hell yeah!” He quickly pulls me into a hug before I can stop him. Not that I would want to stop Jax from hugging me, but it’s so foreign to me to get this kind of attention.

  Jax drops me and tosses his bag into the car. “Darby invited me on your little trip. She says it’s confidential, but that you guys may need my particular set of skills.” One of his eyebrows raises curiously.

  Darby is a genius. If The Luna has really been alone for hundreds of years, Jax’s soothing personality can help warm her to us way easier. If she exists, of course.

  “Well, great. I’m really glad you’re here.” I give him my best smile and he returns it with a grin made for wooing any girl within a ten-mile radius.

  Someone clears their throat, and we both turn to find Hunter with his usual scowl. Darby pushes past him to drag Jax into the back seat of the car with her before Hunter can object to our new guest.

  I can feel my whole face flush with heat as I remember the dream I had less than an hour ago. Hunter is the exact same in real life. Tall, intimidating, and too damn sexy. His dark eyes roam over me once and that scowl falls as his face softens…barely.

  “You invited Jax,” Hunter says, not as a question, but as an accusation.

  My eyes brows shoot up. “No, Darby did. She thinks he’ll be a good help in charming The Luna.”

  Hunter nods, and he steps close to me. “She’s probably right.” He glances at the car and then back at me. “Looks like you’ll be sitting up front with me.”

  I shrug. “I guess.” I remember the feel of his wolf fangs against my skin, and my whole body shudders. “W—we should go.”

  Hunter’s brown eyes darken to almost black as he watches me shake so close to him. If only he knew the things I dreamt of at night. Maybe he dreams of me too. I can’t even imagine the stoic alpha dreaming, let alone dreaming of a strange girl like me.

  He licks his lips and nods toward the car behind me. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

  He passes me up, brushing his arm against mine, and I have to shush my wolf before she full-on groans inside of me. This day is going to be torture.

  CHAPTER 2

  Hunter

  “Moooom, are we there yet?” Jax whines like a child from the back seat.

  Janie giggles and turns to Jax. “Ask the navigator. She seems to have gotten us lost.”

  I flick my eyes over to Janie and away from the never-ending dirt road. That small smile still lingers on her pink lips. She always smiles for Jax, but when she looks at me, it’s as if she wishes to see someone else. My heart aches at the thought.

  Of course, it’s all my fault. I’ve been all over the place lately. Sometimes I want to sit with Janie and talk to her about anything and everything, maybe make her laugh the way she does for Jax. Other times, I feel like I need to push her far away from me so that I can keep my promise to remain mate-less for my pack.

  Darby leans over the center console. “We should be hitting a dead-end any minute now. Then we’ll know that we’re on the right track.”

  We drove for hours to reach the small town of Nashville, Indiana. Darby hooked her phone up to my radio to play all of her favorite songs, even though her taste in music is like a monkey’s taste in food.

  After a quick stop for fast food in Nashville, we took a mountain road barely wide enough to fit my Nissan. I’ve been driving down this road for a half hour now, looking for the dead-end, but I’m getting impatient. Having Janie beside me, her scent filling my car, it’s unbearable.

  Jax leans forward too, his face close to Janie’s. I hold back my growl as he winks at her. “So, now that we’re nearly there, do I get to know why we’re looking for The Luna, who may or may not exist?”

  “We found out that Janie may have some sort of ancient magic inside of her,” Darby answers. “We figured an ancient seer would have the answers to what has been happening to her.”

  Jax’s eyes go wide. “Ooh, what has been happening?”

  Janie raises her arm so the fire symbol can clearly be seen. “This tattoo just showed up out of nowhere, as well as one on my back. They glow sometimes, which is also super weird, along with the fact that my wolf’s fur is two colors.”

  Jax touches the tattoo on Janie’s arm. “That’s insane! Can I see the one on your back?”

  This time, I actually growl, and all eyes turn to me. I ignore their stares and point to the sign at the end of the road. “Look, we’ve reached a dead-end.”

