Wilk pays for our food since he has officially become the hotshot of our little group, and we pile into the car.

  “I’ll drive!” Seth announces.

  Rylee and I both shout “shotgun” at the same time and my head snaps toward the girl. Her grin is surprisingly cocky for a wounded animal that we found in the woods. I’m unsure what it is about the girl, but she bothers me. It could be her obvious attraction to Seth, but it’s not even just that. Though, that’s plenty.

  “It’s alright, hon. Sit with me in the back,” Bree says, grabbing my hand and pulling me with her to the third row seat.

  My disappointment from having to sit so far away from Seth is likely all too evident on my face, but I try to hide it as I watch Rylee smile and climb into the passenger’s spot. Seth smiles at her, but his sad eyes meet mine in the rear view mirror. I don’t know how I am able to feel his touch all over again with just a simple look, but I have to blink rapidly to get the inappropriate thoughts out of my head. Chill, Mai.

  Wilk and Qadira sit in the middle row, much closer together than necessary considering it’s a three-person seat, but I can’t help my smile as I watch their hands rest between them, separate but longing for the other’s. It reminds me of going to the movies on my first date in the eighth grade, and just wishing that Tim Daniels would grab my hand.

  I sigh and sink into the plush leather. “I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed.”

  I notice Seth shaking his head as he glances back at me while he takes us out of the tiny town. “I’m sorry, Snow, but we can’t go back to your house. We’ll need to go to the pack lands to stay.”

  My mouth drops open and Qadira tenses in front of me. Her eyes are nervous as she glances at me and then back toward the front of the car. “We are going into the wolf-shifter lands? I am not sure that is a good idea.” I can hear the small quiver in her tone and it worries me.

  Bree reaches forward to touch Qadira’s shoulder. “Hey. It will be alright, I promise. I was a young witch when I first met the Shaw pack alpha. Nate is a kind leader and they’ll all accept you both.”

  Rylee turns to look at us all. “Will they accept me, though? Wolves and foxes aren’t exactly buddies.”

  Seth waves a hand as if erasing everyone’s worries. “All of you will be welcome, I promise.” His eyes connect with mine in the mirror and I trust his promise.

  “That’s so great, Seth. You’re the best,” Rylee says as she reaches across the center console to touch Seth’s arm. I suppress the growl that starts to rise in my throat, only to end up coughing like I swallowed a spoonful of pepper. What the hell is that all about?

  Bree reaches over and grabs my hand. Her sad smile is all too knowing, and I shrug in response. She has always been able to see right through me, and it’s incredibly unfair. “You okay?” she asks in the smallest whisper.

  I nod. “All good.” And oh man, I wish that were true, but I have this sneaking suspicion that I might end up with a fox shifter enemy before this trip is over.

  Chapter 15

  ⟣⟡⟢

  Maia

  My eyes flutter open to see bright stars shining above me. I’m laying against the window where I passed out in the back seat of the car, who knows how long ago. To my left, Bree is snoring loudly where she is pressed against her own window. Both faeries are asleep and my smile stretches when I see Qadira’s fake brown hair sprawled over Wilk’s shoulder where she rests quietly. They’re so cute.

  My eyes meet Seth’s in the rear view mirror and he smiles. “They’re all asleep. Did you get some good rest, Snow?” His voice is soft, but floats to me easily in the quiet car.

  I nod, loving how he says my nickname that I hated just days ago. “As good as sleeping against a car window can be, I guess. Bree’s snoring must’ve woken me.” I giggle and Seth joins in.

  His eyes find mine again, and they trail my face before turning back to the dark mountain road, lit barely by the headlights. “Is it lame that after all of the craziness, I’m really excited to show you my home?”

  My heart sighs at the sweet nervousness in his tone. He’s excited to show me his home? Just me, or all of us? He was ready to kiss me only twenty-four hours ago, wasn’t he? That means something. All I need is a few minutes away from everyone else to see if he would’ve gone through with it.

  “It’s not lame at all. I'm excited too. Are we close?”

  He nods. “We’re entering my pack’s land now, actually… well, I should say our pack, shouldn’t I?”

