I just shake my head at his words. “It doesn’t matter.” I look down at Jade. Even in sleep she’s beautiful. Her eyes flutter in the slightest, her lips are parted, and she snores quietly. Her head rests on her hands as she sleeps peacefully. My fingers slide along her face, brushing my knuckles softly against her cheek. I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful. Never felt this feeling with anyone else. “She’s worth it,” I say quietly. I’m not sure if I’m talking to Ranger or myself.

  I look up to find Ranger staring at me with a soft smile on his face. His eyes drift from mine, and he glances down at her in my lap.

  “Yeah, Rev. She is.”

  I wonder at that moment what his feelings are for her. I know they are friends, that they are close. I’ve only spent a few days with the two of them, but I can see they care about one another. But something inside of me, a new instinct that comes from my wolf, one I am unfamiliar with… it tells me something more. Senses it. That maybe his feelings run deeper than he lets on. The crazy thing is, for some reason… I’m okay with it.

  The thought of her being with Ranger doesn’t enrage me the same way thinking about her and Dustin together does. I can’t explain why, but I guess it doesn’t really matter right now.

  “When she wakes up, there’s something we gotta talk about.”

  I nod my head and rest it back against the wall, my fingers still running through Jade’s soft hair, brushing my finger along her forehead the way she did to mine not too long ago. Ranger picks up a book, the same one he was looking at before and begins to read silently.

  After about an hour of pure silence, other than the small animals outside, Jade finally stirs. Her eyes flutter open and she looks up at me.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” I say to her. She smiles brightly and it causes my cock to twitch. I’d have her again right now if I could, but my eyes find Ranger, a knowing look on his face. Now isn’t the time.

  “How long have I been asleep for?” she asks with a yawn.

  “About an hour. You can sleep more, if you need,” I offer. She just shakes her head and catches Ranger staring.

  “What’s your problem? You’re looking at me funny.”

  He shakes his head, his eyes losing the normal humor and turning more serious. “We need to talk to Maverick.”

  Something tells me he has more to say, something other than having to speak with Jade’s father, but I don’t push it. Ranger doesn't have trouble saying what’s on his mind, he’ll say what he needs to say when the time is right.

  She sits up, resting her back against the wall beside me, her shoulder brushing mine. She sighs, and nods.

  “Tomorrow?” Her eyes find Ranger’s and he nods back solemnly.

  “Tomorrow,” Ranger agrees.

  She looks at me, chewing on her bottom lip again. “Are you…” she trails off.

  I throw my arm around her shoulders and pull her closer to me, her hand slides across my stomach and she squeezes. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Definitely not anywhere without this girl by my side.

  “How about something to take our minds off this craziness?” Ranger asks before putting his book down and getting to his feet. He walks a short distance and opens a door. There is a small closet that has all sorts of board games and even decks of cards. He pulls one of the boxes down. “Come on, Jade, it’s your favorite. Still think you can kick my ass?” He raises a brow in challenge.

  Jade huffs out a laugh. “Bring it,” she says. “I’ll be undefeated until the day I die.”

  Ranger closes the closet door and walks over to us, placing the box on the ground between us before taking a seat, crossing his legs.

  “Scrabble? Really?” I ask in disbelief. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it.

  “What’s wrong, you scared?” Jade asks teasingly.

  “Scared? Nah. But don’t get mad at me when I break that winning streak. I’m kinda smart.”

  “‘Kinda’ isn’t even a real word. You’re already starting off on the wrong foot.” She gets up to move into a better spot on the floor and I smack her ass playfully as she goes.

  We spend hours laughing, playing, and just enjoying not having any responsibilities. And I can say with pride, that Jade is still the undefeated champion. I truly expected to win this game, I’ve always been good at it, but no such luck with her as a competitor.

  When the sun goes down and Jade and Ranger fall asleep on one of the mattresses, I’m left awake. This feeling keeps turning in my gut about Dustin. I can’t let it go. I don’t want to ask her about it, in fear of upsetting her. I know it’s a touchy subject. I don’t want to see her hurt and I know she is. I can tell she cares for him, and as much as I don’t want her to, it’s not my decision to make.