  I quickly put the car in park and shut off the engine before climbing out to stretch my legs. The others follow me with their bags in hand, and Darby waves her arms around at the tall trees surrounding us.

  “Okay, so from this point, we’ll need to shift. All of my research has led me to believe that only wolves can find The Luna’s home. As long as we head East, we should pick up her scent.”

  “How will we know what scent to follow?” Janie asks.

  Darby shrugs. “We should know it when we smell it. That’s all I got.”

  “Alright,” Jax says with his usual grin. “Let’s get shifting then.”

  I can’t deny that I like the guy. He and I grew up together in the pack, and he was probably once my best friend, but since I became alpha, I’ve hardly talked to him more than to bark orders. I’m not a good friend, and now his interest in Janie has me wanting to wring his neck.

  Janie blushes before tilting her head back toward the car. “I’m going to shift behind the car.”

  She isn’t used to being openly naked in front of others, but when you grow up in a pack, it’s not even a concern. Even if Janie was okay with stripping down in front of us, I’m not sure I’m ready to watch that. My control already feels on edge half the time.

  Janie runs off to change, but Jax has no such shyness. He strips his pants off in half a second, and it’s Darby that turns away with a blush of her own. “I’m going to join Janie.” She runs off without even a glance back.

  Jax chuckles and continues taking off his clothes. “Girls, eh?” He smiles at me, and I can’t help but smile back. It would be nice to have a friend again. Maybe I could learn to relax for once.

  “That just puts us ahead of the game,” I say, quickly stripping my clothes off, throwing them into my backpack, and shifting within seconds.

  Jax is right behind me, his large gray wolf almost as big as mine. His wolf is a lighter gray than mine as well, but it’s nothing compared to Janie’s bright, white fur. She and Darby stalk out to stand beside us, and I reach out to each of their minds, grateful for this alpha ability.

  “Alright, stay together and look for any smell that seems off. Are you all ready?”

  Janie’s wolf migrates close to my side as she dips her head. Her eyes are gold now, and they stay locked on mine. In this form, I feel even more like being near her, running beside her, rolling in the grass with her. It’s almost all-consuming, but I drag my gaze back to the others. They each nod their heads and we take off.

  Running with my pack is freeing, and I don’t do it nearly enough, or at all really. It was a normal occurrence when my father was alive. Everything was easier then, and I didn’t have this constant worry for my people. Just leaving them behind to come here has me on edge, even though I know they’re capable of protecting themselves.

  Janie stays close to me, while Darby and Jax run further off to the side. So many scents fill these woods, and many that I don’t recognize, but none of them has me on alert. The scent of a nearby river fills my nose, followed by too many types of trees to count. I pick up animal scents. Foxes, squirrels, deer, elk, and bears. Then, one scent fills me that’s so unlike the others.

  I halt, and the others follow. My nose raises high as I find that unique scent, like a mixture of moss, daisies, and… magic. I don’t really know what magic smells like, but this has to be it.

  “I think I found it,” I say to the other’s minds. I find the trail of the new scent, and take off after it, hopeful that The Luna is really here to give us the answers we need, and that we don’t meet any wolves that want Janie dead.

  CHAPTER 3

  Janie

  I hurry to drag my clothes out of my backpack, and onto my shivering body. It’s chilly out here, but I’m mostly shaking with excitement at meeting The Luna. I had never heard stories of her, but if she really is ancient, then she can be the one who actually helps me.

  I step out of the trees, and back in front of the cute motorhome that’s tucked at the center of a field of daisies. Hunter and Jax are dressed, staring at the home in front of us. Darby steps from behind her own tree and blushes under Jax’s gaze. It’s clear that they’re crazy about one another, I just wish they saw it.

  “So, this is the home of an ancient, powerful being?” Jax asks, his hands on his hips. “It’s underwhelming.”

  The motorhome is modified to look like an adorable little cabin, with real windows and wood slats that are painted a bright pink color. It really doesn’t seem like the place The Luna would live in for eternity.