  “I didn’t grow up here, though. I was kept away because my blood is deadly… right?” What will they all think of me?

  Seth shakes his head. “You were kept away for your protection and the protection of the pack, but the wolves are technically your subordinates if you think about it.”

  My subordinates? How? I’m only half of a dormant wolf. “But…” My words are cut off by something hitting the side of the car. My vision spins as the crunching sound of metal pierces my ears and I’m thrown against the window.

  I grip onto my seatbelt, grateful for it’s protection. What just hit us? Seth curses and spins the wheel to keep us from flipping after the hit. The car stops and dust picks up around us as the groaning of metal slows. Everyone is awake now and breathing heavily in the quiet night.

  “What the hell was that?” Bree yells, but everyone stays silent, listening.

  Seth looks beside him at the wide-eyed Rylee and then back at me. His eyes scan what he can see of my body. “Snow, are…” he pauses to look at the others. “…is everyone alright?”

  Everyone mutters that they’re all fine and gratefulness rolls through me. It’s insane how much I care for each of them already, well, except for Rylee. “Did a deer hit us or something?” I ask Seth.

  He shakes his head. “A deer can’t cause that damage. I think it was a wolf.”

  I gasp. “Why would a wolf in your pack lands attack us?”

  Seth removes his seatbelt and turns to see us better. “I didn’t warn anyone that we’d be coming through here, especially in the middle of the night. They’re probably on guard.”

  Wilk’s fake human ears become pointed again, and his bright green eyes turn to me. “Allow me to go investigate, Maia. I am indeed one of your protectors.”

  Seth grunts and shakes his head. “Sorry, Wilk. I am so glad to have your support and initiative, but I should go out alone. Seeing faeries isn’t exactly a common occurrence around here. They need to see me.”

  Wilk shrugs and sits back again. “Be my guest, wolf. I will be here with the ladies.” He turns to give all of us ladies a panty-dropping smile.

  Seth grunts again and climbs out of the car. “Stay here,” he speaks through the open door, eyes falling on me. “If I’m not back in five minutes, take the car and drive straight north from here. Do you understand?”

  I nod and the others all mumble their agreements. Seth shuts the door and the five of us look at one another in silence before Wilk speaks again. “I have heard of this game called ‘spin the bottle’. Who wants to play?”

  Bree snorts beside me and even with the stress of worrying over Seth, I still crack a smile. “Wilk! You little devil!”

  His grin is perfection, and all of us girls swoon a little bit. The only one not smiling is Qadira as she looks around with her eyebrows squished together. “I am sorry, but I do not know this game.”

  Bree giggles and leans into Qadira, whispering something in her pointed ears. Qadira’s pink eyes go round and a matching pink blush stains her porcelain cheeks. “Oh…” she says quietly and her eyes connect with Wilk’s. “Would you really play such a game with all four of us?” I can hear the disappointment in her tone and I feel sorry for her. Even though Wilk plays the ladies-man part, I can tell he is all heart and respect.

  He shrugs. “It would not work to my advantage if you did not join, Qadira.” Oooooh!

  I don’t know how his proper tone works the way it does, but damn, that was so stinkin’ cute. Qadira’s eyes flutter and she turns away from the Fae prince with a small smile. She doesn’t say another word, but Bree, Rylee, and I all look at each other knowingly. That girl is in love.

  Wilk’s head lifts up suddenly and he looks around us with wide eyes, searching for something outside the car. “We need to get out,” he says with a heavy tone.

  My heart begins to race and I look into the dark night for any potential danger. “What is it, Wilk? I don’t see anything.”

  Bree gasps beside me and grabs my hand. “I can feel it too! They're rogue wolves!”

  “What does that mean, Bree? What do we do?”

  Before anyone can tell me what’s happening, another hit comes to the side of the car and the whole vehicle completely flips onto its side. A scream leaves me as I’m thrown on top of Bree and glass falls along my body. My head begins to pound and I know I hit it somewhere, but I’m too scared to find out how bad the damage is.