  I look up at the moon, not quite full yet but almost. This wolf inside of me stirs at the thought. It’s a strange sensation. I have no idea when I’ll change and I haven’t asked. I’ve been enjoying too many happy moments with Jade today to ruin it with questions I don’t want answers to. Not yet.

  I slide from her grip, get to my feet and cover her with the blanket. When I’m sure she is still sleeping, I sneak out of the treehouse, needing to let out some energy.

  I’m not sure where I’m going, but I just go. It’s an indescribable feeling, having something in the back of my head telling me what to do without actually telling me what to do, like a constant intuition. I walk deep into the woods, not following a clear path but just... going. Something pulling me in whatever direction I’m walking towards. I walk for close to fifteen minutes before I come across a small clearing where I spot an old shed. It looks similar to the one I was kept in, only this one is bigger, and it looks a little more worn, older.. That same gut feeling, deep within me, tells me this is exactly what I'm looking for. Though I have no idea why.

  Chapter 32

  Jade

  I feel the night all around me. Warm arms embrace me like a cozy fire in the dead of winter.

  Oranges and ginger.

  The feeling of complete satisfaction, of complete and utter bliss soothes me, and fingers run through my hair.

  And then it's gone.

  I’m in the clubhouse. But it's not the clubhouse of the present. It’s the one of the past. I can tell because of the lack of games. Growing up, the clubhouse only housed a few games, and cards.

  Dustin is in the corner with Ranger, the two of them playing cards.

  Strip poker. Dustin’s terrible at it.

  Which I think is why Ranger makes him play. It’s probably the one place he can get a one up on Dustin.

  “Start dancing, sweetheart,” Ranger says teasingly, twirling his fingers.

  “Fuck off, Ranger.” Dustin’s always a sore loser when it comes to the two of them. When it comes to anyone, really.

  I know it’s the alpha in his blood coming out, but it still makes me smile.

  The treehouse shifts, and all I can feel is pressure. Every part of my body is lit up like a powder keg as Dustin fits himself inside of me. My mind is like a livewire, electricity sparking at all ends. His eyes don’t move from mine, and I can see everything. Our past, our present.

  Our future.

  I can see it like I can see the sun.

  And it’s scary. It’s beautiful, and overwhelming and terrifying all at the same time.

  My wolf is telling me what to do, but I don’t want to. My heartbeat thundering against my chest feels as if it might burst.The emotion I’m feeling, the wolf instincts in the back of my brain pushing me, the sensation of being here, his weight on top of me has me seeing stars and my breathing starts to turn rapid.

  “Tell me what you want, Jade…” his voice is dark, gravelly, but there’s a hint of something else behind it.

  Something I can’t acknowledge because it scares me the most. I don’t even want to say it out loud. Because I feel it too. In the back of my own mind, in the way my heart beats. I feel it. He stills inside of me, eyes shaded as they gaze into me, into the depths of me, of what feels like my soul.

  “Tell me what you want and I’ll do whatever you say.” He licks his lips and I freeze. I push him away, much harder than I mean to. I feel every nerve on fire as he slides out of me, the utter look of heartbreak on his face. “Jade…” he leans back and I feel empty. Like I’ll never be whole unless he’s buried within me.

  My mind is wrought with images, feelings, and the need to run. I need to shift.

  The world dissolves and it’s just Ranger and I in my bedroom. He’s got his arm around me and he’s running his fingers in circles on my shoulders. I love it when he does that. For some stupid reason it always makes me feel better.

  “I’m an idiot.” I hang my head in my hands.

  “Do you want me to beat him up?” He smiles when he says the words.

  “What? No, of course not, he didn’t do anything wrong…” I shove him, as I chew my bottom lip.

  “Neither did you.” His arms pull me close once more, and I let him. His fingers trace my skin, and I close my eyes, the motion calming to me. I focus on the touch, trying to forget the look of pain on Dustin’s face. Pain I’d caused.