  I climb off of Bree who seems less injured than I am, even though she broke my fall. Arms grab at me from behind and I’m hauled out of the SUV. I turn to hit my captor but it’s only Wilk.

  “You are bleeding, Maia. Are you alright?” Wilk’s eyes search my face and I nod back to him.

  I can feel the warm liquid falling down my face from a cut on my head, but I feel okay considering. “I’m okay, I think.”

  Bree, Qadira, and Rylee climb out of the car and stand beside me, all of their eyes looking into the dark woods for danger.

  Rylee turns to me and looks at my wound with sadness, or maybe disgust. “That looks bad. Let me help you.” She reaches for my bleeding wound, but Bree practically tackles her before she can touch me.

  “Don’t touch her blood!” Bree yells at Rylee in a way I’ve never seen from her.

  “Why can’t she touch my blood, Bree?” I’m so lost, but I feel like it has to be important.

  Bree continues holding onto Rylee, but looks at me. “Your blood is a weapon, Mai. We don’t know how a shifter will react to touching it. If Rylee were to somehow ingest it, or let it get into an opened wound, she could die.”

  I gasp and look at Rylee’s shaking hands. She has cuts on her arms from the crash and my heart sinks at the thought that I could’ve just killed the girl with a simple touch. Why are they even helping someone like me?

  “I’m sorry, Rylee. If what she says is true, you need to keep your distance.” And so does Seth…

  Rylee shakes her head. “I’m fine. Let’s just fight. I can smell them now.”

  She points her nose in the air and sniffs, recoiling from whatever it is that she smells. “Definitely rogues. Their scent is terrible.”

  Wilk turns toward the woods, floating above the ground while his wings flutter behind him. Qadira releases her wings and joins him, the two faeries guarding me. Bree tenses as well, and protects my right, while Rylee takes position a little further away to my left. They’re all protecting me, but I’m ready to fight to protect them, as well.

  A deep growl comes from ahead of us and my whole body stills. Out of the dark trees steps the most terrifying wolf I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen Seth in his wolf form before, but he was gorgeous and powerful. This thing is mangy-looking with matted fur, yellow eyes, and sharp broken-off teeth. Drool drips from its mouth as it snarls at us. Oh, dear lord.

  “Get out of here, rogue!” Wilk is the one yelling, and gone is the playful tease of a boy from minutes ago.

  The wolf growls louder and his massive paws step closer to our group. Bree mutters something in that Latin-like language and a shimmering dome forms around the five of us, guarding us from the rogue wolf.

  “Wilk and Qadira, incapacitate him. There are three more coming in less than a minute.” Bree’s voice is steady as she gives the command.

  How is she not absolutely flipping out?

  Wilk and Qadira separate to surround the wolf. It looks from one faerie to the other, unsure of which to attack first. Wilk and Qadira’s hands both stretch in front of them, causing what looks like streams of lightning to leave their fingertips and hit the animal from both sides. The wolf cries out in pain and collapses to the dark earth.

  Qadira runs back to the protection of Bree’s shield while Wilk pulls a small blade from a hidden sheath on his hip, and approaches the dying wolf. “What are you doing, Wilk?” I ask, concerned for his safety.

  He glances at me. “Close your eyes, cutie. You do not have to watch this.”

  My stubborn-ass self doesn't obey, and I stare wide-eyed as Wilk slides the sharp blade along the creature's throat, spilling more blood than I’ve ever seen. I gulp past the hard lump that wants to gag me, and take steadying breaths. Wilk wipes the bloodied blade along his tight pants and returns to my side.

  “I am sorry, Maia. It is kill or be killed, as they say. It cannot be avoided with the rogue wolves. They are far gone already.” He sounds sad, but it’s obvious this isn’t his first kill. He’s a warrior, and it will be hard to tease him again after this.

  A howl fills my ears and each of us whips our heads to the right toward the sound. Bree gasps and grabs my arm. “That wasn’t a rogue. That was Seth. He’s calling his pack.”

  ♢♢♢

  Seth

  I leave the SUV reluctantly. I know Wilk and Bree will protect Maia if she needs it, but walking away while she is potentially in danger is still hard. I know exactly where I am in the pack lands. I have run these trails a hundred times, always exploring with my wolf.