  “Maybe it’s better this way. Maybe it’s better if we just—” Ranger pulls me close, and my shoulders relax.

  “Whatever you want to do, I got your back.” His voice is solid, unwavering.

  I feel my stress melt away, like nothing was ever as bad as I thought it was. Because somehow, someway, no matter how dire things are, with Ranger at my side we’ll get through it.

  I stir awake, my eyes adjusting to the darkness of the clubhouse. Ranger is asleep, a book in his lap.

  I look around, minimally alert. Rev isn’t here. I don’t see him, and somehow I just... know. I can feel his absence like I can feel my wolf.

  As if sensing my worry, Ranger stirs too.

  He stretches his arms over his head, his white T-shirt raising enough to show his six pack. I remember Rev’s face back at the lake, how he’d gone pale as Ranger pretty much let it all hang out. I had to remind myself it must be difficult to adjust to everything I’ve always taken for granted.

  Humans have to work hard, and sometimes for years, to get bodies like ours. It's our natural default.

  I’d never truly appreciated the sight before. Having grown up alongside all the pack sons, I took their muscles for granted, even Ranger’s.

  Especially Ranger’s. He is definitely in better shape than most others.

  “Where’s Rev?” I ask as I push myself up off the bed, the blanket falling from my shoulders. I wipe my eyes, trying to rid them of sleep.

  A shiver runs down my spine. I sniff my armpit. I need a shower, but a part of me doesn’t want to rinse off Rev’s scent. I want to be his. I want everyone else to know I’m his, too.

  My wolf smiles at the thought, but I push her down.

  Now is not the time.

  Ranger’s eyes look me over quickly before he speaks.

  “Probably went for a kumbaya with his wolf. It’s close to a full moon, so I’m sure he’s feeling the need to shift, but you know he can’t before the moon.”

  I walked over to Ranger as he got up.

  “Dustin’s not back yet…” I said the words quietly.

  “He’ll be back, baby. Don’t worry. There’s nothing in the world that would keep him away from you, no matter how bad you piss him off.” Ranger reached out and pushed my messy hair back gently.

  “I think I hurt him good this time, Ranger.” I can’t help the sadness in my heart.

  “He’s not pissed off at you. I promise,” he reassures me.

  “What if he tells Samuel? Or Donevan? What if they come after Rev? Or worse… use this as a catalyst to attack Hollow Pack?” I let the words tumble out, and a shiver runs through me.

  Ranger removes his shirt, his muscles straining together like a work of art. A masterpiece.

  Even though it is dark I can see his wolf tattoo stretched over his right pectoral muscle. Two wolves howling at the moon on a rock, pure black ink. It makes him look so badass. He hands me his shirt. “You’re cold.” I snatch the shirt and pull it on over my head, noticing his scent immediately.

  He smells like wood and ash, and home.

  It’s also still warm from his body, which I find to be calming.

  “Dustin won’t sell out our Rev. He’s a Hollow now, and Dustin soon will be too.” Ranger walks through the doorway into the little room, the one we all used to hang out in, and I follow him.

  “Want to stretch your legs?” He smiles at me as he heads down the rope.

  I follow without question.

  “He is, isn’t he? A Hollow, I mean,” I ask curiously. I hadn’t really thought about the logistics of turning a human, what it meant. After all, it hadn’t been done in centuries. But it was tantamount to law—the wolf that turned a human, branded them into their pack.

  Down on the ground, I feel at ease as I start walking north. Something seems to be pulling me in that direction. Ranger follows beside me and we keep a slow, steady pace.

  It isn’t exercise I need as much as it is clarity.

  I need space to sort through everything, and sitting inside the clubhouse was not helping.

  Typically, because of old school laws and rules, it was the alpha wolf who would turn a human, if such things were done. Wolves who went against the rules usually got severe punishment. I swallow at the thought. Will I get the same fate? Clearly, we are more evolved now as a species than we were hundreds of years ago.