  I pull my wolf to the surface, needing his heightened senses as I walk deeper into the night. I smell other wolves, but I can’t make out exactly who in the pack is out here.

  “I am Seth Lowell, alpha heir. Show yourself.”

  My voice dies in the wind, only to be met with silence. I sniff again and my nose scrunches up as a foreign scent fills it. It’s like a skunk, but rotten, and mixed with a sticky sweet smell. The combination is repugnant and I want to run from it.

  “What are you?” I can hear the dominant wolf tone in my voice. It’s my natural reaction to danger and will work to control my pack someday.

  I step back when the rogue wolf appears from behind thick trees. He flashes his large, broken fangs at me, and my wolf surges forward at the silent threat. The rogue wolves are basically zombies, left without a pack and any trace of humanity, ready to hunt and kill all living things.

  “Leave, or die!” I shout with more growl than voice.

  He doesn’t take the command, instead launching himself at me. I roll to the left, barely in time to avoid his teeth on my throat. My body shifts in seconds, the clothes tearing off of me as my wolf takes control.

  Kill, he says inside of our shared mind as he growls at the enemy facing us again.

  Yes, kill.

  We charge the rogue, and my wolf body hits him hard in the side. The rogue rolls from the hit, and my wolf goes for the kill without hesitation, sinking his teeth into the rogue’s neck. One hard crunch finishes the task and we drop him back to the earth. That was easy.

  I sniff the air for any other threats, and my whole furry body shivers from the horrid smell. There are more of them, and they’re heading back toward the car. Toward Maia.

  I throw my wolf head back and howl loudly into the night. My pack knows the sound, and if they can hear me, they’ll be here in minutes. Before then, I need to fight to keep Maia safe.

  Chapter 16

  ⟣⟡⟢

  Maia

  “Is he hurt? I know I’m no wolf-howl expert, but that didn’t sound good, Bree!” Yeah, I’m freaking out. A part of me wants to tear through the woods until I find Seth, but I have no clue who that part of me is. It’s not the girl I grew up being, that’s for sure.

  Crunching branches and heavy footfalls approach us at amazing speeds. I tense, but I’m not afraid of what is to come. A new sense of rage and fight fills me as I think about Seth facing the rogues on his own.

  Another large, mangy wolf dives out of the trees and doesn’t slow down as it rams head-first into the shimmering protective dome. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.

  The beast stumbles backward with a whine, but recovers too easily. It circles us, and it’s yellow eyes land on me. The wolf snarls and sniffs the air just a few feet in front of me. Before any of us can react, another rogue wolf runs at the dome just like the other.

  Bree groans beside me and I look over to find a stream of sweat dripping from her hairline. “Are you okay, Bree?”

  She shakes her head. “I’m spent, Mai. I’ve never held a shield for this long and they’re hitting it hard.”

  The shimmering light flickers out and then back again. Both of the wolves make choppy growling noises, as if they are laughing at us. Bree grunts again and the entire shield disappears.

  “Fight!” Bree yells, and all four of my friends crouch into fighting stances.

  Rylee is the first to charge, and without shifting, she flips over the back of the larger wolf. She shakes her bangs out of her face and then does another air flip as the wolf tries to get to her. She’s like a gymnast. Wilk and Qadira run at the second wolf, their hands outstretched. Wilk has his small blade, but Qadira is weaponless.

  Weapons don’t seem to matter, though, as Qadira shoots a stream of lightning at the rogue. The wolf howls quietly and Wilk jumps onto his large back. Bree pants beside me, crouched and ready to fight, but before I can tell her to stay back and rest, the third rogue wolf dives at me, grazing my side so that I spin and fall onto my knees.

  Pain from the crack in my right knee shoots up my thigh and I gasp with a short whine. “Holy hell!” I scream, but I don’t have time to throw a fit. The wolf turns to charge me again, but I jump achingly to my feet and crouch like the others had, ready to fight with my bare hands. “Come get a taste of my blood, beasty!” Lies, lies, lies!