  “We have to tell Maverick.” Ranger was close to me, close enough our shoulders touched.

  “I know. He’s going to be really pissed at me.” I twisted my lips.

  “I don’t think so. Disappointed, maybe. But if there’s one thing I know about Maverick Hollow, he’s a good man. He’ll know the right thing to do, even if it isn’t the easy thing.”

  “Especially if it isn’t the easy thing,” I agreed.

  Ranger stops, and I do too.

  I turn to him, the moonlight lighting him up from behind like a halo.

  “You ever think about the legend of the lone wolf?” Ranger asks, kicking a rock in the dirt.

  I shrug. “You mean the one about the wolf who runs alone until she finds home?” I know the tale, but it is odd that Ranger would bring it up. No one’s really mentioned it in years.

  “Yeah. She runs alone, until she finds home, until she becomes the one to join the divided. She is home.” His eyes sparkle in the night, and I feel that now familiar stirring feeling in my belly again.

  But this one wasn’t butterflies or fire.

  This one was deep, flowing. Serene.

  Like a still, running river, the kind that slowly shapes the rocks beneath it over eons and eons into smooth, shiny pebbles.

  Ranger looks as if he wants to say something. But he holds back.

  Which isn’t like him at all.

  He shrugs it off.

  “You are home. They’ll always come back.” His lips turn up in the corner of his mouth, as he runs his fingers along my cheek, down to my jaw and lifts my chin up.

  And for the first time, I can see it. I feel it. I recognize it.

  My river. My ever flowing river that cuts through all the jagged parts of me and leaves me smooth and shiny.

  The sound of rumbling and branches snapping pulls me from my wonder, and I am both terrified and relieved to see Reverie.

  Because he isn’t alone.

  Chapter 33

  Reverie

  I didn’t need to hear the sounds to know something was wrong. I could feel it, deep in my gut. The screams of pain only solidified it, made it more real.

  Normally, this would terrify me. Only a few days ago I wouldn’t have ventured out into the woods alone in the middle of the night, nevermind plan a rescue of someone I’m not even sure I like.

  But tonight, I feel brave. I’m eager. I’m angry. I’m determined.

  I know who is in that shed before I get to it. A gut feeling I can’t ignore.

  And as much as I don’t like Dustin right now, I like Donevan even less. Something tells me Dustin is going to be a problem for me for a long time. But not the kind of problem you need to get rid of, just the kind that sticks around and annoys you for the rest of your life. The kind you need for you to know that not everything in life can be perfect all the time.

  And I don’t like the idea of someone getting rid of that problem. I need it for survival.

  Jade needs it.

  She needs him.

  Just as much as I need her.

  Therefore, he’s gotta stay.

  I get to the shed’s side on silent feet. It wasn’t built very well, the boards not placed close enough together to keep anything out. I peek inside, needing to get a read on the situation. I may be feeling brave, but that doesn't mean I’m going to be rash and stupid. I need to plan this out.

  Tools line the walls but not anywhere close enough to where I could get them before Donevan gets me. There is only one door, and it’s right here to my left. Once I open it and step in, Dustin is straight ahead with Donevan there as well. I move around, trying to peek in at different angles, hoping to find something I can use as a weapon. Something I can grab as soon as I get in there. I’ve never been a fighter, but tonight I’m feeling it. The need to hunt something. Those primal instincts kicking in because something I hold dear is being threatened. Maybe not directly because there is no way in hell I consider Dustin something dear. But Jade does, and I will do anything for her. Anything to see her smile, to make her happy. Anything to keep sadness and heartbreak away.

  I creep to the other side of the door and that’s when I see it. On a table to the left, halfway from the door, is my saving grace.

  A fucking crossbow.

  I’ve never shot a crossbow before, but I was pretty good with a bow and arrow in school.

  I should be fine.

  I’ll bet Jade would be satisfied with Dustin even with an arrow through him, as long as he’s alive and Donevan is no longer a problem. Let’s hope so anyway. Dustin may not be happy about it, but he’d at least be grateful he isn’t dead.